The secret cabin.
Shiroishi pushed open the wooden door, and a scent mixing fresh grass and fruit wafted over him.
Nagato was squatting by the wooden table, carefully holding a bowl of steaming bean soup and slowly feeding it to the Ivysaur beside him.
The soup was warm and gave off the aroma of beans. Ivysaur stuck out its tongue for a lick, then narrowed its eyes in satisfaction, the flower bud on its back trembling gently.
On the other side, Konan was sitting by the window, cupping a glass of faintly glowing fruit juice in her hands.
It was a drink specially prepared for her by Wartortle.
Extracted from the Sweet Scent on Ivysaur's body, then blended and harmonized with Wartortle's own Purified Water, it finally condensed into a translucent, orange-red liquid.
Konan took a sip, then spoke with a helpless tone.
"Thank you, Wartortle, but you don't have to go pick these things every day."
Wartortle raised its head proudly, the water droplets on its shell glinting in the light.
It blew out a few bubbles, seemingly unconcerned.
However, Shiroishi didn't seem to see Yahiko.
"Where are Yahiko and Charmeleon? Out fighting again?"
Nagato sighed. "Yes, they're at it again."
He set down the bowl and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That guy has such a fiery temper. It challenges Yahiko to a fight almost every day."
The last time Yahiko fought Charmeleon, he hadn't actually managed to make it submit at all.
Konan nodded as well, a hint of worry in her voice. "Yesterday, I saw them fighting so hard they nearly blew up the hillside... Charmeleon's tail is much brighter than before."
Shiroishi pondered for a moment. "The tail is burning more intensely?"
After a moment of silence, Shiroishi shook his head. "At this rate, Charmeleon might be about to evolve again."
Hearing the word "evolve," both Nagato and Konan were a little surprised.
It had always been Nagato's Bulbasaur that hatched, leveled up, and evolved the fastest. They hadn't expected that Charmeleon was now on the verge of completing its evolution.
However...
For a hot-tempered and strong-willed Ninja Beast like Charmeleon, if it were to gain even greater power through evolution without a sufficient spiritual bond to guide it... the result would often be a loss of control.
Nagato's expression changed slightly. "If it evolves again, Yahiko..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.
"I'm back."
Yahiko walked in, accompanied by a gust of damp wind.
He was covered in mud, the corners of his clothes were scorched, and there were scrapes on his face.
Charmeleon had clearly left its mark on him again.
Outside, Charmeleon wasn't in good shape either, but it turned its head away, looking a bit unhappy. It had obviously lost again.
"It seems you've noticed it too, haven't you?"
Yahiko scratched his head with a wry smile. "Yeah, I also think... Charmeleon might be evolving soon."
He took off his jacket, revealing the burn marks underneath.
"In our recent battles, its attacks have gotten noticeably faster, and the temperature of its flames is rising. Just now, its tail nearly melted an entire boulder."
Shiroishi looked at him thoughtfully. "This means its energy accumulation has reached its limit. Evolution is just a matter of time."
"That's the problem."
"If it really evolves, I'm afraid I won't be able to restrain it anymore."
Yahiko lowered his head, his expression complicated.
His relationship with Charmeleon, from their initial refusal to yield to one another to their current tacit understanding in battle, had actually formed a peculiar, competitive bond.
Their fights were filled with the smell of gunpowder.
Neither was willing to bow their head to the other.
Shiroishi looked at him and said slowly, "Have you tried communicating with it?"
Yahiko looked up, his brow furrowed. "I've tried, but it won't listen at all! Every time I open my mouth, it just breathes fire!"
Shiroishi pushed up his glasses. "Charmeleon can't hear you when you use a preachy tone."
"Every time you use force to make it submit, it will only burn brighter in defiance."
Gazing at the Charmeleon outside, Shiroishi said calmly, "You've been out helping the common people of the Land of Rain all this time. Why don't you take Charmeleon with you?"
At the mention of this, Yahiko fell silent for a moment. "I'm afraid it'll cause trouble."
At that moment, Shiroishi walked over and patted Yahiko's shoulder. "Take it with you. Otherwise, the knot between you two will never be untied."
Looking at the Charmeleon outside, Yahiko thought for a moment before breaking into a sunny smile. "I understand. Thank you, Shiroishi."
In the deepest, most forbidden part of the Land of Rain.
Deep within a dark cavern, the only sound of breathing came from an old man, Uchiha Madara.
He sat cross-legged on a stone platform, his white hair unbound, his face so old it had almost lost all color.
His eyes, which had once looked down upon the world, had long since lost their luster, leaving only a shadow branded by time and obsession.
Behind him, the colossal Gedō Mazō stood amidst the rock walls.
Countless black tubes extended from the mouth and fingertips of that massive figure, which resembled a deity from hell. Like living things, they pierced through Madara's body, continuously supplying him with Chakra.
This was the only way he could cling to life.
He had lived to such an age.
But now, all that remained was to wait.
During that long wait, Madara had countless times recalled the contents of the stone tablet he had seen.
The one who awakens the Rinnegan—it was a revelation about the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
He took that prophecy as his creed, betting his entire life on what he called true peace.
To this end, he used the Gedō Mazō as a medium, attempting to fuse with Hashirama Cells and use that life force to construct his ideal eternity.
That was also the origin of White Zetsu's birth.
The living remnants of the last Infinite Tsukuyomi were modified by him into intelligence gatherers that could move about the world.
From then on, Madara hid in the shadows like a spider king, observing the world's changes through the eyes of White Zetsu.
Now, to complete his plan, he had implanted his pair of Rinnegan into the young Nagato.
One day, Nagato would use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to return him to this world.
Until then, he could only continue to wait, to continue depending on this demonic statue.
However, recent intelligence had left him unable to rest easy.
The situation with Nagato seemed to have changed.
The White Zetsu monitoring him had gone missing once.
Just as he was pondering this, a damp, cold presence spread from the cave's entrance.
A pale figure slowly emerged.
"Lord Madara."
It was White Zetsu.
It emerged from the rock wall, its smile as cunning as ever.
Only this time, its aura seemed unusually chaotic.
"You're back?" Uchiha Madara's voice was hoarse and deep, heavy with the erosion of time.
"How did the investigation go?"
It stepped forward, its tone a mix of ingratiation and excitement. "Nagato has been hanging out with a few orphans from the Land of Rain recently and has set up a Breeding House."
"A Breeding House?"
Madara's eyes opened slightly, as if he were contemplating something.
White Zetsu's body began to tremble slightly, and the cells on its skin's surface cracked open as if forcibly torn apart.
From within the fissures, three eggs were slowly revealed!
Each one was insulated by White Zetsu's tissue.
"Lord Madara, it took some effort, but I brought... these back."
A trace of weakness was evident in White Zetsu's voice.
It seemed a considerable amount of its Chakra had been drained by these three eggs, and its aura was rapidly diminishing.
Uchiha Madara did not respond immediately.
As he silently stared at the three Ninja Beast Eggs, a sudden change occurred!
The Gedō Mazō behind him seemed to react.
A flash of crimson light flickered in the depths of the originally lifeless giant's eyes.
It was as if it was craving something.
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