I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 652 Most people spend most of their time doing meaningless things; only a few have clear purposes.

"Cough cough~ Click~~~"

Inside the dimly lit cave, a affected coughing sound rang out. It didn't sound like a cough at all, but rather like a child who had stolen a cigarette trying to cough up phlegm like an old smoker. It was all sound and no phlegm.

On the stone bed, a deformed boy lay on it. Half of his body was wrapped in straps, and the exposed skin was so white that it didn't look like a living person. Moreover, his hands and feet were much smaller than the other half of his body.

His face was also bandaged, covering one eye. The boy had just woken up and coughed a few times unnaturally, as the feeling of something stuck in his throat had been with him for a long time.

For some time now, he has been coughing a few times almost every day when he wakes up, trying to expel the foreign object from his throat, but the feeling of that foreign object is more like his own illusion, or perhaps it is actually a polyp.

After coughing, his body gradually awoke. The pain and discomfort caused beads of sweat to appear on the boy's face, but he gritted his teeth and endured the pain to roll over in bed. Even though he could only use one hand and one foot, he bravely did push-ups.

"Uh..."

Almost every time he did a push-up, he would make an unpleasant sound in his throat. On a stone bench in the distance, an old man frowned and gradually opened his eyes.

His bloodshot eyes swept over the boy doing rehabilitation exercises on the stone bed, then he turned to a white humanoid monster and said, "Zetsu, is Obito having lung problems? He's been coughing for days."

"Perhaps it's because you haven't been able to defecate freely these past few days, so the poop is stuck in your throat. Lord Madara, is your cough also caused by poop stuck in your throat?"

The old man, who had just woken up, replied in a nonchalant manner, and a black line appeared on his face. Sure enough, he shouldn't have asked this idiot whose head was full of shit.

"By the way, Lord Madara."

Zetsu scratched his head and said, "While you were sleeping, Zetsu from the Land of Fire came back. The person you were paying attention to has become the Fourth Hokage."

"Okay, I understand."

Dian Dian nodded, her face showing neither surprise nor curiosity. After all, it was a done deal. But...did I wake up too early today? I have a strange feeling of unease, or...?

He glanced back at the enormous golem. Perhaps his lifespan had truly come to an end. After all, he had survived for so many years, and it was indeed time for him to die.

However, Obito is not completely hopeless yet, and he is not qualified to be his successor.

Only by experiencing true pain and despair can one understand the ugliness and cruelty of the world, and only then can one wholeheartedly carry out his will and plan the Eye of the Moon project.

However, all five major powers have recently declared a truce. Even if they have plans in mind, they are unable to implement them and can only wait until war breaks out again.

But it's unclear how long that will take. And given the current situation of the five great nations, if Konoha were willing, it could even mediate the war directly. Of course, Madara doesn't think Tatsuma is that kind of person.

"Let's go check on Obito again; he can't be allowed to get hurt."

The jumble of thoughts overwhelmed Ban's already weakened brain. He waved his hand and said to Zetsu, "Check not only the lungs, but also the bronchi and throat."

A vague sense of unease made Ban decide to conduct a more thorough examination, even though he felt it was unlikely, just in case.

Obito's teacher was able to leave the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on Obito, which required him to go through many means to successfully remove it and save Obito's life, but who knows if that was the only backup plan?

Upon hearing this, Jue stood up somewhat unhappily. He had been squatting for several hours and felt he was about to find the feeling of defecating when this old man interrupted him.

"Hiss~ Hiss~"

On the stone bed, Obito, having completed a round of exercise, lay there, his mouth wide open, breathing heavily. This state of exhaustion after only a short time of exercise greatly annoyed Obito.

He was already so far behind Kakashi, who was definitely using this time to train and improve, while he was still recovering, trying to get back to his pre-injury condition as soon as possible.

Back and forth we go, who knows how much further that guy will pull ahead of us again.

"stand up."

Zetsu's voice came from behind him. Obito, bracing himself against the bed, struggled to sit up and asked, "Is it time for breakfast?"

"Eat, eat, all you do is eat. No wonder you poop so much every day."

In his complaining tone, there was a strange mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment. He took Obito's hand, hoisted him onto his back, and said, "Now I'm taking you to get checked out."

"Inspection? Inspect what?"

Having undergone countless examinations, Obito felt that his body was no longer in serious condition. He just needed to wait for his injuries to heal and then train for a while longer.

"He coughs all day long, like a tuberculosis patient. Lord Madara is tired of it."

Zetsu pinned all the blame on Madara, but Obito, upon hearing this, said, "Ah, that's not a physical problem."

The two were now getting closer to Madara. After all, the place where they were inspecting was right below the golem. Madara had overheard their conversation, and the black lines on his face deepened. He was thinking that he needed to find a time to teach this Zetsu a lesson.

Hearing Obito's words, Madara frowned and asked, "Not a health problem? Then why are you coughing?"

"It was when I was eating with my teachers before I left the village. Brother Chenma treated us to watermelon, and some watermelon seeds accidentally got stuck in my throat. I thought I had swallowed them, but I still felt like they were still there."

But thinking about it, it's impossible. There are no watermelon seeds that can stay stuck together for half a month.

After Obito finished explaining, Madara's expression became extremely grave. Something was wrong, especially with that person's presence. He frowned and asked, "Where did these watermelons come from this month?"

"It was Brother Chenma who used Wood Release to accelerate their birth. They're so sweet. I want to ask him to give me two more when I get back."

Obito, still savoring the moment, didn't notice that Madara's face had turned completely gloomy. His brain, which had been operating at low power due to the decline in his life force, was now working at full speed as if it were being overdrawn.

Madara didn't believe this was just a trivial matter. People might do hundreds of meaningless things every day, but there are always exceptions, and Sakamoto Tatsuma was one of them in Madara's eyes.

He had never truly interacted with Tatsuma, nor did he know much about Tatsuma's character. However, by substituting another person he knew, Tobirama Senju, into Tatsuma's behavioral logic, he could obtain many answers.

For example, now that Ban's brain is working rapidly, when was he exposed?

Was it when he was dealing with the Uchiha clan in the Land of Rivers? Or was he planning an internal Uchiha rebellion? But that was about two or three years ago. After rounds of selection, Madara eliminated those Uchiha clans, leaving only two candidates.

The two candidates he had not yet tested were, one was Uchiha Obito, whom he had chosen before him, and the other was Uchiha Shisui, a disciple of Sakamoto Tatsuma.

In fact, Shisui was the first choice. His talent was obvious even to a blind man. Unfortunately, he was a disciple of Sakamoto Tatsuma, so Madara did not dare to act rashly and could only settle for second best, choosing Obito.

Madara never expected that Obito, who had only recently revealed his talent, would also have a backup plan left by Tatsuma.

Did he leave corresponding methods for all Uchiha, or was his plan completely seen through by Tatsuma, which is why he was able to pinpoint Obito so accurately?

Ban clenched his fist, the coldness at his fingertips jolting him awake. He said impatiently, "Come here!"

The unease in my heart reached its peak at this moment, as if something unexpected would happen if I were to stay even a minute or a second later.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting a medical check-up?"

Obito was somewhat puzzled, but Zetsu had already sensed the urgency of his creator. He carried Obito on his back and ran towards Madara, but considering Obito's still-healing injuries, he did not run very fast.

"Cough cough~"

Suddenly, Obito started coughing again. His intact hand was being held by Zetsu, and he could only struggle, trying to scratch something with his hand that was bound by the straps. His mouth was also wide open.

Madara Uchiha's breathing became heavy as he watched a seedling emerge from Obito's mouth. At the same time, Obito's chakra was being continuously drained, not only chakra but also life force.

The seedlings fell to the ground in an instant, and a watermelon the size of a fist appeared and grew rapidly.

"hateful!"

With a flick of his wrist, a black rod appeared in his palm and shot towards the watermelon that was jumping around as Zetsu ran. Ban's throwing technique was extremely accurate, and the black rod hit the watermelon that had grown to the size of a human head.

"Bang!"

The watermelon exploded, its blood-red flesh turning into mist and scattering everywhere, but the watermelon seeds also flew out and scattered throughout the cave.

At this moment, Zetsu finally ran up to Madara, his face showing surprise. Madara reached out and grabbed the melon vine extending from Obito's mouth, pulling it out hard.

"ah"

Obito let out a scream as Madara held the bloodied roots in his hand, watching as the roots continuously absorbed the blood. The scattered watermelon seeds around him also sprouted and grew.

In just a moment, the once lifeless cave was filled with vibrant life thanks to the tender green seedlings, but Ban's face looked even worse than that of a dead man.

He looked at the seedlings, their tender leaves constantly intertwining, and the veins of the leaves formed three characters.

Lake Toya

Madara naturally knew what this was—Sakamoto Tatsuma's Flying Thunder God Technique. However, Madara hadn't expected that Wood Release could be combined with Flying Thunder God in such a way.

"What are all these things?"

As Obito spoke, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in his eyes. Had Tatsuma come to save him? But why did Madara Uchiha look so grim? They were the ones who had saved him; shouldn't they be...?

By the way, Madara Uchiha was a rogue ninja, while Tatsuma was the Hokage.

Madara Uchiha had no interest in dealing with Obito. Even he was at a loss as to how to deal with the current situation, as the Flying Thunder God Techniques scattered everywhere could not be destroyed instantly.

He glanced sideways at Obito. Did this silly kid think that Sakamoto Tatsuma came specifically to save him? The energy that these seedlings were growing was his life force.

Ban even wondered if, had he not pulled up the melon vines quickly enough, the soil would have been drained of its life force by the vines.

Sure enough, Sakamoto Tatsuma is just like Senju Tobirama. No matter how well he hides it, his true colors are that he disregards the lives of the Uchiha.

A silver glint flashed through the dim cave, like a shooting star in the night. Madara Uchiha, supporting himself on the armrest of the stone chair, struggled to his feet and said:

"Seeing is believing, Fourth Hokage."

(End of this chapter)