Being stared at by the intimidating gaze and aura of someone like Madara wasn't something anyone can handle, but Bakorio simply patted him on the shoulder and said "I won't let you go unless you at least master the six path's sage chakra"

"Those weaklings don't deserve all this wariness from you, you are pretty much handling most of them with your true clones right? What are you hesitating for?" Madara's eyes were growing colder and darker the more he spoke but so is Bakorio's as he stared at him eerily and responded

"Those guys aren't even the start of my worries… If I had confidence in my current power, I would have gladly ended all of the chaos in the world right away, but we can't make a move yet unfortunately…"

Madara fell silent as the pain in his heart didn't fade despite him understanding Bakorio's logic, and noticing this, Bakorio smiled suddenly and said "Don't worry, I will soon finish my bloodline research which will allow us to grow much stronger and it will increase your affinity for sage training as well…"

Madara paused slightly before he nodded and said "Fine, I will wait for a bit more..." before he left since he wasn't in the right state of mind to continue his training anymore, and Bakorio simply instructed Hashirama to go console him before he went to check on the progress of the advancement quest of his medical art mastery...

….

Meanwhile, in the hidden village of the dead, Mara went straight to the point in his discussion with the various legends "Were you able to decipher the working principle of those sand soldiers the dead hunter are using?"

And responding to him was a man with long and straight bright red hair, he wore clothing with a swirling design on them...This was the clan head of the Uzumaki Clan before its fall, Naoki Uzumaki! "They seem to be puppets made with a combination of sand and seals, but they also appeared to have a consciousness of their own which is something we couldn't decipher yet…"

Mara's eyes flickered coldly before he nodded and asked "Have you figured out how to deal with them?" and this time, it was the second Mizukage that responded with a smirk "They are weak to fire and lightning attacks, but the most effective method so far is water release as it slows them down and makes them far easier to deal with"

Mara contemplated silently to himself letting the room fall into a pit of eeriness before he stared at everyone coldly and said "the situation is becoming too stable, start spreading the chaos once more and find a way to counter the abilities of the dead hunter, I will be expecting good news next time I come here"

Then, he simply vanished into thin air and some people couldn't help but let out sighs of relief while some members of the Uchiha clan rushed to check on Izuna's well-being and they found him squirming on the floor with his face full of pain but he wasn't screaming anymore and only gritting his teeth instead as some medical ninja tried to heal him to ease his pain but it nothing worked…

'This pain, I will make to repay it tenfold if I ever get the chance' Thought Izuna with his eyes burning with pure hatred, and that hatred was one of the most delicious delicacies that monstrosity could enjoy in his dark cell…

…

"What a great feast, Scream more, struggle more… all will be in vain at the end, and only I will be there to watch the satisfying looks of despair on your eyes as I snuff out the remaining strands of life out of their souls... Ha HA AHAHAHAHA"

A deranged laugh followed by a devilish smile spread above the dark throne of this unknown location, and as it all ended, the figure covered in darkness suddenly had an amused smile on its face as its abyssal eyes that appeared to hold the whole cosmos in them seemed to have caught sight of something interesting.

It was the different true clones of Bakorio each doing their best to master new skills and his eyes eventually landed on a particular true clone that was sitting alone on a remote island and trying to uncover the evolved form of dark chakra... Evil chakra

So, with intrigue, that being suddenly waved its hands causing a beast-shaped mouth to appear in front of the true clone and before it could react, it was already swallowed by it and teleported to an unknown location, something that can only be described as dark and eerie…

"We finally meet…" Spoke the figure on the throne and Bakorio's surprised eyes instantly turned empty and cold as he replied "Indeed…"

…

The moment this incident happened, all of Bakorio's true clones as well as the real body felt their connection with that true clone suddenly disappear as if something or someone had swallowed its very existence, and some of them instantly launched an investigation to find what happened to him.

However, not all the true clones stopped their duties, and one such a case in particular is the true clone responsible for completing the medical art advancement quest!

Currently, this true clone had just arrived to the land of rivers, at a curry shop that Bakorio visited in the past with Mukai and Kurama called the curry of life, and he met Jiraiya here for the first time as well, and after seeing the old lady working in it, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he ordered "One serving of your hottest curry please!"

The owner of the shop, Sancho smiled widely and responded "Right away young man, you must be tired of traveling"

Bakorio's appearance changed drastically over the years, add to that that he was covering his face, it only added to the fact that she wouldn't be able to recognize him, but he still struck up a conversation with her anyways and said "owner, where's your son that used to help you in the shop, and why is it empty despite being lunchtime?"

The grandma froze slightly and she couldn't help but shoot Bakorio a curious look to confirm if she knew him or not, but despite how familiar his cold eyes felt to her, she still wasn't able to recognize him but she still replied to his question with a sad look on her old face

"Karashi left to join some band of criminals called the Kurosuki family, they took advantage of the current chaos in the world and took control over the Katabami gold mine that the villagers here use as their main source of income, and what's worse is that they are forcing them to work for them to their deaths under the pretense that they would provide protection for them, although that's not really true as plenty of ghosts and rising dead have been terrorizing this area without them interfering…"

"And your silly son actually decided to join them huh…" Muttered Bakorio and the old woman let out a lonely sigh and said "He's a good kid, but he's an idiot…"

"Well, I guess that's a good way to put it…" Muttered Bakorio as he started eating and enjoying his curry silently bringing a smile to the old woman's face as she kept staring at him before he put down his chopsticks and prepared to pay her but she suddenly smiled and said "Consider this one on the house, it's been a while since I had someone to talk to and serve him my food, plus you are an old customer right?"

Bakorio stared at the old woman with a surprised look on his face before he took back his hand and said "I will go deal with the bandit and get you back your stupid son, but I have an offer for you in exchange"

"Eh? What offer?" Asked old Sancho curiously and Bakorio simply smiled and said "Work for me from now on"

The old woman was shocked at first, but her eyes suddenly started tearing up… she lost all hope in life with her business dying and her own son leaving her, so how could she not feel touched by the kindness of the man in front of her so she could only shakily hold Bakorio's hand and said gratefully "Thank you…"

Bakorio simply smiled and thought to himself 'No thank you… For people like you are what's letting me keep the last trace of my humanity…'