Jiraiya

The former site of Uzushiogakure.

These days, the Uchiha had cleared away the ruins and built simple wooden houses.

In the open space, enormous Ninja Cats were helping carry lumber.

The blue cat Jialuo had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and a paintbrush tucked behind one ear. He glanced down at the plans from time to time and called out, "Orange, the right side! You've got it backward!"

"You can't tell north from south, fine, but you can't even tell left from right?"

At the words, the enormous orange cat carrying a tree trunk let go with both paws and held them out in front of himself.

"Dried fish are for the right paw, juice is for the left... Meow!"

Thump!

The tree trunk crushed the orange cat flat. Jialuo shook his head helplessly.

Working with this bunch of stupid cats was exhausting!

"Thanks for all your hard work, Jialuo."

Fugaku approached with his family. His wife Mikoto wore a sorrowful expression that wouldn't lift, while Uchiha Itachi held his little brother Sasuke, who looked around curiously.

"I'm making money, so there's no need to thank me for working hard." Jialuo made a few marks on the plans, then turned to him. "Uchiha Clan Head, do you know where Kong went?"

After the Uchiha Clan settled here, Fugaku had sat down for a long talk with Uchiha Sora.

Fugaku felt that Uchiha Sora was better suited to lead the Uchiha Clan. He was still young, but the Uchiha judged everything by strength. A clan head didn't need seniority or anything like that.

Uchiha Sora had no intention of taking power from Fugaku, at least not for now.

As clan head, Fugaku might not have the vision to see the big picture, but he could still handle everyday matters, and he had considerable standing among the clan.

Uchiha Sora's plan was to take over as Uchiha Clan Head after he truly awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

As for whether he would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan...

Uchiha Sora had never doubted his own talent.

For now, letting Fugaku manage the clan while he expanded their reach outside was the more sensible arrangement.

As soon as Jialuo finished asking, Uchiha Itachi spoke up too.

"Father, is Brother Shisui with Brother Sora?"

Shisui often coached Itachi, and he hadn't seen him for a long time.

Surrounded by those close to him, Fugaku didn't see any need to hide it. "They're going to open up trade routes and bring some smaller clans into the fold."

As he spoke, a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"According to Sora, we didn't come here to live in hardship. We're going to build a village of our own!"

Without having to deal with the village leadership's schemes, Fugaku had been in better spirits lately. At least the pressure on him had eased.

But Mikoto...

She had been very close to Kushina. She still hadn't recovered from her grief, and she kept worrying about Kushina's child.

"A shinobi village..."

Jialuo's eyes lit up. "Have you decided on a name? How about Cat Shinobi Village?"

For once, Fugaku smiled more than once in a row. "That's a good idea, but we've already chosen one..."

"Once we've built up enough strength, we'll announce ourselves to the Shinobi World as the Flame Hidden Village!"

Nothing burned hotter than flame. There couldn't be a better name than Flame Hidden Village!

Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly. Though he was only six, he was mature for his age. At four, the irresponsible old man Fugaku had taken him to the battlefield.

"Father... Is it really right for us to build our own shinobi village?"

"It's not the Warring States period anymore. Our strength is in an awkward place..."

"We're stronger than many small countries, but we don't have enough power to make the great nations wary of us."

Fugaku shook his head calmly. "You're wrong, Itachi."

"We have the strength to make the great nations wary."

He folded his arms, his voice low and confident. "I have the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Sora has a summoning beast that can rival a Tailed Beast. Even if we fought head-on right now, we wouldn't fear the great nations!"

"Once your generation, you and Sasuke, grows up, there's no reason we can't become the sixth great nation of the Shinobi World!"

Once he let go of the idea, the whole world seemed to open up.

Now that Fugaku was no longer fixated on the Hokage Position, a greater ambition had taken root.

Perhaps he could do what even Madara Uchiha hadn't managed: establish a great nation belonging to the Uchiha!

Uchiha Itachi fell silent.

He had never seen his father so brimming with confidence.

He lowered his head and smiled faintly.

Perhaps this was Brother Shisui's dream, too...

Father... Shisui...

He looked down at Sasuke in his arms and made up his mind.

No matter what, I'll make sure you grow up safe and sound, Sasuke!

--

--

Night.

Beside a forest stream.

Uchiha Sora and Shisui had lit a campfire and were grilling a large fish they'd caught.

Two ordinary boys of around ten wouldn't dare do this out in the wild. They'd be liable to attract bandits or thieves.

But they were two Uchiha with awakened Sharingan. Any fool brazen enough to come after them would be asking to get served up.

No bandits showed up, but a tall, white-haired middle-aged man did.

The clack of wooden sandals sounded, followed by a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! That grilled fish smells amazing. Mind sharing some?"

Clang!

Shisui stood with his sword in hand, a flash of crimson in his eyes as he activated his Sharingan.

The man was so close, yet he hadn't sensed him at all!

He was strong!

Very strong!

Uchiha Sora activated his Sharingan too, three tomoe spiraling in his eyes.

Eye power was a form of chakra. He already had fairly good chakra control, and with the boost, he quickly adapted to the power of the Three Tomoe.

He'd first awakened his eyes the day his mother died, at just two years old.

That might have been related to the strength of his innate spiritual energy.

As time passed, he naturally awakened the Two Tomoe, then advanced again after the great battle.

In his view, awakening the Sharingan too early wasn't a good thing.

Two reincarnations of Indra, Uchiha Sasuke and Madara Uchiha, had both awakened the Three Tomoe, and even the Mangekyō, relatively late.

It might have been a kind of protective mechanism: the body had to reach a certain level before the eye power caught up.

For those like Uchiha Itachi and Shisui, who awakened too early, it placed a serious strain on their bodies.

Uchiha Itachi had developed a bloodline disease. Shisui had died young, so no aftereffects had surfaced, but there was another similar case.

Kimimaro.

His bloodline ability was also too powerful, leaving him gravely ill.

In short, the Sharingan was like an exquisitely engineered piece of software that took up too much memory. The body, its host computer, struggled to run the program.

But...

Facing the man before him, Uchiha Sora couldn't afford to worry about the cost.

Once Shisui recognized the visitor, he couldn't help tensing up. Uchiha Sora managed to stay calm, but he was ready to overdraw himself if necessary.

"It's been a long time... No, this must be our first time meeting, Lord Jiraiya."

Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin and the Fourth Hokage's teacher!

Jiraiya sat down beside the fire, his tall frame radiating an invisible pressure.

He smiled and said evenly, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not looking to fight you. It'd make too much of a scene."

"Uchiha Sora, I just want to ask you about something. Please tell me..."

"Who was the mysterious person who killed the Fourth Hokage?"