New Year in Hokage (Part 1)

Once everything was settled, Ye Wuji did not dispel his shadow clones. Since a clone consumes its own chakra as long as it exists, it would vanish automatically once that chakra was depleted. Thus, he left one clone behind to monitor the area for any further developments, while the other followed behind him as he returned to Takigakure to ensure he wasn't being tracked. Regardless, these two clones hadn't wasted any life-force chakra beyond throwing a few shuriken.

Ye Wuji had originally anticipated a physical confrontation with Shennong, perhaps even fearing his identity might be exposed. He had simulated these scenarios and various other possibilities in his mind, yet in the end, none of them were needed.

In truth, the biggest issue was that Ye Wuji never had the chance to showcase his eloquence; he couldn't let Shennong know why he was destined to die. Although Ye Wuji was aware of how some villains loved to spill everything before their victory, only to be turned around by the protagonist, he couldn't help but feel a bit stifled. If you take someone out, but they die without knowing a single thing, it's quite an anticlimactic feeling, isn't it?

Ye Wuji now found himself in that very state of frustration. He had intended to let Shennong know why he was being killed—that it was for justice, to put an end to his evil—and to list all the atrocities Shennong had committed, savoring the shock on the man's face. But he never got the opportunity to play that part.

On the road back to Takigakure, Ye Wuji had to suppress this frustration several times. From this, he pondered why it was that at the end of a battle, both heroes and villains felt the need to give a speech. Of course, the heroes did it to let the villain die with closure, while the villains did it to indulge in their own sense of triumph. Even if it meant being turned around by the hero, they usually couldn't resist. Having experienced it firsthand, he realized that the frustration of not being able to speak one's mind was truly difficult to bear.

Even though Ye Wuji understood the consequences, he still felt that lingering sense of annoyance; surely others must feel the same. Fortunately, he soon shifted his focus to the gains he had made.

Even without those two scrolls, simply knowing the location of Angkor Fortress meant Ye Wuji had come out ahead. As for the scrolls, he had already tucked them away; now was not the time to examine them. With the situation mostly resolved, all that remained was to redouble his efforts to increase his own strength.

When Ye Wuji returned home, only Aunt Kei and Sister Tomomi were there. He prepared to sneak back to his room, but was caught by Aunt Kei. With no other choice, he listened to her endless lecture, nodding and agreeing the entire time.

After being scolded for over half an hour, Ye Wuji finally retreated to his room. After stowing away the items he had obtained from Shennong, he reflected on the day's events. He hadn't expected the move against Shennong to be so easy, but it served as a reminder: this was the real Naruto World, not the animated version, and not everyone was as difficult to kill as Orochimaru.

Still, today's success gave Ye Wuji a boost in confidence; at the very least, his planning had been sound, he thought to himself.

The coming period should be quite peaceful. Regardless of what happened in the outside world, it shouldn't affect him anymore. It was time to settle down and focus on improving his strength, Ye Wuji mused.

He did feel a twinge of regret. Having finally arrived in the Naruto World during this specific era, he had no way to witness the battle between the Sannin and the demigod Hanzo. This was the battle that truly made the Sannin famous, yet to preserve his own life, he had stayed far away from the battlefield. Once this battle ended, the Second Shinobi World War would effectively conclude.

Next would likely be the Third Shinobi World War. Based on what he knew, the Third War began only a few years after the Second ended. This was the war that would make Minato famous; it was through his achievements in that conflict that he would eventually rise to become the Fourth Hokage. During that time, Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho, the Inuzuka Clan, and Kakashi would all make their mark, while the once-glorious Sannin would gradually fade from the Konoha stage: Tsunade would develop hemophobia due to the death of her loved ones, Jiraiya would begin traveling the world following the Toad Sage's prophecy, and Orochimaru would slowly start his research into forbidden jutsu.

"Looking at my age, I belong to the same generation as Kakashi and Guy. I might be a bit older than Kakashi, but only by two or three years at most. That means if I want to join Konoha at this stage, my strength cannot be lacking," Ye Wuji thought as he lay on his bed, contemplating these matters.

"But with my current strength, it's probably hard to meet those requirements. And without that strength, going to Konoha seems dangerous. Konoha seems to be surrounded by enemies; the other four great nations are always attacking it. Although they haven't attacked all at once, they constantly strike individually, which is still dangerous. Who knows what dangerous figures the other four nations have? Sasori should still be in Sunagakure, Deidara might be in Iwagakure, and Kisame is in Kirigakure. As for the Land of Lightning, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki is already capable of entering the battlefield, and the Fourth Raikage is also out there."

"Good grief," Ye Wuji sat up abruptly at the thought. "When you put it that way, Kirigakure has the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Sunagakure has people like Sasori, and Iwagakure and Kumogakure both seem to have formidable individuals. Even if I don't necessarily run into them, if I did, my life wouldn't be safe. I was so focused on the powerful figures in Konoha that I forgot about the threats from the other great nations. While Konoha will surely be fine, I might not be. If I were to be killed, it wouldn't matter that I was a transmigrator."

Since it was so dangerous, it seemed safer to be a medical ninja. It appeared he would have to continue researching Shennong's medical techniques. For his own safety, he needed to bolster his strength, and to counter the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, he would need to study genjutsu as well.

"Ah, there's so much to do! I'm no genius. While dealing with those boss-level characters is the job of protagonists like Naruto, I can't afford to be too weak either." After thinking so much, Ye Wuji grew increasingly restless, so he eventually stopped thinking about it altogether. He would just let his strength progress slowly; things would work out in the end. Besides, his transmigration into the Naruto World was an accident; he wasn't here to be a savior. He didn't want to be turned into a White Zetsu by the Eye of the Moon plan—that was too disgusting. Most importantly, he hadn't even found a wife yet.

Once Ye Wuji cast these thoughts aside, he began his chakra training. That evening, when Ukyo returned with Rei and Yuta, Uncle Ukyo didn't say much, but Rei tapped Ye Wuji on the head a few times as punishment for not coming out that morning.

After dinner, Ukyo told Ye Wuji that Shennong had left some things in his room and that Ye Wuji should go retrieve them to continue his study of medical ninjutsu. As for anything else, nothing was mentioned.

Ye Wuji nodded to show he understood.

Another half-month passed in this manner. Today was the end of the year; the Naruto World also followed a twelve-month calendar, and today was the final day of the year. Tomorrow would be the start of a new one, and Ye Wuji would be seven years old. Although he hadn't been out during this time and didn't know what the atmosphere was like outside, he could see that his own home had begun decorating with lanterns and streamers days ago, showing that the New Year was highly valued here.

During this time, Ye Wuji had planned out his schedule: every morning was dedicated to researching medical ninjutsu, which helped train his fine chakra control. Although his control was already excellent—likely surpassing Sakura's—he had also begun incorporating the books Yahiko had given him and the use of chakra control threads into his medical training.

Every afternoon was spent training in taijutsu and the accuracy of his hidden weapons. As for genjutsu, he had no materials on the subject and didn't know how to train for it. At night, he practiced chakra cultivation and hand seals. He wasn't yet concerned with things like Minato's simplified hand seals or Yahiko's affairs; he would study those later. As for the scrolls he had obtained from Shennong, he was very curious about their contents—likely forbidden medical techniques—but he had no clue about sealing jutsu. From Minato to Nagato and even Fu, everyone had taught him something, but none had touched upon sealing techniques. Only in the items Konan had given him were there some simple descriptions of formations, but Ye Wuji didn't understand them at all. That would have to wait for future study.

Although today was New Year's, the date was completely different from what Ye Wuji was used to, and he had no familiar faces here. Toward the Ukyo family, he felt more respect than genuine affection. After all, if Ukyo hadn't taken him in, he didn't know what would have become of him; he might have died at the hands of that rogue Iwagakure ninja long ago.

Just as Ye Wuji was preparing to continue his training as usual, he was interrupted by Rei, who was followed by Yuta. Yuta looked grim, though it was unclear if the inexplicable hostility between them had vanished since Ye Wuji shifted his focus to medicine. Now, while they didn't have much to say to each other, they could at least exchange a few words, unlike before when they wouldn't speak at all.

"Is there something, Sister Rei? I still need to train," Ye Wuji said, smiling at Yuta before turning to Rei.

"Train? Do you even know what day it is? Can't you see that Yuta and I are here? Dad gave us the day off. Come on, accompany me to the market. It's New Year's today! My dad said we need a balance of work and rest. You're always training, and we have to train too, so now that we finally have a chance to rest, don't you want to keep your Sister Rei company?" Rei said, clenching her fists.

"I want to, of course I do! I'd be happiest accompanying you, Sister Rei," Ye Wuji said, eyeing her fists cautiously. Usually, because Rei often tapped his head, he hadn't paid much attention to how strong she was. But a few days ago, for reasons unknown, Rei had gotten angry and shattered a stone garden ornament in the courtyard with a single punch. That wasn't all—after the ornament shattered, the fragments were covered in ice.

It had terrified Ye Wuji at the time. He had wondered if Rei possessed a Kekkei Genkai, perhaps an ice-style one like Haku's. After that punch, Rei had fainted, and her hand had been wrapped in something that looked like ice, though he hadn't had a chance to examine it closely.

Aunt Kei had appeared shortly after, looking shocked. She performed a few hand seals, and a triangular object appeared in the air—whether it was condensed chakra or something else, he didn't know—and it instantly enveloped Rei. The substance on her hand then slowly transformed back into the bracelet she always wore.

From this, Ye Wuji gathered that the ice-forming effect was likely the function of the bracelet, not an innate ability of Rei's. However, he didn't know what that object was and didn't feel comfortable asking. He guessed it might be a new ninja tool manufactured by Takumi Village—only they would make something so strange—but then he thought that was impossible. If they could really make such things, every nation would be using them. Besides, the power was immense; if that punch landed on a person, they wouldn't just be torn apart—they would be frozen solid.

Since then, Rei hadn't shown any changes, and the Ukyo couple hadn't made any moves, so Ye Wuji kept the matter to himself.

Ever since that day, however, Ye Wuji had been terrified of Rei's fists. If he were accidentally hit by one, it would be a miserable way to die. Fortunately, because their training schedules differed, they rarely saw each other except at mealtimes, so he wasn't constantly afraid. After that incident, Rei seemed to realize what had happened and rarely used her fists anymore.

But looking at her now, Ye Wuji feared that if he didn't agree, she might just let him have it. While he didn't think she would actually hurt him, he still felt a chill. Plus, he was curious to see how the Naruto World celebrated the New Year, so he agreed.