Burning Ambition

Only Yatsuhashi and the sleeping Anko remained in the room.

Yatsuhashi looked down at the girl's peaceful sleeping face in his arms,

then glanced out at the deep darkness beyond the window, his heart a jumble of emotions.

After laying Anko down on the bed,

Yatsuhashi finally took out the spoils from this mission.

A culture of First Hokage cells

Looking at the scroll he had recovered, Yatsuhashi couldn't help but smile wryly.

Orochimaru had given him this scroll back then.

Later, Danzo had taken it from him,

and now, after all those twists and turns, it had returned to his hands.

Back in the laboratory, besides being sent by Danzo to deal with the Anbu investigation ordered by the Hokage,

Tenzō had also been tasked with guarding this crucial culture of First Hokage cells.

After all, important things naturally had to be entrusted to the strongest person.

What Danzo hadn't expected was that

Tenzō would be successfully turned by Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Not only had he willingly left Root,

he had also handed over the culture of First Hokage cells entrusted to him by a Root jonin in the laboratory.

Back then, although he had successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan with a dose of First Hokage Cell Serum,

he hadn't awakened the Wood Release he envied.

Yatsuhashi clearly remembered

how the First, Hashirama Senju,

had suppressed Madara Uchiha and his sidekick, the Nine-Tails, with Wood Release alone.

Yatsuhashi couldn't possibly ignore that kind of power.

Now that he had recovered the scroll,

it was as if the heavens themselves were helping him awaken the First's Wood Release.

Otherwise, it would truly be a terrible waste.

He knew that such behavior could bring divine retribution.

With that in mind, Yatsuhashi began planning how to return to the laboratory.

After Orochimaru defected, his access to the laboratory had been revoked.

Now that he was an Anbu member, a direct subordinate of the Hokage,

his standing in the village went without saying.

Although everyone in the village was a ninja, there were clear ranks among them.

For example, Chunin instructed Genin, while jonin led Chunin.

As a member of the Hokage's Anbu, he could already give orders to ordinary jonin in the village.

Not only did he want to enter the laboratory,

he even ambitiously imagined that one day he would build one of his own, just like Danzo,

and finally free himself from being at the mercy of others.

With that settled, Yatsuhashi finally had time to think about how he could improve his strength next.

In his mind, besides the path of Wood Release, there were two others.

One was naturally to upgrade his Mangekyō Sharingan into the Rinnegan,

which required the chakra of Indra and Asura.

After all, just the Asura Chakra in the First Hokage cells had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.

If he added Indra's chakra,

Yatsuhashi was confident he could awaken the powerful Rinnegan.

The other path was his unique ocular technique, Return to Basics.

In Yatsuhashi's view,

all he needed was an enormous amount of chakra to gain unparalleled power.

And a huge amount of chakra naturally meant a Tailed Beast.

Besides, judging by when Minato Namikaze became Hokage,

the Nine-Tails' rampage was about to happen, which was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for him.

Thinking of a Tailed Beast reminded Yatsuhashi of Sealing Techniques.

The village had Sealing Techniques.

Yatsuhashi secretly resolved

to look into how to get the chance to study Sealing Techniques in the village tomorrow.

There was another option that Yatsuhashi had automatically dismissed:

Sage Mode, which harnessed Natural Energy.

Not only were the three sacred sites difficult to find,

but the side effects of Natural Energy were also not to be underestimated.

Together, those two factors made Yatsuhashi put Sage Mode aside for the time being.

As Yatsuhashi pondered, morning arrived before he knew it.

Having gone without sleep all night, he helplessly looked at Anko, who was sleeping soundly in his bed.

Her breathing was even, and a faint smile lingered at the corner of her mouth.

Who knew what sort of lovely dream she was having?

Yatsuhashi glanced at the sunrise on the horizon.

He planned to go out and take care of the Iburi Clan first.

But just as he was about to leave, Anko turned over on the bed and drowsily woke up.

"Yatsuhashi... where are you going?"

There was an indescribable fondness in her voice.

Looking at the blushing Anko before him,

Yatsuhashi suddenly had a bad feeling.

Orochimaru had said something about distorted memories before leaving.

Yatsuhashi had forgotten to ask which memories had been distorted.

When Yatsuhashi didn't answer,

Anko got up and coiled around him like a snake.

"W-wait a second!" Yatsuhashi went rigid.

He could clearly feel how unusually soft Anko's body was.

Was that the result of practicing snake-style ninjutsu for a long time?

"What's wrong?"

Anko mumbled, her cheeks flushed and her eyes brimming with a suggestive look.

As she spoke, she continued coiling herself around Yatsuhashi.

"Ahem... ahem."

Just as the two of them were tussling, a hesitant cough came from the doorway.

Yukimi stood awkwardly outside, both hands clamped over her eyes,

but the two little fingers she had spread apart gave her away, leaving a narrow gap.

Through it, her wide eyes openly stared with curiosity

at Anko, transformed into a snake and wrapped tightly around Yatsuhashi.

"Ah!"

Anko's face instantly turned bright red. She released him in a flash,

then darted back under the covers, leaving only half her head showing.

Since Yatsuhashi had already told her the night before that he would bring Yukimi's people to the village today,

she said softly, "Then you go take care of things first..."

Seeing that Anko had no intention of leaving,

Yatsuhashi was dumbfounded. What was going on?

All he could do was shake his head helplessly

and hurry out of this awkward situation with Yukimi in tow.

As Anko prepared to go back to sleep,

she was surprised to find that not only did her body feel much lighter,

but her chakra was also more abundant than before.

After just one night, Anko could feel that her strength had increased considerably.

Anko pondered,

Could this be the paired training mentioned in Make-Out Paradise?

In the same room, Anko secretly made up her mind, too.

She had to find another chance to test it.

After another busy half-day,

Gota and the others finally arrived in prosperous Konoha.

The Fourth Hokage's promise wasn't just empty words.

It was also proof of the Iburi Clan's identity.

Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, the gate guards, carried out a routine inspection, then smiled and let them pass.

"So this is... Konoha?"

For a people who had spent years living in a damp, dark cave,

the bustling streets before them brought tears to the eyes of many members of the Iburi Clan.

They had found a new home.

"Lord Yatsuhashi!"

Gota excitedly led every member of the clan in kneeling before Yatsuhashi.

"On behalf of the Iburi Clan, I thank you for giving us a new life!"

Without anyone realizing it, the Iburi Clan had begun addressing Yatsuhashi with honorifics.

This was not only their heartfelt awe of him, but also a sign of their respect for his standing.

Gota looked over the land, his eyes shining with a light he had never shown before.

Although the Iburi Clan were physically frail and had spent years hiding in caves,

they possessed a talent no one else could match:

an extraordinary ability to sense underground veins and minerals.

It was a survival skill their clan had developed over time.

"Lord Yatsuhashi, look!" Gota pointed toward the Forest of Death in the distance.

"An incredibly rich mineral vein lies beneath that forest. If the quality is good, it'll be perfect for making all kinds of ninja tools."

It turned out that the Forest of Death's unusual terrain concealed vast mineral resources underground.

That was unexpected.

And with the sixty thousand ryo Yatsuhashi had provided,

Gota was brimming with confidence. "Wonderful! This place will surely become the starting point for the Iburi Clan's revival."

Except for Tenzō,

the entire Iburi Clan was filled with hope.

He had always believed he was burdened with a dark destiny,

the savior destined to rescue the Iburi Clan.

But before this supposed savior could do anything,

Yatsuhashi had already helped the Iburi Clan live in the light.

For a time, this left him feeling dejected.

Gota placed a hand on his head and thanked Yatsuhashi once more.

"Lord Yatsuhashi, on behalf of the Iburi Clan, I thank you again."

Seeing the Iburi Clan's confidence rekindled, Yatsuhashi felt a little comforted.