Postwar Reconstruction! The Third Hokage's Funeral and a New Power

The brutal Chunin Exams came to an end amid a sudden war.

The Sound Ninja and Hidden Sand Village allied forces brought by Orochimaru had retreated, but what they left Konoha was ruined streets and countless corpses. In particular, the death of the Third Hokage in battle plunged what had once been the greatest village in the ninja world into immense panic.

Two days later.

The sky was gloomy, and a drizzling autumn rain beat down on every corner of Konoha. On Hokage Rock, the Third Hokage's face carved into the stone was washed bright by the rain, as if it were weeping.

The entire village was dressed in mourning.

All the Konoha ninja and civilians had changed into black mourning clothes, lining up in a long procession before the Memorial Stone. Suppressed sobs drifted through the air. Tsunade was absent, and Nara Shikaku, wearing two dark circles under his eyes, stood in as temporary administrative proxy, holding the eulogy as he read out the achievements of the Third Hokage's life.

Naruto crouched beneath a tree at the very back of the crowd. Usually the noisiest of them all, today he bit his lip hard, tears mixing with rainwater as they rolled down in huge drops.

And on the rooftop of the Hokage Building, several dozen meters away from the mourning crowd.

Yuan wore that black trench coat, washed clean but still torn in several places, and leaned against the railing. He was not wearing mourning clothes, and he held a pilfered apple in his hand, taking bites from it.

When several patrolling Anbu saw him, they were so frightened they quickly lowered their heads and sped up, not even daring to look twice. The current Yuan was an even more terrifying deterrent in Konoha than Orochimaru. Everyone knew that on the day Konoha collapsed, this fiend had slaughtered an entire street with a single blade, then beaten Orochimaru until not even his skin was left.

"The old man is dead. Tsunade still hasn't taken over everything." At some point, Shikaku had walked onto the rooftop. Standing at a safe distance three meters from Yuan, he spoke with a wry smile. "If you want to take over the village's power, no one can stop you now."

Yuan casually tossed the apple core he had gnawed clean downstairs.

"Hokage? That useless position where you sit in an office approving documents every day and still have to compromise in the end?" Yuan swept Shikaku a mocking glance. "Whoever likes it can take it. I have no interest in protecting people like you. I only want revenge. I only want that old dog Danzo's head. Don't disgust me with your village's greater good."

Shikaku let out a breath of relief. As long as Yuan did not seize power at this opportunity, Konoha would have a sliver of room to breathe.

"I've already had the supplies and construction materials sent over to the Uchiha side. I didn't put it through the Anbu accounts, but through direct logistics approval." Shikaku hurriedly made his stance clear. "As for the Uchiha matter... right now, one less problem is one less problem."

Yuan gave a satisfied cold snort, turned, and leaped down from the rooftop. In a few movements, he vanished into the curtain of rain.

At the same time, in the Old Uchiha Clan Compound.

Unlike the deathly grief in the village center, the atmosphere here was bustling with energy.

Aunt Mihui's right arm was wrapped in bandages. She had been cut there the day before yesterday while resisting the Sand ninja. But the wound had already scabbed over. She stood in the muddy water at the center of the square, directing dozens of surviving clansmen.

"Li Zhu, carry that newly delivered batch of ironwood over there! Reinforce the southern wall, and extend the defensive line another two meters outward!"

"Aunties, put away the military ration pills that were just issued. Don't be reluctant to eat them! Repaint the clan compound gate!"

The Anbu who had knelt and begged for mercy beneath the Hokage Building had long since cleared out completely. The large quantity of construction materials Shikaku had sent over was piled up like a small mountain. Mihui knew better than anyone that none of this was Konoha's charity. Yuan had carved it out with his blade.

They absolutely could not let this clan compound be stepped into at will again like some torn sack.

Inside a row of large, newly repaired single-story houses beside the square.

Sasuke was bare-chested, and the curse mark on his neck had already been forcibly suppressed by Yuan. Holding kunai in both hands, he hurled them madly at the targets. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—each one nailed the bull's-eye with precision. Sweat flowed down his young back, which already had lines of muscle.

"Your wrist is too stiff when you apply force."

Yuan pushed the door open and walked in, kicking Sasuke in the calf. "Throwing hidden weapons isn't about brute force. You have to send chakra out along your fingers. Your accuracy is fine against a fixed target, but against a jonin, one Body Flicker from them and you'll be left eating dust."

Sasuke staggered from the kick but made no sound. He turned his head to look at Yuan, his gaze resolute.

"Brother Yuan, teach me that lightning blade technique." Sasuke gritted his teeth. "I want to become stronger. Whether it's Itachi or that Orochimaru... I'm going to trample them underfoot too!"

Looking at the kid's eyes, Yuan rubbed his hair in satisfaction.

"Fine. Starting tomorrow, I'll personally train you in taijutsu. But I'll say the ugly part first: if it hurts so much that you cry out, I'll hang you upside down from the water tower."

After handling the clan compound's affairs, Yuan returned to his own separate inner room. He sat cross-legged on the tatami, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into his mind.

[System settlement panel opened]

[Current total rage points: 2300!]

[Stored chakra fragments: green ×1500, purple ×1200, orange (Orochimaru) ×15.]

"System, prioritize using the purple fragments to strengthen my physical cell resistance and widen my meridians. Use the rest to make up for the Mangekyo Sharingan's consumption and repair it." Yuan immediately issued the order.

A warm current instantly coursed through his entire body. The faint cellular stinging caused by repeatedly activating Susanoo and the Mangekyo Sharingan completely vanished. Yuan's muscle fibers became as flexible and tough as steel wire.

[Strengthening complete. Current physical strength can perfectly withstand prolonged Mangekyo Sharingan ocular power consumption.]

Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and clenched both fists. Feeling the surging, roaring power inside him, the corners of his mouth lifted. The current him, even against a true peak Kage-level opponent, could tear the other party in half with pure physical strength alone.

Just as Yuan was about to test his newly strengthened power.

The system panel suddenly flashed with blinding red light!

[Warning! Detected peak S-rank chakra fluctuations entering Konoha Village range!]

[Identity confirmed: one of the Legendary Sannin, the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!]

Yuan sat on the tatami, his gaze passing through the window toward the village entrance.

"Beat the young one, and the old one finally can bear to come back?" Yuan rubbed his chin. "Toad Sage... things are getting more and more interesting."