Chapter 28

To be precise, the information on the stone tablet he had brought back was real.

Jiraiya could no longer sit still.

His face changed completely.

But Uchiha Yi felt that still was not enough, so he prepared to drive the knife in deeper. "Lord Third, I just took another look with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Some new information has appeared on the tablet."

"What information?"

"About the Divine Tree. The tablet says that the so-called Divine Tree is actually the Ten-Tails. The current One-Tails through Nine-Tails were all split off from the Ten-Tails back then."

What?

The three of them were stunned speechless.

Uchiha Yi did not stop. He directly laid out all the contents on the tablet that Black Zetsu had tampered with.

Including the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

When they heard that the Infinite Tsukuyomi required gathering all nine tailed beasts to activate, Jiraiya's face went pale. "I heard outside about an organization called Akatsuki that seems to be capturing tailed beasts everywhere. Could it be..."

"No need for 'could it be.' Someone is definitely pulling strings behind the scenes, planning to revive the Ten-Tails, plant the Divine Tree again, and create a new ancestor of chakra!"

Uchiha Yi spoke with absolute certainty. "And someone in that organization most likely possesses the Rinnegan."

Th-this was the kind of situation that could wipe out the entire ninja world.

There was simply too much information.

The Third and Jiraiya both felt their heads throbbing.

Even Kakashi had stopped rolling his dead-fish eyes. He stood there, completely frozen.

Seeing their reaction, Uchiha Yi quietly let out a breath inwardly.

Damn, bluffing really isn't my strong suit. I'm exhausted.

At that moment, he could not help wondering just what kind of silver tongue Naruto had used to convince so many opponents so thoroughly.

He had put in so much effort just to barely make the Third and the others believe him.

This is mentally exhausting!

"None of you are allowed to spread this matter. Leave these two stone tablets with me for now."

After a long while, the Third finally spoke. "Yes!"

Uchiha Yi and Kakashi answered in unison. "By the way, Jiraiya, that disciple of yours... investigate his background yourself."

"Understood. I'll leave immediately!"

Jiraiya left with a troubled expression. "Kakashi, go back and recover from your injuries first."

Although he had recovered from the trauma of Tsukuyomi, Kakashi had forced himself to try using the Mangekyo Sharingan just now. He was nearly completely drained.

After Kakashi left, the Third turned to Uchiha Yi with a satisfied expression. "Yi, you did well. It seems the title of special jonin no longer matches your current strength."

"How about this? I'll assign you a mission. Once you return, you'll be a jonin."

The Third did not give Uchiha Yi any chance to refuse and directly assigned the mission. "Go bring Tsunade back."

What?

He wanted him to bring Tsunade back?

He sighed.

He had only just returned, and now he had to head out again.

Uchiha Yi glanced toward the Hokage Tower, feeling rather stifled.

He wanted him to bring Tsunade back?

Could that possibly work?

He was from the Uchiha Clan, and he was supposed to go find that violent woman?

Was he asking to get beaten up?

No.

Thinking it over carefully, with his current strength, Tsunade probably could not beat him anymore.

Uchiha Yi suddenly understood—old man Third had probably taken a liking to his abilities and tossed this job to him. "Fine. I'll go."

With a wave of his hand, he turned and went home.

The Third had told him to leave tomorrow, so he could at least rest for one night.

But not long afterward, Uchiha Yi set out ahead of schedule.

He had originally wanted to say goodbye to Hinata, but she had not returned from her mission yet.

What?

Go find Naruto?

Uchiha Yi decided to forget it. He did not want to learn that talk-no-jutsu nonsense. He truly could not handle it.

He might as well go out and wander around.

That afternoon, Uchiha Yi left the village.

When the news reached the Third, the old man nodded approvingly. "Not bad. The boy has the village at heart. I told him to leave tomorrow, but he set off today. He knows what matters."

Finding Tsunade was not difficult for Uchiha Yi.

After all, to find this gambling goddess, all he had to do was head into **.

Interestingly enough, after entering **, Uchiha Yi suddenly discovered a way to make a fortune.

The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan's perception was right there. Even the ** that blocked chakra could not hide anything from his eyes.

Bet once, win once.

He won every time.

He truly did not lack money.

But Koyuki, the princess of the Land of Snow, did.

As the one in charge of the Land of Snow, Koyuki had gained control over the entire nation with Uchiha Yi's help.

But that man named Doto had been obsessed with researching Chakra Armor, leaving the Land of Snow's finances in complete shambles.

Chakra Armor could indeed make money.

But developing it required a terrifying investment, and the return cycle was long.

Tsunade, one of Konoha's Three Sannin, was actually not difficult to find.

As long as he kept an eye on the entrances to ** around various places, he would eventually catch this big sister.

By coincidence, the first time Uchiha Yi stepped through the doors of **, he discovered an excellent way to make money.

The eyes of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could actually see through the specially made chakra-blocking protective barrier on the gambling tables.

The dealer's cards were practically transparent in his eyes.

Bet big, and it was big. Bet small, and it was small.

He did not lack money, but that ** Koyuki did!

** Koyuki had now taken control of the entire Land of Snow with Uchiha Yi backing her, wielding immense authority.

But that lunatic named ** Doto had poured an unknown amount of money into researching Chakra Armor, draining the treasury dry long ago.

The Land of Snow could indeed make money by selling armor.

But even the lowest-grade armor cost a frightening amount to produce.

What was more, Uchiha Yi had no intention of letting the Land of Snow sell such high-end goods.

He was considering making a batch of ordinary models, enough to raise a genin's strength to the level of a chunin.

But mass-producing such things required burning money on research and development.

Where would the research funds come from?

** Koyuki had always put on a brave front and never mentioned being short of money, but Uchiha Yi knew perfectly well.

He had originally been considering sneaking into some rich man's treasury and helping himself to a little silver.

But when he discovered that the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could see through the protective barrier of **, his thoughts completely changed.

Making money at the gambling tables with these eyes?

He did not feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

Still, an image occasionally flashed through his mind—the spirits of the Uchiha Clan's ancestors were probably crying in the heavens from anger.

Of course, things did not go smoothly every time.

A few times, after he won money, the ** owners lost their temper and called people over to make a move.

The result was simple: the bigger fist had the final say.

Not only did Uchiha Yi smash the place up in return, he also made those people suffer. In the end, under the pretext of demanding compensation, he cleaned out the entire **.

After that, every night when he returned to the Land of Snow, he carried a heavy bag of money in his hand.

Every time ** Koyuki saw that silver, her eyes lit up.

When she was happy, then at night, naturally...

Uchiha Yi was happy too.

That was right. Looking for people outside during the day did not interfere with anything, but whenever it was time to eat, he directly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the Land of Snow.

He absolutely never spent the night elsewhere.

This was a life of pure comfort.

That carefree life lasted for a full half month.

Finally, he caught Tsunade in a small town.

The scene was rather comical.

Tsunade was dragging Shizune along, with the little pig Tonton in her arms, as a group of debt collectors chased them through the streets.

One look told Uchiha Yi that this legendary Sannin had once again piled up a mountain of debt.

This was hardly news anymore.

When he sat down in a small tavern and paid Tsunade's debts for her, he silently did the math.

Good lord, a full thirty-five million ryo!

That was exactly enough to buy Asuma's head.

Huh?

A strange thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—why did he keep using Asuma's head as a unit of measurement?

"Hey, kid, what do you want from me?"

Tsunade's words yanked him straight out of his wild thoughts.

Kid?

Uchiha Yi's mouth twitched.

I'll endure it!

He knew that old man Third's health was getting worse and worse. He was anxious to find a **, which was why he wanted Tsunade brought back.

In the Third's eyes, the first choice for Fifth Hokage was Jiraiya.

That old man had probably mentioned it to Jiraiya long ago.

But with Jiraiya's freewheeling nature, he had surely refused without hesitation.

Tsunade took a swig of wine, her eyes **. "I'll be honest with you. I heard what happened in Konoha long ago. So what? What does it have to do with me?"

Her tone carried drunkenness, but also a streak of stubbornness.

Uchiha Yi watched her for a few seconds and knew this woman would not be easy to persuade. "Lady Tsunade, Lord Third sent me to ask you to return to the village."

"No."

Just as he had expected.

He had long anticipated that reaction. Since the normal approach would not work, he changed tactics. "Something major happened in Konoha recently. You heard about it, right?"

Tsunade shook the wine flask in her hand and gave a mocking laugh. "Who hasn't heard about something that big? What, you think I'll go back just because I know?"

She curled her lips dismissively.

Uchiha Yi was in no hurry, his voice as calm as plain water. "The Third wants you to return because he intends to have you take over as Hokage."

"What?" Tsunade froze for a moment.

The next second, she burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking. "Hokage? Whoever wants it can have it. I'm not interested."

Her reaction was exactly as Uchiha Yi had predicted. He sighed inwardly—he truly was not good at talk-no-jutsu.

If that brat Naruto were here, he would probably have Tsunade crying as she reminisced about her youth by now.

But right now, the expression on Tsunade's face clearly spelled out two words: "contempt." "Lady Tsunade, no matter what you think, you're coming with me."

"I'm not."

"You really won't?"

"** I won't."

Uchiha Yi nodded, and his tone suddenly sank. "Then fine—pay back the thirty-five million ryo you owe me first."

The wine flask in Tsunade's hand stopped.

Shizune stared from the side in surprise. "Kid, don't talk nonsense. You paid that money willingly. I didn't force you."

"Heh heh."

Uchiha Yi simply looked at her and said nothing more.

Tsunade felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but she still gritted her teeth and refused to yield. "I'm not going back. I'll repay your money sooner or later."

"..."

Shizune could not help secretly glancing at Tsunade—this was the first time she had ever heard Lady Tsunade say the words "repay money."