The Strange Fall of Uzushio Village

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I can't help it. You've already picked nearly all the promising kids. Finding students who can keep pace with Minato won't be easy.

"Besides, I've never believed that civilian ninja are bound to fall behind ninja from clans. What they lack are resources and opportunities."

Uchiha Yi pursed his lips at Jiraiya's words but said nothing.

For ordinary ninja and ordinary clans, Jiraiya had a point. People like Jiraiya and Guy had reached the limits of what ordinary humans could achieve.

Once Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, he was indeed somewhat stronger than the average Kage.

But few ordinary ninja could reach that level, especially compared with the absurd strength of those Uchiha and Senju outliers.

Of course, without Indra's and Asura's Chakra, even the Senju and Uchiha might not have been much stronger than ordinary ninja.

The midsize clans might look powerful, but much of their strength came from what they had inherited. The secret techniques of an ordinary clan could be dangerous, but Jiraiya was confident he could train Minato Namikaze to rival those clans' geniuses. He might even catch up to Uchiha Yi.

If Uchiha Yi hadn't had his own unfair advantage, things might really have gone as Jiraiya imagined. At his peak, Minato Namikaze could have won even against someone with the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But Uchiha Yi was no ordinary Uchiha anymore. He was confident he could one day stand alongside Madara Uchiha, or even surpass him.

For an ordinary Uchiha, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan was already extraordinarily difficult. Obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was harder still.

But Uchiha Yi had the Battle Space. If he could fight a few more Uchiha there, obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan someday wasn't impossible.

And if he kept improving his constitution, he might even gain a Mangekyō Sharingan that would never go blind, like Indra's. His Eye Power might rival the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's while he was still at the Mangekyō Sharingan stage.

"Shibi Aburame is actually quite strong. Beating him takes some effort. A lot of people overlook him, but I think he's the toughest opponent at school.

"He has a good temperament, too. He'd be a dependable teammate," Uchiha Yi added out of the blue.

"Shibi Aburame? The young heir of the Aburame Clan?" Jiraiya looked startled. He really had forgotten about Shibi Aburame. Why had he overlooked him?

Tsunade said pointedly, "The Aburame Clan is one of Konoha's major clans, though they've always kept a low profile. He would indeed make a reliable teammate."

"Is that so?" Jiraiya looked thoughtfully at Minato Namikaze. He did want to train three civilian disciples, but finding a few capable teammates for Minato would be good too.

Should I take a closer look at Shibi Aburame when we get back?

"Oh, right. There's a civilian student in our class named Kizashi Haruno," Nawaki said, joining in with a recommendation of his own. "He has good Chakra control, solid fundamentals, and the highest theory grades in our class."

Nawaki couldn't understand why Jiraiya was so set on civilian ninja, but he could at least suggest a classmate.

"Kizashi Haruno? I'll remember the name." Jiraiya ruffled Nawaki's hair. He wasn't going to take someone on as a disciple just because Uchiha Yi and Nawaki recommended him. He would have to assess them himself.

Uchiha Yi, meanwhile, wore an odd expression. He hadn't expected Nawaki to recommend Kizashi Haruno to Jiraiya.

In the Tsukuyomi World, Kizashi Haruno seemed to have become Hokage...

But that had only been an illusion. As far as Yi remembered, Kizashi Haruno was just an ordinary Genin. He hadn't expected the man to have solid fundamentals and good Chakra control, much less the highest theory grades in his class.

So Sakura Haruno had inherited all those strengths.

"Also, Hyuga Hiashi won't be joining our squad," Tsunade added. "Instead, we're getting a child from the Main Family named Hyuga Rinka."

Orochimaru quickly worked out why, and an amused look crossed his face. "To protect their future Clan Leader? The Hyuga Clan hasn't changed at all.

"They have an excellent inheritance and a powerful bloodline, yet they've never produced a truly formidable fighter."

"That isn't true," Mito Uzumaki countered. "The Hyuga Clan has faced crises several times, and each time they made it through.

"The most recent was about a century ago, when they went to war with the Hagoromo Clan. The Hyuga Clan was at a disadvantage at first, but their Clan Leader unleashed tremendous power and killed many of the Hagoromo Clan's strongest fighters. He died not long after the war, but the strength he displayed then must have surpassed the Kage level."

"What? Surpassed the Kage level?" Everyone turned to look at her.

None of them had expected the Hyuga Clan to have had someone so powerful.

"I think I've heard of him. Was it Hyuga Tennin?" A storm surged through Uchiha Yi's mind. The Hyuga Clan might have reduced the Byakugan to a joke these days, but it was formidable. Even setting aside the Tenseigan that would emerge in the future, the original Byakugan was standard among the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Compare Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan with the Hyuga Clan's, and it was obvious the latter had deteriorated. They had turned top-tier equipment into a pair of binoculars.

The Hyuga really are hopeless!

Still, the Hyuga Clan might have had a way to create a Tenseigan temporarily. The Clan Leader's death could have been the result of the backlash.

How could an ordinary ninja withstand the backlash from a Tenseigan?

Mito Uzumaki was somewhat surprised that Uchiha Yi knew the name. "I didn't expect you to know about Hyuga Tennin.

"He was a legend even in our time.

"But how could a clan that has endured for a thousand years be ordinary?"

There was one thing Mito Uzumaki couldn't understand. The Uzumaki Clan also had a thousand-year history. While its combined strength couldn't match the Five Great Nations, it shouldn't have been wiped out so quickly.

Konoha hadn't even had a chance to send help.

Besides, the Uzumaki Clan had trump cards of its own. Push them far enough, and they could have taken several villages' Kage down with them.

Yet as things stood, it seemed none of the villages' Kage had died. Something unforeseen had likely happened to the Uzumaki Clan.

Kagami Uchiha's sacrifice only lent more weight to that possibility.

But who in the Ninja Villages could have done such a thing?