Making a Name for Himself

Konoha camp.

"Mmph, I'm full. Any more and I'll burst, Anko..."

Yan, wrapped in bandages, chewed the food Anko was feeding him.

Anko stopped feeding him. Her cheeks puffed up, and she gave a loud huff.

"Now you want me to stop? Who told you to go chasing the enemy survivors alone?"

"If Jonin Minato hadn't happened to arrive with Kakashi and the others to deliver supplies, you..."

Tears welled in Anko's eyes. Half a month ago, when Minato had carried Yan back with severe injuries, his arms had been covered in blood. An examination had revealed multiple fractures.

"All right, I'm sorry, Anko. Please don't cry."

At the sight of her tears, Yan surrendered at once. He had Heartbeat Timeout, so he would outlast that damn A eventually, but he would rather not go through the pain of dying.

"Oi, Yan! You okay?"

Obito rushed into the tent and straight over to Yan. He wasn't there out of concern. Ever since he'd learned Yan's life wasn't in danger, he had kept pestering him for tips on awakening his Sharingan.

"Obito, keep your voice down! Don't disturb him while he's resting."

Rin Nohara and Kakashi followed close behind. In the year since Yan had last seen them, the three had lost some of their youthful innocence. Their eyes now held a sharpness forged on the battlefield.

"Yan, you're famous now."

Kakashi filled Yan in on what had been happening across the Shinobi World.

"Word has spread that you beat back the Third Raikage's son. Lord Orochimaru summoned Manda in a recent battle and drove off Kumogakure's counterattack. Their defensive line has pulled back inside their own borders."

Yan hadn't expected Orochimaru to be so effective. In the previous two Shinobi World Wars, Konoha had been the one getting battered back to its borders. This was the first time it had pushed the front line into another great nation's territory.

"Yeah, exactly! You're a big name now, Yan. Damn it, when will everyone learn how great the mighty Obito is?"

Obito sounded deeply frustrated. Beside him, Rin Nohara suddenly remembered something and took several folded sheets of paper and some drawing tools from her bag.

"Yan, here's what you asked me to buy."

"Rin, you're a lifesaver."

Yan eagerly took the paper and drawing tools with his right hand, a smile tugging at his lips.

A, just wait until you make a name for yourself across the Shinobi World!

The other four exchanged glances. They all knew that whenever Yan smiled like that, someone was about to suffer.

Iwagakure.

Ōnoki held the Shinobi World Daily in his hands. This issue's headline was about the Uchiha prodigy Yan beating back the Third Raikage's son.

"Hmph. Those brutes from Kumogakure have had a rough time lately."

Kitsuchi, standing before him awaiting orders, nodded. "Father, Kumogakure is on the back foot right now. Should we...?"

Ōnoki knew Kitsuchi wanted to take advantage of their troubles. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Konoha is our real threat. Now that Konoha has driven Kumogakure back into the Land of Lightning, and Sunagakure is close to pushing them into the sea on the Land of Wind front, it's time we did Kumogakure a favor."

Ōnoki gave Kitsuchi his orders. "Send someone to Kumogakure to propose an alliance. Make them pay dearly for it. In exchange, we'll attack Sunagakure!"

"Yes!"

After Kitsuchi left, Ōnoki looked at the map of the deadlocked Konoha–Iwagakure front, puzzled.

Since when did Shimura Danzō become such a coward? He hasn't taken the bait once, despite all the chances I've given him to attack...

What Ōnoki didn't know was that Danzo wasn't afraid. No one listened to him.

Though nominally the supreme commander on the Iwagakure front, Danzo had no loyal subordinates there. All he could do was carry out the Third Hokage's defensive strategy. If he tried to attack, the others—Jiraiya in particular—would oppose him.

Danzo had been seething since the war began. Fortunately, the Kumogakure front was advancing smoothly. Konoha would soon be free to turn its forces against Iwagakure.

That thought eased his anger a little.

But the headline of the Shinobi World Daily made it flare right back up.

Yan Uchiha!

Yan's growing fame infuriated him. That evil Uchiha had to be plotting something!

Worse, Orochimaru's achievements had far surpassed his own. If things went on like this, Danzo's dream of becoming Hokage would be shattered yet again.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Danzo crumpled the newspaper in his fist. Once he had calmed down a little, he called in the two Root operatives the Third Hokage had allowed him to bring.

"That bastard Hanzō still hasn't replied?"

His subordinate nodded. Danzo gave a cold snort.

"In that case, disguise yourselves as Iwagakure shinobi and slaughter people in the Land of Rain. Let's see if Hanzō can keep hiding in Amegakure and do nothing then."

Impatient, Danzo wanted to draw Hanzō into an attack on Iwagakure. As for whether he could offer anything in exchange, Danzo could only say it was all for the village. Hiruzen would understand.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzō had been full of confidence, leading a small nation into war against the great powers. Unfortunately, that war had beaten every ounce of courage out of him. Now he stayed shut away in Amegakure. He had avoided Danzo's repeated invitations, and even the Shinobi World Daily couldn't get into the village.

A month later, Sunagakure took advantage of Kumogakure's withdrawal of troops to defend its homeland. With Rasa leading the charge, they advanced almost unopposed. Just as they were about to drive Kumogakure into the sea, Iwagakure declared war on Sunagakure!

"Tch. That old bastard Ōnoki..."

Rasa looked at the intelligence in his hand and sighed. He ordered a retreat, allowing Kumogakure's forces to withdraw completely from the Land of Wind.

Kumogakure had preserved its main force, but things were hardly going well for them.

For one thing, they still couldn't drive Konoha out of the Land of Lightning, and the Daimyo was growing dissatisfied.

For another, there was Playboy Ninja...

"Bastard!"

The Third Raikage slammed a copy of Playboy Ninja onto the table.

Bang!

The table shattered under the blow, and even Playboy Ninja was reduced to scraps.

"Who the hell is doing this?"

The young A watched his furious father, his own expression dark.

Recent issues of Playboy Ninja had serialized several comics starring the two of them.

Titles included "The Raikage Father and Son's Midnight Raid on Widow Village," "A and the Noble Lady: Two or Three Things Best Left Unsaid," and "The Third Raikage Takes On Three Hundred Kunoichi"...

They portrayed the father and son as men who had revitalized Kumogakure through their prowess in bed. Every installment even gave them a full-page illustration of their brazen grins.

It was as though the only reason the two of them existed was to make people howl with laughter...

And as if the women weren't bad enough, the Raikage father and son in the comics even went after men.

The comics had done enormous damage to their reputations, yet they were surprisingly popular.

People secretly bought copies even after they were banned.

Worse, a whole smuggling operation had sprung up around them. Now the Raikage father and son were losing both face and money.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all, Yan Uchiha, lay comfortably in bed, eating grapes Anko held to his lips.

"Yan, your injuries have healed already, haven't they?"

Anko eyed him suspiciously. Yan met her gaze without flinching.

"How could they have? The future Raikage hit me with a vicious elbow. There's no way I'd heal that fast."

Anko was right. Yan had recovered. But because the young A had put him in bed for half a month, he hadn't been able to do his daily training tasks.

Aside from the fifty Gold Coins he'd gotten from the young A, Yan hadn't earned a single one.

By the time he healed, the mobile unit Team Minato had already left, and Yan had no one to earn Gold Coins from.

So Yan decided to take it easy. He couldn't even be bothered with his daily tasks.

"But..."

Before Anko could say more, a white snake slithered onto the table and flicked out its tongue.

"Teacher wants both of us."

Anko understood the snake's signal. She grabbed Yan and pulled him toward Orochimaru's laboratory.

Forced out of his comfortable bed, Yan arrived at Orochimaru's laboratory.

"Yan, Anko, take a look."

The two followed Orochimaru's gaze to the Culture Dish. One glance was enough to make Yan recoil with a hiss.

When did you get your hands on Hashirama Cells again, Orochimaru?