The Ninjutsu That Got Stolen

"Yan, are you sure this will work?"

Sakumo looked at the scroll in his hand, a little hesitant.

While A had been chasing Yan, Yan had used his Sharingan to copy A's Taijutsu moves. He had also taken a close look at how Chakra flowed through the Lightning Cloak.

A few days ago, after hundreds of attempts, he had finally replicated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

At Sakumo's question, Yan held out a hand and clenched his fist.

Crackle!

Arcs of electricity sprang up along his arm, and Chakra covered his body.

It was the unmistakable sign of Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

"Uncle Sakumo, don't worry. We're in the Land of Fire. What's he going to do, fly all the way here just to elbow us?"

"Kumogakure steals from everyone. It's time they learned how it feels to have something stolen."

Yan dismissed Lightning Release Chakra Mode. "Besides, we haven't included the key to the technique. That'll leave the other nations desperate to figure it out."

With that, Sakumo had no objections. He would write the article with Akito later and reveal Lightning Release Chakra Mode to the world.

"How's Kakashi?"

Yan clicked his tongue. "Uncle Sakumo, that's the fourth time you've asked. Don't worry, Kakashi's doing great. But spending too long on the battlefield might take a toll on him. Keep an eye on him when he comes back on leave."

Sakumo nodded sheepishly. He was no longer a shinobi, so he had no reason to go to the battlefield. Kakashi belonged to a mobile unit and was always on the move. This was the only way Sakumo could find out how he was doing.

Thanks to Yan's publicity, the villagers now believed Sakumo had given up being a shinobi for his comrades and the village.

Whenever they saw him, they asked after him with concern. It had shown Sakumo just how powerful publicity could be, and how easily ordinary people followed the prevailing opinion.

"Actually, Uncle Sakumo, if you really want to see Kakashi, you could apply to be a war correspondent."

Most of the company's employees were civilians. Sending them to the front lines for interviews was asking a bit much.

Besides, information traveled fast enough now for the company to report on the war promptly without doing that.

Yan had suggested it only to give Sakumo a legitimate reason to appear on the battlefield.

Sakumo's eyes lit up. "Right. It would make perfect sense for a war correspondent to be on the front lines."

"And if someone tried to stop me from conducting an interview, it would make sense for me to fight back."

"And without a map, it would make sense if I wandered into an enemy position."

"Ahem." Yan cleared his throat, cutting off Sakumo's train of thought before it carried him all the way through the enemy lines.

"You could interview Danzo more often."

They shared a knowing smile. Danzo's punishment last time had been far too light.

Sakumo was thinking he would get another chance to make someone miserable—and that someone would be Danzo.

Yan was thinking that he would kill Danzo someday. But first, there was pleasure in making him watch the Hokage Position slip farther and farther away.

Yan glanced at the clock. It was about time, so he rose and said goodbye to Sakumo.

The streets were crowded, with red lanterns hanging everywhere. For today, the shadow of war seemed to have lifted.

It was New Year's Eve.

Yan made his way against the crowd back to the clan compound, where the festive mood was just as strong.

"Big Brother Yan."

Shisui greeted him, wearing a new scarf. Big Brother Yan said strange things sometimes, but he had always treated Shisui well.

Yan patted Shisui on the head and pulled a red envelope from his clothes.

"Thank you, Big Brother Yan."

Shisui had no idea that the envelope contained a hundred ryō and a fake Explosive Tag Yan had drawn.

Yan went home and picked up the equipment he had packed.

"Be careful out there."

Mikoto gave Yan a reluctant hug. As family, she wanted him to stay at least until the day was over. As a shinobi, all she could do was watch him leave.

"Be careful out there."

Fugaku stood some distance away, his face stern, and handed Yan the scroll containing the sealed Sharingan. Once Yan left, Fugaku would be the only one left to shoulder the pressure within the clan.

Yan said goodbye to his family. At the sight, even Fugaku's stern expression softened a little.

"Brother-in-Law, remember not to take my nephew to the battlefield."

Yan had always felt that Itachi's eventual breakdown and slaughter of the clan had to have something to do with Fugaku taking him to a battlefield when he was little.

If Yan had witnessed a knife fight in kindergarten in his previous life, he probably would have withdrawn into himself forever.

Fugaku's face stiffened. He had indeed thought about taking his son to the battlefield for training once the boy could mold Chakra. Since Yan had brought it up, though, he would give the idea more careful thought.

Yan took his equipment to the village gate to meet Anko. Besides her, he found a heavyset man with plenty of white hair.

"Honestly, I never thought I'd still be leaving the village at my age."

Torifu Akimichi gave the two younger shinobi a good-natured smile.

The Third Hokage had sent him to supervise Orochimaru. As a former member of the Second Hokage's guard, Torifu was easygoing and had no interest in fighting for power.

After helping the Third Hokage secure his position, he had not stayed on as a Hokage adviser like the other three.

He had kept the title of elder and retired to the Akimichi Clan. More importantly, he had been close friends with Kagami Uchiha.

With him supervising the experiment, even the hardliners among the Uchiha Clan had no grounds to object.

"All right, let's go."

Torifu led the two younger shinobi north through the Land of Fire.

Their destination was not the front line, but a laboratory hidden among the hills.

As they traveled, Torifu observed Yan and Anko.

Hmm. They're a couple.

The young man is stronger than me. The young woman isn't quite there yet, but she's stronger than I was at her age. Hiruzen has two fine grand-students.

Yan, meanwhile, was observing this Konoha elder who had barely appeared in the original story.

The Third Hokage had not told the other elders the experiment's true purpose, but he had told Torifu everything and entrusted him with its supervision.

That showed how much the Third Hokage trusted him. Torifu probably was not Yan's enemy.

When they stopped to rest, Torifu struck up a conversation with them.

"When did you two get together? When Hiruzen and I were your age..."

Anko's face turned bright red. "We haven't..."

As she spoke, she stole a glance at Yan. He felt awkward too. He had never actually confessed his feelings to her.

At Anko's age, dating her would have landed Yan in serious trouble in his previous life.

But in this Shinobi World, lives were short. People grew up early.

Torifu saw their expressions and understood where they stood. He laughed and changed the subject.

"When we were young, we often went on secret missions like this. We couldn't talk to anyone while carrying out the mission, and it got terribly dull. So whenever we rested, we'd tell jokes. Kagami—one of your clansmen, Yan—always looked like he wanted to laugh but was trying with all his might to hold it in..."

Once Torifu started talking about Kagami Uchiha, he could not stop. He even shared embarrassing stories about both of them.

Yan and Anko listened quietly. A breeze brushed their faces, giving them a moment to breathe amid the strain of war.

"It's a shame..."

Torifu's spirits fell as he reached the end. "Kagami died. Otherwise, we could still go out for drinks and barbecue now and then. Speaking of which, alcohol is one of the three shinobi taboos. You two shouldn't drink much. I should learn from Hiruzen on that point."

Yan's eye twitched. The Third Hokage spent his days peeping through a Crystal Ball, and each of the Sannin he had trained had picked up one of the vices of lust, gambling, and drink. Yet he had the nerve to teach others about shinobi taboos.

"Elder Akimichi." Yan took a moment to find the words. "Kagami had a grandson, actually. His name is Shisui Uchiha."

Torifu's eyes lit up. "Really? That's wonderful."

A smile spread across his kindly face. "After Kagami died, one of his Sharingan went missing. The Uchiha Clan held it against us and wouldn't let us visit his widow."

"It has troubled me ever since. Now that I know this, I can finally put my mind at ease."

Torifu glanced at the sun's shadow. "Sorry. Once I start talking about the past, I can't stop. I've gone on too long. Let's get moving."

Yan and Anko stood, ready to set off again.

Yan thought for a moment, then said:

"It's all right, Elder Akimichi. I like hearing about the past, especially the time before Konoha was founded. If you get the chance, I'd love to hear more."

"Oh?" Torifu looked surprised. "I didn't expect a battle-loving Uchiha to be interested in history. But I don't know much about the time before Konoha was founded either. Smaller shinobi clans rarely kept records. If you've already read your clan's histories and want to know more, you may have to ask the Senju."

Torifu scratched his head. "Though I hear Princess Tsunade is... Well, if you'd like, I can ask Hiruzen whether he can arrange for you to meet her."

A flash of delight crossed Yan's face. "Sorry for the trouble, Elder Akimichi. I'm truly grateful."

"Haha, it's nothing. I hope learning about the past helps you understand why the First Hokage founded the village and take the Will of Fire to heart."

And please don't become a second Madara Uchiha.

Torifu silently added that last part.