The Uchiha Clan is a blade-you must know how to wield it

Tobirama stood up, patted Hiruzen Sarutobi on the shoulder, and spoke.

"Monkey, do you know why I managed to come back alive from Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"

"Because your strength is extraordinary, Sensei. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were no match for you."

"Heh, do you even believe that yourself? If my strength really were extraordinary, would I have needed to send you ahead and stay behind to cover your retreat?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his mouth and said nothing more. In truth, ever since the day Tobirama returned to Konoha alive, they had been wondering what had happened back then.

After all, if their teacher really could have beaten Kinkaku and Ginkaku with certainty, things would not have unfolded that way.

But Tobirama was their teacher, and more importantly, the village's Second Hokage.

Since Tobirama had not volunteered to tell them what had happened, none of them had dared to ask.

"Then, Sensei, what exactly happened?"

Tobirama took a deep breath.

"Monkey, just as I was about to be surrounded, I ran into someone."

"Someone?! Reinforcements from the village? No, that's unlikely. Or was it someone from the Cloud Shadow?"

Tobirama rejected every answer Hiruzen Sarutobi suggested.

"It was an old acquaintance of mine, Uchiha Izuna."

"Uchiha! Izuna!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened instantly, disbelief written all over his face.

"How is that possible, Sensei?! Uchiha Izuna, Madara Uchiha's younger brother! But wasn't he already dead?"

"Yes, Izuna died long ago. I killed him before the village was founded."

Tobirama's gaze grew somewhat distant.

"But he really did appear before me then. He helped me defeat the Cloud Shadow and kill Kinkaku and Ginkaku. He even took the Six Paths Treasured Tools they had with them."

"How is that possible?! How could that happen? How could a dead man come back to life?"

Tobirama was puzzled as well.

"Indeed. How could someone who died truly come back to life? And yet, Izuna was there."

"Sensei, could someone have been impersonating Izuna?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi offered his own theory.

"I suspected that myself at first. But let me ask you, Monkey: have you ever met Izuna?"

At Tobirama's question, Sarutobi shook his head.

"Do you know anything about Izuna?"

Sarutobi shook his head again.

"Other than Madara Uchiha, who is already dead, do you think anyone knows Izuna better than I do?"

"Uh, probably not."

"Yes, probably not."

As longtime rivals, Tobirama and Izuna had fought each other for years. Tobirama could confidently declare that he, Tobirama Senju, understood Izuna better than Uchiha Izuna understood himself.

Yet even with that knowledge, he had noticed nothing amiss.

If he had to name something, Izuna seemed to have grown weaker. The only ninjutsu he used was Fire Release, and his Sharingan had only three tomoe.

But all of that could be explained by Izuna having only just returned to life, with his strength not yet fully recovered.

There was one other thing that could prove the man was Izuna.

He had left a Flying Thunder God Mark on Izuna at the time, but after Izuna departed, his ability to sense that mark vanished.

Clearly, the other man knew about that trick and had been on guard against it all along.

How could an ordinary person notice the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left? Only a resurrected Izuna would likely be wary of it. After all, Tobirama had killed him the last time.

"Monkey, I'm telling you all this because, if I die someday, you must keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan."

"Sensei!"

Tobirama Senju looked out the window and spoke.

"If I die someday, you will be the next Hokage. When that time comes, I hope you won't push the Uchiha Clan too hard.

The Uchiha Clan is a blade. You must know how to wield it.

If you push too hard, that blade could very well cut you. Besides, there's no telling when Uchiha Izuna might return. I'm afraid you won't be a match for him then."

Tobirama scarcely dared imagine how terrifying Izuna would be once his strength recovered: a nearly undying body, the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Six Paths Blades, and astonishing Sealing Jutsu on top of it all.

Even if Tobirama regained his peak strength now, he could not guarantee that he could kill Izuna again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood what his teacher meant. He feared that Hiruzen would push the Uchiha Clan too hard and cause a conflict with the village.

If it were only the Uchiha Clan as it stood now, there would be little cause for concern.

But if the Uchiha Clan had Uchiha Izuna to lead them...

Then Konoha would have to face the Uchiha who had struck terror into the hearts of the great shinobi clans during the Warring States Period.

"All right, you may go. Remember, no third person must hear what we discussed today."

"I understand, Sensei."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, bowed, and left.

Yet Tobirama could never have imagined that the "Uchiha Izuna" he worried about was currently cooking noodles in a ramen shop.

Another two days passed, and Tetsuya fretted over his income, which had barely increased.

"Looks like I'll have to speed up the development of cup noodles."

Sitting on his bed, Tetsuya put his money away and stretched, planning to practice Sage Art for a while before going to sleep.

[Hey, my dear master, did I hear you sighing? Have you run into some trouble?]

Tetsuya's eyelid twitched.

"What brings you out of your own accord today, you self-serving dog?"

[Oh, come now, Master. How could you say that about me? I'm only looking out for you.]

[Are you troubled because you haven't found a better way to make money?]

"What? Do you have a solution?"

Tetsuya sat on his bed, propping his chin on one hand as he looked at the obnoxious virtual husky before him.

[Of course I do! Master, have you forgotten how you learned to make ramen?]

Tetsuya's eyes lit up at those words.

"Right! I got my ramen-making skills from a draw. Doesn't that mean I could draw other money-making skills too?"

[Congratulations, Master, you got it right! Exactly. That's what I, Doggo, wanted to remind you of.]

Tetsuya clapped his hands.

"Right! So all that time I spent researching was for nothing."

[Not really. At least you enjoyed exploring the unknown, didn't you, Master?]

"True enough. All right, enough nonsense. Time to draw!"

Without further hesitation, Tetsuya took out the savings he had accumulated recently and embarked on his gambling spree.

Early the next morning, a somewhat exhausted Tetsuya returned to his shop.

Looking at his empty wallet, he wanted nothing more than to throw his head back and roar.

"Fuck you! Damn System! Fuck your mother! Give me my money back!"

The damn system had drained every bit of the money Tetsuya had saved over the past several days, giving him a mountain of useless junk before finally handing him a method for making instant cup noodles as a guaranteed reward.

He strongly suspected that this dog had come specifically for the money left in his pocket!