Fishing

Just as Utatane Koharu had said, the Third Hokage wanted to look after both sides, only to end up looking after neither.

The Third Hokage knew this about himself, too. He wanted to change, but whenever the moment came, he would back down again.

Now, faced with the matter of Uchiha Yan, the Third Hokage had backed down once more. With the current war on one side and Konoha's long-term development on the other, he could only choose what was right in front of him.

Compared to the Third Hokage, Danzo was far more decisive. The Hokage position came first, eliminating the Uchiha second. In his eyes, only by taking power himself could he lead Konoha back to the glory of the First Hokage's time.

Sometimes, Uchiha Yan even admired Danzo. After all these years and all the resistance he had encountered, his original ambition had never changed, and he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He was practically a kindred spirit.

Unfortunately, this kindred spirit wanted to kill him now, so he could only find a way to put Danzo down.

Uchiha Yan had never forgotten about killing Danzo. His last plan had been ruined, but if he could leave the Land of Sea safely this time, he would still choose to return to Jinghai Town.

Ever since his conversation with Genji, Uchiha Yan had gone fishing by the sea every morning, telling stories as he fished, from Kayle to Yasuo, then from Yasuo to Frieza and Noah.

"Uchiha Yan, did Noah actually die or not? Why could members of the Uchiha Clan suddenly turn into Noah?"

"I don't know!"

Uchiha Yan smiled as he spoke. "Haven't you noticed something in common? Every time Noah came back to life, the enemies he faced were from the Senju Clan.

"If the Senju Clan and the Uchiha ever fight again, you might get to see Noah.

"The sign of his resurrection is pretty obvious, too: a giant taller than a mountain.

"I've pretty much finished telling you the history of the Uchiha Clan. Next, I'd like to tell you stories about the Second Hokage. Want to hear them?"

"The Second Hokage? The strongest Water Release ninja?"

"That's right!"

Uchiha Yan nodded slightly. "I think the Second Hokage would have been better suited to being Mizukage. No one's Water Release surpassed his.

"Compared to his, Kirigakure's Water Release is like children playing house. Only the Second Mizukage lived up to the title of Mizukage."

Shiori frowned slightly. "You know about the Second Mizukage? Even I don't know much about him."

"Hozuki Gengetsu, former head of the Hozuki Clan. He cared for the younger generation and was willing to give his life for the village. Most importantly, he wasn't just powerful; he also laid the foundations for Kirigakure's development.

"He established the Ninja Academy, the Anbu, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Without him, Kirigakure would have been wiped out long ago.

"I prefer clever people to powerful people. Someone who's both clever and powerful gets a little more of my attention."

"Let's get back to the Second Hokage!"

"Sure! During the Warring States Era, the Second Hokage went onto the battlefield at seven. He experienced his father and younger brothers dying before his eyes.

"He was fortunate. Since he was the only younger brother left, the First Hokage would protect him as much as possible.

"He was unfortunate. He saw many of his loved ones die before his eyes, yet his enemies ended up becoming his comrades.

"For the village, he had to abandon his hatred and give up taking revenge on the Uchiha Clan."

"But his students didn't leave the Uchiha alone. They've kept targeting them. Isn't that why you came to the Land of Sea?"

As the two spoke, a toad hopped onto the reef where they sat. Uchiha Yan casually picked him up and tossed him into the sea.

"I'm softhearted. Whenever I see an animal, I want to release it into the wild."

"That's a toad! You call throwing him into the sea releasing him into the wild?"

"Isn't seawater water?"

Uchiha Yan waved a hand. "Never mind that. Back to the Second Hokage.

"The Second Hokage had five students. The most famous was the Third Hokage, but very few people know that the Second Hokage also took an Uchiha student, Kagami Uchiha.

"And Kagami has a descendant. You'll suffer badly at his hands on the battlefield this time. More likely, you'll abandon your mission outright if you run into him."

"Heh! Are you talking about yourself?"

"Hehe! Not me. I've already made you suffer. You might have to slit your bellies open when you get back tonight."

Shiori watched Yan slowly stand and stretch, then asked in confusion:

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the person picking me up is here..."

Splash!

Before he finished speaking, Uchiha Yan plunged into the sea. At the same time, a large red toad abruptly appeared on the sea a short distance away.

"Hahaha... It's showtime for the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!

"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

Flames surged toward Shiori and the other Kirigakure ninja like a wave, their terrifying heat sending clouds of mist rising from the sea.

"It's Jiraiya of the Sannin! Get out of the way!"

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

After casting a jutsu, Shiori leaped away, not daring to clash head-on with Jiraiya at all.

She was considering sending a few people after Uchiha Yan, but before she could act, a voice rang out across the mist-shrouded sea:

"Shiori, sorry for the trouble, but please tell Elder Genji to live a little longer and watch how I resolve the problems left over from the Warring States Era and make Konoha's villagers a true family.

"If Kirigakure ever encounters the same problems as Konoha, you can bring Kirigakure's historical records and come find me.

"The green mountains remain, and the rivers flow on. Until we meet again!

"Lord Jiraiya, let's go!"

"Off we go! This mission really was easy!"

Looking in the direction Uchiha Yan had left, Shiori had no intention of pursuing him.

With Jiraiya there, she had no chance of snatching anyone from him, and she could easily lose her life.

"Lady Shiori, what should we do? Why is Jiraiya here?"

"Why else? The intelligence got out! Do you really need to ask Lady Shiori that?"

"But how did it get out? We've been watching him all these days. He hasn't had contact with anyone.

"Even when he ate out, we fetched the food. He didn't even have a chance to speak to anyone else."

Shiori shook her head. "I don't know! Let's go back and report this to Lord Genji first. Hopefully today's talks will go smoothly."

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Uchiha Yan and Jiraiya lay on the toad's back, gazing at the sky.

"Uchiha kid, you really uncovered some incredible intelligence. No wonder my teacher sent me to pick you up.

"How did you figure it out? Danzo told you to find the commander-in-chief. How did you end up in the Land of Sea? Shouldn't you have gone looking in the Land of Whirlpools?"

"The death of Rin Nohara, the Fourth Hokage's student."

Uchiha Yan explained quietly, "That incident cost Kirigakure the Three-Tails, which dealt a major blow to the Fourth Mizukage's prestige.

"To uphold the Mizukage's prestige, they have to win the war against Konoha. Yet at a time like this, no one could find out who Kirigakure's commander-in-chief was. That's strange.

"Logically, they should have told Kirigakure's ninja that the Fourth Mizukage would be commanding them this time. Once they won, his position would be secure."

"So you thought the reason no one could identify the commander-in-chief was very likely that they hadn't chosen one yet?"

"Yes!"

"Why couldn't they have been deliberately concealing it?"

"If they were deliberately concealing it, they should have spread word of another commander-in-chief, rather than leaving even the Anbu and Root unable to find out."

Uchiha Yan said evenly, "So I leaned toward them not having decided yet.

"If they still hadn't decided on a commander at a time like this, there was only one possibility: the number of commanders might change. Or rather, they would be commanding more than one battlefield, and the Fourth Mizukage didn't yet have the experience to command multiple battlefields.

"On top of that, Kumogakure had made its move before Kirigakure but kept delaying its attack. That was what made me suspicious of both sides.

"I only came to the Land of Sea to confirm it. I didn't expect to be discovered as soon as I boarded the ship. Kirigakure ninja were actually posing as ordinary people to inspect everyone traveling to the Land of Sea."

"Impressive!"

Jiraiya gave him a thumbs-up. "You said earlier that you'd resolve the problems left over from the Warring States Era. Did you mean it?"

"Of course!"