Return to Konoha

Outside Konoha.

Liumu spread his arms and shouted, "I'm finally back!"

He had spent five years in Konoha since his rebirth, and after only a year away, Liumu actually felt as though this place were his hometown.

He had spent the past year eating and sleeping outdoors. Although the journey had not been difficult, it lacked the sense of belonging Konoha gave him.

As Jiraiya followed close behind, the ninja on duty at the village entrance immediately recognized him.

"Lord Jiraiya."

"Lord Jiraiya."

Hearing their greetings, Jiraiya smiled and nodded slightly. Only after entering the village did his expression suddenly change. With a strange look, he tossed his backpack to Liumu, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Take this home for me. I'm going to see some gir-oh, no, I'm going to look for inspiration."

Liumu: ...

"Dirty old man!"

Liumu glared at Jiraiya's retreating figure as he bounded away, grabbed the backpack, and headed home.

A few months earlier.

Liumu, who had had no intention of taking the Chunin Exams, had suddenly received a mission from the system.

Just as it had previously required Liumu to become a ninja, this time it required him to return to the village, take the Chunin Exams, and successfully become a Chunin.

The reward for this mission was also something Liumu could not turn down.

Because completing this mission would not only give Liumu one spin of the Fate Roulette, but also grant him five additional uses of the Time House.

"That's... pretty tempting."

The Land of Lightning was hosting this round of the Chunin Exams, but Liumu needed to return to the village early and depart with the others who planned to participate.

After returning home, Liumu spent the entire afternoon cleaning. Only at dusk did he finally have time to sit down and rest.

"Growl..."

Liumu glanced down with a smile, stood up, and left the house.

Walking through the streets and looking at the buildings, which remained just as they had been a year ago, Liumu finally relaxed.

"Liumu?!"

Just then, a pretty figure suddenly sprang out nearby. Liumu looked toward the voice and saw his former Ninja Academy classmate, Kurenai Yuhi, standing outside a flower shop by the street.

"It really is you!"

Kurenai Yuhi stepped closer and kept looking Liumu up and down.

"You're darker, and taller too."

Kurenai Yuhi spoke with a smile.

Liumu had a fairly strong impression of Kurenai Yuhi.

Back when they were at the Ninja Academy, Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara had been two beauties at completely opposite extremes.

Compared with Rin's gentle, reserved nature, Kurenai Yuhi was a fiery little spitfire.

With her wild yet impressive skills, she not only got along with the boys, but had even secretly won the affection of quite a few of them.

As for her personality, a saying from his previous life summed it up: this girl... was pretty fierce.

Reunited, the two talked from dinner until late into the night.

Through Kurenai Yuhi, Liumu also learned a great deal about how their classmates and the village had changed over the past year.

Apparently, after Liumu left with Jiraiya, Konoha's higher-ups seemed to have launched some major operation.

Not only had the entire village been put on alert, but many Jonin-level experts had also been sent out in succession.

Liumu's classmates had yet to graduate from the Ninja Academy, but it seemed that after Kakashi and Liumu left, Might Guy had been greatly inspired. Over the past year, he had trained with an almost self-abusive frenzy.

As for Rin and the other classmates Liumu had been close to, they had all made varying degrees of progress.

"Did you come back to take the Chunin Exams?"

The Chunin Exams were a major event in the village lately, and with Liumu returning at this time, Kurenai Yuhi had already guessed that possibility.

Liumu nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow, really? You're amazing, Liumu," Kurenai Yuhi praised him. "If you manage to become a Chunin this time, you'll probably set a new record for Konoha."

"A six-year-old Chunin-that would be absolutely unprecedented."

Liumu gave a faint smile at her words but did not answer.

Liumu was not worried about the trip to the Land of Lightning. Although the conflicts between nations were turbulent at present, none of the major nations would go looking for trouble during the Chunin Exams.

"By the way, what about Kakashi? Have you seen him lately?"

Liumu suddenly thought of Kakashi, because Kakashi was also among those taking the exams this time.

"I'm not sure," Kurenai Yuhi replied. "But you could ask Guy. He's always pestering Kakashi."

Liumu nodded at that.

Afterward, Kurenai Yuhi pestered Liumu to tell her about things outside the village, and Liumu recounted all the strange and unusual things he had encountered over the past year.

In the end, however, it was getting late, and as a girl, Kurenai Yuhi had to head home before curfew.

"Goodbye, Teuchi!"

Liumu waved and left the noodle shop. On the way home, he abruptly recalled what would later happen to Kakashi.

Lost in thought, Liumu wandered to the western side of the village. Only when he fully came to his senses did he realize that he had reached the entrance to the police force headquarters controlled by the Uchiha Clan.

"Who's there?"

Seeing Liumu approach, a black-eyed man wearing the Konoha police force uniform stepped forward, making to check his identity.

Just then, however, a figure leaped down from the headquarters' second floor and reached out to stop him.

"He's just a child. Don't make a fuss."

Seeing the red armband on the newcomer's left arm and the distinctive creases beneath his nose, Liumu immediately recognized him.

"Captain, at a time like this, shouldn't we..."

"Enough."

Uchiha Fugaku cut him off sharply and shook his head at the police force member.

At that moment, Liumu still felt very apologetic toward the Uchiha Clan.

After all, a year ago, he had destroyed the stone statue they practically worshipped.

"It's almost curfew. Hurry home."

After looking down and speaking to Liumu, Uchiha Fugaku turned and walked straight inside.

Back home, Liumu washed up and lay on his familiar bed, his hands beneath his head, continually assessing the current situation.

Because of Danzo, the Uchiha Clan was deeply dissatisfied with the repeated oppression by Konoha High Command. Yet Uchiha Fugaku, currently the most respected captain in the Uchiha Clan, was someone almost no one could understand.

The Uchiha Clan's rebellious intentions had already been taking root for a long time, and the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, undeniably bore responsibility for this.

After all, if he had not turned a blind eye, Danzo would not have driven the Uchiha Clan to the point where rebellion was their only option.

"Itachi probably isn't around yet..."

Liumu muttered, reckoning that Itachi had probably not been born yet. Even if the Uchiha Clan were to be wiped out, that would still be at least a dozen years away.

During that time, Konoha would also have to go through the Third Shinobi World War.