Tsunade: This was not the Konoha I wanted

It was evening.

Near Tsunade's home in the old Senju estate.

"Sealing jutsu really is more than a step harder than ordinary ninjutsu."

Yecheng spoke with a slightly troubled look as he walked.

Beside him, Tsunade nearly rolled her eyes at him, but held back for the sake of her image.

Listen to him. Is that something a normal person would say?

Shizune said with a smile, "Yecheng, your progress has already been incredibly, incredibly, incredibly fast! You mastered the One-Finger Sealing Jutsu in just one day!

"Even among the Uzumaki... Clan, the fastest record for mastering the One-Finger Seal was three days!"

During that afternoon's medical ninjutsu lesson, besides teaching Yecheng the relevant theoretical knowledge, Tsunade had also taught him the fundamentals of sealing jutsu.

Yecheng immediately understood that she was laying the groundwork for teaching him the Yin Seal.

The thought of that powerful S-rank ninjutsu, along with its accompanying Strength of a Hundred Technique and Creation Rebirth, filled Yecheng with longing.

There was more to this One-Finger Seal, too. It was the foundation of Uzumaki-style sealing jutsu, and nearly all Uzumaki-style sealing jutsu were performed upon the basis of this technique.

It could seal an opponent's chakra flow, but its sealing power was weak. Powerful ninja could break through it with a burst of chakra.

The techniques beyond it, such as the Three-Finger Seal and Five Elements Seal, were sealing jutsu with greater practical value in combat.

The three of them reached the front door, chatting and laughing, only to discover someone else standing there.

It was Neji Hyuga.

His left arm was still in a cast, suspended in a sling from his shoulder.

"Looks like he's here for me... Teacher, Shizune, go on inside."

Yecheng smiled as he looked at the Byakugan staring straight at him.

The training ground.

Yecheng brought Neji Hyuga here.

Before he could speak, Neji Hyuga suddenly dropped to his knees, prostrating himself with his forehead pressed to the ground.

"Yecheng, I spoke rudely to you the day before yesterday and even intended to seriously injure you. I was wrong. Please forgive me! I am truly sorry!"

Yecheng jumped, never expecting him to do this.

But Neji was not finished. He knocked his forehead against the ground three more times with loud thuds.

"Thank you for helping reclaim my father's remains from Kumogakure! Thank you so much!"

Neji raised his head. A trail of blood slid down his forehead, past his nose and lips, and dripped from his chin.

"From this day forward, my life, Neji Hyuga's life, is yours!"

As he spoke, he made to bow again.

Yecheng finally reacted, hastily grabbing his shoulders to stop him.

"You don't need to do this."

Yecheng looked at him.

Something seemed to have changed in those white eyes. They were no longer as empty as before, filled with hatred for everything in the world.

And his gaze toward Yecheng held gratitude.

A thought struck Yecheng. It seemed Hyuga Hiashi had told him the truth about what happened three years ago.

The knot in his heart had come undone...

As if.

With something like the Caged Bird Seal, the Main Family could kill him just by reciting an incantation. It was even more disgusting than the golden circlet on the Monkey King's head. How could a burden like that simply disappear?

To truly free Neji of that burden, his "Caged Bird Seal" would have to be erased. Only then could he find true release!

And resolving the Caged Bird Seal was not entirely without a solution. It simply required tackling it from both [sealing jutsu] and [the soul].

Neither was an insurmountable problem for Yecheng.

Yecheng helped him up and said evenly, "I don't mind telling you that I demanded Hizashi Hyuga's remains back to win over the Hyuga Clan, so they could speak up when needed."

The Hyuga Clan was a fairly important part of the [make Tsunade Hokage] plan. The Raikage and his people had happened to come knocking, which had led to the arrangement to return Hizashi Hyuga's remains.

With such a generous gift, there was no fear of Hyuga Hiashi refusing.

Besides, Danzo had always suppressed the major ninja clans. An enemy's enemy was a natural ally.

Neji was not surprised at all to hear this.

He said frankly, "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you really did reclaim my father's remains. To me, that is an immense kindness!"

After a pause, Neji continued, "Before I came, the head of the household asked me to deliver a message."

"Oh? What message?"

"Konoha has suffered under Root for too long."

That all but put the matter out in the open.

Yecheng chuckled. "Please deliver a message to the Hyuga head of the household for me, too.

"The old tree's rotten roots have become a festering scourge. It's almost time to prune them."

[Won Neji Hyuga over as a loyal subordinate. Favorability increased. Fate points +28]

[Current fate points: 55]

[Current lifespan: 17]

The Uchiha Clan compound.

Sasuke Uchiha's home.

"I'm home."

"Welcome home."

The moment Sasuke entered and put down his backpack, he eagerly asked, "Mom, is my brother home?"

"Itachi hasn't come back yet."

Uchiha Mikoto emerged from the kitchen, still holding a spatula.

"Honestly, Sasuke, you ask about your brother as soon as you get home. Why don't you ask how your mother is doing?"

She puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be angry.

Only in her thirties and very well-maintained, she looked quite adorable at that moment.

"...All right, I get it. You're so fussy."

Sasuke muttered awkwardly, then turned toward his room.

"I'm going to do my homework."

"Heehee~"

Uchiha Mikoto covered her mouth and chuckled. He really was her son.

So cute.

But when she thought of her other son, Mikoto could not help frowning.

Itachi, what are you doing right now...?

"Itachi, I've decided to tell the higher-ups about the power of my eyes."

Shisui Uchiha looked at Itachi, who stood before him like a younger brother.

"My Kotoamatsukami!"

As he spoke, the three tomoe in his narrow eyes began to spin, then changed into four-pointed pinwheel shapes.

The ultimate genjutsu-Mangekyō Sharingan: Kotoamatsukami!

It was a power capable of rewriting a person's will!

"Kotoamatsukami..."

Seeing those eyes and sensing the surging, chilling chakra within them, Uchiha Itachi involuntarily activated his own Sharingan, its three tomoe slowly rotating.

"Shisui, the village higher-ups aren't all of one mind. Danzo is especially wary of the Uchiha Clan. You need to be careful."

Uchiha Itachi was deeply worried. He felt a sense of dread and could not help worrying about Shisui, who was not his brother yet was more than a brother to him.

"If I can protect the village and the Uchiha Clan, what does this little risk matter?"

Shisui Uchiha smiled gently and patted Itachi's shoulder.

"But you have a point, Itachi. Sorry for the trouble, but please be ready to support me tonight. You're the only friend I can trust now."

"Right."

Itachi nodded firmly. "I'll be right here, Shisui."

"You're really dependable."

The sun slowly sank, and night fell.

Somewhere in Konoha, an enormous burst of chakra suddenly erupted, giving off an extremely chilling feeling.

The power was so great that even many ninja without sensory abilities noticed the disturbance.

And almost every ninja in Konoha with sensory abilities looked in the same direction at the same moment.

It was the direction of the chakra eruption.

At Tsunade's home.

An eruption of yin release chakra!

Yecheng, who was highly proficient in chakra nature transformation, identified it almost immediately.

Is that... Susanoo?!

Yecheng abruptly raised his head and looked into the distance.

With the perception of his Six Eyes, he could see an emerald-green giant, like a deity, swinging its weapon and slaughtering enemies.

Hiss...

What terrifying power.

"Lady Tsunade..."

Shizune approached, hesitating to speak.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. She had never expected the situation to become so serious that people were resorting to open combat inside Konoha!

"Shizune, Yecheng, you two stay home. Don't go anywhere!"

Her expression grave, Tsunade abandoned her earlier indolence, picked up her tea-green robe and threw it on, then strode toward the Hokage building.

By the time she arrived at the Hokage Office, it was already full of people.

"You're here, Tsunade. Have a seat."

"Old man, you..."

What Tsunade had hoped to see was Hiruzen Sarutobi with confusion and uncertainty in his eyes, not the Third Hokage looking grave and worried, yet seemingly aware of everything.

Because that meant he knew everything, and this incident was not Shimura Danzō acting alone.

It had the Third Hokage's approval!

Tsunade suddenly found it rather laughable. Her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, had founded the ninja village to free ninja from war and protect children as they grew up.

But over all these decades, when had war ever stopped?

Now, even the ninja village itself had become this unstable!

Even ninja from the same village were turning their weapons on each other!

Was a ninja village like this really much different from the Warring States period?

Tsunade thought of Dan Katō. That man had possessed an ambition she lacked. He had fully supported her reforms to the medical ninja system. He had truly wanted to change Konoha, to improve the ninja village!

Then he had died, before he had even begun putting his ideals and ambitions into practice.

She thought of her younger brother Nawaki, too, always talking about becoming Hokage, making Konoha great again, becoming the greatest Hokage. Then he had died as well.

He had died beside some nameless road.

The ninja village... Konoha. What had it protected, exactly?

Tsunade raised her head and looked at the gloomy faces seated there, each as aged as dried bark, their wrinkles deep enough to trap a fly.

"Heh..."

Tsunade suddenly could not help laughing aloud.

That's right.

Things have been so peaceful, so happy, so joyful lately that I almost forgot why I left Konoha back then.

Tsunade took a seat on her own and watched coldly.

Elsewhere, in an open stretch of mountain terrain, a battle was underway.

Yecheng had left a clone at home and soon arrived here.

He had already transformed into Megumi Fushiguro and given this identity the codename [Demon], distinguishing it from [Crow].

Indeed, Yecheng's plan was to use this opportunity to recruit Shisui Uchiha into [Shadow]!

Who wouldn't covet a power like Kotoamatsukami?!

"Shisui Uchiha, surrender!"

Aburame Ryoma watched his opponent slaughtering everyone around him in his Gundam, his heart chilled with fear.

Two squads had surrounded and attacked him, and by now, an entire squad's worth of men had been killed!

The remaining men had all suffered substantial injuries as well. Only he himself was in somewhat better condition.

These were all Root elites, with even the weakest at the Special Jōnin level, and quite a few at jōnin level!

Yet even with so many experts, they could do nothing against that green giant!

Their opponent only had to swing his weapon and fire chakra projectiles to inflict devastating casualties!

It was too horrifying, too terrifying!

No wonder Lord Danzo was so wary of the Uchiha Clan. Once they awakened the Mangekyō, they actually had power like this!

Who wouldn't be afraid of that!

I never imagined anyone in this day and age could awaken the same eyes as that Madara Uchiha!

The Uchiha Clan really was terrifying.

But this was as far as he would get.

Aburame Ryoma could clearly see that Shisui Uchiha, standing inside the giant, was already on his last legs, with little chakra remaining.

He just needed to drag this out a little longer.

Yecheng watched from the shadows for a while, inwardly marveling.

Poor Shisui.

First, Danzo had used Izanagi to ambush him and gouge out his eye. Then two squads from Root had pursued and surrounded him, nearly driving him to utter exhaustion.

The misery of Shisui Uchiha!

But from another perspective, Shisui's fighting strength really was incredible.

So many experts, and they still couldn't take him down. He really was formidable!

That was how the Uchiha Clan worked. Develop those fancy eyes properly, and their strength would improve by leaps and bounds.

Simply awakening the Sharingan immediately made them strong among genin. With two tomoe, they were almost guaranteed to beat a chunin one-on-one, and with three tomoe, they were firmly at jonin level.

While everyone else was struggling to develop their own ninjutsu or burying themselves in practicing S-rank Forbidden Jutsu, trying everything they could to reach Kage Level, an Uchiha only needed to awaken the Mangekyō to undergo a dazzling transformation, instantly becoming one of the stronger Kage Level fighters!

And the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities were each stronger and nastier than the last!

Once they activated the third power, Susanoo, even Kage Level fighters had to go to considerable lengths to break through its defenses!

Want raw stats? They had mechanics. Want mechanics? They had raw stats.

My god, mighty Uchiha!

An absolute easy-mode crutch!

Fortunately, the great hand of fate knew to put some limits on the Uchiha. Recklessly using the Mangekyō's abilities would cause their eyesight to deteriorate, even leading to blindness. Otherwise, no one else could possibly fight this bunch of red-eyed freaks!

And now, it was time for Shisui Uchiha to pay the price for using the Mangekyō's abilities.

His vision suddenly blurred.

The next instant, the green giant slowly dissipated, leaving only Shisui Uchiha, his hands braced on his knees as he gasped for breath.

Now!

A vicious gleam flashed in Aburame Ryoma's eyes as he commanded his kikaichū to swarm toward Shisui Uchiha!

Now!

Yecheng formed the Max Elephant hand seal and recited the incantation.

"Max Elephant!"