---
To eliminate the four chūnin, Ye Dou possessed more than enough power to finish them in an instant—but he didn't act recklessly.
The Uchiha clan had only just been annihilated, and Konoha was still on high alert. If he were to deal with these chūnin now, it might stir another wave of suspicion and raise the village's security level.
It hadn't even been a full month since Uchiha Shisui's death. Ye Dou didn't want to provoke Konoha's nerves any further.
The mongoose beside him grew restless. "So how do you handle night ops? Just charge in head-on?"
Ye Dou asked, "Did you detect any sensory-type ninja among them?"
"How would I know? I'm not omniscient," the mongoose replied with a flick of its tail.
Ye Dou sighed slightly at the answer.
"Still, considering how Uchiha Obito dared to visit the cemetery and pay respects to Nohara Rin, there must be some kind of security gap he exploited."
Of course, it was equally possible that Obito had simply knocked out the guards without anyone noticing.
After pondering it for a moment, Ye Dou decided to abandon tonight's plan. It wasn't worth the risk—not yet.
---
In the following days, Ye Dou's routine remained unchanged.
Every morning, he created shadow clones to handle his physical training while he headed off to the Ninja Academy for classes.
Interestingly, despite the Uchiha clan being wiped out, Konoha didn't immediately confiscate their estate.
All the property and assets of the Uchiha clan were now, on paper, inherited by Uchiha Sasuke.
However, the village wasn't about to leave such a large compound to a single child indefinitely. It was already evident that, in due time, the land would be reclaimed—Sasuke would only keep movable assets like money and heirlooms.
But for now, the vast Uchiha compound stood mostly deserted, with Sasuke as its only resident.
This worked to Ye Dou's advantage—he no longer needed to take any detours and could pass by the compound on his daily route to and from the Academy.
Soon, the students began to notice something curious: the two coldest and most distant boys in the class had started arriving and leaving together.
Though neither spoke much during these walks, the scene still caught everyone's attention.
Hyūga Hanabi was particularly curious, but didn't ask. She simply followed Ye Dou every day with a sunny smile, tagging along like a tail.
Outside the walls of Konoha, however, balance had become harder to maintain.
The destruction of the Uchiha clan—an elite force within Konoha—was not something that escaped the attention of the other great Shinobi villages. Each had their own information networks, and soon the news spread to the offices of the Kage.
Whether it was Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, or Iwagakure, the reaction was swift—closed-door meetings, increased border surveillance, and mobilized troops.
The border regions suddenly grew tense.
Though none of the villages acted rashly, they were testing Konoha's current strength. Everyone understood the loss of the Uchiha clan meant a sharp drop in Konoha's military capability.
If Konoha was no longer as intimidating, the other villages wouldn't hesitate to take advantage—perhaps even erase the Leaf from the map.
Sunagakure, being the weakest of the Five Great Nations and the closest to Konoha, was the first to make a move.
But as their shinobi began to advance, a massive toad appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path.
At the same time, reports emerged from the Land of Water: the Kirigakure operatives sent to investigate Konoha's condition were all repelled by a blonde woman—who had done so with her bare hands.
Then again, some tavern rumors claimed the woman had just lost big at a gambling den and was blowing off steam with a drunken rampage.
Regardless of the truth, these two mysterious figures sent a loud message to the rest of the Shinobi world.
Veterans of the previous wars recognized them immediately: two of the legendary Sannin, hailed by Hanzo the Salamander, the demi-god of Amegakure during the Second Great Ninja War.
The toad-summoner was unmistakably Jiraiya, the so-called "Pervy Sage."
And the blonde woman, known for her brute strength and addiction to gambling, could only be Tsunade—the "Legendary Sucker" and Princess of Konoha.
Their sudden reappearance caused concern across the villages. The intelligence said that the Sannin had long gone their separate ways.
Orochimaru had already defected and become an S-rank criminal.
Tsunade had disappeared years ago, reportedly due to the trauma of war and the loss of her loved ones. Her whereabouts had remained unknown.
Only Jiraiya was still in loose contact with Konoha, known to be wandering the world, often investigating Orochimaru's movements.
And yet here they were—appearing just as Konoha's enemies started circling like vultures.
For many Shinobi, this was a sobering reminder that not all of Konoha's legends had faded away.
The would-be invaders backed off—cautious of a village still protected by monsters forged in two great wars.
Back in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh of relief. The immediate threat had been repelled, but the core problem remained.
Konoha's strength was visibly weakening.
"I wonder… should we summon back Jiraiya and Tsunade?" asked Mitokado Homura during a high-level council meeting.
"Even though the other villages have backed off, it's only a matter of time before another storm brews."
Hiruzen shook his head. "Jiraiya might come if I call. But Tsunade… her heart died with her brother and her lover. She hasn't answered us in years."
He paused, then added, "Still, they both inherited the Will of Fire. When Konoha truly needs them, I believe they'll return."
He turned to his aides. "Send word to Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and the others."
Koharu Utatane, the other advisor, opened her eyes. "You're thinking...?"
Hiruzen stepped toward the window, gazing at the entrance of the Ninja Academy, where children rushed to and fro.
"We're old. One day, we'll fall like leaves from the branch. Konoha's future isn't in our hands—it's in theirs."
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