"Senya, in these two years you have learned everything about the Guard Tower. We have not interacted much, but I know you are diligent."
"Now I am going to the front to take my revenge. I am leaving the tower in your hands."
Uchiha Jin spoke with heavy weight, then waved lightly and went to pack.
Senya shrugged and sighed.
From Jin's eyes, persuading him to give up was impossible.
He would not try.
He knew how brutal this war would be.
Konoha would win, but at a cost.
Senya had no ties and no desire to go to the front.
He shut the tower door and returned quietly to his room.
Through it all, he showed his strength to no one.
Even that night with Uchiha Fugaku, he had never revealed his identity.
He stood at Kage level now, but before reaching the Six Paths realm, it still meant little.
Even that level had fallen in the end.
There was no absolute safety.
...
The next morning, Jin set out with Fugaku for the Fire Country border.
Only Uchiha Senya remained at the tower.
The clan had no intention of sending him to war.
He was glad.
Days ticked by.
Each day he checked in around the village, and at night he used Summon Flash to cultivate by the tablet.
His strength climbed steadily.
He learned most major releases and practiced Fire and Wind nature transformation.
Lightning had been mastered with Raikiri.
His Kage-level power grew firmer, the foundation of a true strongman thickening.
He did not neglect the shrine's secret arts either.
He learned the forbidden techniques there.
Izanagi and Izanami.
The Sage Body's progress continued.
His chakra's quality rose again.
Gradually, even without the Mangekyo, his overall power stepped into Kage level.
...
Three years later.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade fought Salamander Hanzo and earned his recognition, gaining the name Legendary Sannin.
Two years after that, news came from the front: Uchiha Jin had fallen.
Senya only sighed.
They said he took his traitor down with him. His wish was fulfilled.
Perhaps in that last moment, he felt free.
At last, five more years passed.
Nearly ten years had gone by since the war broke out.
The Second Great Ninja War had reached its end.
Knowing the story, Senya understood the finish was at hand.
His strength had reached the peak of Kage level.
Genuine, solid.
No hollow surge, only the calm of power.
He had pushed the Mangekyo to its limits in use and application.
With it, he could challenge even super Kage opponents.
With Summon Flash, even if he could not win, he could escape with ease.
Barring a Six Paths being, no one could cage him now.
The Sage Body had reached seventy percent.
The higher he climbed, the harder it became.
He also noticed the shrine's tablet had begun to crack.
The natural energy had weakened.
Days ago, the tablet split apart, its energy gone.
What the Sage had left was now ordinary stone.
His Sage Body training stalled.
He was already planning to seek one of the Three Great Holy Lands.
"Eternal Mangekyo, then holy land sage arts. Those will be the keys to super Kage."
His path was clear.
He knew how he would grow.
...
At dawn the next day, while he cultivated, Senya heard bright bells.
They rang from outside the village, drawing closer.
In his perception, countless chakra signatures approached the gate.
At their head was a massive presence bearing all five natures.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He recognized it at once.
The shinobi who had gone to war were returning.
The war was truly over.
The bells were a triumphal chorus.
Soon a roar rolled in from the gate.
Konoha's heroes had come home.
The Uchiha quarter stirred to life.
Clansmen returned with the main host.
Their first act was not celebration.
They would bury the fallen in the Memorial Stone Forest.
Let the heroes rest.
Then a memorial rite would be held, and all would attend.
Senya was no exception.
...