The Valley of the End roared behind them—two ROOT operatives still beating each other half to death over personal grudges—while Uchiha Tobika casually led three soaked Uchiha kids back toward the clan compound.
Not every Uchiha child was a miniature Itachi. Most were just… kids. Shinobi lineage didn't upgrade common sense.
One of the boys hugged his fried-chicken bucket like treasure."Big Bro!" he shouted with glowing admiration.
He had no idea what Tobika's speech earlier meant, but he understood one thing: the chicken was incredible, endlessly refillable, and far superior to anything his grandfather ever treated him to.
Tobika sighed, hands folded behind his head as he watched clouds drift lazily above."When you get home, don't mention anything from today. If people ask why you're drenched, say you fell in the river while fishing. Coordinate your stories. And definitely don't mention me kicking you off a cliff. I got chewed out by the Grand Elder all afternoon. That old man is looking for reasons to bury me."
"Yes, Big Bro!"
One kid raised his bucket timidly."Um… Big Bro… can this be refilled again? My grandfather's teeth are bad, and the meat is soft. I thought… maybe I could eat the skin and bring the meat home for him…"
A dutiful kid… shame his drool is dripping all over the ground.
Tobika refilled their buckets anyway.Then he tapped each head lightly.
"You three came to the Valley of the End to pay respect to Uchiha Madara, right? Tomorrow night, come to Nanga Shrine. Bring your little friends. I'll teach you Madara's 'Will of Fire.' How he used it to convince the First Hokage to join forces and build the world together."
The kids froze.
Madara.Will of Fire.Those two phrases shouldn't be in the same sentence.
Their expressions said: Isn't he an infamous missing-nin?
Tobika just smiled mysteriously."There will be fried chicken. And drinks. Tomorrow night, you will taste the true, orthodox Uchiha Will of Fire… as crafted by Madara himself."
"Oh! Oh!!"
"Yay!!"
They didn't understand a word of the story, but they absolutely understood the fried chicken.
Tobika clicked his tongue.Kids are easy. Clan reform starts with stomachs, not scrolls.
He glanced toward Konoha.If he wasn't defecting, then it was time to actually prepare.At minimum, the next generation of Uchiha shouldn't be born fools. Mad geniuses he could accept, but not idiots.
The Will of Fire, huh? Let me fix that for you.
Tobika pushed open his door, tossed his sandals aside, and called out mentally:
"System."
A familiar white interface blinked into existence.
[Mission Complete]
Tobika raised an eyebrow."Already?"
A mechanical voice responded:
[Congratulations, host. Through diligent training and fierce combat, you defeated Uchiha Naoki and successfully recruited him as a subordinate. Ready to receive reward?]
…Tobika rubbed his temple.
Naoki—Zhíshù—must have been one of the three kids he'd kicked off the cliff.
"That counts as a victory…?"
His lips twitched.
He sat down and sighed. "Fine. Settle it."
A warm pulse jolted through his eyes—brief, tiny, fleeting.
He blinked."…That's it?"
Tobika leaned on his desk, annoyed."When I sensed Mikoto's pregnancy pains, that was like fifty times stronger than this. And that didn't evolve anything."
He mentally visualized his Sharingan progress bar.
Before: 3000 / 10000After: 3000.5 / 10000
A tenth of a tenth of a tenth of a percent.
He stared blankly.
"…So I need like 14,000 missions to hit Mangekyō."
Even five tasks a day meant 2,800 days.Around 7.7 years.
The Uchiha Clan only had 6.5 years left on the original timeline.
Tobika folded his arms and exhaled dramatically.
"Good system."
He stood to gather his gear—He'd need Mangekyō long before Itachi started running around with murder in his eyes—when a scroll dropped onto his table.
He picked it up.
"…Huh."
A rank-A technique.
Chidori Senbon.
Thousands of lightning needles formed from concentrated Chidori, guided by Sharingan precision.
Tobika stared upward, expression deadpan.
"I don't even have lightning chakra. I can't perform Chidori. Why are you giving me the advanced version first? What am I supposed to do, use imagination to fill the gaps?"
He tossed the scroll into a drawer.
He could trade it to a Lightning-style shinobi later. Sell a favor. Not his problem now.
"So the great 'Revenge System' gives me my first mission… and I accomplish literally nothing."
The interface flickered again:
[New Mission Issued]
Tobika lifted his chin.
[Growth brings challenges. Yours, unfortunately, are excessive. In the future, you will lose to Naruto not only because his plugins outclass yours or because the Sage of Six Paths plays favorites, but because your choice of friends drags down your overall level.While Naruto is still hated by the villagers, befriend Nara Shikamaru. His intellect perfectly complements your combat prowess.When you and Naruto become enemies someday, Shikamaru's strategic genius will otherwise bury you without effort.]
[This mission may be declined.]
[Rewards: A significant boost to Sharingan evolution progress, one Mystery Exchange Ticket, one Letter from an Unknown Sender.]
Tobika squinted toward the Nara compound.
Nara Shikamaru.
He knew the family well.Even drank with Shikamaru's father a few times.
But… wasn't Shikamaru still inside his mother's belly right now?
He considered declining.Then saw the rewards again.
"Nope. I accept."
The system chimed quietly.
Mission confirmed.
Tobika stared out the window.
"…Guess I'm making friends with a fetus."