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It was midday.
Basking in the warm sunlight, Uchiha Shi stepped out of the Izakaya (Japanese Pub).
He walked through a somewhat quiet alleyway, brushing past hidden ninjas wearing straw hats and bearing missions.
He arrived on the bustling streets of Hot Mist City.
The lively voices and peaceful environment made him feel as if he had traveled through time.
It seemed like just a moment ago, he was struggling for survival in the intense and thrilling Great Ninja War, and now he found himself in the daily life of a peaceful city.
At this moment, he had two new items in his pocket.
One was the forehead protector that proved his identity as a Leaf ninja, and the other was a ninja ID card that also confirmed his identity.
However, this ID card was slightly different:
Uchiha Shi.
Rank: Chunin.
Ninja Number: 009888.
Completed missions: 1 S-rank, 855 D-rank.
It was clear that Uchiha Shi had been promoted, mysteriously becoming a Chunin.
Additionally, he had a new S-rank mission on his record.
The Leaf Village had converted the Uchiha clan's mission to reinforce Hell Valley into a village mission.
This was clearly not a coincidence.
In this period, before Minato Namikaze became the Yellow Flash and intimidated the entire ninja world, as the successor of the Hokage lineage and currently viewed by Hiruzen Sarutobi as his heir, likely to become the Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru
wanted to take an Uchiha as his disciple.
Especially during this sensitive time of the ongoing war, even if both Orochimaru and the Uchiha clan agreed, it would be difficult for the Third Hokage and the Elder Council to approve, especially with Danzo Shimura, who harbored hostility towards the Uchiha clan, in the picture.
To achieve this, both sides must have paid a significant price.
Uchiha Shi didn't know what Orochimaru had paid, but he speculated that the Uchiha clan had contributed the large mission they had taken from the Daimyo of the Lightning Country, which paid them several million ryō annually.
Thinking about this, Uchiha Shi felt a headache coming on.
Because Orochimaru had his eye on his body, but with a bunch of Uchihas in between, it seemed like they valued him, preventing Orochimaru from directly taking him by force. So, he wanted to indirectly get him through this roundabout method.
The Uchiha clan, due to Orochimaru's actions of saving people and taking on disciples, misunderstood and thought he was showing goodwill towards the Uchiha clan, thus heavily investing to push him into the Hokage lineage.
In this mutual misunderstanding, this absurd situation arose.
With the Uchiha clan and the Root organization backing him, would Orochimaru still defect? Would the position of the Fourth Hokage still belong to Minato Namikaze?
Thinking from another angle, If Orochimaru didn't defect, and the Uchiha clan had him backing them, would they still be forced into a coup?
Damn, what kind of situation is this?
Uchiha Shi thought to himself that he really didn't want to save the Uchiha clan; he just wanted to get some insurance!
Why did the plot deviate so much?
Unconsciously, he, as a middleman, had become burdened with the survival of the clan.
And the only one who knew about this was himself, while Orochimaru and the Uchiha clan thought they had gained and were happily grinning.
Thus, all the pressure fell on Uchiha Shi.
He now faced a serious question:
To save or not to save?
If he wanted to save the Uchiha clan, he would have to maintain his identity as a disciple of the Three Great Sannin, be cautious of his dear teacher suddenly turning on him, pull Orochimaru back onto the right path, help him campaign for the position of the Fourth Hokage, suppress internal clan conflicts, argue with Danzo, and prevent internal betrayals.
Damn, what a hassle!
Uchiha Shi decisively chose the second option!
He would just continue to get the insurance.
What did these things have to do with him, a Chunin who just wanted to survive?
With this thought, Uchiha Shi felt refreshed, and the road ahead seemed clearer.
After being taken as a disciple by Orochimaru, if everything went as expected, he would soon be betrayed by his teacher.
At that moment, he would seize the opportunity and go all out against him!
Carrying five hundred million back home, wouldn't that be great?
Uchiha Shi chuckled, basking in the warm sunlight, enjoying the brief leisure time after the intense battle in the bustling Hot Mist City.
When he left, he borrowed ten thousand ryō from Seiichiro.
After all, this wasn't the Leaf Village anymore!
There were no annoying Byakugan or dogs, so he didn't even need to use the Transformation Jutsu to stroll into the land of soft jade and hot springs!
---
On the other side, on the largest kabuki street in Hot Mist City, in the highest six-story tower.
Tsunade Mei leaned against the doorframe, lazily yawned, and stretched her waist.
The young girl's figure swayed in the sunlight, catching the attention of passing tourists.
Three days ago, she brought the willing-to-be-sealed Hozuki Suigetsu to the place where Kikashi Yagura had left his mark, which was the largest hot spring entertainment venue in the entire Land of Hot Water, the kabuki street.
When Hozuki Suigetsu entered the room to meet Yagura, intense arguments soon broke out inside.
For three whole days, no one came out.
If the meals delivered daily hadn't been eaten, Tsunade Mei would have thought that Yagura and Hozuki Suigetsu were about to starve to death inside.
Despite her young age, Tsunade Mei was eager to contribute to saving the Mist Village.
However, the terms used in the arguments were too complex, and as someone who hadn't been formally involved in the politics of the Hidden Mist Village, she found it hard to fully understand what they were discussing.
She could only grasp the general idea, that the two people inside disagreed on the coup, especially when Hozuki Suigetsu mentioned 'killing both the Daimyo and the Third Mizukage.'
Yagura would immediately retort with a face full of spittle, saying, 'Are you crazy? Who will pay if you kill the Daimyo? You or your Hozuki family?'
Then the two would engage in various discussions about this, from border fortresses to what the new political system should look like.
Neither could convince the other.
Tsunade Mei could tell that Hozuki Suigetsu's proposals were based on the heretical words spoken by Uchiha Shi.
At such moments, she couldn't help but think of that brave young man.
Tsunade Mei rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the railing, her gaze aimlessly wandering, with Uchiha Shi as the focal point.
Occasionally, she would blush, then breathe heavily and feel her bones turn to jelly.
What had happened to him after leaving the Evil God Sect?
Was he still alive?
Had he saved Hidan?
Where was he now?
At that moment, Tsunade Mei blinked, and she thought she saw Uchiha Shi's figure appear before her.
She quickly patted her cheeks and rubbed her eyes.
She told herself, 'Tsunade Mei, you can't keep indulging like this.
You are a powerful kunoichi who will save the Mist Village; you can't be thinking about men from other villages all day.
But not thinking about him felt so difficult, like chestnuts without chestnuts, incredibly dull.
Hmm... I'll think about him at most ten times a day!
However, after rubbing her clear, green eyes, the figure of the young man not only didn't disappear but became even clearer.
Tsunade Mei was stunned and looked down.
She saw a young man, furtively clutching a ten-thousand-ryō note, pacing nervously in front of the tower, his forehead drenched in sweat.
His eyes were unfocused, looking around nervously, swallowing hard, then trembling, he reached out to a geisha standing on the street, lifting her hair, and showing a self-assured smile.
"Hi~!"
Tsunade Mei's pupils instantly contracted to a needle point!
"Uchiha... Shi!"
There is one more chapter, which will be a bit late.
At the strong request of the group, I'm posting a sweet chapter.
Although it's a bit late, I still wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day.
(End of Chapter)