Three years of unbroken calm.
The shinobi world had settled into an unprecedented peace—not even a single local skirmish had flared up.
Not only was it peaceful, but the entire ninja world's ranks had dwindled to a shocking degree. Before the Third Great Ninja War, the five great villages together boasted over a hundred thousand registered shinobi. Now? The whole world could barely scrape together thirty thousand at most.
Of the seventy thousand missing, nearly forty thousand had died directly at Kai's hands.
The moniker "Death God of Konoha" had long since been replaced by a new title: "The God of Slaughter."
So, in a way, this era of peace was thanks to Kai. With so few shinobi left, there simply weren't enough to start a conflict.
As for Kai himself, life couldn't be more carefree.
He'd tease Kimimaro and the others when bored, and his relationship with Kurenai had only grown warmer—they were just one step away from crossing that final line. Every now and then, he'd even sneak off to share a forbidden moment with Tsunade.
The only thing that irked Kai was that his strength had plateaued—he'd reached the absolute peak of Super Kage level, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't break through to the Six Paths tier.
And that damned system? Silent as a grave. No matter how much he called, it never answered. Only his reputation points kept ticking upward, a sign that the system wasn't broken—just stubborn.
With Kai casting his shadow over the entire shinobi world, his reputation points had soared these past few years.
Staring at the counter—thirty-seven million and change—Kai sighed to himself. "Sigh… The ultimate lottery. Who knows when I'll ever reach that?"
It had been years since he'd drawn a prize, and now the urge was getting hard to resist.
Glancing at the "Advanced Reputation Lottery" option, Kai tried to reassure himself, "One million points, just one draw. Yeah, just once."
Heart pounding, he summoned the system: "System, system, get out here! I want to do an advanced reputation lottery!"
"Host, would you like to conduct an advanced reputation lottery?" The system's icy voice echoed in his mind for the first time in three years.
Hearing that voice, Kai couldn't help but grumble, "System, why've you been ignoring me all this time?"
"The system has no time to idle-chitchat with the host," came the frosty reply.
"Idle-chitchat…" Kai's face darkened, but he took a deep breath and thought: "Begin the advanced reputation lottery."
The familiar spinning wheel appeared in his consciousness. Without hesitation, Kai slammed the button in the center.
The pointer spun wildly. Compared to his first time, Kai's heart was much steadier—after all, he was already at the summit of the shinobi world. The advanced lottery didn't hold quite the same allure it once did.
As the pointer slowed, it finally stopped on the "Special" category.
"Special, huh? Not bad! Wonder what I'll get this time?" Seeing it land there, Kai couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.
The great wheel faded away, and a scroll materialized before his eyes.
With a thought, Kai reached out and grabbed it. In a blink, his consciousness snapped back to reality—a scroll now resting in his palm.
"A Bloodline Fusion Scroll?!"
Kai frowned, puzzled, until a flood of information poured into his mind.
Bloodline Fusion Scroll: A one-time-use special item. Seal a complete bloodline limit into the scroll, and it will transform into the perfect manifestation of that bloodline, then fuse flawlessly into the host's body.
Note: Only a fully manifested bloodline can be sealed into the scroll.
"So I can perfectly fuse a bloodline limit?" Kai mused, brow furrowed.
He'd always coveted Kimimaro'sShikotsumyaku and *Uchiha Itachi'sSharingan, but that "fully manifested" requirement was a pain.
What counted as fully manifested? For Shikotsumyaku, it'd mean Kimimaro's entire body. For the Sharingan, a complete pair of eyes.
Shikotsumyaku was out—the only one left in the world with it was Kimimaro.
So Kai set his sights on the Sharingan. Of course, not Itachi's pair—there were plenty of Uchiha out there, but Kai wouldn't settle for just anyone. He wanted a pair that was well-developed. Only then would the fusion be truly worthwhile. Otherwise, just awakening the Sharingan would be a headache.
"Well… I'll hold onto it for now. No rush. Got other things to do today." With that, Kai tucked away the Bloodline Fusion Scroll.
He stood, heading outside.
…
In three years, Kimimaro had risen to elite jōnin level, while Haku and Itachi had both reached full jōnin strength.
Especially Itachi—under Kai's guidance, his Sharingan had evolved to three tomoe. Even when facing elite jōnin-level Kimimaro, he was only at a slight disadvantage.
Looking at his three disciples, Kai couldn't help but feel satisfied.
"Alright," he said, "Three years have passed, and you've all earned your chūnin ranks. Too bad it's not wartime—otherwise, with your skills, you'd all be jōnin by now." He paused, then continued, "Now, I'm officially disbanding Team Kai!"
For Kimimaro and Haku, Team Kai's existence didn't matter much.
But for Uchiha Itachi, his heart skipped a beat—a trace of reluctance flickered in his eyes. In his mind, Kai had become even more important than his own father, Uchiha Fugaku.
Kai smiled, stepped forward, and ruffled Itachi's hair. "Itachi, whether Team Kai exists or not, you're always my student. If you ever have questions, come find me anytime. And don't forget—Kimimaro and Haku are your comrades."
"Yes, Kai-sensei!" Itachi Uchiha replied earnestly.
"Come on, barbecue's on me today!" With a laugh, he slung an arm around Kimimaro and another around Itachi, leading the way to the Akimichi family's barbecue joint.
Haku followed behind, smiling brightly.
Konoha's streets were as lively as ever.
Suddenly, a snippet of conversation drifted to Kai's ears.
"I'm gonna be Hokage, dattebayo!" A young, earnest voice—full of conviction.
"Hmph! As if. You'll never pass the entrance exam, idiot Naruto." Another childish voice shot back.
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