"Oh… I'm so jealous. When will our clan get to shine again…"
"Yeah, seriously…"
The older generation couldn't help but voice their envy.
Because in this world, strength is everything.
Resources, wealth, influence—they all exist to serve power. So pretending not to be jealous? Completely fake.
As the elders continued chatting and joking…
Yoruha and his friends were also gathered for a private dinner.
Back at Yoruha's home.
Sam, who had become incredibly skilled in the kitchen, had prepared a feast—a full table of delicious dishes for everyone.
The friends dug in happily, chatting and joking.
And of course, they couldn't help teasing Yoruha.
"Hey, bro! That ninjutsu you used earlier today—what was that? Can you teach us?"
Technically speaking, asking about someone's secret techniques was a huge taboo in the ninja world.
But Ino had never paid attention to those rules—at least not when it came to Yoruha.
"That was called Yin-Yang Release. You won't be able to develop it," Yoruha replied with a casual shrug.
Naturally, he wasn't about to reveal the truth—that it was tied to the Rinnegan. Too hard to explain.
Blaming it on Yin-Yang Release was simpler.
Once he mentioned that term, most people would chalk it up to some rare, untrainable advanced release.
After all, in over a hundred years of ninja history, only Uchiha Madara had ever truly mastered it.
"Yin-Yang Release? Aren't our Ino-Shika-Cho techniques considered part of that?" Choji asked, a little confused.
"I think what Yoruha means is that he has both Yin and Yang chakra natures at the same time," Sakura said, looking at him with envy.
"I do too! I know the Yamanaka clan's mental techniques and I've trained in medical ninjutsu—those are Yin and Yang, right?" Ino added excitedly.
"Same here," Hinata nodded. "The Hyuga clan is naturally gifted with Yin-based chakra, and I've developed Yang Release through my medical training."
In reality, mastering Yin and Yang chakra wasn't that rare.
Any skilled genjutsu user had Yin Release, and every trained medical ninja used Yang Release. Having both wasn't unheard of.
"You guys are thinking too small," Yoruha said, waving it off. "Yin-Yang Release isn't just having Yin and Yang—it's an eighth chakra nature that surpasses both. It requires fusing Yin and Yang into a new, unique chakra transformation."
That was the key.
The Rinnegan—born of Ōtsutsuki blood—naturally awakened the chakra attribute changes needed for Yin-Yang Release.
And ever since Yoruha had awakened his Rinnegan, those changes had automatically activated inside his body.
"Huh!? You can fuse Yin and Yang?" Shikamaru's expression turned serious. "Do you know how insane that is? People have died trying to fuse chakra elements!"
There were records in the Ino-Shika-Cho archives. Brave senior clan members had tried to fuse chakra types in the past.
It always ended badly.
"Wait—what? You tried chakra fusion on your own? Are you insane?" Ino gasped, her face draining of color.
"Yoruha, I remember—years ago, you asked me about chakra fusion!" Hinata added, swallowing hard. "Don't tell me you actually went through with it…"
The thought terrified her.
If anything had gone wrong…
She didn't even want to imagine it.
"It's fine. I didn't actually fuse them the way you're thinking," Yoruha said with a lazy grin. "Yin-Yang Release isn't about forcefully combining Yin and Yang—it's… complicated. Don't think too hard about it."
After all, he was a system cheater.
There was no way he'd risk a real chakra fusion experiment.
Not when Hinata hadn't even turned eighteen yet.
There were still so many wonderful experiences to be had.
Why would he risk dying now?
The next few days passed peacefully.
Konoha Village quickly returned to its calm rhythm.
News of the Akatsuki's attack was kept tightly under wraps. No leaks.
Tsunade made sure of that.
She wasn't about to let the world know just how powerful someone like Yoruha really was—not until there was no choice.
So during that time, Yoruha had it easy.
Relaxing, training occasionally, and generally enjoying himself.
Until, about two weeks later…
A special envoy from Kumogakure arrived—bearing a letter.
The Fourth Raikage was officially calling for a Five Kage Summit.
The topic?
How to deal with the Akatsuki.
Inside the Hokage's office…
Tsunade read the letter.
Then promptly crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash.
"Tch. That muscle-headed fool Raikage…"
She scowled.
"When I warned him months ago, he didn't care. And now that the Eight-Tails has been captured? Now he's panicking?"
Her lips curled in a smirk, full of disdain.
Last time she had invited the other villages to act against Amegakure, none of them had taken it seriously.
And now?
Now they wanted help.
"Lady Tsunade, please don't be rash," Shizune said gently, trying to calm her. "We need to think of the bigger picture. If even the Eight-Tails is gone, Naruto might be the last Jinchūriki left."
Everyone had assumed that once the Akatsuki leader was dead, the group would collapse.
But no one had expected Uchiha Sasuke to join them.
And even less expected him to actually capture the Eight-Tails.
"I know we can't ignore this," Tsunade said, frowning. "But have you seen the tone of that letter? The Raikage's arrogance is off the charts."
It was true.
The Akatsuki now had eight of the nine tailed beasts.
Tsunade wasn't particularly impressed by the beasts themselves—she had access to her grandfather's files, and those made the tailed beasts sound more like overhyped pets than apocalyptic weapons.
But still.
The Akatsuki's leader had attacked Konoha without using the tailed beasts.
Which meant…
They were being saved for something else.
Some kind of massive-scale, world-ending move.
So of course she wasn't going to ignore this.
She was just pissed off by how the Raikage had gone about it.
"Um… technically," Shizune said awkwardly, "the letter says that all the Akatsuki members are rogue ninjas from the major villages, not just Konoha… So the Raikage wasn't exactly blaming us…"
Well.
A pile of spicy trash is always better when there are four types of trash mixed in.
"Whatever. Call for a high-level meeting," Tsunade ordered. "We'll decide how to respond to this Five Kage Summit."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune nodded.
"Oh—and bring Yoruha in, too," Tsunade added. "If we attend, he's coming with me. He'll serve as my bodyguard."
"Of course!" Shizune smiled.
After all, the personal guards who accompany a Kage to a summit?
They're always considered the top candidates for the next Kage.
So yes.
Letting Yoruha go was absolutely the right call.
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