After laughing his fill, Uchiha Yorin headed home.
The bandit den was several hundred kilometers from Konoha, but at a ninja's pace he could make the round trip in a day.
Plenty of time, even, for a bath, a change of clothes, a "full-service massage," and a few more sweep-and-loot runs on that bandit nest.
Bandits are meant to be farmed—always. No farming, no peace.
The Third Great Ninja War had just ended; the Land of Fire wasn't exactly tranquil—more like smoke on every horizon. Legions of "ambitious youths" were flocking to the promising career path of banditry.
They wrecked roads, cut trade, burned fields, sacked villages—stirring up more chaos and dragging the Land of Fire's economy down.
When the Land of Fire's economy slumps, the daimyo's tax take falls; when the daimyo's tax take falls, Konoha's military budget gets cut; when Konoha's budget gets cut, Yorin's stipends get cut too.
Round it up and it's simple: it's my money they're stealing!
Worse, in less than a year or two, Konoha and the Hidden Cloud will be at war. Endless wars on top of each other will make Konoha's already thin budget even thinner.
My money!
I didn't have much to begin with—and now even less!!
Uchiha Yorin: "I must deploy the Gundam!!"
He'd been clearing out bandits and brigands by the score—rogue ninja and defectors, too—but the vermin swarming the Land of Fire, not to mention the rest of the world, were obviously far more numerous.
From that angle, the Third Hokage's "turtle tactic" wasn't without merit. By constantly yielding and pulling back, he'd bought Konoha precious time to rest and recover.
Agonizing as it was, you have to remember: the ninja world is a race to the bottom.
Think Konoha is uniquely bizarre for hounding White Fang to death, breaking the Legendary Sannin's hearts until they left the village, sawing off one of its own arms, and crippling the Uchiha? That's only because you haven't looked closely at the other four villages.
Hidden Sand: coffers empty; the vermin up top sold out war hero Pakura; their great hope Sasori of the Red Sand defected and assassinated the Third Kazekage; the daimyo slashed the military budget and forced a so-called "elite force" policy; their war potential ran dry.
Hidden Stone: leadership at odds, a jinchūriki ran off, a tailed beast lost; the new generation's a pile of duds; the only standout, Deidara, defected; top-tier fighters have no successors, so they have to trot out that fossil Ōnoki to hold the stage.
Hidden Mist: the heavyweight disaster—"Blood Mist" policy went full deranged and bled away public trust; the Seven Ninja Swordsmen either ran or died. Yorin figured if Obito stirred the pot for two more years, the Mist wouldn't need an enemy to beat them—they'd finish themselves off.
So by comparison, Konoha "won" the race to the bottom—again proving a timeless truth:
You don't have to get better than everyone else. You just have to rot a little more slowly.
The one exception might be Hidden Cloud. The Third Raikage had strength, skill, and prestige to spare; the A–B combo's unity far outclassed the "You'll regret this" x "I'm the real Hokage" fake-brother act; the two jinchūriki—Yugito Nii and Killer B—were well loved. Practically flawless.
So is the Cloud the meta pick for this patch of the ninja world? If I immigrate to the Land of Lightning now, get a deep tan, and found a New Uchiha… is there time?
Looks like… no. Because the Cloud had already set their sights on Uchiha Yorin.
Not long after he cleared his sixth bandit nest, sprinting through a shadowed grove, Yorin skidded to a stop and scanned the dark: "Which village are you from? Since you've been spotted, no need to hide. Come say hi."
A few seconds later, a squad of masked, identity-concealing ninja emerged on all sides, encircling him.
In the original timeline, the war with the Cloud is a year out—but it seems they've already started laying pieces on the board.
At the same time, the dumb system chimed in.
[Emergency Quest · Cull the Small Fry: Has the Forest Senju's name lost its power to cow the rabble? Wipe them out and remind the world how terrifying Wood Release is! Reward: +1 free attribute point.]
Seeing the reward at the end, Yorin swallowed his snark. If it was handing out points, call him Senju—hell, call him Sage of Six Paths if you want.
Assuming he killed the "small fry" first.
"Small fry" or not, they weren't scrubs. The leader was jōnin-class, the rest solid special-chūnin to mid-chūnin. More than enough squad to ambush a jōnin.
Yorin carefully took in the surroundings and said, "Is the Hidden Cloud planning to break the ceasefire with Konoha? Right after the Third Great Ninja War?"
Hearing that, one guy who didn't look too bright blurted out from the crowd:
"We're wearing masks—how'd you know we're—"
He didn't finish. A teammate slugged him and shut him up.
Yorin rolled his eyes.
You think you're well hidden? Those short sleeves showing dark skin and that shock of blond hair—kinda gives it away, old man.
"Worthy of the Flame Claw of Konoha," the enemy leader said, paying Yorin a compliment. "Gotta hand it to that Sharingan."
He seemed to think Yorin had used his eyes to see through their identities. Yorin wasn't about to correct him. Let the Cloud keep their innocence:
"As for breaking the treaty—of course not. If you die, then no one knows it was us, right?"
He laughed. The others laughed along—then their laughter cut off, abruptly. Because Yorin was laughing with them.
"—What are you laughing at?!"
"Hyenas encircle a lion, then taunt it with full confidence. Isn't that funny?"
"Hmph…"
Even as he spoke, the leader drew his blade with a feral grin. "Let's hope your strength matches your reputation."
Yorin: "In that case—"
"—Do it! Don't look him in the eyes!"
In the next instant, all eighteen Cloud ninja moved at once—pairing up two by two—and drove kunai or blades into each other's vitals.
With bodies thudding down, blood spraying, and dying screams ripping the air, Uchiha Yorin walked—unhurried—toward the Cloud jōnin.
"Genjutsu!? When did you—!"
The sight shattered the man's composure; his voice had a tremor. "That's not what the intel said! Weren't you supposed to be weak at dōjutsu, specializing in the sword?!
…You hid it well, Uchiha Yorin. But are you sure it's okay to reveal your trump card like this?"
Yorin: "Perfectly okay. If you die, no one will know my eye techniques are strong, right?"
The Cloud leader froze, feeling a déjà vu—he'd heard those words a moment ago.
Right—he'd said them. This copyright-agnostic Uchiha had tweaked a few words and thrown them back.
"Arrogant. Careful you don't die ugly."
"Come and find out."
"Fine! My Cloud Lightning Blade style is no worse than your Leaf Flame Claw!!!"
Roaring, he charged. As he closed, his hand swept along his blade—lightning jumped, cloaking the steel. It looked a lot like Yorin's fire-chakra blade.
That ticked Yorin off. Uchiha are the ones who usually do the copying—today the heavens had flipped and someone else was ripping him off!
If I don't twist his head off and punt it like a ball today, I'll change my surname to Senju!
In a heartbeat, the jōnin-level fight erupted.
Body Flicker vs. Body Flicker.
Chakra-forged blade vs. chakra-forged blade.
Cloud's Lightning Blade vs. Leaf's Flame Claw!
Aside from being about eight times uglier, the guy fought like Yorin's mirror. That genuinely surprised him.
He'd figured the opponent would be more like Killer B—swinging "heron-culling" or supersonic Thunder-style sword techniques. He hadn't expected this.
Steel rang—ding ding ding—without pause. After one high-speed exchange, both flickered back, circling at breakneck speed, probing for openings while peppering kunai to harass.
The man's speed, strength, and physique didn't lose to Yorin's—solid jōnin level. His lightning-chakra blade work was legit, too.
What shocked Yorin more was the man's fighting style: it reminded him of someone—just a weaker version.
The name slipped out:
"White Fang of the Leaf?!"
Opponent: "That's right! You're not the only one who learned from White Fang! Even as an enemy, I couldn't help but be drawn to a warrior like him and emulate his way of battle. A tragedy—a man like that, driven to death by his own!"
Anger and respect mingled in his voice. Yorin sighed silently—and decided not to take the man's head after all.
"—!"
A heartbeat later, blood fountained from the Cloud ninja's neck. The furious duel ended in an instant.
He clutched at the wound, trying to stem the flow—to no avail.
Genjutsu.
He was under genjutsu.
"Wh-when… when did it happen…?" Eyes wide, he stared at Uchiha Yorin and forced the question out.
Uchiha Yorin: "From the start."
"…What?"
Uchiha Yorin: "Yes. From the very beginning, you were in my illusion."
As he spoke, his Sharingan flared—three tomoe shining blood-red. With that, parity tipped into Yorin's favor.
"…I see. Thank you."
His face cleared, and he offered Yorin a sincere thanks.
For what?
For the fight, of course.
Yorin could have humiliated him at will, yet chose to trade taijutsu like a man. That was why he'd volunteered for the mission, why he'd sought Yorin out.
Having gotten his wish before death, Urui of the Cloud—called the Lightning Blade—could die without regret.
…
A second later, the remaining Cloud ninja watched in shock as their leader, the Lightning Blade Urui, went rigid.
A gaping cut opened at his neck; blood gushed like water, and he collapsed, dead.
The system chime followed:
[Emergency Quest · Cull the Small Fry · Complete. Reward: Free Attribute Point ×1]