At a training ground in Konoha.
Chiyo and several elderly shinobi were waiting quietly. These old men were all bound by ropes, and sealing techniques had been placed on them to suppress their chakra.
The only one not restrained was the young girl standing beside Chiyo, her cheeks painted with oil markings.
The girl looked nervous and uneasy, but her eyes were filled with anticipation, as if she were waiting for someone.
Swish!
Yami appeared with Pakura using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
āSensei!ā
The oil-painted girl's eyes lit up, and she couldnāt help but shout out.
Pakura smiled when she saw her. āItās been a while, Maki. Youāve grown so much in the blink of an eye.ā
The girl Chiyo had brought was Maki, Pakuraās former apprentice from Suna, the one she had long missed.
Yami didnāt disturb the reunion between master and student. He walked straight to Chiyo.
āIām honestly surprised. I thought you were one of the ones who betrayed Pakura.ā
Chiyo, already in her seventies and looking like she could pass any moment, smiled as she handed over a scroll. āThis is the record of that meeting. I had already stepped down from the Eldersā Council by then. I only found out later that such a foolish decision was made. If the Hokage wants to take my life, thereās no need to find excuses. Just do it.ā
Yami shook his head. āForget it. Youāre already near the end of your life. Thereās no need for me to dirty my hands.ā
He tossed the scroll to Pakura and turned to leave.
The affairs of the village had basically been settled. Yami had become a hands-off Kage, devoting most of his time to training, and a small part to research.
Strength was the foundation of everything. Although he was already incredibly powerful by the standards of the current ninja world, he was still far from being able to face Six Paths-level Madara, the Sage of Six Paths, or even Åtsutsuki Kaguya.
In fact, the most brutal shortcut was to directly kill Nagato, Obito, and others to steal the Rinnegan and force the collapse of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
But this would be no more than drinking poison to quench his thirst. The benefit was far too small.
Without the Ten Tails, Six Paths Madara, or Kaguya, he would be giving up the biggest bond rewards the ninja world had to offer.
What if Åtsutsuki clan members showed up again in the future?
To achieve ultimate strength, Yami could only remain patient and wait for the day he could reap everything in one swoop.
After Yami left, the nervous Maki finally relaxed. She clung to Pakuraās arm and whispered, āSensei, was it the Hokage who saved you back then?ā
Pakura nodded. āHe intercepted Kirigakureās intel and sent someone to rescue me.ā
āThen⦠have you ever thought about going back to Suna?ā Maki asked hesitantly.
āWhat would I go back for?ā
Pakura glanced at the people who had betrayed her, her eyes full of disdain. Was there anything worth loving in such a village?
āMaki, one day youāll understand. Yami is the one who can truly bring peace to the ninja world.ā
She gently patted Makiās head. āDonāt hold on to thoughts of Suna anymore. Donāt make things harder for me, okay?ā
Step, step...
Chiyo slowly walked over. āPakura, the people who betrayed you are all here. Do with them as you wish.ā
Pakura looked at her without speaking. She raised her hand and formed a Scorch Release fireball, tossing it toward the traitors.
Screams echoed through the training ground. Pakura deliberately controlled the fireballās temperature to ensure theyād feel the agony of being burned alive.
After more than a minute, the screams died down. Several bodies were reduced to charcoal.
Maki cowered behind Pakura in fear, but Chiyoās expression remained unchanged.
She didnāt speak until the crease between Pakuraās brows finally eased. āPakura, Rasa is dead, and now these traitors are dead too. The only ones left in the village are shinobi who see you as a hero.ā
āI even questioned the captives brought back during the Konoha Crush. You only targeted Iwa-nin, which means you still have feelings for Suna.ā
Chiyoās cloudy eyes were filled with a pleading look. āPakura, please come back. Suna needs you. You can become the Fifth Kazekage.ā
āWith your relationship with Yami, Suna will never become an enemy of Konoha. That benefits both villages.ā
āSo this is your plan.ā
Pakura immediately saw through Chiyoās intention and shook her head firmly. āAfter what happened, thereās nothing left between Suna and me. Who you choose as Kazekage is your own business. Donāt involve me or my student again.ā
With that, Pakura took Maki and left. Their conversation was not overheard by Chiyo.
āMaki, remember, from now on, you're one of Yami's people. If anyone from Suna comes looking for you, you must tell me. If you don't, don't blame me for forgetting our master-disciple bond. Yami will go to Suna personally.ā
The arrival of her beloved student brought Pakura joy, but it could not compare to Yami's.
If she had to choose between the two, she would pick Yami without hesitation.
She made herself clear now to prevent future trouble that might force her to kill her own student for the greater good.
She was also warning Chiyo not to entertain any ideas she shouldn't.
Chiyo understood the message and sighed helplessly.
Knowing her plan to make Pakura Kazekage had collapsed, she didnāt linger in Konoha and left.
In the large training room exclusive to the Hokage.
Yami was reviewing his gains from the Iwa operation.
---
[Status Panel]
[Name: Shimura Yami]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 18]
[Date of Birth: April 1, Year 46 (Konoha Calendar)]
[Chakra Attributes: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Lightning, Yin, Yang (All Limit Break)]
[Total Chakra: 4.5 Hashiramas (1 Hashirama ā 11 Narutos, 1 Naruto ā 100 Kakashis, 1 Kakashi ā 5 Standard JÅnin Chakra)]
[Bond Points: 66,431]
---
The chakra increase from bond rewards had started to taper off. His chakra pool was already enormous. In the past two years, it had grown by one full Hashirama. Half of that came from system rewards, the other half from natural growth.
As for other attributes and nature transformations, he had already reached the peak of the ninja world. Most entries offered by the system now were practically useless, not even as good as chakra upgrades.
What mattered most now was the surge in bond points.
One battle defending Konoha and the pain inflicted on Iwa had caused his bond points to skyrocket.
The Iwa mission, in particular, had yielded massive gains. Hundreds of Iwa-nin had been lost, contributing tens of thousands of points.
The survivors hated him to the bone, providing immediate Stage 2 hate bonds ā 10 points per person.
It was a pity he hadnāt wandered around Iwa more; he could have earned even more.
No matter. There would be opportunities later.
Now, the issue was how to spend these bond points.
---
[Special Talents: Åtsutsuki Bloodline (Normal), Senju Bloodline (Limit Break), Uzumaki Bloodline (Ultimate), Uchiha Bloodline (Ultimate, Eternal MangekyÅ), Byakugan (Genius), Sage Art Affinity (Ultimate), Scientific Research Talent (Genius), Swordsmanship Genius, Ninja World Darkness, Mother-in-Lawās Expectation, Space Talent (Ultimate)]
---
First of all, the Uzumaki bloodline could be set aside. He already had Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mindās Eye of the Kagura, and freakish vitality. It was no longer a limiting factor. Even upgrading it wouldnāt change much.
He first invested in the Uchiha bloodline.
20,000 points vanished instantly. Yami immediately felt a change.
His stagnant pupil power suddenly surged, breaking through a bottleneck.
Very good. For now, he could only place Susanoo on the Wooden Golem. But in the future, he hoped to place it on the Buddha.
For the remaining points, Yami decided to upgrade the Åtsutsuki bloodline by one level.
Just as he made that decision, the system that had always been cold and mechanical finally responded.
A blood-red alert flashed in his vision.
---
[Warning: Current chakra insufficient. Forcibly upgrading Åtsutsuki bloodline may cause unpredictable bodily damage.]
---
Yami was stunned.
What? Are you serious?
Iāve got 4.5 Hashiramaās worth of chakra, and youāre telling me itās not enough?
The system responded coldly.
[Only when chakra exceeds 5 times that of Senju Hashirama will bloodline evolution be safe.]
Helplessly, Yami had to abandon the upgrade.
After some thought, he spent another 20,000 points to raise Sage Art Affinity to its highest level.
In an instant, his perception of natural energy became much sharper. After testing it, he found he only needed one minute of gathering natural energy to enter Sage Mode, and could fight in it for ten minutes.
But Yami still wasnāt satisfied. What he wanted was permanent Sage Mode, absorbing natural energy while fighting and maintaining it indefinitely.
Just as he was about to use Reverse Summoning to go to the Shikkotsu Forest to learn Sage Art, the doorās trap was triggered.
Yami frowned but didnāt open the secret room door.
Outside stood Yuichi. Upon seeing him, Yuichi reported, āYami-sama, Uchiha Sasuke awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Both he and Uzumaki Naruto were sent to the hospital.ā
āWhat happened? Did they run into an enemy?ā
āNo⦠Shisui-sensei said they brought it on themselves.ā
Yuichiās tone was a little sour.
Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan at age seven, and only now reached Three Tomoe. Compared to others, his speed was slow.
But if you only looked at the time from Two Tomoe to Three Tomoe, it was frighteningāless than a year.
No wonder Yami thought he could beat Itachi.
āAlright. Iāll go take a look.ā
After sending Yuichi off, Yami shelved his Shikkotsu Forest plans and headed straight to the Leaf Hospital.
Tsunade had just exited the two wards, followed by a few medical-nin.
Seeing him, she frowned. āYour way of training apprentices is too brutal. Those two werenāt sparring. They were trying to kill each other.ā
Yami put on an innocent face. āIām busy every day. When do I even have time to train my apprentices? This has nothing to do with me.ā
Tsunade snorted in disbelief.
DanzÅ got blamed for everything, and Yami just played dumb. These Shimura men were a real pair.
āGo in. Sasukeās been asking for you.ā
With that, she walked away, her expression subtly awkward.
Lately, Tobirama had been constantly nagging her about having children, which made her mind wander whenever she saw Yami.
Yami didnāt think much of it and stepped into the ward.
Naruto was asleep, his head and body wrapped in bandages. Sasuke wasnāt in much better shape, his face covered in scratches, but he was awake.
Seeing Yami enter, he got excited and tried to speak.
But Yami interrupted him. āTell me what happened first. Then you can ask your question.ā
(To be continued.)