It's getting harder and harder for the two villages not to go to war.
The Akatsuki's plot was in motion, and yet the villages had no idea.
Even the people of Kirigakure were completely lost—because their Mizukage, Yagura, was under someone's control.
Nagato wasn't like Obito. Even though he had taken control of Yagura, he wouldn't let him act recklessly and ruin everything just for the sake of the plan.
It wasn't going to be a mess like in the original story.
That kind of chaos would've weakened Kirigakure, and they'd suffer in the upcoming war.
That's not what Nagato wanted. He needed Kirigakure and Sunagakure to be locked in a tough, drawn-out battle—the more brutal, the better.
These past few years, Obito had been dying to make a move on Kirigakure, but Nagato was in the way. So even if Obito wanted revenge, all he could do was mess around on the surface.
The trouble with Sunagakure had basically been cleaned up, and the warning had been loud and clear.
Unless some village completely lost its mind, nobody would dare casually mess with Konohagakure anymore.
Even the Akatsuki would start shifting their focus toward other villages.
Yan returned to Konoha with his team.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I thought you were just going to handle the situation normally. Didn't expect you to make Sunagakure famous. Poor Rasa, running around like a scared little mole,"
Tsunade teased as soon as Yan stepped into the Hokage's office.
"It was the most direct and effective way. Got the job done and scared off the right people."
Yan leaned back lazily on the couch and asked,
"The village didn't get any protests from Sunagakure, right?"
"None at all."
Tsunade raised her brows, looking a bit pleased.
"Rasa probably chose to take the hit. If he sent someone to complain, it wouldn't help him—it'd just make him look even worse."
"I get the feeling he really cares about his pride. Though, deep down, the guy's got a pretty nasty heart."
"Yeah, he's the type who wouldn't even spare his own wife or kid,"
Yan nodded in agreement.
"Oh, and I made sure to warn the old man. Just in case things really got out of hand—if you went on a revenge spree, I wouldn't even know how to stop you."
All just a bunch of headaches waiting to happen.
Oh really?
Yan gave a wide grin.
"Doesn't matter. If you try to stop me, I'll just take the Uchiha clan and join another village. I'm sure they'd be happy to have us."
He never made that move before because he didn't have the power.
But seriously, don't go around talking about running off with the whole clan.
Even if you did leave Konoha, how far could you really get?
If it ever reached that point, it would mean total war with Konoha.
And how many Uchiha could actually escape the village—escape the Land of Fire?
"Screw you, man."
Tsunade couldn't help but flip him off with her middle finger.
Come to think of it, she actually learned that rude gesture from Yan.
"Hahaha…"
Yan laughed loudly as he walked up to Tsunade. Ignoring her speechless look, he leaned in close and took a deep breath.
"Mm, you smell nice."
"..."
*You really want me to hit you, don't you?*
With dark lines on her face, Tsunade raised her fist. One more smartass move and she was gonna punch him.
It was one thing to mess around at home—but doing this in the Hokage's office? If someone saw them, the gossip would be endless.
Seeing Tsunade about to blow up, Yan quickly made his escape.
Time to go home and rest up—tomorrow he was taking his cute fiancée out for a picnic.
Hinata was a little foodie, but she always held herself back in the village.
It was perfect timing. Yan needed to relax too, and a picnic would be a great way to spend time together and grow closer.
Love, after all, was something you built up from a young age.
Just thinking of Hinata's shy, red-faced look made Yan want to laugh.
That bashful nature of hers hadn't changed much.
Luckily, Yan had always respected the line—he'd never crossed it with Hinata.
Some things should wait until she was of age, at the very least.
The next day, Yan took Hinata—who had skipped class—with him and left the village. With an Anbu team leading the way, they stopped at a spot with a natural waterfall.
The Anbu handled the prep—setting up a stove, chopping firewood, all that stuff. Once the firewood turned to charcoal, Yan would start grilling meat.
"How's school lately? I heard it's getting kind of intense."
"Yeah."
Hinata answered with a big smile.
She loved spending time outdoors with Yan. Going on a picnic made her feel free, like she'd left all the pressure behind.
After a few years, she could now be totally natural around Yan. When she got tired from playing, she'd curl up in his arms to rest.
"Ever since Naruto and Sasuke stopped coming to school, a lot of our classmates suddenly started working way harder—especially the girls who like Sasuke."
Sasuke had stopped coming to school.
So did Naruto. With Sasuke gone, girls like Sakura and Ino—who used to fight over him and dreamed of marrying into the Uchiha clan—started taking things seriously.
They wanted Sasuke to see a new, better version of them when he returned.
That kicked off a wave of intense studying across the class. Other classes joined in too.
Even if the students didn't want to compete, the teachers pushed them to.
So everyone got caught up in it, and before long, the whole ninja academy was in full-on grind mode.
The pressure from cram schools only made things worse. The academy teachers, not wanting to be left behind, joined the grind too.
In the past, ninja school had pretty long breaks. Now? Forget it. Everyone had to come back for extra lessons.
Even classes in the evening were extended, and while most students were miserable, they had no choice.
Too bad the teacher didn't care. You should be glad you didn't have to stay for evening classes—still complaining?
Keep whining and even your regular breaks will be gone. Then you'll know what real suffering is.
A bunch of lovestruck girls stirred up the whole ninja school. Honestly, you have to admit—Sasuke really hit some kind of peak achievement. That kind of influence? Not many can pull it off.
As they talked about funny stuff happening at school, Hinata couldn't stop laughing.
She thought all this over-the-top competitiveness was kind of fun and interesting.
"......"
People who lose their minds over love are a real headache.
Thinking about how Sakura in the original story was willing to do anything for Sasuke, it makes sense why she's like this now.
Totally irrational and blinded by love. Compared to her, Ino at least kept a bit of her brain. She wasn't as extreme as Sakura.
"You can eat now."
Yan handed over the freshly grilled meat to Hinata, and she happily started eating. But partway through, her cheeks suddenly turned red.
She realized Yan was grilling at the same pace she was eating.
"You guys."
After grilling for a while and planning to eat himself, Yan waved toward a few hidden Anbu in the distance.
What are subordinates for?
Aren't they there to be ordered around? Can't even grill meat? How'd you get into the Anbu?