Yahiko vanished after personally enrolling Toneri at the Academy, slipping out of Konoha without a word. No one knew where he went.
What people did know was that the household of the second-year Academy prodigy Tenten had gained a new cook, an absurdly skilled one, who went by the name Indra.
Time passed in a blink.
One month later, Konoha Year 54, April 1st, late at night.
A humanoid shadow silently emerged from Tenten's bedroom, phased through the wall, and settled onto the roof tiles of her home, sitting cross-legged along the eaves.
"…Finally done," the shadow muttered. "That freeloading cat nearly drove me insane. I seriously considered cooking it."
The figure resolved into Yahiko's familiar form.
A month earlier, he'd discovered that his utterly shameless feline summon had crossed every conceivable line—feeding Tenten its own blood as a 'supplement' to accelerate her training. Yahiko had been left with no choice but to intervene.
That very night, while Tenten slept, he had slipped into her room and confirmed his fears.
Her chakra had already begun absorbing traces of the Two-Tails' nature.
Not only that—her reserves far exceeded those of her peers, even surpassing Karin's at the same age.
No wonder she'd outperformed Neji.
If this continued, she might grow into something dangerously close to legends like Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
It was a blessing… and a liability.
Such chakra could easily attract Akatsuki's attention.
The cat itself would be nearly impossible to capture but Tenten would not.
Fortunately, the contamination was still minimal, undetectable to outsiders. Rather than cause panic, Yahiko chose the quiet solution.
Every night, he returned to help her body "digest" the excess chakra, suppressing the Two-Tails' fluctuations.
The results were undeniable.
Tenten's growth skyrocketed and with the added burden of hauling around an ever-fattening summon during training, Neji had little hope of reclaiming first place anytime soon.
Konoha itself, meanwhile, had been putting on one dramatic act after another.
With the war over and shinobi returning from the front lines, Yahiko had expected immediate clashes between the Senju and Uchiha.
Instead, the opening act was… a romantic comedy.
One night, Tsunade quietly left the village with Shizune in tow. Yahiko noticed immediately and assumed something catastrophic had happened.
Instead, Tsunade, blushing like a teenager confessed that two years earlier, on her mother Gōka's deathbed, she'd been urged to settle down… specifically with Jiraiya.
Her head was a mess. She needed space.
And, apparently, a lot of gambling.
As for Dan Katō—the unremarkable man who had survived the Second and Third Wars—he finally met his end in this altered Fourth War.
Only Shizune truly mourned him.
Obito did too, in his own way—his grief pushing his Sharingan from two tomoe to three.
Dan's final contribution to history.
With Tsunade gone, Jiraiya naturally followed—chasing Tsunade, chasing Orochimaru, chasing "research."
And just like that, the Three Sannin were gone from Konoha.
The comedy ended.
The real drama began.
Konoha entered what many would later call the golden age of the Senju and Uchiha.
Not because of godlike figures—but because the village's overall strength reached unprecedented heights.
The Uchiha alone produced three Mangekyō Sharingan users simultaneously:
Kagami, Obito, and Shisui.
Yahiko strongly suspected Fugaku had awakened his as well—he simply hadn't revealed it.
The Senju, weakened by Tsunade's departure, seemed disadvantaged… until twelve-year-old Itachi manifested Wood Release.
That single sapling tipped the scales.
Wood Release inspired both awe and terror.
And so, the prodigiously talented "Senju Yahiko" was dragged into the spotlight.
Contracts had been made. Promises sworn.
With one infuriatingly stubborn elder refusing to intervene, the Senju were boxed in by their own words.
The solution?
A loophole.
The name Senju Yahiko disappeared.
In its place stood a boy bearing a different surname—
Uchiha Sasuke.
The Uchiha were furious.
The village boiled.
External war had ended; internal conflict ignited.
Hiruzen had intended to retire—but now he couldn't.
He begged Minato to reclaim the Hokage's mantle.
Minato wavered.
Kushina did not.
And so Hiruzen endured—bolstering ANBU, recruiting rising talents like Kakashi and Genma, assigning others to vital posts.
Rin replaced Tsunade as head of medical operations.
Every effort was made to stabilize the coming transfer of power.
Hiruzen—once annoyed by Yahiko's meddling—now desperately wished the old man would reappear and cut through the chaos.
Yahiko, of course, had no intention of showing up just because he was asked.
Inside the Academy, however, the children lived in a different world entirely.
Naruto's preferences were no longer a concern—he had developed an unmistakable crush on Sakura.
Unsurprisingly, Sakura still wanted nothing to do with him.
She preferred Sasuke.
Ino and Sakura never fell out over him—there were simply too many handsome boys this year.
With Toneri fixated on Hinata, Ino shifted her attention to Sai.
Toneri, hopeless at romance, hovered around Hinata with unwavering devotion, leaving the poor girl fleeing in embarrassment.
Yahiko could only shake his head and smile.
Sasuke grew quieter after his name change.
Naruto didn't care.
He was still an idiot.
And once Naruto realized Sakura liked Sasuke, their rivalry escalated into constant brawls.
Naruto's grades fluctuated wildly—third place one test, dead last the next.
Transformation Technique, without fail.
But in every subject, one thing remained constant:
Sasuke was always ahead.
Except for one.
Both of them were chasing Toneri.
Life was peaceful.
Yahiko intended to stay on the sidelines—earning witness points, watching history unfold, waiting until he could casually resurrect legends just to pass the time.
Madara. Hashirama. Old friends.
But fate, as always, had other plans.
Kimimaro's bloodline illness had begun to surface.
And peace never lasted long.
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