Chapter 72 — The Hero Uchiha Yujiro Returns to Loyal Konoha
Half an hour later, under the endless drizzle of Amegakure, Yujiro and Tsunade returned—
carrying the unconscious forms of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, both lying side by side in the mud.
The two men's bodies were twisted together in an oddly perfect heart shape.
Their faces, though bruised and swollen, were peaceful—almost satisfied.
Clearly, they'd just finished a "battle of friendship" that was far more emotional than strategic.
Tsunade, however, didn't share their tranquility.
Her expression was darker than the storm clouds overhead as she slammed a thick stack of ryo notes into Yujiro's palm.
Smack!
Exactly as he had predicted—the fight ended in a double knockout.
And Tsunade, the ever-generous sucker, lost one million ryo in their wager.
The Legendary Sucker lived up to her title magnificently.
Yujiro pocketed the cash, but instead of glee, a faint sense of dread crept over him.
"Damn… this woman's ability to burn money is even worse than I thought," he muttered under his breath.
"How am I supposed to afford a future with her?!"
He had originally imagined a glorious future—
reviving Senju Tobirama through Edo Tensei,
throwing an arm around Tsunade's shoulder,
and watching her great-uncle rage himself into a heart attack.
But now, when he really thought about it, the scene would probably play out the other way around.
Tobirama, standing there with a smug grin, laughing himself hoarse:
"Hahaha! You're marrying Tsunade? Oh, splendid! The Uchiha clan is finished! Hahahaha!"
There's a saying:
"Raise a useless son, and you ruin your own house. Raise a useless daughter, and you ruin someone else's."
Tsunade, unfortunately, was the second type.
The Legendary Money Pit, the destroyer of savings accounts, the goddess of bankruptcy herself.
And yet…
That figure, that face, that voice, that curve of her waist, those legs, those—
Ahem.
What Yujiro meant to say was: Tsunade, as a core character in the Senju Revival System,
was practically the canon heroine.
Conquering her would yield enormous system rewards.
Not conquering her would make his life… significantly harder.
Therefore—
it was clearly the system's fault.
"It's the system that's cursed me!" Yujiro lamented internally.
"If not for it, I'd be holier than the Sage of Six Paths himself!"
"Forget it," he finally sighed. "One step at a time."
He couldn't think of a solution now,
so he decided to deal with it later.
And so came the moment of parting.
When he first arrived in the Rain Country, Yujiro was just another Uchiha—
a promising ninja, sure, but nothing special.
Now, he was leaving as the uncrowned king of Amegakure,
the second-generation leader of Akatsuki,
a national hero of Konoha,
and—depending on who you asked—Tsunade's dangerously flirty younger boyfriend.
He had also allocated the 1 free attribute point from killing Danzo to Speed,
raising it to 11, far beyond normal limits.
At this rate, even if Shisui-bro leveled up again,
he still wouldn't be able to keep up with Yujiro's speed stat.
At the Rain Village gates, Yujiro waved farewell.
"See you, Nagato, Konan. Take care of Orochimaru-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei for me, okay?"
Bandaged from head to toe, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked more like hospital exhibits than shinobi.
Thanks to Tsunade's medical ninjutsu, their injuries had stabilized,
but it would be a couple of days before they could stand again.
Until then, they'd be lying around pretending to be ferns.
Konan gave a polite nod.
"Goodbye."
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"Bon voyage, Yujiro-kun."
Jiraiya opened his mouth as if to say something—then closed it again.
"…Ah, never mind. Good luck, Yujiro."
Only Nagato, ever the tsundere, kept his tone sharp.
"Goodbye. Let's hope that next time we meet… we won't be enemies."
Yujiro chuckled.
"Hahaha, yeah—let's hope not."
With that, he reached out, gently taking Tsunade's hand.
Together they stepped beneath a single umbrella, disappearing into the soft curtain of rain.
Their shoulders brushed; their whispers mingled; their closeness spoke volumes.
Anyone who saw them would agree—if those two weren't an item,
then Inuzuka's entire clan would sooner believe dogs could fly.
Jiraiya stared after them for a long moment.
Rain dripped from his hair.
"…," he murmured, expression unreadable.
A sigh escaped him—half regret, half resignation.
Maybe a little envy, too.
Because in the end, even the great Jiraiya had to admit—
Uchiha Yujiro really had become a legend.
The hero of Konoha…
and the man who stole the heart of its strongest woman.
Orochimaru: "What's wrong? Jealous?"
Jiraiya: "…"
Orochimaru: "Don't worry. You still have me."
Jiraiya's eyes glistened with tears—
not of heartbreak, but of something deeper, more poetic…
a profound love for the earth itself.
When they had first set out, there were four of them.
When they returned—there were only two and a tenth.
That extra 0.1, of course, was Shimura Danzo's head.
And because of that "0.1,"
Uchiha Yujiro received a hero's welcome.
At the gates of Konoha, a massive crowd had gathered.
Civilians and shinobi alike erupted into cheers as soon as they saw him.
People threw flower garlands, eggs, fruits, even instant ramen packets—
every offering they could think of to express their gratitude and joy.
Yujiro, smiling brightly, accepted it all with open arms.
This outpouring of affection wasn't entirely spontaneous.
A large part of it came from the relentless propaganda of The New Konoha Times,
which had painted Shimura Danzo as a child-eating, soul-sucking,
"eighty-babies-per-meal" bogeyman.
But there was another reason.
The ANBU had always had a terrible reputation.
They weren't like the Police Force,
who just dealt with street vendors and parking violations.
No—ANBU operatives were the kind of people
who put on a mask and suddenly forgot they had friends, family, or basic morality.
If they said they'd kill your whole family, they'd do it before dinner.
And it wasn't just enemy nations who suffered.
Allies, fellow villagers—no one was safe when ANBU came knocking.
So, naturally, they were feared and hated.
Until now, no one dared to speak about it—
lest "Cheka", Konoha's own secret police,
came knocking on their doors in the middle of the night.
But now?
Now that Danzo was dead and gone,
the people could finally let it all out.
They shouted, they celebrated,
and while their cheers were technically for Yujiro,
it was just as much a cathartic release of long-held resentment.
"The relationship between civilians and shinobi… truly fascinating,"
Yujiro mused quietly.
"Reverence, fear, envy, jealousy… and even hatred."
He smirked to himself.
"Just like in manga worlds—how ordinary people look at magical girls, psychics, or Batman."
"Such wonderfully rebellious commoners, aren't they?"
Outwardly, though, he maintained the perfect hero façade—
flashing a radiant smile and waving warmly at the crowd.
It occurred to him then—
who was the last Uchiha that had been this beloved by the village?
He thought for a moment.
"Oh, right. There wasn't one."
He was the first.
The first Uchiha to be hailed as a true hero of Konoha.
Yujiro threw back his head and laughed.
"Hahahahahaha!!"
The sound was bright and confident—but carefully restrained,
two degrees short of maniacal.
Just enough to seem bold, charismatic, and full of life.
His laughter only made the crowd cheer louder,
their adoration swelling like a storm tide.
And in that moment, Uchiha Yujiro understood—
this was what winning hearts truly meant.
Though fleeting and fickle, though it could vanish in a heartbeat,
at least for now—
he stood as Konoha's Hero.
From afar, the Third Hokage watched the scene unfold.
The faintest smile crossed his aged, tired face.
"So young… it really is good to be young," he murmured.
His voice trembled—not from weakness, but nostalgia.
He turned to the man standing beside him.
"Minato… he's the first Uchiha ever to be welcomed like this."
Minato nodded with a gentle smile that could have lit the whole village.
"Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it?"
Whether he missed the subtle weight in Hiruzen's tone or simply ignored it,
Minato's expression was pure sunshine—
arms open wide as he strode forward.
"Yujiro!"
"Minato!"
The two called out to each other almost in unison.
Yujiro casually tossed aside the small wooden box containing Danzo's head—
and then wrapped Minato in a fierce, heartfelt embrace.
It might have looked like coincidence,
but anyone who knew Yujiro's sense of humor would know better.
Because that little box?
It landed perfectly in Hiruzen's arms.
The old man blinked, then slowly opened it.
He looked down at his old comrade's lifeless face,
and quietly brushed the dirt from Danzo's forehead.
"You really made a mess of things, didn't you?" he murmured.
Cradling the box against his chest,
he turned his gaze toward Yujiro and Minato—
the two young men shining like the dawn.
"Danzo… were we like this once?"
"In an even older age, perhaps it was Hashirama and Madara standing there."
He sighed softly.
"They've all come back…
but we… can never go back."
"Never again."
A single tear rolled down the Third Hokage's cheek
and fell onto Danzo's cold, pale face.
Uchiha Yujiro — Current Stats
Attribute Level
Ninjutsu 8
Taijutsu 9
Genjutsu 9
Wisdom 8
Strength 11
Speed 11
Stamina 13
Seals 6
A fully matured close-combat powerhouse.
Main Jutsu:
Lightning Release Chakra Mode
Chidori Blade + Chakra Sword (Lightning-Fire Dual Blade)
Kunaicontrol Technique (developing toward Virtuous Wheel of Karma)
Super Strength
Dōjutsu:
Three-Tomoe Sharingan (currently mutating)
Sealing Technique:
Four Symbols Seal
Fire Release:
Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire, Dragon Flame Song.
Lightning Release:
Chidori Spear, Chidori Senbon, Chidori.
--