Raizen finally said his goodbyes to Hashirama. He didn't hesitate or falter this time—the path he wanted was clear. His goal wasn't some petty rivalry or a single duel; it was the chaos of the entire Warring States era that needed to be ended. A place without war. A place where children could play safely and villagers wouldn't tremble at bandit raids. That vision alone now drove him forward.
But Raizen knew better than to fool himself. Pacifying the Warring States wouldn't be as easy as smiling and making friends. First, he had to become stronger—so strong that no one in the world could stand against him. Only then could he hope to bend the chaos to his will.
So, in the months that followed, Raizen quietly consolidated his strength. Every day was a mix of disciplined training, refining chakra, and ticking off the system's achievements like a gamer leveling up in a brutal open-world map.
The Warring States were lawless. Bandits, marauders, and opportunists ran rampant, and every village seemed to have its own nightmares. For those who preyed on the weak, Raizen became a shadow of death—a demon in human form. Any bandit who crossed his path met a swift and merciless end.
For the villagers who yearned for peace, however, Raizen became a symbol of salvation. Word of his deeds spread quietly at first, whispered from village to village, until the name "Amamiya Raizen" carried weight throughout the Land of Fire. Reputation was a strange currency, and Raizen knew that when the right moment came, this goodwill could become a weapon just as sharp as any kunai.
A year passed. Raizen was seven now, and his footsteps were etched across nearly every corner of the Fire Country. The wars of the four major clans—Senju, Uchiha, Hayi, and Hyuga—raged relentlessly, leaving the land soaked in blood and despair.
The Senju clan, besieged by the Hakata and Uchiha clans, allied with the Hyuga to resist. Over months of relentless conflict, the Senju emerged as the first major power of the Warring States, able to hold their own against both the Yuyi and Uchiha. The Uchiha, weakened from prior battles, couldn't press the attack fully, so the Senju shifted focus to the Yuyi clan.
With this shift, the Hyuga, still recovering from clashes with Hakata, withdrew to consolidate their strength, letting the Senju-Hakata conflict dominate the battlefield. By the year's end, the original four-clan war had contracted into a brutal three-way struggle: Senju, Uchiha, and Hakata.
The fighting was merciless. A year prior, the Yuyi had lost Kubota Marsh; now, at Hongdi Mountain, a Senju ambush annihilated much of their elite force, destabilizing the clan entirely. Taking advantage, the Uchiha struck from the north, besieging the Yuyi patriarch in the Qingfen Mountains. With their leadership shattered, the Yuyi—once rulers of northern Fire Country—faced near-extinction. Opportunistic smaller clans moved in swiftly, seizing what little remained.
The wheel of history rolled on. Raizen's presence hadn't altered the natural course of war—but he was quietly carving a path that might influence the outcome. Victory and defeat danced on a knife's edge, and the final conflagration among the Senju, Uchiha, and Hakata loomed closer.
Raizen was seven. So were Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna. Hashirama and Madara, their older brothers, were nine. Hatred and rivalry simmered across the clans, tensions teetering on the brink of open war.
Meanwhile, Raizen's own abilities flourished. Over the year, he opened the Eight Inner Gates up to the third gate, mastered the magical Kagami ice crystal, perfected the detonating clay techniques, and fully controlled the one-handed Jiyin method. His Yin speed surged from the first four seals to seven, and a host of new ninjutsu and system achievements cemented his growing dominance.
With a year of travel, combat, and training behind him, Raizen finally turned his steps homeward—to the Amamiya family. The gears of the Warring States were shifting, and his return would be the spark that set them turning faster.