Five years slipped by in the blink of an eye after Itachi left the village. Time, as always, refused to linger.
In those years, the shinobi world entered a rare stretch of calm. The great villages largely kept to their own affairs. Iwagakure and Kumogakure toiled tirelessly, their efforts feeding into Konoha's surging prosperity.
Kirigakure, under the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, slowly emerged from the suffocating legacy of the Blood Mist, shedding its brutality step by step.
Sunagakure, on the other hand, found itself caught in a far more complicated position—balanced between pain and profit.
The reason was simple. The human puppets Jie Uchiha acquired were far too powerful to ignore. Before killing Sasori of the Red Sand, Jie had already stripped the rogue ninja of his entire collection, walking away with no fewer than twenty or thirty of the deadly constructs.
He then packaged them neatly and sold them back to Suna—each priced at a staggering fifty million ryō.
With a deal that cost him nothing, Jie walked away with profits in the billions. If not for Rasa's constant extraction of gold dust from the desert, that single transaction might have crippled Sunagakure entirely, adding it to the list of his "victims."
Could Suna have refused? In Jie's version of events, business was always a matter of mutual consent. He never forced anyone. Sasori's puppets were simply too valuable, and Suna too desperate to pass them up.
Officially, Rasa could only acknowledge that the purchase had been voluntary.
Privately… things were less convincing.
After all, negotiations tend to feel far less "mutual" when the Sword of Kusanagi is resting against your throat.
Still, regardless of the methods behind it, the outcome was undeniable. With support—willing or otherwise—from the other great villages, Konoha's growth accelerated at an unprecedented rate.
In just five short years, the village expanded dramatically. The towering walls that once defined and protected Konoha no longer marked its limits. Now, they stood merely as a boundary between the old city and the vast, ever-growing districts beyond.
Crash!
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade reduced the desk before her to splinters with a single, earth-shaking punch.
"Where is that brat, Jie Uchiha?!" she roared. "He's the Hokage, and he's been skipping work for days! I haven't even seen his shadow for a month! Who's the Hokage here—him or me?!"
Faced with her fury, Shikaku Nara could only manage a strained, helpless smile.
The secretariat had been created to ease the Hokage's burden, but Jie had pushed things far past reasonable. Over the years, his laziness had steadily worsened. At least before, he showed up on time, if only to go through the motions.
Last month, he'd appeared for a few days—just enough to remind everyone that Konoha technically had a Hokage. This month, though? Not even a trace. Even Fugaku Uchiha had no idea where he'd disappeared to.
As the Fifth Hokage, Jie seemed to devote more energy to avoiding work than doing it. For his subordinates, getting a meeting with him required nothing short of a miracle.
No wonder Tsunade was livid.
"Since the Hokage isn't here, should we approve these early graduation applications?" Shikaku asked, glancing at the three forms in his hand with faint hesitation.
"Approve them!" Tsunade snapped through clenched teeth. "Doesn't Jie Uchiha want to be a hands-off boss? Then his precious little brother can become a full-fledged ninja and help pay off his debts!"
Hearing that, Shikaku silently lit a candle for Jie in his heart. Still, her logic wasn't entirely unreasonable. Without further argument, he stamped the secretariat's seal onto the three forms.
...
"Achoo!"
Deep within a dark, damp underground cave, Jie Uchiha sneezed abruptly, his gaze fixed on the crackling campfire before him.
'Who's talking about me?' he wondered, rubbing his nose.
After a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea outright. Who would go around cursing a brilliant Hokage like him?
"Jie, is it ready yet?" Izumi Uchiha asked, sitting beside him and peering curiously into the bubbling pot over the fire.
"Relax, Izumi," Jie said, patting his chest with confidence. "I guarantee this will be the most delicious thing you've ever tasted."
More than five years had passed, and Jie had grown into a striking sixteen-year-old. Not long ago, he and Izumi had finally made their relationship official.
As for why something they had both understood for years needed to be spelled out so explicitly… Jie didn't bother trying to figure it out.
Understanding a girl's thoughts wasn't exactly a game with rewards—and he had no intention of playing it.
After making their relationship official, Jie took his girlfriend out of Konoha, planning a private trip just for the two of them—something they wouldn't forget.
"It should be ready now," Jie said with a small smile, judging the timing in his head. "I guarantee this is a flavor you've never tasted before."
The moment he lifted the lid, a rich, unique aroma spread through the cave. Izumi instantly leaned closer, completely drawn in.
"It smells amazing…"
But just as Jie was about to serve it, a sharp female voice echoed through the cavern.
"Jie, you're eating snake soup in Ryuchi Cave again!"
Along with the voice came three overwhelming auras. Even though he'd been caught on the spot, Jie didn't panic. He just looked… tired.
'Found again. Are these women part hound? No—no dog's nose is this sharp.'
With a quiet sigh, Jie used Wood Release to grow a few extra wooden bowls and chopsticks, calmly waiting.
"Jie Uchiha, I can't believe you're eating snake soup here again," the voice continued, full of grievance.
"Hiding in such a remote corner and not inviting us. If the White Snake Sage hadn't noticed, you would've gotten away with it."
Three beautiful figures appeared beside him, all staring at the pot with a mix of hunger and accusation.
"Jie… who are they?" Izumi asked softly, noticing how casually he treated them.
It wasn't that she doubted him. Izumi had already prepared herself for this kind of situation. It was just that… these three didn't quite feel human.
Hearing her question, Jie let out another sigh. "It's a long story. Just know that none of them are human."
He shot an annoyed look at the three women, who had already grabbed the wooden bowls and chopsticks and started picking out pieces of snake meat.
"With you three ancestors living here, your snake descendants really have it rough," Jie muttered.
The three in front of him were the highest-ranking beings of Ryuchi Cave—the Three Divine Priestesses... Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime.
As Ancient serpent sages who had mastered Senjutsu, they could freely take on human forms.
Not long after Itachi left the village, Jie had come to Ryuchi Cave to learn Senjutsu. Since he had signed the summoning contract, he was already part of their lineage.
Normally, learning Senjutsu here was simple in theory.
First, you had to pass the trials of the Three Divine Priestesses. Then, you would be brought before the White Snake Sage, who would bite you and inject Senjutsu Chakra into your body.
If you could control it and resist turning into a snake, you would gain Sage Mode. If not… you would become food.
Jie's situation, however, was completely different.
The moment he arrived and met the Three Divine Priestesses, the Settlement System directly granted him the perfect training method for Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode.
He didn't need the White Snake Sage's bite at all.
This shocked the White Snake Sage greatly. Impressed by his talent, she immediately declared that Jie would hold the highest status in Ryuchi Cave—second only to herself.
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