In the blink of an eye, two years had passed since Jie and Izumi left Konoha.
During those two years, Jie and Izumi traveled across most of the ninja world. They visited Loulan, an ancient city buried in the sands of the Land of Wind, and saw the Dragon Vein, a source said to contain infinite chakra.
Jie believed it was simply a place that absorbed and stored natural energy, similar to Ryūchi Cave. Its chakra was not truly infinite; it could slowly replenish itself by drawing in more natural energy.
Although legends claimed the Dragon Vein could bend time and space, Jie decided not to test it.
He was no longer alone.
If something went wrong and he was thrown into the past for several years, what would Izumi do by herself?
So after seeing the Dragon Vein and confirming its nature, Jie left Loulan with Izumi and headed for their next destination.
They also went to the Land of Snow, a small country covered in ice and snow all year round.
The ninja there had used their environment to develop Water Release into a crude form of Ice Release. Its power was not especially impressive, but from a visual point of view, Jie liked it quite a bit.
They visited the Land of Iron, the famous country of samurai. Then the Land of Hot Water, known throughout the ninja world for its hot springs. They also visited Tanzaku Town, one of the most famous entertainment and gambling towns in the ninja world.
Jie did not miss any of the places that had once been mentioned in the original story.
After traveling with him through so many countries, Izumi was completely satisfied. This journey belonged only to the two of them, and for her, there was almost nothing more she could ask for.
Still, Jie was the Hokage.
Even with the Magic Lantern Body Technique allowing him to stay in contact with Konoha at any time, Izumi felt it was about time they returned. After two years away from home, she had started to miss the village as well.
Jie did not object.
If they were tired of traveling, they could return and work for a while. When they became tired of work again, they could simply come back out and wander around the ninja world once more.
At his current level, Jie's strength had already entered a bottleneck. Even with the system's help, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan still needed time to evolve into the Rinnegan.
Over the past two years, Jie could clearly feel that the evolution had reached around ninety percent. The final transformation was close, but the last ten percent would not be easy to complete. According to his estimate, unless the system gave him a suitable reward, it would still take at least half a year.
In other words, half a year later, he would finally obtain a pair of Rinnegan that truly belonged to him.
That was not something he could rush, so Jie could only wait.
For some reason, however, he had been feeling uneasy recently. After thinking it over, Jie could only connect that feeling to Black Zetsu's escape.
Ever since the battle at Kumogakure, Black Zetsu had vanished with one Rinnegan. Jie had used Konoha's full strength to search for traces of him throughout the ninja world, but two years had passed, and there was still no news at all.
It was as if Black Zetsu had disappeared completely.
On the surface, the ninja world looked peaceful. No major wars had broken out, and the hidden villages had all quieted down. But Jie kept feeling that beneath that calm surface, something was moving in the dark.
He had no evidence.
But Jie trusted his instincts.
So it was not only Izumi who wanted to return to Konoha. Jie himself also felt that it was time to go back.
Just like when he left, Jie did not notify anyone before returning. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he quietly appeared in the Hokage's office with Izumi.
Inside the office, Itachi was handling documents.
As soon as the two figures appeared out of nowhere, Itachi instinctively went on guard, his body tensing as he prepared to react. But the moment he recognized them, his tension faded, and a look of genuine surprise crossed his face.
"Brother. Izumi-nee."
Itachi's voice carried rare joy.
During the past two years, they had met through the Magic Lantern Body Technique during Konoha's monthly meetings, so it was not as if they had completely lost contact.
But a projection was still only a projection. Seeing them in person was naturally different.
Jie looked at Itachi and nodded inwardly.
Compared to two years ago, Itachi looked much more mature. He seemed calmer and more confident, and the cold feeling he once gave off had mostly disappeared.
Through the meetings over the past two years, Jie had also seen clearly what Itachi had done for the village.
Nothing else needed to be said. Just the fact that Itachi had significantly increased Konoha's overall strength in only two years was enough for the entire village to look at him differently.
This was not the same Konoha Jie had taken over before.
Back then, Konoha was weak after years under Hiruzen. With enough money and resources, it could recover quickly.
Now things were different.
After years of rebuilding under Jie, Tsunade, and the others, Konoha had already become very strong. Improving it further was much harder than simply restoring a weakened village.
Yet under those conditions, Itachi had still managed to push Konoha forward significantly in just two years.
That kind of political talent was far beyond anything Hiruzen Sarutobi had shown.
It was also thanks to Itachi's help that Tsunade had not chased Jie down during the past two years. With Itachi handling more and more of the work in the Hokage Building, Tsunade's pressure had been reduced by quite a lot.
Because of that, Jie and Izumi had been able to enjoy their two-year journey in peace.
Now that he had returned and seen Itachi standing there in the Hokage's office, Jie felt even more certain about his earlier plan.
The Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Itachi.
It seemed more and more possible.
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