"Hehe!"

At that moment, Tamayo glanced at the fishing rod Nonoyu had left behind. He chuckled, tossed the fish he had gathered casually into the bucket, bent down, and picked up the rod.

Swish—

The rod tilted forward.

Mimicking Nonoyu's casting motion, Tamayo swung the rod until the line sank deep into the sea. Suddenly, he felt a heavy tug through the rod.

"Hm? A bite already? Could it be—I'm a fishing genius?"

Tamayo's face turned serious. He immediately tensed, gripped the rod with both hands, and began reeling it in rapidly, yanking upward with force.

This scene caught Minami's attention. His eyes widened, and he shouted in disbelief, "Seriously? If it's that easy, I should've gone too!"

Splash—

"Ahh!"

A figure was suddenly yanked out of the sea, clothes caught on the hook. He screamed in panic, flying toward the Three-Tails' shell before crashing down hard.

It was a boy with short white hair, wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt—Suigetsu.

His Hydrification Technique had just reached its limit, and he was preparing to come ashore—only to be accidentally hooked and fished out by Tamayo.

"A person? Wait, what?! I was fishing for fish! No one told me you could fish out people from the ocean!"

Tamayo stood there in stunned disbelief.

The shock he felt at that moment was no less than when Danzo suddenly turned into a giant tree.

Minami clutched his Thunder Blade Fang, utterly speechless.

"…" Uchiha Yu and Nonoyu, mid-conversation, fell silent in thought.

After a while—

Suigetsu was dragged before Uchiha Yu and Nonoyu by Tamayo and Nanfeng.

"Why were you following us?"

Yu's gaze remained calm, his eyes meeting Suigetsu's pale purple ones.

Flustered at first, Suigetsu forced himself to calm down. He stammered, "I... I... I want to join you guys!"

"…" Yu fell silent.

Upon hearing this, Tamayo's eyes lit up. He slapped Suigetsu on the back of the head and laughed heartily:

"Promising kid! Following us to restore the glory of the Uchiha—way better than sticking around in that Mist Village!"

"Hehe!" Suigetsu grinned and turned to smile sheepishly.

That simple pat made him feel far less afraid.

Nonoyu looked toward the silent Yu. Then she turned to the boy and asked gently:

"Why did you follow us in secret instead of coming forward and stating your intentions?"

Suigetsu lowered his head, fidgeting nervously: "I was afraid you'd send me back... so I figured I'd explain once we made it to land."

Nonoyu was momentarily speechless.

Yu spoke in a deep voice, "Why do you want to join us?"

Suigetsu trembled, his expression growing serious. He said earnestly, "The Mist's Bloody Mist policy terrifies me. I don't like my clan, and I don't like the village. I just want to find a place where I feel like I belong."

"And how can you be sure that you'll actually like it with us? What if you never find that kind of place?"

Yu asked, unyielding.

"I…"

Suigetsu's eyes darted left and right, unsure what to say. He stood awkwardly, completely stumped.

The question was clearly beyond him—he had no answer.

Tamayo gave Suigetsu's head another playful slap and grinned: "Then we'll just make a place we like together!"

"Yeah! That's right!"

Suigetsu's eyes lit up. Smiling again, he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Yu, voice full of excitement:

"I want to become your disciple!"

From the moment he witnessed Susanoo, Suigetsu had already made up his mind.

"…"

Uchiha Yu fell silent again.

He stepped to the side of Suigetsu, internally sighing at how people from the Hidden Mist always seemed so quick to kneel and beg for apprenticeship.

"Forget the apprenticeship. If you want to join the Uchiha, prove yourself first," Uchiha Yu added, "The Uchiha don't keep freeloaders."

Young Suigetsu looked up, a bit disappointed to see his kneeling had little effect.

"We're about to make landfall. Get ready."

Uchiha Yu's gaze swept past Suigetsu and landed on Nanfeng, Tamayo, and Nonoyu.

"Yes, sir—" the three replied seriously.

It didn't really matter to Uchiha Yu whether Suigetsu followed them or not. He just hadn't expected to recruit someone from the Hozuki clan of the Mist into the new village.

Tamayo grabbed little Suigetsu and laughed, "Kid from the Hozuki clan, stick with me! Work hard and one day, you'll be a full-fledged Uchiha!"

"Why with you? He should follow me!" Minami argued, grabbing Suigetsu's other arm.

He couldn't bear to see a promising little ninja fall into Tamayo's hands.

"And what, learn how to electrocute fish with a sword like you?"

"You—Tamayo!!"

"Minami!!"

Tamayo and Minami broke into insults, then both drew their blades with a roar. Brothers no more—they started dueling on the spot.

Now it was Suigetsu's turn to be dumbfounded.

—Half an hour later—

BOOM——

A thunderous sound echoed as the Three-Tails arrived onshore, the massive beast effortlessly destroying part of the coastline.

The nearby town had already been evacuated.

Standing atop the Three-Tails' head, the group flanked Uchiha Yu, scanning the surroundings.

Before Yu could seal the beast again—

Nonoyu stared ahead in surprise. "Captain, a team of ninja is approaching. They're wearing Sound Village headbands."

"Mm."

Uchiha Yu nodded, knowing this was urgent intel passed on through Orochimaru's network.

On the beach, three Sound ninja looked up at the island-sized beast docked at the shore.

Their pupils shrank. Faces tense. Breathing heavy.

Delivering messages used to be a hassle. But finding Uchiha Yu? Ridiculously easy.

If only it weren't for the suffocating pressure he exuded. It was unbearable.

The three ninjas forced down their fear and leapt onto the Three-Tails' shell, kneeling before Uchiha Yu.

The Uchiha squad's gazes fell upon them, each as heavy as a mountain.

The lead intelligence ninja calmed his breath and respectfully offered a scroll:

"L-Lord Yu, this is a message from Orochimaru."

Nonoyu activated her Byakugan, scanned the scroll to confirm it was safe, then handed it to Yu.

Reading the contents, Uchiha Yu's brows slowly relaxed. He looked in the direction of Konoha and spoke:

"Shinnō is in Konoha. No need to head to the Sound Village—go straight to Konoha."

At that, the Uchiha team's eyes lit up. Excitement burst forth.

They were finally returning to Konoha.

Among them, only Tsunade's pupils trembled. She stepped back, stunned.

Yu stored the scroll.

With a wave, he dismissed the Sound ninjas and sealed away the Three-Tails. In its place, he summoned Garaga.

On land, the Three-Tails was too slow. Shinya was faster.

Once again, the group rode the massive serpent, heading toward Konoha in grand procession.

At the head of the serpent, Uchiha Yu stood, deep in thought.

"Shinnō of the Shinobi World… this time, I think I'll give him a new name."

And how?

By capturing the 'Fortress' and sending him off to reincarnate.

Right now, with the ninja world in chaos, Konoha's external defenses were paper-thin.

That man had infiltrated Konoha, seeking the scroll to unseal 'Zero-Tails: Hollow.' The timing couldn't be better.

But just as the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole follows behind.

Find him…

And the new village would gain a new territory.

---

Konoha Village.

Hospital.

Every emergency room was brightly lit. In the corridors, patients were constantly being rushed in on stretchers.

Cries of pain. Screams.

They echoed through the entire building.

'Shinnō', disguised as a doctor, walked down the hallway. A surgical mask covered his face. His off-white hair curled slightly, and his gaze was deep.

At that moment, centered on his body, a torrent of dark purple—nearly black—chakra was being absorbed.

This chakra wasn't visible to others.

It was composed of all the negative emotions pouring out of the patients: despair, pain, suppression, sorrow, helplessness—all blended together into a sinister force.

°°°

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