"Who upset you again? Just tell me, and I'll teach them a lesson tonight."
Although a little flustered, Yami still approached with a teasing smile.
He wanted to hug Izumi, so naturally, he started with the easiest one to coax.
But this time, it was clear that the two girls had already discussed it beforehand and had no intention of letting Yami get off easy.
Izumi lightly dodged, ran to the stairs, and made a face at him. "You only know how to bully me. Let Hikari teach you a lesson."
After saying that, she clenched her fist and waved toward Uchiha Hikari. "Hikari, I'm counting on you."
Then she quickly ran upstairs.
Izumi knew she was soft-hearted. If Yami made any request, she'd end up agreeing, so she chose to avoid it altogether.
She ran off, leaving only Yami and Uchiha Hikari in the living room.
Uchiha Hikari looked at the boy with a half-smile, saying nothing.
Yami stepped forward and tried to grab Hikari's hand, but she dodged.
"Who are you? I don't know you. Don't touch me."
"???"
Yami was filled with question marks. "Hikari-chan, you're trying to get rid of me now? We haven't even had a child yet."
"Baka! Hentai!"
Hikari was stunned. "What nonsense are you talking about? You haven't been home for so long, isn't it normal I'd forget you?"
"So it's because of this…"
The boy finally realized what was going on.
He had indeed been busy lately, running back and forth between Otogakure and Konoha, and occasionally taking missions outside the village.
Judging by Hikari and Izumi's attitude, it seemed he was being given the cold shoulder.
"My fault."
"I'll be on leave for the next month. I'll take Izumi skiing in the Land of Snow for the first half of the month, and in the second half, I'll take you to Tanshō Street for the Flower Day Festival."
Yami quickly came up with a compensation plan.
At this moment, Pakura and Samui came up from the underground training room. They didn't say anything, just gave him a look.
Yami added, "Same for you. Half a month each."
Counting Kurenai and Yugao, that made it three months.
Forget it, just treat it as time off.
Yami shook his head. Anyway, he wouldn't be heading to Otogakure again anytime soon, which freed up a lot of time.
The previous plan to go to Ryūchi Cave and learn Sage Art was also postponed. At least for this year, it wasn't happening.
Pakura and Samui smiled in satisfaction and returned to training in good spirits.
But Hikari still pouted, feeling a bit sour in her heart.
Yami had subconsciously prioritized Izumi. As childhood sweethearts, it was natural, but it still made her feel a bit jealous.
Even with so many people in the family, not even Yugao or Kurenai could shake Izumi's position.
But now that she had fifteen days, Hikari's anger subsided by half.
The next day, Yami explained to Kurenai and Yugao, then left on a trip with Izumi, starting his vacation.
Yami told Pakura about Tobirama's existence and instructed her to go to the Root base if anything came up.
As for whether Senju Tobirama would seize the opportunity to meet the Third Hokage and expose the truth, Yami didn't think so.
If Tobirama didn't want to force himself into betraying the village, the best option was to cooperate honestly.
After all, if Yami's plan succeeded, Konoha would be the biggest beneficiary.
As a smart man, Tobirama clearly understood that and didn't act out. Aside from conducting experiments, he didn't do anything out of bounds.
In addition to researching Hashirama cells, Tobirama couldn't suppress his obsession with Forbidden Techniques and began improving those he had developed.
For example, when Yami demonstrated the third phase of Flying Thunder God with lightning, Tobirama's face felt a bit hot.
The technique he created had actually been surpassed by his descendants.
Though he had invented many Forbidden Techniques, it seemed like all of them had been refined by the next generation.
That guy Orochimaru had even upgraded Impure World Reincarnation significantly.
Hashirama had mentioned this flaw of his before. It wasn't the number of techniques that mattered, but the quality. Many of his jutsu were half-finished—flashy, but few were truly practical.
He had managed to kill Uchiha Izuna with Flying Thunder God due to lack of intel.
If the enemy had known about it in advance, with Sharingan's insight, a sneak attack would have been nearly impossible.
So now, Tobirama was going all-in. He spent 18 hours a day researching Hashirama cells and 6 hours perfecting other jutsu.
Truly a 007 schedule.
The cost was a much faster depletion rate of "test subjects." Even the Root could no longer keep up.
After all, they had their own experiments.
Over the past two years, Danzō had been keeping a low profile, and Hiruzen had reassigned many Root missions elsewhere, leading to a significant drop in income.
Just as Yami returned to the village with Yugao, before he could even get a drink, a Root ninja came to bring him to Danzō.
"What are you doing these days?"
Danzō looked at Yami with a headache.
This grandson was becoming more and more mysterious.
He was doing all sorts of things without consulting him.
Now he was secretly doing human experiments.
The consumption over the past few months had exceeded the Root's annual usage.
The prison was nearly empty.
"Old man, don't worry about it."
Yami poured himself a cup of tea and thought about bringing some milk next time.
"I found a top-notch researcher who's working on Hashirama cells. Naturally, the cost is higher, but there are results."
As he spoke, Yami looked at Danzō's always-wrapped arm. "I'll update it for you sometime. It'll increase your chakra as well."
The two had discussed this before, but Danzō had refused, instead giving him ten resurrection coins.
All Yami could do was polish them a little to avoid triggering his trypophobia.
But instead of being happy, Danzō frowned.
"Yami, are you sure you haven't been tricked?"
The researchers he had gathered in Root hadn't made progress in years. He couldn't believe anyone could crack Hashirama cells.
"Relax. You know my methods, don't you?" Yami said indifferently.
"Want me to send a few people to assist?"
"No need. He doesn't like strangers."
If anyone saw Senju Tobirama, they'd be scared to death.
This matter was handled discreetly. Yami didn't plan on letting too many people know about Tobirama's existence.
Danzō didn't push further, but told Yami to handle the test subjects himself and stop draining Root's already scarce resources.
Yami had no choice but to take five death row inmates and ride things out for now.
During a trip, he visited Orochimaru and managed to take away a batch of test subjects under Orochimaru's murderous glare.
Finally, the raw material issue was resolved.
Time continued to pass.
This was the most stable period since the establishment of the ninja village system.
There were no large-scale wars, and the regular skirmishes between villages barely affected ordinary civilians.
Ninja Academy education was beginning earlier and earlier. Lessons that used to be taught in the first year were now delayed until the third or fourth year. Students were receiving more ideological—no, Will of Fire training.
Gradually, the saying that the Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage began spreading throughout the village.
Those who understood simply smiled without saying anything.
Those who didn't became more confident in the village, fostering a sense of pride.
Yami had settled into a steady routine. Except for his annual three-month travel vacation, he remained in the village and only occasionally accepted missions.
And any mission that required his involvement was undoubtedly high-difficulty.
Combined with a few personal hobbies, the name "Konoha Shinigami" spread more widely among high-level ninja circles. Every time the name was mentioned, people lost sleep.
One day, good news arrived from the country.
Among the survivors, two of them had activated their Three Tomoe Sharingan during a recent competition, meeting Yami's standard.
He even personally traveled to the Land of Snow to bring them back.
"From now on, your names are Yuichi and Yuji. You'll report to Kurenai in Anbu."
"Yes, Master Yami!"
Yuichi and Yuji responded loudly, a mix of excitement and nervousness in their eyes.
After so many years, they had finally returned to Konoha. But not as Uchiha—just as two wandering ghosts.
"Master, when can we get revenge on Uchiha Itachi?" one of them asked impatiently.
Yami looked at him coldly. "Do you have Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"No, I haven't—"
"Then what can you do? Add another kill to Itachi's resume?"
Yuichi lowered his head in shame.
"Do your job well. When the time comes, I'll let you see the result you want. Now go buy some contact lenses and don't take your masks off casually. They block chakra signatures."
Perhaps due to the motivation, six months after Yuichi and Yuji awakened their three tomoe, another four had done the same. The youngest, Yushi, was only eleven.
He had witnessed his parents being killed by Uchiha Itachi. If not for Uchiha Shisui's stealth skills, he might have died that day.
He had awakened a single tomoe back then, a double tomoe two years later.
If he weren't so young, he might've awakened them even sooner—potentially a Mangekyō candidate.
An eleven-year-old with Three Tomoe… it made Yami want to show Sasuke.
Currently, the Anbu Third Battalion was completely under Yami's control. Hiruzen had no way to interfere.
Even if he added a few more Uchiha or even an Orochimaru, Hiruzen wouldn't know.
Just like that, time passed to Konoha Year 60.
April 1st.
To most people, it was an ordinary day. There was no April Fool's Day in the ninja world.
But to the Shimura household, it was an incredibly important day—especially this year.
Today was Yami's sixteenth birthday. After today, he was officially an adult in the ninja world. He could marry, have children, and start a family.
The Shimura house became lively early in the morning.
Uzumaki Misa and Uchiha Kiyomi prepared food, Yugao and Samui cleaned, and Izumi and Hikari decorated with pre-prepared celebration props.
Even Karin took a day off to be with her Master Yami all day, running around like a little helper.
With so much commotion downstairs, Yami naturally couldn't sleep in.
He yawned, got up, and changed into casual home clothes before heading down.
The sixteen-year-old youth was in his prime. His once-adorable face had matured. Sword-like brows, starry eyes—it sounded cheesy and clichéd, but it was the most fitting way to describe Yami.
Seeing him come down, Izumi rushed over. "Yami, did we wake you? I forgot to set up a sound barrier."
Hikari, who was tying a bow, almost rolled her eyes.
Izumi really spoiled him rotten.
Yami smiled and gently stroked Izumi's long hair. "It's fine, I've slept enough." He glanced around helplessly. "It's just a birthday. No need to make such a big deal out of it."
"That won't do."
Izumi shook her head. "This is your sixteenth birthday. It must be taken seriously."
Pakura, Samui, Kurenai, and Yugao all nodded instinctively, agreeing with Izumi.
They had waited years for this day.
Even Karin nodded seriously.
In her mind, nothing involving Yami was a small matter.
The entire village should be celebrating.
Seeing that no one agreed with him, Yami gave up.
He sat on the sofa and bumped his shoulder into the lounging Kurenai.
"Everyone else is working, why are you slacking off?"
Kurenai gave him a scolding glance. "I worked overtime last night handling official business and didn't sleep. Can't I rest for a bit?"
"Alright, alright, my bad." Yami reached out to caress her long legs, then laid down next to her and whispered.
Perhaps to avoid watching them get lovey-dovey, the others sent them out to fetch the birthday cake.
Kurenai took the boy's arm. Yami's 1.8-meter height paired perfectly with her 1.69.
When he was a minor, Kurenai only dared to act freely at home. But now, she could finally be open about it.
The two walked toward the cake shop on the commercial street like any other couple in love.
Coincidentally, a man with thick hair wearing a jōnin vest saw them and widened his eyes in disbelief.
Kakashi, walking beside him, also looked and facepalmed.
He actually managed to get her?
"Kurenai?!"
Kurenai turned when she heard someone call her.
"Eh? Asuma, you're back in the village?"
Asuma hurried over, Kakashi trailing behind helplessly.
Seeing Kurenai still holding the arm of a boy at least ten thousand times more handsome than him, Asuma's voice trembled.
"H-He's…"
"Oh, Yami is my boyfriend."
Crack!
Asuma's expression turned gray.
His heart was completely broken.
(To be continued.)
***
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