Afternoons in Konoha always crawled by, sunlight filtering through spring branches, turning the busy streets warm and deceptively peaceful. The village looked like it hadn't just crawled out of a world war. Civilians laughed. Merchants haggled. Children chased dogs.The dead were mourned quietly, then the world simply continued.
A short distance away, beneath a tree, two idiots were deciding the fate of their rivalry.
"We're tied—five wins each. This last one settles it."
"Even if I say no, you'll force me anyway… fine. My turn to pick. Nin-taijutsu? A hundred-meter sprint? Breath-holding? Eating contest?"
"No. I need to conserve chakra. We decide it with rock-paper-scissors."
"I accept. Kakashi, if you lose, I'll make you walk around Konoha upside down. Five hundred laps."
Kakashi sighed the sigh of a man too tired to resist.
They raised their fists."Rock, paper—"
Near them, Yakura pressed both hands over her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter.
Konoha is full of idiots.The son of White Fang and the son of Might Duy… settling a showdown with rock-paper-scissors?This was comedy gold for Sunagakure.
She had heard stories of Hatake Sakumo's terrifying reputation.She had heard tales of Might Duy kicking the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to pieces.But their heirs?Absolutely hopeless.
"Just laugh," Tobika muttered beside her. "I'm letting him enjoy his day. We've got a real duel tonight."
"Pff—hahaha! I never imagined White Fang's son was like this. Chiyo will laugh herself senile when she hears."
Tobika gave her a sidelong glance.
"They've always been like this. I've been fanning the flames for years. Nothing changes."
"Must be something wrong with them." Yakura tilted her head as if diagnosing an illness. "I heard Kakashi replaced an eye with a Sharingan. Maybe the eye scrambled his brain?"
"Even Suna knows that?"
"You didn't hide it. Anyone who watches Konoha intelligence knows White Fang's son has a Sharingan."
She paused, eyes sharpening.
"And you Uchiha just… let that eye leave the clan?"
"It didn't 'leave.'" Tobika shrugged. "It was a gift from a teammate. The Fourth is his teacher. Everyone with sense ignored it. Only a few elders complained.We're not the Hyūga."
"Cough—cough—"
A familiar stiff cough came from behind them.
Tobika winced and turned.The Hyūga patriarch, Hyūga Hiashi, stood not far away with his pregnant wife.
"Hiashi-sama."
Hiashi gave a curt nod, eyeing Yakura with a trace of warning.
"Don't allow the Suna shinobi to get injured. Negotiations are nearly done."
He left down the street, robes pristine as always.
Yakura raised a brow. "That was the Hyūga Clan Head?"
"Yep. His wife's carrying the next heir. Honestly, he's the one that needs a vasectomy. Under Hyūga tradition, every additional child after the heir gets cursed with a seal. Better to cut the problem off at the source."
"…Hyūga really is feudal."
"Mm."
"Also," she continued casually, "I heard rumors you're trying to convince your clan head to divorce his wife. True?"
Tobika stared at her.
"How many spies do you people have in Konoha?"
"A lot. And you'd better be careful in Suna. Someone might gouge your eyes out."
"With no Uchiha bloodline, a stolen Sharingan is more trouble than it's worth."
They walked on, the setting sun pulling their shadows long across the stone streets. Their silhouettes gestured wildly, like two traveling salesmen arguing about something outrageous.
A soft spring wind rustled through the village.
Then, in Tobika's mind—
[Congratulations, Host. Through persistence and strategy, you have earned Hatake Kakashi's acknowledgment.][He believes that although your talent still falls short of Uchiha Itachi's, given sufficient time you can reach his level.][You have now achieved Kakashi's recognition. Settle reward?]
Tobika sighed.
He had forced Kakashi's hand a little.Tricked him into using the Sharingan under the excuse of "teaching him how to manage eye strain," drained his chakra dry, and then flattened him in under five minutes.
He glanced at Kakashi's exhausted silhouette disappearing down the road.
"System—settle."
Agony scorched through his eyes. His Sharingan snapped open, spinning wildly as hot chakra seared his vision. The surge was enormous—twenty times the previous increment.
Before the system:
[3000 / 10000] toward Mangekyō.
First task:
[3000.5 / 10000]
Second:
[3120.5 / 10000]
Now:
[3320.5 / 10000]
A clean +200.
If the next reward jumped the same amount…
He might actually awaken Mangekyō in just a few missions.
He froze mid-step.
Mangekyō without a dead sibling?Mangekyō without trauma?
What if the damn thing blinds me anyway!?
A metallic clink snapped him from panic.
A bronze key lay on the ground.
[Mysterious Key: opens a box inscribed with Uchiha secrets. May contain a forbidden jutsu.]
"…Huh?"
Tobika picked it up, looked around the empty street, and sighed.
"System. Where's the box?"
A gentle breeze blew.
Silence.
He darkened instantly.
A key with no box was like giving someone chopsticks and no food.Completely useless.
He pocketed the key with a twitching cheek.
Is it in the clan's vault?Or Fugaku's house?
He stared at the moon, thinking aloud.
"I've bled for the clan, worked for the clan, and tomorrow I'm risking my life for the clan in Suna. I'll drop by the treasury tomorrow. Should be fine."
Then he checked the last reward:
[Unlimited "Stinky-Spicy Snail Noodles" (instant, ready-to-eat)]
With a soft hum—
A massive bowl of steaming, fragrant snail noodles manifested before him.
The signature pungent scent erupted outward like a chakra blast.
Tobika inhaled deeply.
"Amazing. I thought it'd be cheap packet-trash."
He took a giant slurp.
Heat. Spice. Sour bamboo shoots. Crunchy peanuts. Tender snails.
The grin spread across his face.
Perfect.