Ninja World – Land of Fire – Nanhe River
After hearing Bai Ye's cryptic words, Shisui stood still, confused.
"Will it count?"
What did that even mean?
He couldn't understand what Bai Ye was trying to imply. But clearly, Bai Ye had no intention of explaining further — only uttered a single word:
"Go."
Trying to make Shisui understand Bai Ye's approach toward Danzo was akin to teaching a fish to climb a tree.
No—considering Bai Ye's power now, climbing to the heavens was easier than making Shisui comprehend.
Destroying a universe would be easier.
Rather than trying to enlighten Uchiha Shisui, Bai Ye would rather wait until he had the strength to crush everything outright.
Shisui, after all...
He was loyal to the village. That much was never in question.
But his mindset, his rigid sense of purpose…
It had already sealed his fate long ago.
A tool, a sharpened kunai. Bai Ye had once hoped he'd outgrow that. That he'd question the system, look beyond the confines of Konoha.
But he hadn't. So Bai Ye didn't bother trying to pull him out of the water.
He was only lucky today because he happened to bring Sasuke—and Sasuke happened to pull him up with a fishing rod.
Hum—
A moment of silence, eerie and still.
Sasuke, seeing Shisui was wordless, resumed fishing without another word.
But then—space beside them twisted and warped.
Out stepped a majestic, snow-white rabbit, striding with ethereal grace. Her gaze swept indifferently over Shisui and Sasuke.
Good.
No one else was monopolizing her place today.
Every day that Bai Ye went fishing, there always seemed to be some strange woman nestled in his arms without even pupils in her eyes.
But today? Only two men. Refreshing.
Kaguya gave a satisfied little hum and skipped toward Bai Ye, clearly intending to leap into his embrace.
Unfortunately, Bai Ye merely gave her a glance, grabbed her by the ears in disgust, and walked toward the river.
"I don't know where you went, but you reek like a toad."
He pinched his nose and unceremoniously dunked Kaguya into the river, scrubbing her down as though she were laundry.
Do I smell like a toad…?
Kaguya, pouting, followed Bai Ye's scrubbing motions obediently.
She knew the scent. Mount Myōboku, home of the toads—stepping foot there left a permanent musk on one's body.
Disgusting.
Still, she didn't resist. Rather than use her chakra to keep her body dry, she allowed her hair to soak fully in the murky Nanhe River.
But...
The river was seriously dirty.
Once flung back ashore by Bai Ye, Kaguya, compulsively clean as always, summoned a Water Release stream, forming a pure pool, then sat to comb her hair.
She cast a simple Genjutsu veil over Sasuke's eyes, unwilling to let mortals witness her personal grooming.
A goddess must maintain her dignity.
She scoffed in disdain.
"Dad! I'm blind!"
Sasuke shrieked, fumbling around. He instinctively moved toward Bai Ye for comfort.
Bai Ye twitched. With a sigh, he kicked Sasuke to the side like garbage.
Honestly...
Sasuke, with his fresh Mangekyō Sharingan still active, had tears of blood running down his cheeks. In that terrified state, anyone might think he'd truly gone blind.
"Just rest your eyes. Don't use Mangekyō too often for now. It's not about you going blind—but if your brother loses his vision thanks to you, that'd be tragic."
Bai Ye's tone was casual but firm.
In the original timeline, Sasuke had overused his Mangekyō and eventually required Itachi's eyes to unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
But now, things were different. Bai Ye wasn't planning on letting Itachi die so conveniently.
Would Itachi even benefit from having Sasuke's eyes transplanted if he hadn't awakened Mangekyō on his own?
That was still a mystery. After all, Itachi wasn't the reincarnation of Indra, and the Eternal Mangekyō may require that specific lineage.
Still—
If the Uchiha were rebuilt properly, Bai Ye didn't mind lending a hand.
"Sasuke awakened Mangekyō?"
Shisui, still tending to his bandaged eyes, froze. He turned toward Sasuke, stunned.
"…That's supposed to be difficult?"
Sasuke blinked innocently.
Honestly, he wasn't pretending. He simply didn't know what a big deal the Mangekyō Sharingan was.
Keep in mind—he had three tomoe at age four.
In his mind, that was normal for a Uchiha.
He knew little about ocular evolution. So to him, three tomoe or Mangekyō seemed… common.
"Don't talk to me. I want to be quiet."
Shisui sighed, eyes toward the clouds.
Tragedy.
Compared to Sasuke, what even was he?
"You want quiet? What if your godfather hears that?"
Sasuke chuckled.
'Quiet' was famously Shizune's nickname.
And according to his mom, Bai Ye once declared he wanted to "be with Quiet" — Shizune promptly blushed and disappeared for three days.
Yup.
Better to shut up now.
No doubt, soon there'd be another bizarre nickname added to the man's endless harem.
Today's fishing trip was truly legendary.
—
Afternoon
Worn out, Bai Ye gathered the fish basket, preparing to head home for a nap.
After seeing Sasuke and Shisui off, he casually strolled toward the village.
Shisui, ever cautious, opted to stay in the "game," despite still not understanding the stakes.
He changed his appearance entirely: sunglasses, shaved head, glued-on mustache — now masquerading as a blind masseur that Sasuke had "pitied" and taken in.
It was nonsense.
But it worked.
—
Konoha
Bai Ye walked through the streets, lazily carrying Kaguya in his arms. His hands boldly rested on the upper half of the rabbit maiden's body.
Kaguya flushed with shame at the position.
Yet, she did not resist.
Bai Ye rarely used motorcycles unless on duty.
He preferred to walk, to experience the subtle changes in Konoha these past few years.
A wave here. A nod there. He kept it casual.
But then…
"What's wrong with you?"
Outside a well-known red-light shop, Bai Ye paused to stare at Jiraiya, who was seated on a bench, sobbing while holding a familiar book.
"It's not…" Jiraiya tried to say something bold, but upon seeing the rabbit in Bai Ye's arms, he shivered and changed the subject.
He spoke, grief-stricken.
"W-Wen Tai came to me earlier…"
"He said a rabbit—a woman calling herself Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—appeared at Mount Myōboku wielding a bone spear that turned anything it touched into ash."
Bai Ye went silent.
He looked at Kaguya, suddenly enlightened.
No wonder she smelled like toads when she returned.
So it was Mount Myōboku.
And honestly?
Can you blame her?
This was a woman forged in ancient battle. Her own son betrayed her, then sealed her away under the guidance of a literal toad.
Wouldn't you be angry?
It made sense.
She must have left her chakra mark on Bunta during the previous encounter, and when the time came, she activated Huangquan Hirazaka to descend on Mount Myōboku.
That was child's play for her.
"…So how's Mount Myōboku holding up?" Bai Ye asked nonchalantly.
"Holding up?" Jiraiya gaped. "Your rabbit decimated the place!"
"Anyone who resisted was instantly turned to ash. She fought the Great Toad Sage himself—who didn't even get to strike before she diced him into pieces and erased his remains."
"Other toads left some ashes. The Great Toad Sage? Gone."
Tragic.
Bai Ye offered a solemn nod.
Understandable. If he were Kaguya, he might've gone even harder.
Clearly, not all the toads died—someone lived long enough to pass on this intel.
"…Still," Jiraiya said, "You can't seriously tell me your rabbit has nothing to do with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya!"
Bai Ye shrugged.
"Hey—my rabbit's name is Ōtsutsuki Xiaobai."
"What does anything Ōtsutsuki Kaguya does have to do with my Ōtsutsuki Xiaobai?"
Obviously, Bai Ye wasn't about to argue.
It wasn't a Konoha incident. He was the captain of the guard, not a global peacekeeper.
And besides—this rabbit had brought him joy.
Even if she was Kaguya… so what?
She just burned a few toads.
Mount Myōboku might've helped Jiraiya. But they never helped Uchiha Bai Ye.
In fact, Bai Ye suspected the old toad had conspired with the Sage of Six Paths to manipulate fate.
Who asked him to derail the "Chosen Children" narrative?
They were already enemies.
So, while he sympathized with Jiraiya…
He simply tightened his grip on the bunny in his arms.
That was his stance.
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