After a week's journey, the trio of Uchiha Yato arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village.
Looking at the two familiar gatekeeper ninjas at the entrance, Tsunade's heart was still filled with mixed emotions.
However, Uchiha Yato had no patience for such sentimental scenes and abruptly interrupted.
He shouted at the two ninjas by the gate, "Go inform the Third Hokage immediately—the Konoha Princess has returned to the village!"
Upon hearing Uchiha Yato's yell and its content, the two gate guards instantly shed their relaxed demeanor, replacing it with vigilant gazes as they observed the approaching trio. After exchanging a brief look, one of the guards turned and sprinted toward the Hokage Building.
After all, not only had the Konoha Princess returned to the Hidden Leaf, but Uchiha Yato had also come back.
This was equivalent to both the Village Hope and the Village Jinx returning together.
...
Inside the Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face lit up with joy upon hearing that Tsunade was willing to return to the village. No matter what, her willingness to come back suggested she was ready to reconcile with the Hidden Leaf.
But for Shimura Danzo, this news was far from pleasant.
Back when Uchiha Yato first left the village, Danzo had initially contacted bandits and rogue ninjas within the Land of Fire. His perfect scenario would have been Yato's death due to a careless mistake. Of course, if he could also uncover some of Yato's hidden abilities, that would have been a bonus. Unfortunately, the plan had been utterly useless.
Later, when Danzo tried to target Yato again, he had the misfortune of running into Jiraiya. With Jiraiya present, it was impossible to mobilize Root or employ any of the Hidden Leaf's usual methods.
So, when Yato found Tsunade, Danzo went all-in, deliberately sacrificing two Root operatives to leak intel to Dodai. His goal was to have Kumogakure take action, knowing that the culprit behind the Eight-Tails' rampage was Yato. He had expected Dodai to send the Third Raikage himself, but instead, the Third Raikage's son and his partner were dispatched.
In the end, nothing came of it.
Before Danzo could receive any updates, news arrived that Uchiha Yato and Tsunade were returning to the village—meaning the Root operatives he had sent to retrieve their bodies had been wiped out.
No news was to be expected, of course. After all, even Madara's surveillance network (the White Zetsu) had been completely eradicated—how could any Root ninja have survived?
Lately, Shimura Danzo had been extremely busy.
Outside the village, he had been searching for people and opportunities to eliminate Uchiha Yato.
Inside the village, he had been stirring trouble with the Uchiha Clan and exploiting tensions between them and Suna ninja.
But the Uchiha Clan gave him no openings. Whenever something even slightly serious or unmanageable arose, they would either go straight to Sarutobi Hiruzen to complain or take the matter to the Leaf Court. These issues were already difficult to handle, but with foreign ninjas observing and learning from the proceedings, they became even more problematic.
As a result, Hiruzen ended up summoning Danzo for reprimands every other day.
The classic scene went like this:
Shimura Danzo: "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
This exchange played out nearly every two days, leaving Hatake Sakumo and the remaining two members of the Leaf's F4—who were just there for the drama—utterly stunned.
Eventually, the spectacle escalated even further. Once they confirmed no outsiders were around, the two would start hurling profanities at each other.Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "I have morning classes at eight!"
Shimura Danzo retorted, "Damn it!"
These refined expressions kept popping up, prompting people in the Hidden Leaf to adopt this elegant way of speaking.
This cultural gem was undoubtedly a gift brought to the village by Uchiha Yato.
After all, for Uchiha Yato, hearing these familiar phrases from home felt comforting—so much so that not greeting Danzo with a few choice words would have been downright disrespectful.
...
Inside the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
At the elder's residence.
The first thing Uchiha Yato did upon returning was visit Shisui at the elder's home.
After taking a relaxing bath and changing into casual clothes, he began reviewing Shisui's progress.
Uchiha Yato nodded approvingly. "Good, very good."
"You've almost mastered the 'Three Years Chunin, Five Years Jonin' guide I gave you."
"Seems like you haven't slacked off while I was away. Impressive."
The praise made Shisui a little bashful and flustered.
At that moment, Uchiha Yato could somewhat understand how Uchiha Itachi must have felt.
The bond between brothers in the Uchiha Clan was truly profound!
Blood brothers, clan brothers, sworn brothers—there were so many layers to it.
He spent some more time chatting with Shisui, strengthening that brotherly bond.
Just then, Uchiha Ren arrived at the elder's doorstep and greeted, "Respected elder."
"The clan leader requests your presence, along with Uchiha Yato, for a discussion at his home."
A private meeting at home meant the matter wasn't suitable for public discussion—or perhaps it was a difficult decision to make.
The elder sighed. "You just got back—don't stir up trouble."
Almost immediately, he regretted his words and added, "Wait… did you cause something the moment you returned?"
Uchiha Yato was utterly confused. He had come straight home—how could this possibly be his fault?
Without further speculation, they headed to the clan leader's residence.
Uchiha Kei cut straight to the point. "You've been gone for nearly two weeks, and some issues have come up."
Now the elder was also puzzled. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, why hadn't he heard about these matters?
Uchiha Kei explained, "They've mainly been minor clashes in small, controlled settings."
"Any major incidents were stopped before they escalated."
Uchiha Yato remained silent as Kei continued.
"The problem is, these small-scale conflicts have nearly led to three separate fights with the Sand Ninja."
"The Military Police Force is exhausted dealing with this. Now that you're back, Yato, think of a solution."
After a moment of thought, Uchiha Yato replied, "I can handle it—I have a plan."
"But don't blame me later, and I'll need your full cooperation."
At this point, Uchiha Kei was willing to do anything to resolve the issue—these petty conflicts were truly grating.
Uchiha Yato's request was simple: arrange for the Sand Ninja to visit the hot springs near the Hidden Leaf, with the Uchiha Clan acting as their guards.
Uchiha Kei frowned. "That's it? No other preparations?"
Even the elder was unsure what Yato was planning. The setup seemed too straightforward—were there really no other conditions?Uchiha Yato said, "Didn't you say you'd listen to me as long as I could solve it? Then listen now."
"Remember, the Uchiha Clan must be on guard duty tomorrow, understand?"
The Great Elder and the clan leader both expressed that while they didn't fully understand, they completely agreed.
After all, the one proposing this plan was Uchiha Yato. Basically, whenever he took an interest in something and decided to mess with it, misfortune would befall the target.
Early the next morning, Uchiha Kei led the Sand Ninja to the hot springs in the Hidden Leaf.
For the Sand Ninja, hot springs held considerable appeal.
Given that their homeland lacked abundant water resources, this counted as an official leisure trip.
Uchiha Ren was responsible for assisting the male Sand Ninja with changing clothes, while the current clan leader's wife helped the women.
Uchiha Yato excused himself due to other commitments, so he didn't join them at the hot springs.
...
In a certain izakaya, Uchiha Yato and Jiraiya were drinking and chatting.
Uchiha Yato said, "Since you've returned to the Hidden Leaf, take this chance to rest properly."
Jiraiya, somewhat concerned about Yahiko's trio, replied tactfully:
"I'll rest for a couple more days, then go check on those three kids."
"Can't be helped. War orphans always have it the hardest. Might as well help where I can."
Uchiha Yato didn't press further. After getting Jiraiya half-drunk, he said:
"Then rest well. There are plenty of hot springs around the Hidden Leaf. A good soak, some sake, and a proper sleep would do you good."
Throughout the meal, Uchiha Yato kept subtly hinting at visiting hot springs followed by drinking.
For Jiraiya, hot springs weren't just for bathing.
They were his sacred research grounds. Thus, he willingly walked into Uchiha Yato's trap.
Some might ask - how could Uchiha Yato do this?
Jiraiya considered him a brother, yet he treated Jiraiya like a fool?
No no no. This was Uchiha Yato's dear friend and sworn brother - definitely worth a good price among the Hokage's inner circle.
A grand performance was about to unfold with Jiraiya as its star.