The sun dipped in the west, scattering the last droplets of gold across the land.
Yue and Shisui's clash finally ended with both exhausted, chakra drained.
The two sat back-to-back against a large tree, breathing heavily, a rare sense of camaraderie settling between them.
"Yue, I didn't expect your real strength to be this insane."
"I didn't expect you to be this perverted either."
They exchanged a smile.
"Yue… back in that Cloud battle, the one who wiped out all those Cloud-nin—it was you, right?"
With Shisui's intelligence, and after witnessing Yue's true power today—and knowing Yue slept for over a year afterward—
it wasn't hard to connect the dots.
Yue simply smiled faintly, confirming without saying a word.
Shisui's eyes widened.
"You idiot! Don't go that far again! Do you know how scared I was that you'd never wake up!?"
Yue felt a warmth in his chest at Shisui's sudden scolding.
"In that kind of situation… if I didn't go all out, I wouldn't have come back at all."
He sighed softly.
"I really envy you Uchiha guys. The Sharingan, the crazy abilities… If only I had one. Look at Kakashi."
After fighting against Shisui's Susanoo, Yue genuinely felt jealous.
If he had a Sharingan, his power would skyrocket—
and right now, strength was exactly what he needed.
Shisui shot him a silent look.
He didn't appreciate anyone coveting his clan's eyes—even if it was Yue.
"Come on, Shisui. Let's go eat yakiniku. My treat!"
"Then I'll eat you bankrupt," Shisui said proudly.
At the barbeque place, the two devoured meat like a pair of starving wolves, secretly competing on who could eat more.
Simple, stupid, perfect—
this was what friendship between men looked like.
After the war, the ninja world finally entered a period of relative peace.
Konoha's new focus:
production, growth, and training new talent.
Too many had died in the war.
Konoha Year 49
That year—
Minato and Kushina were married.
Shisui was promoted to Jōnin.
Yue breezed through the Chūnin Exams.
Itachi entered the Academy, and Shisui was invited by Fugaku himself to become Itachi's personal mentor.
And Yue…
Yue did nothing but train.
Then train more.
As someone who knew the future, someone who now had friends, bonds, people to protect—
there was only one path:
Get strong. No matter what.
One day, Minato summoned Yue, Shisui, and Yamato to his office.
His expression was solemn.
"I'm assigning you three a mission. An S-rank mission. Shisui, you will lead. Go to the Land of Demons, protect the shrine maiden Miroku, and assist her in sealing the monster Mōryō."
Minato had spent a long time selecting the team.
If sealing was involved, perhaps Yue's Wood Release might prove unexpectedly effective.
"Yes!"
Shisui accepted the mission scroll.
Yue remained quiet.
Minato and the Third were both extremely protective of him—rarely assigning him missions and even giving him a generous monthly allowance.
Now that Minato needed him… there was no way Yue would drag him down.
"This mission is focused on protecting the shrine maiden. Be cautious. Pack your gear and depart immediately," Minato instructed, giving Yue a meaningful glance.
"Yes!"
All three responded and vanished.
Yue, Shisui, and Yamato were now racing across the landscape.
"Life was dull… then suddenly a rich lady contacted me… voice sweet… photos decent… though she's over sixty… love arrives! Lightning boom! No emotion! Hala-shao!"
The journey was boring, so Yue began humming a tune from his past life.
His mood was good—
based on what he remembered, the shrine maiden in the movie timeline sealed Mōryō even without help.
Only his underling survived, later causing trouble in Naruto's era.
So this S-rank mission was likely to be…
basically free money.
Great pay, minimal risk.
Plus, it was his first mission with Shisui.
Of course he was in a good mood.
"Yue, someone's having fun today," Shisui said, hearing the cheerful melody—even if he didn't understand the lyrics, the tune stuck in his head.
"First mission with you. Of course I'm happy."
"This is an S-rank mission, Yue. Don't let your guard down," Shisui reminded.
"Yeah, yeah."
Yue rolled his eyes.
He couldn't exactly tell Shisui that he had watched this "movie" already.
After traveling day and night, the trio finally reached the borders of the Land of Demons.
Yue felt like he was about to keel over.
Ninja travel was pure legwork—
If only he had Deidara's clay bird or Sai's ink animals.
Anything was better than running for two days straight.
Entering the city, they saw chaos:
Countless samurai fighting monsters in brutal close combat.
There were no shinobi in this country—only warriors.
Although brave, they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Even a few white-robed shinobi used ninjutsu to slaughter the samurai.
It was carnage.
Yue and the others cut through the battlefield quickly—
Their mission was the shrine maiden, not thinning out the monsters.
After questioning a nearby samurai, they finally learned Miroku's location.
Land of Demons – Council Hall
"Miroku-sama, the defenses won't hold much longer! Too many samurai have fallen!"
"Miroku-sama, please—let us escort you out of the city!"
In the hall, Miroku sat at the head while samurai pleaded with her to evacuate.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Three figures appeared in the hall.
The samurai immediately drew their blades.
"We are shinobi from Konoha, sent to protect Shrine Maiden Miroku!"
Shisui announced.
The samurai hesitated, then slowly sheathed their swords.
"Lady Miroku, I am the team leader—Uchiha Shisui.
This is Yue.
And this is Yamato."
"Hmph. We paid Konoha a huge mission fee, and they send three kids?"
One samurai scowled at them.
Being underestimated again, Shisui thought, but his expression remained calm.
"I am a Jōnin. Yamato as well. Yue is a Chūnin."
Miroku blinked in surprise.
So young, yet already Jōnin?
She knew what that meant.
Aside from the Hokage, Jōnin were the highest-level combatants a village had.
What next—should she expect the Kage himself to come escort her?
~------------------------------------
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