"Yoichi-san, it's finished. Take a look—does this meet your requirements?"
The ninja tool shop owner wiped at sweat that didn't actually exist. This Uchiha had waited in his shop for nearly an entire day, putting him under enormous pressure, so he had hurried the craftsman to finish the item and deliver it as quickly as possible.
What lay before Yoichi was a metal mask designed to restrict the opening and closing of the jaw.It looked somewhat like Kakashi's face mask, except the one Yoichi wanted was made entirely of metal.
"I'll test it first."
Uchiha Yoichi blurted that out unconsciously, then put the mask on. Afterward, he took out some paper and a pen and wrote to the shop owner:
"Ask me any question."
"Any question… then, Yoichi-san, are you satisfied with this mask?"
Upon hearing the shop owner's question, Yoichi instinctively wanted to answer not satisfied—but his mouth wouldn't move at all. The words were stuck in his throat, completely unable to come out.
It worked!
Yoichi felt a surge of satisfaction. He should have solved this problem earlier—now there was no need for deliberate self-control anymore. Daily training already left him exhausted; having to constantly police his own mouth on top of that was far worse than simply clamping it shut in a crude way.
Now, no one could hide their secrets from him, while he no longer had to blurt out his inner thoughts.
If he'd handled this sooner, he wouldn't have caused so many unnecessary problems.
After paying, Uchiha Yoichi headed home.
What happened today—being chased by Tsunade—would definitely reach Konoha's higher-ups and the Police Force. When that happened, more questioning would be unavoidable.
Still, Yoichi couldn't help feeling puzzled. Tsunade had clearly come looking for trouble from the start. Even before he said "big and white," she already looked hostile.
By the time he returned to the clan grounds, it was already afternoon.
"Yoichi-kun?"
On the way back, Yoichi ran into Uchiha Mikoto, who had just finished grocery shopping. This former Konoha jōnin had become a full-time homemaker after marriage.
Yoichi nodded, took out a greeting note he'd prepared in advance, and showed it to her.
"Is your throat not feeling well? Please take care of yourself, Yoichi-kun. Fugaku often mentions you at home—after all, you're family."
Mikoto's face was calm and composed, but every thought in her mind flowed clearly into Yoichi's ears.
[He can't speak anymore? But what about that incident before… I could clearly see Yoichi-kun naked, and that thing too. Why can't I see it now?]
Lady… what exactly are you trying to see?
Yoichi quickly wrote back:
"Madam, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back now. Goodbye."
Mikoto nodded.
"Mm. Rest well, Yoichi-kun. If anything comes up, you can come find Fugaku."
[Was it only visible inside our house? Or was I really just seeing things back then?]
Stop imagining things, Madam—that ability has absolutely nothing to do with you!
After saying goodbye to Mikoto, Yoichi headed straight home. Sword training would be paused for the day; he could switch to weighted physical conditioning instead.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode required an extremely strong body. The Third Raikage once fought the Eight-Tails barehanded, and the Fourth Raikage severed one of the Eight-Tails' horns with his own hand.If Yoichi trained Lightning Release Chakra Mode to a comparable level, he'd surpass them both.
And if he could advance his Sharingan to three tomoe, he'd gain an overwhelming advantage in close combat.
As he neared his front door, Yoichi suddenly noticed someone standing there.
It was Tsunade—the very person who had chased him earlier that day.
Yoichi hadn't expected her to actually come into Uchiha clan territory. For a Senju, she was remarkably bold.
Just as he turned around to run, Tsunade spoke:
"Brat, don't run. I won't attack."
That made Yoichi stop. He turned back and looked at her suspiciously, then thought for a moment before taking out paper and pen.
"Lady Tsunade, what I said earlier was my fault. I hope you can forgive me. May I ask what you were looking for me about?"
After reading his words, Tsunade put on a magnanimous front.
"Forget it. I won't seriously argue with a kid. But why are you wearing a mask and not talking?"
[Just wait, you evil, perverted Uchiha brat. One day you'll fall into my hands. But before that, I need to figure out whether you're connected to that incident.]
Oh, sure—forgive verbally, record in the grudge notebook, huh?
Yoichi nearly rolled his eyes. No matter how powerful a woman was, she was still a woman. As long as Tsunade didn't attack, he could tolerate it—after all, his ability was suppressed now.
Since talking outside wasn't convenient, Yoichi invited Tsunade inside and wrote:
"Something unexpected happened, so this is the only way I can communicate. If you have questions, Lady Tsunade, feel free to ask."
"You know Lightning Release Chakra Mode, don't you?"
Tsunade's tone was firm.
"The lightning wrapped around your body earlier—that's something only Lightning Release Chakra Mode can do. It's a secret taijutsu created by the Second Raikage. How did you learn it?"
"By chance, during a mission. I obtained it accidentally."
"Forget it. That has nothing to do with me anyway. The old man already knows. Bloodline clans aren't likely to harbor spies. I'm here to ask about something else."
[Did my turning into a boar have anything to do with this brat? I clearly heard him talking about 'abilities' back then… what exactly did that mean?]
Hearing Tsunade's inner thoughts made Yoichi's heart jolt.
He finally understood.
That boar was Tsunade.
And at the time, his ability had been Sneezing Transformation.
Tsunade's gaze suddenly sharpened as she stared straight at Yoichi.
"Do you know of any ability that can turn a person into an animal?"
Yoichi calmly wrote:
"I don't know. It sounds somewhat like the Transformation Technique, but turning others into animals—if such a jutsu existed, wouldn't it be unbeatable? You should probably ask the Third Hokage. He's Konoha's Professor of Ninjutsu."
He handed the note to Tsunade, his expression perfectly composed. When it came to acting—or playing dumb—he had plenty of confidence.
After reading it, Tsunade felt uncertain. But she couldn't see anything strange in Yoichi's expression.
The best way to confirm whether he was lying would be to send him to the Interrogation Division—but based solely on her suspicion and the boar incident, that was impossible.
"Then do you have any special abilities?"
"The Sharingan. The kekkei genkai unique to the Uchiha clan."
"Tch!"
Unable to get anything useful out of him, Tsunade felt that this brat was far too slippery. And she had just been chewed out by the Third Hokage—plus, this was Uchiha territory.
She couldn't use force.
There was no point continuing.
"Forget it. I'm leaving."
[If it's not him, then how do I keep investigating? It's been so long with no clues at all. Who did it? Or was it really just a hallucination?]
[Whatever. I'll leave it to the old man to look into it. I'll go gamble a bit first.]