Konoha Year 49, June.
During this period, the shinobi world could be described as remarkably peaceful. Every village was busy recovering its own strength and had no spare energy to stir up messy trouble that would scatter their attention.
The occasional small clashes that did break out were mostly just normal friction between opposing teams during missions—nothing out of the ordinary.
Minato had been Hokage for more than half a year now. In that time, if one had to name the single biggest change in Konoha that everyone could clearly feel, it would be the reform of the Military Police.
The previously "arrogant and high-and-mighty" Uchiha had decreased significantly. In their place were ordinary shinobi from smaller clans—or even civilian families.
There were Aburame. There were Inuzuka. There were Yamanaka. Even the occasional Hyuga member could be spotted.
These were all clans particularly skilled in tracking and investigation, extremely well-suited for maintaining Konoha's public security.
In contrast, the Uchiha shinobi who had previously been stuck in the Military Police with no way to join normal squads and complete missions had finally been freed. They could now join or form regular squads like any other shinobi and earn mission pay.
Don't assume that just because the Uchiha once held the entire Military Police department in their hands that every Uchiha lived comfortably.
A department only had so many positions. When there was only one radish for each hole, those positions had long been occupied by those who arrived first.
Therefore, apart from the high-ranking members and the true elites, ordinary clansmen didn't necessarily live any better than regular Konoha shinobi.
And because of the deliberate restrictions previously placed by the higher-ups of Konoha, the majority of the clan had been forced to squeeze into the "tiny" Military Police.
Spending day after day with "nothing to do" naturally bred resentment in those Uchiha with any ambition. It was completely understandable that they would start thinking strange thoughts.
Now that the higher-ups of Konoha had lifted the restrictions on the Uchiha, the middle- and lower-level Uchiha finally all had work to do.
Once people had work to occupy them, they stopped overthinking. After all, the ones with real ambition were only a few individuals among the Uchiha higher-ups.
And without the support of the middle and lower ranks, those ambitious higher-ups could never accomplish anything on their own. Minato and Taiichi wouldn't even need to lift a finger—Uchiha Fugaku alone could handle them.
---
Matsushita Taiichi's underground laboratory.
The chakra fluctuations in the air slowly settled. The faint scent of ink once again drifted past his nose. The massive sealing array on the floor emitted its final weak fluorescence. At its center, the scroll sealing the "Evil God's divine consciousness" lay quietly.
Taiichi sat cross-legged at the edge of the array and slowly opened his eyes. The faint golden glow within them receded like a tide. Sage Mode deactivated. A slight wave of fatigue washed over him, but far stronger was the refreshing sense of another doubt having been resolved.
"It's over…"
He murmured the words. Even in the silent laboratory, his voice sounded especially soft.
This was already the countless-th routine research session since he had captured the Evil God's divine consciousness.
It was not interrogation, nor crude dissection. Doing so would be far too risky and might completely destroy this precious sample.
His method was closer to a form of "immersive observation."
Every time, he carefully entered Sage Mode, raised his sensory power to the absolute limit, and used the seal like the most precise scanning instrument to continuously analyze the divine consciousness within.
His goals were clear: observe how that bound wisp of divine consciousness maintained its form of existence; observe the operational patterns of its power; observe the essential foundation upon which its existence relied!
As for the so-called "ancient secrets" the Evil God had spat out earlier in order to survive, Taiichi naturally had not believed them wholesale.
Immediately afterward he had contacted the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest.
That existence, who had lived for who-knew-how-many years and personally experienced the changes of the ancient era, became the most authoritative verifier.
Regarding the changes in the world before and after the Ōtsutsuki's descent, and the fall of many ancient existences—those historical facts were basically true, but they only made up about seventy percent of what the Evil God had said.
On that point the Evil God truly had no need to lie. After all, quite a few people knew those things.
When it came to the ancient power systems, especially the introduction to the divine systems, the information became a mixture of truth and falsehood—at least twenty percent of it was involved here.
The Slug Sage had also stated that it itself was not a combat type, nor a god. Many details could not be completely confirmed as true; it could only judge them as "logically self-consistent but impossible to verify."
As for the final ten percent—the intelligence concerning the Evil God itself—there was not a single true word.
These judgments, of course, were not all from the Slug Sage. They also came from Taiichi's own observations and research over this period.
Yet facing this mixture of true and false information, Taiichi did not feel discouraged. On the contrary, he found it only natural.
How could a "god" barely clinging to existence possibly hand over its entire foundation and the world's secrets without reservation?
What he needed had never been the Evil God's mouth that might lie, but the being itself.
This sealed wisp of divine consciousness was itself a living, unique textbook of "ancient power."
Day after day he carried out this kind of "daily observation," like the most patient student, trying to reverse-engineer the principles of its life operation from the "teacher's" breathing, behavior, and even instinctive reactions.
The results were significant. At the very least, the way this Evil God utilized natural energy was something current shinobi could not begin to compare with.
The end result was that the duration of his Sage Mode, after only a few short months of focused research and adjustment, had been forcibly extended by nearly double!
This was a qualitative leap! It meant that in future battles he would be able to use this powerful force more leisurely, and his tactical options would become far more flexible and varied.
At this moment Taiichi stood up, walked to the workbench, picked up a pen, and quickly recorded a few details he had just observed in the thick research notebook spread open there.
"The fluctuation frequency of the divine consciousness has changed again. There are slight fluctuations in the surrounding natural energy." He wrote while analyzing softly. "This specific frequency seems capable of inducing the operation of natural energy. It is worth attempting."
He set down the pen. His gaze returned once more to the quiet sealed scroll. There was no greed in his eyes, no fear—only the pure focus and exploratory desire of a researcher facing a precious sample.
Those occasional thrashing blood-red glimmers were nothing more than part of the experimental data in his eyes.
"No rush." A faint, almost imperceptible curve lifted the corner of Taiichi's mouth, filled with infinite patience for the exploration of knowledge. "We still have plenty of time. Your existence itself is the greatest treasure. I will, bit by bit, 'see' every last one of your secrets."
After putting everything in the laboratory back in its proper place—especially locking the sealed scroll into the specially made sealing cabinet—Taiichi clapped his hands clean, straightened his clothes, and left the laboratory.
Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun was already hanging high. He touched his flat stomach and felt a twinge of hunger.
These days Konoha was filled with endless missions. Anyone with even a bit of ability had been called out to execute them.
And all those maidservants who had been taken in by his household had been thoroughly reassigned by Tsunade to help at the hospital. That left Taiichi with nothing to eat when he got hungry.
Left with no choice, Taiichi could only go out into the streets to find somewhere to fill his stomach.
---
Afternoon sunlight generously poured over Konoha's busiest central street. The air floated with the tempting aromas of food, the noise of the crowd, and a sense of stable warmth.
Taiichi blended into the flow of people like a drop of water melting into a rushing stream.
In his left hand he steadily held a skewer of freshly made three-color dango. The soft, chewy rice dumplings were coated in a sweet-and-savory sauce whose warm sweetness went straight to the heart. In his right hand was a skewer of golden, crispy tempura shrimp; the fresh sweetness of the sea mixed with the fragrance of oil, crunching satisfyingly with every bite.
He ate with focused enjoyment, completely unaware of the bit of sauce at the corner of his mouth. That look of pure contentment was completely different from the "White Reaper" who struck fear into the hearts of enemies on the battlefield.
He had no clear destination. He simply wandered east and west according to his mood, chasing after every delicious food that caught his eye.
Just then, a hearty, almost flamboyant burst of laughter exploded from a street corner not far ahead, drowning out the surrounding noise.
That voice was far too familiar—filled with a carefree happiness and an instant-familiar warmth. Taiichi didn't even need to lift his head. The corner of his mouth had already lifted on its own. It was Yohei.
Looking in the direction of the laughter, sure enough, the crowd had naturally parted to leave a small open space. The focus of attention was none other than Uchiha Yohei.
This newly promoted Military Police squad captain currently showed not the slightest bit of the cold, elite-shinobi demeanor.
He was casually draping an arm over the shoulder of a middle-aged dango seller, body slightly leaning forward, free hand gesturing wildly, spit flying as he seemed to be telling an extremely exciting story. The uncle was laughing so hard he was bent double, and even the owners of several nearby stalls were craning their necks with smiles plastered across their faces.
Yohei's brand-new Military Police uniform was worn a little crooked. His forehead protector had been pushed up onto the top of his head, revealing a clean forehead and a pair of eyes curved into crescents from laughing. His entire person radiated an extremely infectious friendliness.
Yet the "background" of this harmonious scene looked completely out of place.
A few steps behind Yohei, two young Uchiha also wearing Military Police uniforms—with the flame-fan clan crest embroidered on their backs—were both covering their faces with their hands. Their shoulders trembled slightly, looking as if they desperately wished they could disappear on the spot.
One of them even tilted his head back to stare at the cloudless blue sky and let out a long, heavy sigh filled with the complex emotion of "family misfortune" and "shame to associate with this person."
In sharp contrast to them stood an Inuzuka clan shinobi beside them. He had a lean, capable build, and a large, glossy black dog sat properly at his side, sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. Its master currently had his arms crossed, watching Yohei's "performance" with great interest, a completely unrestrained smile on his face.
Taiichi swallowed the last delicious bite of tempura shrimp, casually tossed the bamboo skewer into a roadside trash can, and strolled toward that little "stage" with an amused smile he couldn't quite suppress.
He had naturally heard about his good friend's recent situation.
On the battlefield, Yohei had earned the title "Blade of the Flame Dance" through his exquisite Fire Style, his Sharingan, and his fearless charge-first attitude. Inside Konoha Village, however, another title of his was even more famous throughout the streets and alleys—"Konoha's Social Butterfly."
An Uchiha carrying such an outrageous yet somehow perfectly fitting title was dramatic enough on its own.
Taiichi knew this was the result of Clan Head Fugaku's deep planning. The Military Police reform introduced the various major clans, broke the Uchiha's monopoly, and at the same time needed to reverse the villagers' stereotype of the Uchiha as "arrogant, cold, and unapproachable."
Someone like Yohei—born with extreme social-butterfly attributes and off-the-charts friendliness—was practically the "secret weapon" created for exactly this purpose.
"Yohei, are you on duty or slacking off? Careful or I'll report you to Clan Head Fugaku."
Taiichi's teasing voice rang out and immediately drew Yohei's attention.
He turned his head at the sound. The smile on his face grew even more dazzling the moment he saw Taiichi—practically like a little sun.
He instantly released the dango uncle's shoulder, closed the distance in three big strides, and exaggeratedly opened his arms as if about to give Taiichi a bear hug. His voice was loud enough for half the street to hear.
"Waaah! Look who it is! Isn't this our very own White Reaper of Konoha?! Did the sun rise from the west today? Has Your Lordship finally crawled out of the laboratory and the mountain of hospital documents to experience the mundane lives of us ordinary folks?!"
That single shout instantly focused every gaze in the surroundings onto Taiichi. The two face-covering Uchiha squad members stiffened noticeably, their hands pressing even harder over their faces as if that could somehow block out this "humiliating" sound.
Taiichi nimbly sidestepped Yohei's enthusiastic "assault," casually holding out the bamboo skewer that still had two dango left on it and skillfully redirecting the target.
"Spare me the act. 'Experiencing the people's lives'? I'm just here to fill my stomach. Here—take one and shut that mouth of yours."
Yohei didn't stand on ceremony. He cheerfully accepted it and chomped down more than half a dango in one bite, talking with his mouth full: "Stingy! The great White Reaper only treats me to half a dango? No way, no way—this meal's on me! Boss!"
He suddenly twisted his head and shouted at the dango uncle he had just been arm-in-arm with. "Three more skewers! No—five! Fresh out of the pot! For this—" he deliberately dragged out the tone and jerked his thumb hard in Taiichi's direction, "our Konoha's great hero's welcome feast!"
The dango uncle's hands moved nimbly as he began making them, face full of warm smiles.
"Coming right up! This young man—uh, no, this lord, please eat plenty! Captain Yohei talks about you every single day when he's here. He says how hard you trained back then, how skilled you are, and that he used to always bring you lunchboxes… only for you to secretly eat his favorite red-bean rice!"
The uncle chattered away while working, his tone so familiar it was as if he were talking about his own nephew.
"Pfft!"
The Inuzuka shinobi nearby couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. The big black dog at his side also let out a "wuruuru" sound, as if trying not to laugh.
The two Uchiha squad members swayed. One of them let out a near-moan from between his fingers: "Captain… image… the Uchiha's face…"
Yohei, far from feeling the slightest embarrassment at being exposed in public, proudly puffed out his chest and winked at Taiichi. "Hear that? The eyes of the masses are sharp! Me? I'm the sentimental type!"
Taiichi looked at Yohei's smug "I'm so tight with you" expression, then at the two clansmen behind him who looked ready to dig a hole and crawl into it, and finally at the Inuzuka pair watching the show with great enjoyment. He could only feel that the scene before him was filled with an absurd yet warm sense of everyday life.