"Like I said, I've come as an emissary to invite you to join the Chunin exams, and I sincerely hope you'll participate."
Shrugging, Yuki sighed and continued, "Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you were hired to assassinate me, correct?"
"...."
Confirming with their silence, Yuki's smile widened. The old man had taken the bait once again. Yuki had left only a small clue, and it was enough for the old man not to hesitate.
(Truly predictable...)
Shaking his head, Yuki thought about playing a bit more with the old man. His revenge had to be slow and sweet.
"Give up on that mission, big brother. You can't kill me; you don't have that power."
"....."
Yuki didn't know if Pain was aware of this or if he had simply chosen to watch, but it didn't matter to Yuki. With both hands on his head, he turned and walked away. His objective was complete; Pain made no move.
"Oh! Almost forgot... Big brother, tell Tobi that no matter how much he hides, he can't escape from me."
Suddenly, Yuki stopped and turned his head slightly, leaving this warning.
After all, Yuki sympathized with Nagato and Konan. Their suffering and the obstacles they had faced led Yuki to spare their lives during his assault. He believed this was a problem for Jiraiya to resolve, and it wasn't his place to get involved—a way of showing respect to Jiraiya.
But as for Tobi, Yuki wouldn't let him escape. If it weren't for Tobi hiding in his Kamui dimension, Yuki would have killed him already. However, he couldn't kill him, but he could certainly thwart his plans, just as he did with the Hidden Mist Village.
----------------
"He's gone..."
Somewhere in Amegakure, a emaciated man with chakra receivers on his arms and back, connected to a mechanical walker, sighed weakly as he sensed Yuki leaving his village through the rain.
"It's as the rumors say; his strength has surpassed that of the Kages."
Answering his question, Konan materialized. She had flown all the way here, hoping to escape with Nagato if the last Pain was destroyed. She had witnessed everything and suffered a small loss at the hands of the unknown woman.
"Madara was right; as long as the Devourer stays in Konoha, capturing the Kyubi is impossible."
Before Yuki was recognized as the Devourer, Tobi had told them about a Uchiha clan child they should be wary of. At first, they didn't care, thinking Yuki was just a child, and his threat wasn't significant.
What a big mistake. During this time, Yuki took action, expanding his influence over Konoha and all the ninja nations. With Anbu under his control, Yuki set up a large barrier in Konoha that made it impossible for a spy to enter undetected. Due to this, Zetsu couldn't penetrate Konoha's borders without being destroyed by Yuki.
But that wasn't all. Tobi was forced to hide in his Kamui dimension due to Yuki's harassment. That kid always knew where and when to appear, and Yuki had been hunting him for the past year. This caused Tobi to avoid him, and his control over the Mist Village weakened, allowing Yuki to intervene and destroy his puppet, the Fourth Mizukage.
Tobi wasn't stupid; he knew nothing good would come from fighting Yuki. Furthermore, they had no jutsu to counter Yuki's time and immortality abilities. Seals wouldn't work, and unless he used the Reaper Death Seal, it would be useless since Yuki wouldn't let himself be caught, and he would die if he used that jutsu.
So far, they had reached a deadlock where Akatsuki couldn't penetrate Konoha's borders due to a single ninja.
"His jutsu is dangerous, and if my analysis is correct, it has to do with time."
"Time?! Nagato, are you serious? Is he using a space-time jutsu? Is it similar to the Fourth Hokage's?"
"Not exactly a space-time jutsu like the Fourth Hokage's, more like one specifically aimed at time. When one of my Pains got trapped in his jutsu, I couldn't control it. My vision and everything around me were frozen. I saw nothing and felt nothing, except that I quickly severed my connection and looked through my other Pains to discover I was frozen. I could never analyze it if I hadn't done that."
Recalling his experience when the Path of Naraka got trapped, Nagato trembled slightly. If what he said was correct, then dealing with this Devourer was even more challenging than he thought.
"What do we do now, Nagato?"
"For now, we'll send Genin to Konoha. If the Devourer appears, we can learn more about him. No matter what, that kid gave us a clue."
"I understand..."
-------------------
"Konoha, sweet home..."
After spending some time hunting bandits, Yuki had returned to his village.
Preparations for the Chunin exams were ready; all that was left was for Konoha to start receiving Genin from the united nations.
"Yuki!!"
Unfortunately for Yuki, his good intentions and hard work weren't rewarded. After delivering the scroll to the Hokage, Tsunade grabbed him by the nape and dragged him away.
Tsunade was furious. This brat had left the village without her consent, and it was obvious she would be upset.
But as something unavoidable, Yuki sighed and accepted all of Tsunade's scoldings.
"Is he still alive?! Impossible!"
But like Yuki, Danzo had no better luck. He hoped that brat would never return. He had paid a large sum of money to kill him, and Akatsuki was the best group for the job. He knew how terrible this group was, and success was almost assured. He had even been secretly pulling the strings to regain power, and without Yuki as a thorn in his side, Danzo didn't worry about anything else. It's a pity Yuki is still alive and kicking, so all his efforts went down the drain.
"Are Naruto and Sasuke not in the village?"
Among all of Tsunade's sermons, Yuki heard this comment.
"Things went like this..."
With Tsubaki kindly offering to explain, Yuki blinked and listened attentively.
After leaving the village, apparently, Team 7 wasn't satisfied with their missions and requested a more challenging one. Of course, this was denied, but due to their high insistence, Tsunade impulsively assigned them a mission to protect a bridge builder.
The group accepted, and they left.
"Hmm..."
Bringing a hand to his mask, Yuki thought deeply. Since he hadn't been in the village, he hadn't had time to check and classify the missions. But Tsunade said it was a 'C'-rank mission, and with Kakashi on the team, there shouldn't be a problem.
(Well, if things go wrong, my clone will have to act.)
In the end, Yuki didn't think too much and let everything unfold. After all, in the shadows of Sasuke and Naruto, his clones patiently waited.
They were his precious family...
-----------
Several days later, Team 7 returned to Konoha.
"How was the mission?"
Just like Tsunade, Yuki grabbed Sasuke by the nape and began interrogating him.
After all, Sasuke had left the village without informing Yuki or waiting for him to return. Even though he had a clone keeping an eye on things, Yuki had to make it clear who was in charge.
"Aniki...."
Sasuke quickly confessed everything, terrified to even lift his gaze in Yuki's presence.
Describing the mission clearly, Sasuke's version matched his clone's, and Yuki shook his head.
(Sister Tsunade...)
What was originally a 'C'-rank mission immediately turned into an 'A'-rank due to the presence of a high-ranking Jonin from the Hidden Mist Village—one of the Seven Swordsmen, Zabuza Momochi. A ninja on the same level as Kakashi. Fortunately, the group learned a lot during this mission and gained blessings.
For instance, Sasuke could now control his Sharingan at will, and Naruto awakened some of the Kyubi's power.
As for Sakura? Well, she remained the same as usual.
(Perhaps I should let Sister Tsunade train her?)
Sakura was too weak for Team 7, but she had the best chakra control in the team. If she learned Medical Ninjutsu, she might even become friends with Tsubaki.
Yuki also thought about his girls, Ino, Hinata, and Hanabi. He had to find the opportunity to introduce them to Tsunade.
"That's good. I hope with this, you can participate in the Chunin exams."
"Eh?"
Enjoying Sasuke's changing expressions, Yuki crossed his arms and smiled.
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TN: Hanabi? 🤨