Konoha: The King of Souls from Uchiha

c51: Riding a Dragon to Heaven

As the saying goes, the eyes of the masses are sharp.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, no longer had the energy or capacity to continue the war.

Even if his will remained firm, the frontline combat strength of Kirigakure had collapsed. Their genin forces had suffered catastrophic losses, particularly under the devastating assault of Tailed Beast Bombs and the relentless pursuit afterward.

Genin serve as the foundation of any village's combat power, much like foot soldiers in a conventional army. Even if the elites jōnin, chūnin, and senior commanders remained intact, what good were they without the rank-and-file to support their missions?

Unless Yagura was willing to harden his heart and initiate a forced conscription of untrained genin from within the Hidden Mist, he had no realistic path to sustaining the fight.

But this was not the Yagura under Obito's genjutsu control this was the true Mizukage. As a ruler mindful of Kirigakure's long-term stability, he refused to gamble the village's future by bleeding it dry of potential.

Thus, after regrouping the remaining Mist forces in the eastern reaches of the Land of Whirlpools, Yagura made the difficult choice: he sent envoys of peace to the Konoha frontline headquarters.

Yet, in his heart, Yagura still hoped to retain the northern territory of the former Land of Whirlpools, a region Kirigakure had occupied.

Naturally, Konoha refused this outright. The Uzumaki homeland had deep ties to Konohagakure, especially through Kushina Uzumaki and the Senju legacy. The Hokage's advisors and frontline commanders crushed Yagura's illusion with unshakable resolve.

In the end, the negotiated terms were clear: both sides would revert to pre-war borders. No Hidden Village was allowed to station troops in the Land of Whirlpools, and no reparations would be demanded from either side.

The peace agreement was quickly transmitted to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. A veteran of two previous wars, he agreed immediately Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure had also begun scaling down operations, and Konoha's own losses had been significant. They could not afford further delay.

With Hiruzen's approval, the final peace treaty was sent back to the front. Yagura affixed his name and official stamp, and both sides began systematic withdrawal from the battlefield.

Thus, the Third Great Ninja War quietly came to an end.

However, as the troops receded, a new conflict brewed beneath the surface both villages embedded dozens of covert operatives in the Land of Whirlpools.

These agents would lie dormant until the next flare of conflict. But even now, the silent war of espionage had already begun.

Back at camp, Konoha's units began rotating home. Groups of shinobi were organized into batches, returning to the village in waves.

Uchiha Gen, however, delayed his departure, choosing to return with the final group, the same as Orochimaru his master and commanding officer.

On the surface, it appeared to be a matter of protocol, a simple disciple remaining with his teacher. In truth, Uchiha Gen intended to use this window to secretly relocate the young Uchiha Yuichi and Uchiha Mori two clan members entangled in his deeper plan.

As the last wave of ninja returned, they were replaced by a new rotation assigned to border garrison duty a long, monotonous task, often dismissed by higher-ranked shinobi.

But not all those selected were chosen fairly. In the ninja world, connections and lineage matter. Shinobi with influential families, clan backing, or elite mentors were rarely sent to guard borders.

Instead, these roles typically fell to civilians or lesser-known ninjas, those without political clout. Though the task was dreary and often thankless, it came with decent pay and occasionally, the reward of higher-ranked missions or ninjutsu scrolls for reliable service.

No matter the world, class systems persist whether they are hidden behind bureaucracy or openly enforced through caste-like clans. The shinobi system is no exception.

Uchiha Gen approached Orochimaru and requested a two-day leave, citing the need to relax in a nearby town. Orochimaru approved without hesitation.

Technically, it was against regulation to take leave for leisure while stationed at a border zone. But Orochimaru never objected to bending the rules for personal benefit, and Gen had long since stopped pretending to care about decorum.

With both master and student complicit, the violation became trivial.

As Gen continued to follow Orochimaru, he realized more and more that abandoning his previous allegiance had been the right decision.

Shinobi like Namikaze Minato, forged in the flames of Hiruzen's Will of Fire, were unwilling to use public resources for personal ends, and would never knowingly bend or break the shinobi code for convenience.

Had Gen not exposed Minato's weaknesses to Uchiha Fugaku, the young Hokage-to-be might never have shown his cracks. But with the right pressure applied, new options emerged.

In the end, Gen thought, if he just "magnified" his own position if he appeared more indispensable, more visionary gaining Minato's trust would not have been difficult.

Fortunately, Uchiha Gen realized in time that Wei Guangzheng-style righteousness didn't suit him. He had neither the noble idealism to sacrifice himself for others, nor the candle-like will to burn himself just to illuminate the world.

Leaving the Konoha border camp, now reduced significantly in size following demobilization, Uchiha Gen employed the Shadow Clone Technique. His true body used the Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to move underground in a puff of dispersing smoke, while the clone headed for a nearby town, creating a diversion.

Though it was unlikely Orochimaru would pursue him after all, his teacher was busy organizing defensive formations along the border Gen was not about to get careless.

He couldn't afford for anyone to learn that he had abducted two members of the Uchiha clan. Even if they wouldn't reveal the truth and would ultimately serve as Orochimaru's experimental subjects, secrecy was paramount.

The secrets behind the Sharingan's evolution were not something he could afford to leak. The more people who knew, the more tangled the consequences would become.

After burrowing silently through the earth, Uchiha Gen emerged near the target zone, surrounded by leafless trees and loose terrain, then accelerated forward with chakra-enhanced speed.

Forty minutes later, Uchiha Gen reached the nameless mountain peak he had chosen as his temporary base.

He activated the Transformation Technique, disguised himself in a full-body cloak, and approached the cave entrance but paused, recalling a critical detail. He rustled nearby foliage deliberately.

Inside the cave, two humanoid wooden Homitz, previously in deep slumber, stirred at the sound. Cautiously, they crept toward the entrance.

"Sir."

Sensing Gen's chakra signature, they visibly relaxed, broke into smiles, and darted out into the clearing to greet him.

"From now on, refer to me as sir, not master," Gen instructed.

Details could unravel entire plans. If these Homitz slipped and called him 'Master' in front of Uchiha Yuichi and Uchiha Mori, it might trigger suspicion, even if only subconsciously.

These two constructs were his long-term aides and would assist with tasks until his experiments reached completion. There could be no room for error.

Though he had no interest in being a paragon of virtue, he also didn't wish to become the kind of villain people curse behind his back.

"Yes, Master."

"Hm?"

"Yes, sir." The Homitz corrected themselves immediately.

Only then did Uchiha Gen enter the cave. The Homitz followed obediently.

Inside, Uchiha Yuichi and Uchiha Mori, bound securely to wooden crosses, stirred at the sound of footsteps. Their eyes, both activated into two-tomoe Sharingan, gleamed in the dim cave light.

"Who are you?"

"Let us go!"

Uchiha Gen didn't answer. He moved silently toward Yuichi.

"Kirigakure trash! What do you want with Yuichi?!"

Uchiha Mori was defiant, his words laced with venom.

"How dare you speak to the lord like that!"

The two cloaked Homitz stepped forward and, without hesitation, delivered a few solid strikes to Mori's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Enough," Gen commanded calmly.

Of course, he didn't use his real voice only a disguised one, altered with Chakra Control, a simple trick for a trained ninja.

The Homitz backed off instantly.

"You—mmph..."

Before Yuichi could finish his sentence, Uchiha Gen covered his mouth and nose with a chakra-infused handkerchief, soaked with a fast-acting sleeping agent developed by Orochimaru.

"You'll pay for this, bastard!"

"We, the Uchiha, will never forgive you!"

The drug took effect quickly. Yuichi slumped unconscious.

"I won't... mmph..."

Mori followed soon after, passing out from the same treatment.

Uchiha Gen pried Mori's eyelids open. His own Sharingan spun to life, casting a subtle genjutsu to keep Mori trapped in subconscious illusions. He repeated the process on Yuichi, ensuring neither would awaken prematurely.

With the wooden restraints released, Gen turned to his Homitz.

"Move them outside the cave."

"Yes, sir."

The wooden assistants swiftly carried the two unconscious Uchihas out.

"Zhu Rong. Burn the interior."

"Yes, sir."

With a single motion, the fire dragon Homitz Zhu Rong, previously dormant in a scroll appeared above the cave entrance, opened its jaw, and unleashed a concentrated stream of fire. The heat incinerated all evidence: blood, footprints, scattered tools.

Outside, Uchiha Gen looked up at Zhu Rong and spoke with quiet excitement, "Your maximum form."

"Yes, sir."

In a burst of flames, Zhu Rong expanded, growing from a small serpentine fire lizard into a massive, ten-meter-long Eastern-style dragon, thick as a tree trunk, scales glowing with molten energy. Its long whiskers and ember-like mane crackled in the wind.

This transformation embodied the mythical dragon's power: from small to vast, from concealed to transcendent.

Gen silently wondered if future high-level Homitz those of non-dragon lineage would eventually develop similar transformative abilities...

He then lifted Yuichi and Mori onto the broad back of the fire dragon.

The two wooden Homitz, still cloaked, watched with eager eyes. Their posture stiff and slightly over-extended betrayed their longing to ride.

"Sorry," Gen muttered. "Zhu Rong won't allow it. Time for you two to sleep."

He raised his hand and activated the Soul-Soul Fruit's essence manipulation. The Homitz didn't resist. From each, he extracted their soul fragments and lifespan units, storing them separately in chakra vessels.

Though Zhu Rong had never verbally protested, Gen could feel it—a pride innate to higher Homitz. Letting lower-grade constructs ride on his back? Unthinkable.

After binding the two now-inert wooden constructs in their own cloaks, Gen loaded them into a scroll and sealed it.

With that done, he mounted Zhu Rong's back in a practiced motion.

Zhu Rong, satisfied, turned his head slightly and unleashed a secondary flame breath. The two wooden bodies, now lifeless and unneeded, were reduced to ashes.

"Well done, Zhu Rong."

Caution must be constant. If needed, he could always craft new Homitz at the next stop.

"Take off."

Roaaaar—!

Zhu Rong let out a thunderous, prideful roar. From beneath his claws, clouds of flickering flame and dawn-colored mist formed, lifting the beast into the air.

In one majestic arc, the fire dragon soared, carrying Gen and the Uchiha clan's buried secrets into the sky leaving behind only scorched stone, ash, and silence.

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