In the 24th year of Konoha, at the civilian cemetery of the village, in front of an unmarked gravestone.
Dressed in black, Reiji sat cross-legged before the stone, a sake cup and a jug placed in front of him.
"Mizukuma, how've you been lately?"
...
The gravestone remained cold and silent.
"You haven't even come to me in a dream. I'm guessing things aren't going so well.
That so-called Pure Land must be crawling with powerhouses. You better keep your head down, alright? And don't go losing your resolve just 'cause you see a pretty face.
Also..."
He slowly poured a cup of sake and gently splashed it over the stone, then paused before speaking again.
"Just stay put for a bit longer. Once I pull off something big—take Amegakure for example—I'll drag you out of that godforsaken place.
Still not sure if those legendary eyes can actually bring you back to life..."
As he spoke, Reiji scratched his nose, then shamelessly took a swig straight from the sake jug.
"Just wait, damn it. Serves you right for ignoring my advice! And after all the trouble I went through finding you two wives!
Idiot."
...
Back in Konoha, having paid his respects to Mizukuma, Reiji strolled leisurely down the main street.
It had been over four years since the Eight-Tails incident, and in that time, his visits to the village had been few and far between.
He bought a skewer of takoyaki for the first time in ages and knocked politely on the door of the Senju compound.
Before long, light, hurried footsteps approached.
Creaaak~
The door swung open, and Rie peeked out with curiosity. The moment she saw him, she squealed in delight and dove into his arms.
"Big bro! You finally remembered to come back!"
Heh, a surprise tackle right out of the gate.
He set her down and habitually patted her head, sneaking a glance at her.
She stood before him in a pale blue waist-tied short robe, hair styled in a neat bun—graceful and radiant.
In just a blink, the chubby little girl had grown into a fine young lady.
"Come on. It's your graduation exam today—you don't want to be late."
Rie nodded, instinctively taking her brother's hand and closing the door behind her.
As they walked toward the academy, she bounced along with a big grin, chatting non-stop.
"Big bro, seriously, what have you been up to all these years?
You didn't come back when Sister Tsunade graduated. You didn't come back when I enrolled. You didn't come back when she became a Chūnin either. What the heck were you doing?"
"Business. Kids shouldn't ask too many questions." Reiji reached out and flicked her forehead.
"Ugh..." Rie rubbed her head, pouting with a hint of grievance.
"All you care about is business. You're never home! Other kids get picked up by their parents after school—me? Nothing!"
Reiji rolled his eyes. If he hadn't been keeping tabs, he might've actually fallen for that line.
The academy teachers had complained a hundred times over—
Every day after school, a whole gang of street punks would line up neatly outside the gates…
All waiting for their "big boss" to finish class.
Pick you up? I'd be your bag carrier instead.
Suppressing the urge to rant, Reiji kept his eyes forward, put on a serious face, and said,
"It's not that I don't want to pick you up. I've just really been busy.
Think about it!
Once we hit it big, we'll build a massive mansion. Wake up every day on a bed the size of a football field.
Ride a bike to the bathroom. Sit on a solid gold toilet. Use hundred-thousand ryō bills as toilet paper.
If someone picks a fight with us, forget using jutsu—just smack 'em with money.
Now that's the life!"
Rie gave him a side-eye, sighed, and muttered,
"Sounds fun, sure... but your goals are something else."
Reiji just shrugged and patted her head.
"Don't sweat the details."
...
Soon, they arrived at the Ninja Academy.
The gates opened as parents chatted and led their kids inside. The place was lively.
For some reason, this year's graduation exam wasn't the standard Three Basic Techniques test Reiji was used to. Instead, they'd adopted a Kumogakure-style sparring format.
Out back, rows of simple seats had been set up on the field.
In the center was a large competition platform.
Rie cheerfully ran off to find her instructor while Reiji picked a random seat to wait for the matches to begin.
Just as he sat down, a familiar figure approached.
"Yo~ long time no see, Kagami." Reiji raised a hand in greeting.
With a dark expression, Kagami plopped down beside him and nodded weakly.
"Reiji, you too? Is Rie graduating today?"
Reiji nodded, casually watching Kagami's face, and asked with feigned nonchalance.
"Kagami, why the long face? Don't tell me your wife kicked you to the couch again?"
At Reiji's teasing, Kagami gave a wry smile and shook his head. He quickly scanned the area to make sure no one was watching, then let out a sigh.
"This has nothing to do with my wife. Lately... the Uchiha Clan—my clan—has been dealing with trouble on all sides."
Reiji perked up, immediately intrigued. He leaned in, whispering, "What happened? Come on, spill it. I've been dying for some entertainment!"
Kagami rolled his eyes—long used to Reiji's antics—and sighed.
"It's like this. I've been trying to change our clan's reputation by starting with the villagers. Things were going well at first. People were opening up to us, and many even started interacting with clan members.
But for some reason, over the past year or so, things have taken a strange turn.
Some within the clan have started whispering behind my back, saying I'm disgracing the Uchiha name by pandering to weak villagers.
That alone wouldn't be a big deal.
But then, some villagers started looking at me differently too. And rumors began spreading... that I've been scheming to become Hokage.
And then..."
Kagami's expression twisted uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Reiji pressed on curiously, "What else?"
Kagami frowned and lowered his voice. "There are even people saying that saving Princess Tsunade was all a setup. That I... that I colluded with Kumogakure to stage the whole thing."
"You didn't deny it?"
Kagami shook his head.
Reiji narrowed his eyes, clicking his tongue.
No doubt—the higher-ups were moving.
And probably teaming up with the Uchiha elders too.
They must've been promised something in return... power, most likely.
Looks like Kagami's efforts had drawn the attention of some very unpleasant people.
With that realization, Reiji said nothing more.
He'd already given his warnings, already lent a hand.
Now all that was left was to watch the higher-ups try to snuff out the fire inside Kagami.
...
While they sat in silence, the graduation matches had already begun on the stage.
Reiji couldn't care less about watching kids scuffle and toss out the occasional jutsu.
Kagami, on the other hand, seemed to be using the spectacle to unwind from his heavy thoughts.
Soon, Rie entered the arena.
Excitement erupted among the children watching from the sidelines. Many boys had stars in their eyes as they cheered.
Clearly, the little girl had quite the fanbase.
"Rie, big sis!"
"Big sis, wreck that ice face!"
"Go get 'em, big sis!"
At that, both the proctor and Reiji pulled grim faces, rolling their eyes in sync.
Rie's opponent stood across the stage—a real Hyūga, with genuine Byakugan.
Who knew what that kid was thinking?
Anyway, the Hyūga always looked down on everyone.
After the formalities, the two squared off.
At the proctor's signal, the Hyūga kid bolted straight at Rie.
Rie, completely calm, began retreating while weaving hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Candy!"
The moment she spoke, she sprayed a blob of thick blue liquid at her opponent.
Reiji's eye twitched instinctively.
The Hyūga kid reacted quickly, dodging right with nimble, precise steps.
Rie kept forming seals—her small hands moved so fast they blurred into afterimages.
"Water Release: Water Candy Bullets!"
Swish, swish, swish...
Sticky water bullets rained down, splattering across the stage.
Kagami, watching from the side with his chin resting in one hand, nodded in appreciation.
"Rie-chan's impressive. She mixed chakra into the water, making it incredibly sticky—great for limiting her opponent's movement.
Reiji, was that your doing?"
Reiji, face reddening, quickly shook his head.
"Amazing!" Kagami nodded again, clearly impressed. "That's a clever tactic. The Hyūga specialize in close combat. The Water Candy Bullets not only disrupt their attack, but even after dodging, they still mess with their footing."
Just as he finished, the Hyūga kid slipped on a patch of sticky water.
Cheers erupted from the crowd, with kids shouting, "Go big sis!"
Rie grinned, forming seals once more.
"Water Release: Water Candy Rope."
From the puddle of sticky liquid, a rubbery rope shot out and instantly wrapped around the Hyūga kid, binding him tight.
Kagami couldn't hold back a compliment.
"Rie-chan's really talented! Not only does she have a decent chakra pool, but she came up with all three of those jutsu herself. Quite the thinker!"
Hearing that, Reiji's face turned beet red.
Bro, I'm begging you—stop with the serious commentary!
Damn it! It's just spitting on the ground, man!
How did you even manage to tie that to chakra?!