After eating a hearty breakfast, Yoichi changed his dress and rushed out.
He moved like a shadow over the rooftops, slipping through Kohaku's office window without a sound.
Kohaku sat at his desk, his face buried in his hands as he stared at a "Missing in Action" file.
"You should lock your window," Yoichi said quietly.
Kohaku bolted upright, his chair screeching against the floor. His hand flew to a kunai, his face turning pale as he stared at the small figure.
His eyes were wide with a shock that bordered on terror.
"Yoichi?" Kohaku gasped, his voice a ragged whisper. "The vanguards... The report said you were taken in captivity by Kumo."
"The report was wrong," Yoichi replied, his voice flat and rational.
Kohaku stood slowly, reaching out to grip Yoichi's shoulder to confirm he was real.
He noted the boy's calm demeanor and the cold, persistent intensity in his eyes.
Yoichi hadn't just escaped; he had crossed two nations with a speed that defied logic.
"You've walked back from the grave, kid," Kohaku said, a shaky breath of relief escaping him. "The village already wrote your obituary."
Soon enough, Kohaku told Yoichi about the situation happening in the Konoha's Walls.
The village was a powder keg of internal politics, its fragile peace strained by the growing rift between the Uchiha and the central leadership.
Suspicions were high, and the streets were filled with the hushed whispers of shinobi who felt the village was turning against its own.
The Village Elders and the Uchiha Clan were locked in a cold standoff.
Resources were being diverted to monitor internal "threats," and every move by the Military Police was scrutinized by the Hokage's council.
The village was not a unified fortress, but a collection of fractured interests held together by a thin veneer of order.
"The peace we have is an illusion," Kohaku noted, his eyes dark with worry. "The elders are watching the Uchiha district more closely than the enemy lines."
In this environment of fractured loyalty, Yoichi's return from a "deadly" mission was a wild card.
The leadership was desperate to maintain control, yet their paranoia only served to deepen the divide.
Yoichi realized that while he had been fighting Kumo, his own home had become a battlefield of shadows and secrets.
He realized that the internal friction would have already sparked a civil crisis if not for one person.
His thoughts turned to Mito Uzumaki, the matriarch whose presence acted as the village's anchor.
"I am grateful for Lady Mito,"Yoichi mused internally.
"If she weren't here to keep the peace, this would have escalated into something much worse by now."
He knew her influence was the only thing deterring the Elders and the Uchiha from advancing past whispers and into open conflict.
She was the silent weight on the scales, holding the fractured Leaf together through respect and power.
Without her, the fragile peace Kohaku described would have shattered long ago, leaving the village to collapse from within.
Subsequently, Yoichi bade farewell to Kohaku and slipped away, rushing toward the Senju Compound.
He moved like a passing breeze, passing the training grounds where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were focused on their drills.
They remained oblivious as he bypassed their perimeter and entered the quiet manor.
Mito Uzumaki sat in her room, having sensed an unfamiliar presence long before he reached the door. She set down her brush, her eyes filled with calm curiosity until Yoichi shed his disguise.
"You move like a ghost, little one," she said, her voice warm despite the surprise of seeing the boy reported as captured.
Yoichi knelt, his expression focused. "I am glad you are still the anchor of this village, Lady Mito. Without you, the internal friction would have turned into a disaster long ago."
Mito sighed, looking toward the window. "It is no trouble at all, Yoichi. I simply refuse to let Hashirama's goal crumble before my eyes. I will hold the pieces together for as long as I breathe."
No further words were needed.
They shared a heavy silence, both understanding the grim state of the Leaf's politics.
Mito looked at him with a motherly gentleness, recognizing the burden on his young shoulders.
Yoichi let out a long sigh of relief, the tension finally leaving his body in her steady presence.
Mito looked out at the three students sweating on the field. She turned back to Yoichi with a searching gaze. "Why won't you show yourself to them? They worked so hard to save you... They still believe you are trapped in Kumo."
Yoichi stood straight, his mind clear. He did not fear the Elders' whispers or the shadows of the village. His strength was his own, and he was done hiding like a ghost in his own home.
I have walked through the heart of the Raikage's territory and survived, Yoichi thought, his pulse steady. The politics of this village are just another battlefield, and I will not be a pawn in their game anymore.
"I'm finished with hiding," Yoichi said, his voice level. "I don't fear anyone out there. It's time they realize I've returned."
He stepped onto the veranda and shed his Face Changing disguise.
The sunlight hit his Uchiha crest as he walked toward the training area.
Yoichi knew his appearance would cause a storm, but he was ready.
He was no longer a captive; he was a shinobi who had returned on his own terms.
Tsunade froze mid-strike, her eyes wide. Jiraiya nearly slipped from his stance, and Orochimaru watched in stunned, calculating silence. They stared at the boy they thought was lost, who now walked toward them with absolute confidence.
She was the first to move, her shock turning into a blur of raw motion.
She lunged forward with tears pricking her eyes, her fist slamming into Yoichi's chest with enough force to crack stone.
However, he didn't flinch.
He simply stepped into the blow and pulled her into a firm, grounding hug.
She's stronger than when I left, Yoichi thought, feeling the tremors of her strike. But I am no longer the boy who can be broken.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru rushed over, their usual masks shattering. Jiraiya stumbled in his haste, his face breaking into a wide, relieved grin.
Orochimaru approached with a more measured pace, but his golden eyes shone with a rare, genuine warmth that bypassed his usual cold calculations.
"You idiot!" Tsunade sobbed into his shoulder, her hands gripping his white coat. "We thought you were dead! We were already planning a rescue!"
Jiraiya let out a loud, shaky laugh, clapping Yoichi on the back while Orochimaru stood by, nodding in silent approval.
They surrounded him in a circle of heat and noise.
Yoichi held onto them, realizing that while he didn't fear the village's shadows, these were the people who made the light worth fighting for.
...
...
...
Word of Yoichi's return swept through the Leaf.
Within the hour, the quiet shock at the Senju Compound had reached the bustling markets and the training halls.
Civilians paused their trade to murmur about the boy who walked out of Kumo's grasp, while shinobi exchanged stunned glances across the rooftops.
The news carried a weight that no one could ignore.
The "captured casualty" was now walking the streets, appearing not as a broken prisoner, but as a confident warrior.
In the dark offices of the village, the Elders sat in tense silence. They had used his "loss" to fuel their agendas, but their leverage had vanished.
Let them talk, Yoichi thought, feeling the village's gaze on his back. The more they whisper, the more they realize their shadows have no power over me.
The atmosphere in the village shifted from mourning to a sharp, electric curiosity.
High-ranking Jonin and Genin alike listened to the reports with wide eyes. A ghost had come home, and his survival was a silent defiance against every enemy lurking within the walls of the Leaf.
Inside the council chamber, the air was thick with irritation. Hiruzen sat at the head of the table, pipe unlit, while Danzo gripped his cane with white-knuckled tension.
Koharu and Homura sat in stunned silence, reading the latest intelligence reports.
"This is absurd," Homura said, his voice tight. "He walked back in like he'd just gone for a stroll. Meanwhile, our spies say Kumo is in a total frenzy, scouring the border lands for any trace of him."
Danzo's eye narrowed, fixed on the flickering candlelight. "An Uchiha escaping Kumo alone is a security risk. They are still searching because they cannot believe a child vanished so completely. It suggests a power we haven't accounted for."
Hiruzen let out a weary breath, hearing the village's cheers in the distance. "He didn't crawl back, Danzo. He arrived with the presence of a seasoned Jonin. Kumo's confusion proves he left them in the dust."
He is a variable I can no longer control, Danzo thought. If he can slip through an entire hidden village like that, then no wall in this Leaf can contain him.
The council sat in a heavy stalemate. Yoichi's return had neutralized their leverage. They had played their hand assuming he was gone, but the ghost was back, and his existence defied their authority.
...
...
...
A few days later, the quiet murmurs in the market turned into a roar. A massive crowd of commoners and shinobi gathered before the Hokage's building, their voices chanting in an angry tide.
They were tired of the secrets and the "sacrifices" that claimed the village's best.
"No more shadows! No more Danzo!" the crowd screamed, their faces flushed with defiance.
Yoichi's return was their proof that the Council's cold pragmatism was often a cover for failure.
They demanded transparency and the removal of the man who ruled from the dark.
Inside, Danzo watched the sea of people from the window, his expression stony.
He heard his name spat like a curse, the public's fury pressing against the glass.
Yoichi's survival had dragged his hidden methods into a blinding, unforgiving light.
The sheep are bleating for the wolf's head, Danzo thought, his grip tightening on his cane. They don't understand that their peace is built on the shadows they now despise.
Hiruzen stood nearby, his face etched with exhaustion as he watched the rally. The village had found its voice, and they were using it to demand the end of Danzo's reign.
The shift in the village's soul was real, and it was a force the Hokage could no longer ignore.
Yoichi sat with his friends as their laughter filled the air. Tsunade told a loud story while Jiraiya joked, and Orochimaru watched with a knowing smirk. They looked like normal shinobi enjoying a break.
I made my move now, Danzo, Yoichi thought, looking toward the Hokage building. It is your turn to see if you can survive the light.
New whispers rippled through the nearby tables.
Detailed accounts of the failed assassination attempt on Yoichi, the one set up by the shadows before his capture, reappeared like wildfire.
The link between the masked attackers and his disappearance was now too clear for the public to ignore.
The village's anger turned white-hot. People realized Yoichi had been betrayed by his own leadership before he ever reached the border.
The seeds Yoichi planted were blooming into a storm of fury.
"You are awfully quiet," Orochimaru murmured, his eyes scanning Yoichi's calm face.
Yoichi leaned back with a cold smile. He did not need a kunai to strike at Danzo. The village's own sense of justice was doing the work for him.
__________
Thanks again to doomslayer24 and Snowwwww for the Power Stones! Thank you so much!
Advance Happy New Year to Everyone! Have a great time with your family and friends!