The next morning, after breakfast, Tianyi dispatched several Shadow Clones as usual to various parts of the village.
Today, however, he created an additional clone. Disguised as an ordinary civilian via the Transformation Technique, it headed toward the address provided by Nara Xingzi the previous night.
Soon, the clone arrived at a restaurant bearing the bold name: Taste of Fire.
...DB...
Tianyi's eye twitched. "I'm an idiot. Sister Xingzi should've just written down the restaurant's name. If you tell me this place has nothing to do with the Third Hokage, I'll eat the damn sign."
Still, following his own principle that one had no right to speak without investigation, Tianyi slipped into a nearby bookstore, bought a few books, and sat down to read casually.
At the same time, he quietly activated his spiritual perception.
Ever since cultivating the Sharingan Eye-Opening Technique, his mental strength had grown steadily, and with it, his control. His concealment had become excellent.
His perception spread over the Fire Taste Restaurant—unnoticed by anyone inside.
"Chūnin. Cold chakra. And... a sealing technique aura on the tongue?"
He narrowed his eyes.
No doubt—this is a Root operative.
That alone nearly confirmed Danzo's involvement.
Still, Tianyi chose caution. He observed throughout the day, occasionally scanning the area again.
Only at dusk did the Root ninja finally leave. Tianyi's clone trailed him through several streets until the man disappeared into an abandoned building in Konoha's western district.
Satisfied, the clone released itself.
Back at Sihai Restaurant, Tianyi paused mid-meal as the clone's memories rushed in.
He pressed two fingers to his brow, cast a quick isolation barrier, then turned to his companions.
"The clone monitoring the restaurant dispelled itself. It found something."
"Oh?" Lu Jiu raised an eyebrow. "Did you confirm who's behind it?"
"Yes," Tianyi said. "It's Danzo. The place is staffed by Root ninja. I tracked one to a hideout in the western district. No doubt about it."
He glanced around. "Honestly, the moment I saw the restaurant's name, I already had a feeling."
"What's it called?" Shikaku asked.
Tianyi raised a brow.
"Taste of Fire."
The room went silent.
Shikaku stared. "That's way too on-the-nose. He wants people to know, doesn't he?"
Tianyi shrugged. "Probably pissed that the Third dumped the blame on him and still took a cut of the profits. This is his form of revenge."
Though he said it half in jest, everyone found the theory disturbingly plausible.
"Unbelievable... those two are completely shameless," Kushina muttered.
She didn't own shares in Sihai Restaurant, but Tianyi did—and rounding up, that meant she did.
They were stealing from her.
"Tianyi," Lu Jiu said, tone serious, "let's make this our first goal—helping you become Hokage."
The others turned to him in surprise.
Then, one by one, they nodded.
Tianyi smiled. "Alright. Let's aim for the Fifth Hokage seat."
"Wait—Fifth?" Kushina blinked. "Why not Fourth?"
Tianyi looked to Shikaku and Minato.
Minato rubbed his chin. "We're still too young. Competing for the Fourth is too hasty."
"Exactly," Shikaku agreed. "But we also can't let the Third cling to power too long."
He turned to Tianyi. "Any candidates in mind for the Fourth?"
Tianyi grinned. "My teacher—Tsunade."
"Perfect choice," Shikaku nodded. "That'd make your succession seamless. I'll draft a strategy."
"Are you serious right now?" Ding Zuo asked.
"Dead serious," Shikaku replied.
"If we want to unify the ninja world and fix this rotten system, we need to start laying foundations now."
"Helping Tianyi become the Fifth, and Tsunade the Fourth, is step one."
Ding Zuo sighed. "Fine. I'll leave the thinking to you. I'll do whatever I'm told."
Tianyi gave Shikaku a thumbs-up. "Appreciate it."
The Nara strategist allowed a rare smile.
—Trait (Tianyi): Wish Talent [Level 2]
—Wish Used (2): Curse Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo with a full day of misfortune
Let the games begin, Tianyi thought.
"Tianyi," Minato asked, "how are you planning to take revenge?"
"Already did," Tianyi said, smiling cryptically. "You'll see tomorrow. Let's eat."
The next morning...
As Tianyi and Mikoto walked to the training base, they overheard hushed conversations all around them.
"Did you hear? The Hokage got smacked in the face by a massive bird dropping last night."
"That's not all. He tripped ten times and showed up at the hospital covered in bruises."
"That can't be real. A Kage hit by bird poop? And falling?"
"It's real! I heard his chakra flared out of control—he couldn't use it! Even broke his leg after getting hit by a radio pole."
"Not just Hokage-sama! Danzo-sama got it worse. Passed out mid-walk, fell into Public Toilet No. 2's septic tank."
"A cleaner was working on it and left the lid open. If he hadn't been found quickly, he might've drowned."
Mikoto kept stealing glances at Tianyi, her expression getting more bewildered with every passing tale.
Once they reached a quiet stretch, she whispered, "Oh my god—"
"Shh." Tianyi pressed a finger to his lips.
She immediately went silent.
They reached the training base, where Shikaku, Minato, and the others were already waiting.
No one spoke of the incident, but all of them had heard. Their expressions were caught somewhere between horror and hilarity.
Tianyi activated a high-grade five-element barrier around the area.
"Alright," he said. "We're clear. Say what you want."
"I'm dying over here," Ding Zuo burst out. "Tianyi—was it you who did this to the Third and Danzo?"
Lu Jiu glared. "You can't just ask that! But... seriously. Was it a curse?"
He'd heard reports: the Third fell out of a chair in his office. His chakra misfired, he cramped up, smashed face-first into the floor.
The stories were piling up.
Even now, in the hospital, bizarre incidents kept occurring. Barriers exploded. Equipment short-circuited.
Apparently, the more protective charms they used, the worse the results became.
Rumor had it that the Third and Danzo had given up trying to resist the bad luck. They were just riding it out and praying.
Anbu and Root had been ordered to investigate. Anyone even remotely suspicious was being watched.
"Gasp!" Haiyi clutched his chest. "Tianyi! Tell us! Was it you?"
Tianyi denied it three times.
"Wasn't me. Didn't do it. Don't know what you're talking about."
But the grin on his face said otherwise.
Everyone nodded solemnly.
"Absolutely. It wasn't him."
"Alright, topic's closed," Lu Jiu said. "We'll probably be watched by Anbu soon. Let's stick to basic training today—body conditioning, low-level ninjutsu. Nothing sensitive."
Everyone nodded.
Tianyi dispelled the barrier.
He left a Shadow Clone behind to supervise while his main body stepped away to train privately.
The clone at Mito's had copied many techniques from the Senju archive—including the one Tianyi had been eyeing most: the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But today wasn't the day to practice anything flashy.
Don't poke the bear.
Through spiritual perception, Tianyi sensed Root and Anbu agents approaching. They watched from afar for about an hour, then departed.
They'd found nothing suspicious.
After all, Tianyi and his friends were five years old. No one would suspect they had the power to bring down legends.
But the investigations would continue. Root and Anbu were likely building a massive suspect list.
Unfortunately for them, they'd never find the real culprit.
Because Tianyi was simply too good.
Who could've guessed that a child had this kind of talent?
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