Konoha's streets were always lively, day or night, with people constantly coming and going. Occasionally a couple of seven- or eight-year-old kids would dart past, drawing a few annoyed grumbles.
Taiichi strolled through the bustling night market, glancing left and right as he searched for dinner.
A plate of tempura looked delicious—he bought it. The three-colored dango smelled amazing—so he grabbed some of those too. By the time he'd walked a few blocks, he'd eaten plenty of snacks but still hadn't had a real meal.
He patted his stomach, now about halfway full, and looked up to see Ichiraku Ramen right in front of him. Without thinking twice, he stepped inside.
"Well, if it isn't Taiichi! It's been a while."
The owner greeted him warmly the moment he walked in.
"Uncle, your memory is incredible. I haven't been here in over three months!"
Taiichi was genuinely surprised. He didn't visit often, yet the owner remembered him.
"Haha, not many people try to eat their way through my entire menu. You're one of them. Of course I remember." The owner kept working, smoothly sliding bowls of ramen to waiting customers.
"What'll it be today?"
"Give me an extra-large tonkotsu ramen."
"Coming right up—one extra-large tonkotsu!" the owner shouted toward the back. The rhythmic pounding of fresh noodles answered him immediately. Taiichi knew that sound well—it was the owner's son, the future hand-pulled-noodle master.
While waiting, Taiichi casually scanned the other customers. Even at seven in the evening, Ichiraku was still packed. He'd already noted the faces of five different people when a loud, energetic voice cut through the chatter.
"Genma, don't look so down! So what if you lost to a girl? You'll win next time! Youth doesn't give up that easily!"
Three figures pushed through the curtain. Leading them was Might Guy, looking as full of life as ever. The other two were his teammates—Ebisu and Shiranui Genma.
"Guy, over here!" Taiichi stood and waved with a bright smile.
"Ah, Taiichi! What a wonderful surprise to run into you!" Guy flashed him a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
He introduced his teammates. They were all from the same graduating class as Taiichi, though in different groups since he had graduated early.
"Nice to meet you," Taiichi said warmly. He didn't know them well back in the Academy, but he remembered they were known for causing all kinds of trouble.
Ebisu and Genma, on the other hand, knew plenty about Taiichi. His reputation had only grown since leaving school—especially his medical ninjutsu, which was now famous throughout the village.
"Senior Taiichi," they both said, straightening up and bowing respectfully.
Taiichi waved it off with a smile. "You're Guy's teammates, which makes you my friends. No need to be so formal."
The three sat down beside him. After some light conversation, Guy turned to Taiichi with his usual enthusiasm.
"Taiichi, what rank of missions are you guys on now? Have you done any out-of-village ones yet?"
Not every new team got thrown straight into danger like Kakashi's squad. Most started slow, easing into C-rank missions over time.
"Of course! We started taking C-rank missions last month. We just got back from a trip to the Land of Grass."
Guy puffed up with pride. He'd worked hard to reach that level so quickly. Compared to the original timeline, this version of Guy was already significantly stronger—strong enough to handle most chunin without much trouble.
"Oh? How are things over there? Who's in charge of that front?"
Taiichi was curious. He'd been to both the northern and southern fronts, but he didn't know much about the Land of Grass defenses.
Guy scratched his head awkwardly. They had only delivered supplies and hadn't stayed long. With his usual thick-headedness, he hadn't bothered asking for details.
Ebisu, sitting beside him, answered seriously. "I know! The commander of the Grass front is Jonin Mimura Yagami. Under his leadership they've been trading blows evenly with Iwagakure's scouts, but the casualties have been pretty high."
Taiichi nodded, genuinely impressed. Ebisu clearly had a good head for gathering intel—an essential skill for any ninja.
No wonder the hospital was rushing to train more medical ninjas. With losses like that, even a large village would run short on personnel fast.
Just then, Taiichi's extra-large tonkotsu ramen arrived, along with bowls for the other three.
Taiichi raised an eyebrow. As expected from fellow shinobi—they'd all ordered extra-large portions.
"Everyone! Let's have a contest of youth! First one to finish their bowl wins!"
Guy, never one to miss a chance for competition, immediately challenged them.
The others were young and competitive too. Especially with Taiichi sitting right there. I might not beat you in strength, they thought, but there's no way I'm losing at eating!
Without another word, all four dug in at the same time. The sound of loud slurping filled the shop, drawing amused looks from the other customers. Even the owner smiled as a few people ordered second bowls.
In the end, Taiichi finished first, with Guy close behind.
Ebisu looked devastated, even though he'd been eating so fast noodles were coming out his nose. He kept muttering, "That doesn't make any sense…"
Genma, on the other hand, took the loss in stride. Losing to someone like Taiichi wasn't embarrassing.
After finishing their meal, the four of them walked around the night market together, chatting and digesting until it got late. Then they went their separate ways.
The next morning, after finishing his usual training, Taiichi returned to his research on sealing tags. The higher the level of the seal, the harder it was to turn into a usable tag.
Not only were the materials extremely rare and expensive, but the success rate was painfully low. Every failure wasted both precious resources and the full chakra reserves of a jonin-level user.
That was why such advanced sealing tags were never mass-produced. They were simply too costly to make.
But Taiichi had a reason that outweighed all the difficulty—he was doing this to protect the people he cared about. He had spent days refining the once-simple Multi-String Light Formation until it could briefly trap a jonin.
Now he was trying to turn that formation into an actual sealing tag.
By afternoon, his desk was covered in expensive sealing paper, most of it ruined from failed attempts. If he weren't reasonably wealthy by now, this kind of waste would have bankrupted him.
With only one sheet of material left and his chakra nearly depleted, Taiichi knew this was his final attempt for the day.
He formed the release seal. The diamond-shaped mark on his forehead glowed, and intricate lines spread rapidly across his head, then his upper body. When it finished, his entire body radiated dense chakra, almost like he had opened the Eight Gates.
For the first time releasing the Yin Seal, Taiichi was momentarily stunned by the sheer amount of power flooding his system. He quickly focused and brought the chakra under control.
Thankfully, it was all his own chakra. Once he got the hang of it, it felt completely natural.
Now overflowing with energy, Taiichi began drawing the complex sealing array on the final sheet of paper. Each attempt took a full hour, and every mistake meant starting over.
He was pushing himself this hard for the sake of his family. No ordinary sealing master would waste this much time or effort.
After an hour, the ten-meter-wide formation was complete. Taiichi shook out his sore wrists and cleared his head. Drawing the array required absolute concentration—any error would ruin everything.
Once he felt fully recovered, he moved to the final and most critical step.
His hands flew through three hundred seals in just over a minute. With a sharp slap against the paper, the entire drawn formation came alive. Chakra surged violently into the tag.
Taiichi poured every ounce of focus into maintaining a steady, controlled flow. This wasn't like casting a normal jutsu—he had to stretch what would normally take one second into ten or even fifteen. The difficulty skyrocketed.
Without his Lv11 Chakra Control, he never would have managed it.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as the strain built. He gritted his teeth and kept going. When the final symbol finally flowed into the paper, Taiichi collapsed onto the floor, completely exhausted.
After catching his breath, he picked up the finished tag.
It no longer looked like ordinary paper. It had taken on a smooth, jade-like sheen and felt faintly warm in his hand. In the center was the character for "bind," surrounded by dense sealing runes arranged in a circle.
Just from its appearance, he could tell the effect would be powerful. All that effort and money had been worth it.
He checked his system panel.
[Through extensive research, you have successfully developed and created an advanced sealing tag — Multi-String Light Formation]
[Sealing Technique experience +500, now at Lv11 (2111/3000)]
[Chakra Control experience +500, now at Lv12 (443/4000)]
The rewards were generous—more than enough to make up for two months of normal training. Especially the jump in Chakra Control to Lv12. Taiichi could already feel the difference. His chakra responded instantly, with no resistance whatsoever.
If he'd had this level of control earlier, he wouldn't have wasted so many expensive materials.
Still, it had been worth it. He looked at the finished sealing tag, then checked the time. It was getting late.
Tomorrow he would buy more materials and make a few more tags—one for Nonou, one for Yohei, one for Saori. That way they would all have an extra layer of protection.
On the other side of the village, in the Uchiha compound, at Yohei's house…
When Yohei first returned home after three months away, his parents had been overjoyed. His mother even made his favorite three-colored dango to celebrate.
But the happy mood didn't last long.
The very next day, during a sparring match with his father, something went wrong.
"Come on, son. I heard you've gotten pretty strong. How about a little match with your old man?"
Yohei's father, Shoyo, had suggested the spar mainly because the ninja world was growing more dangerous. He wanted to test how far his son had come and whether he could survive the coming storm.
It was a father's quiet way of showing concern.
"Sure, Dad. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me on my techniques."
Yohei was excited. It had been a long time since he'd fought his father. In his memory, the man had always been overwhelmingly strong.
What should have been a warm father-son match quickly turned tense.
Both activated their Sharingan at the same time—three tomoe each. Neither held back.
The moment they clashed, the difference became obvious.
Even though Yohei only had three tomoe, the power behind his eyes was that of a Mangekyō. The quality and quantity of his ocular energy far surpassed a normal three-tomoe Sharingan.
In a normal fight it might not have shown, but when Yohei got serious and focused completely, his Mangekyō-level power unconsciously radiated outward.
And higher-grade ocular power naturally suppressed lower-grade ones.
The result was immediate.