Coolnerd
How about another element maybe wind or lightning. Although he has a natural affinity for fire due to his devil fruit, most jonin have more than one element they have mastered to a degree.
I kinda hope you dont do fuinjutsu, its something that a lot of other fics do which leaves other skillsets underexplored. Maybe nintaijutsu with an element other than lightning?
Coolnerd:I have been considering this and Fuinjutsu
For the year time skip, you can have Yama be intorduced into the konoha shinobi ranks. Maybe teach Haki to a couple of people, build his relationship with Pakura, spend time with his sister, deal with clan related matters like will he be the next head of the clan or will he have to deal with danzo spys in the clan. You can also have him build relationships with other future clan heads to get ahead in the political game.