Konoha Village — a hundred meters above the ground, the Royal Capital Fortress floated in the air, towering and majestic.
The once-barren Konoha now looked entirely different with the addition of this airborne citadel. The villagers couldn't quite describe the change, but they could all feel it — everything seemed new.
Inside the sealed space, Hashirama gazed down at the new Konoha below, his heart swelling with anticipation.
A city suspended in the sky.
A prosperous and peaceful ninja village.
He began to imagine how this new Konoha might look once it fully developed.
"My honorable master," Garaga suddenly spoke, "how are we supposed to get down? That's kind of a problem, isn't it?"
He stood near the fortress's edge, peering curiously toward the ground far below.
"Well…"
Hashirama frowned in thought. Indeed, that was a problem.
Tobirama gave a cold snort. Naturally, he was happy to see Uchiha Yu encounter any sort of inconvenience.
Hearing that, Orochimaru smirked slightly. He, too, considered it a valid concern.
Using the Royal Capital Fortress as a central base was a brilliant strategy — its elevation protected the core territory from most ground assaults.
For instance, when Yu wasn't in Konoha, there would be no need to worry about Obito and White Zetsu's army flattening the village.
However, it also created a new logistical problem — how would the regular ninja descend to carry out missions, or ascend to report them? Not everyone could fly like Ōnoki and Uchiha Yu.
As for the Sky Ninja's flight gear, there weren't enough to equip every new Konoha shinobi, and even mastering their use would take time.
Yu replied calmly,
"That's not a problem. The research team inside the fortress is still intact. We just need them to design some kind of levitating transport platform."
"That's reassuring," Orochimaru said sincerely.
He had made his mark in the field of biology, but even he couldn't redesign something as complex as the fortress on his own.
Garaga was still marveling at how this world could even produce something like the Royal Capital Fortress. If they could build that, surely they could figure out some floating lifts. Yu didn't bother explaining what an elevator was — it would have taken too long.
During the return trip, while he was taking control of the fortress, even Orochimaru, Garaga, Tobirama, and Hashirama hadn't noticed that Yu had used his plant manipulation to sweep through the entire structure — obtaining a complete understanding of its inner workings.
Because the fortress had been buried underground for many years, its inner corridors were overrun with vines.
Yu only needed to take a stroll and let his plants probe through the structure to grasp all its secrets.
To his surprise, the researchers who had originally designed the Royal Capital Fortress for the Sky Ninja Village were still alive.
This delighted Yu greatly.
After Yu killed the Sky Ninja leader, those researchers had tried to commit suicide. Fortunately, Yu caught on in time — he used his plants to restrain them and branded them with the mark.
Without that intervention, Yu would have lost an invaluable think tank of innovators.
Besides that, the fortress was loaded with supplies and treasures that the Sky Ninja had hoarded for years — this trip had truly been a massive profit.
At present, New Konoha's forces consisted of two main groups:
The reanimated ninjas released, numbering over a thousand.
The Sky Ninja, also numbering around a thousand.
Altogether, Uchiha Yu's newly founded ninja village commanded over two thousand shinobi.
The exact ranks — whether jōnin, chūnin, or genin — hadn't been classified yet, but the supplies stored in the fortress would sustain them for quite a while.
"Let's head down first," Yu said.
He reverse-summoned the great serpent Garaga back to its realm, then ordered the Sky Ninja to lower the fortress's altitude.
Since preparations weren't complete, there was no need to keep the fortress high in the sky.
Eventually, the Royal Capital Fortress settled just behind the Hokage Rock, its base hovering only half a meter above the ground.
The Sky Ninja threw down rope ladders from the fortress's sides, releasing the captured civilians and imprisoned ninjas back to the surface.
Yu, on the other hand, activated Susanoo and leapt down from the sky with Orochimaru.
By the time they returned to the Hokage Building, night had already fallen. Inside the office, the room was packed with people.
Yu's eyes swept across the crowd — Ōnoki, Tsunade, the Uchiha squad, and even the reanimated Kushina were all present.
As for Nonō, she was currently busy managing the orphanage.
With the war finally over, the younger Konoha generation had joined her — they all now understood what it truly meant to grow up without parents, just like Naruto once did.
"Not bad," Yu said after flipping through a few of the scrolls Tsunade had processed. He looked satisfied, then turned to her.
"The Sky Ninja outside — integrate them into the village. I'll leave that arrangement to you."
"…"
Tsunade frowned deeply. She didn't like being ordered around like that, but there wasn't much she could do.
Yu then looked toward Ōnoki. He was pleased with the old man's performance this time.
But since he'd already promised him compensation earlier, there was no need to bring it up again.
"Are you planning to leave?" Yu asked.
Ōnoki smiled. "Well, it's been some time since I came out. I should head back now."
"I'll be busy these days, so I won't see you off," Uchiha Yu replied.
Ōnoki was flattered.
"No need, no need! After all, your new shinobi village has just been established. When you have the time, come visit Iwagakure. I'll personally welcome you then."
"Alright," Uchiha Yu said without hesitation. "That day will come."
After all, Iwagakure still had the Four-Tails and Five-Tails—he'd have to go there sooner or later to claim them.
After chatting for a while, Ōnoki tactfully took his leave. Once he left the Hokage Building, he made the necessary arrangements, then departed Konoha with only his personal guards.
As for the main Iwagakure force, they naturally stayed behind in Konoha to assist with the village's reconstruction.
Only after the rebuilding was complete would they return home.
Before leaving, Ōnoki looked back longingly at the grand fortress on the Hokage Rock and sighed in admiration.
"What a magnificent sight!"
Iwa-nin assistant of his also sighed.
"It's hard to believe… in just one day, Konoha's new master has brought back something so astonishing again."
Ōnoki chuckled. "You'll see—Uchiha Yu will likely bring us many more surprises."
After that, he and his guards disappeared into the night.
---
When Ōnoki was gone, only Uchiha Yu's own people remained in the Hokage Office. As he looked around at them, he still felt it wasn't enough—
the village lacked shinobi.
It lacked a core strength.
Even with the Uchiha forces and Tsunade's group, it was still hard to manage a large shinobi village properly.
The old Konoha may have been incompetent, but every clan had its role; with enough people, the system could stay stable.
The new Konoha seemed to have no shortage of ninja, yet in truth, it lacked experienced core members.
Seated at the Hokage's desk, Uchiha Yu flipped through various scrolls. One appointment list caught his attention.
Tsunade hurried to explain, "Don't worry—it's all Uchiha members…"
She was afraid he'd think she'd overstepped her bounds and assigned positions on her own.
Uchiha Yu glanced through the list, frowning slightly. As expected, there were serious vacancies in the new Konoha's upper ranks.
All the Uchiha had been pushed into key posts, like ducks forced onto the rack.
Tamao was now head of the Interrogation Division. Though the department wouldn't be used much soon, Tsunade thought it suited him best—
having a madman interrogate enemy spies was, after all, a terrifying prospect for those spies.
The ever-reliable Minamikaze had become head of Logistics, overseeing food and armaments—an extremely crucial position.
Uchiha Izumi became head of the Education Department, responsible for rebuilding the ninja academy.
As for Nonoyu, she was appointed head of the Medical Department and also director of the orphanage, in charge of rebuilding the hospital.
Other capable Uchiha members were likewise distributed among different departments, becoming the backbone of the new village.
"If you're not satisfied, you can rearrange it yourself," Tsunade said.
Uchiha Yu set the appointment list down and replied, "We'll go with your arrangement."
Originally, he'd wanted the Uchiha to learn administration under Tsunade first, and only take on real posts once they had experience.
But now, though the new Konoha had plenty of field operatives, it still lacked experienced core ninja.
Tsunade couldn't do much about that.
She wasn't too bothered—so long as she managed her share of duties and gave Konoha's civilians a sense of order, she could rest easy.
After a long day, Tsunade had already arranged nearly all major affairs of the new village in an orderly fashion.
Many things only needed time now—rushing would do no good.
"Get some rest early tonight," Uchiha Yu told her.
"You brat, don't you dare be alone with Tsuna tonight!" Hashirama warned sternly.
The moment he finished speaking, Uchiha Yu blocked off all sensory connections to the prison space—
Hashirama and Tobirama once again sank into endless darkness.
Then Uchiha Yu left the office. He had already noticed Mikoto giving him repeated looks; she clearly wanted to speak with him privately.
As the short meeting ended, the Uchiha followed Uchiha Yu out.
Tsunade didn't leave—she and Shizune had set up their quarters in a room beside the office, convenient for resting after work.
Outside the office, Mikoto smiled.
"Yu-kun, Lord Tsuchikage had the Uchiha compound rebuilt for us. It's almost exactly as it used to be."
There was a faint sorrow in her tone—for even though the clan grounds had been restored…
those who had died would never witness this moment again.
"Yeah. That's good," Uchiha Yu nodded.
At least now, they had a place to rest—no need to stay cramped in the Hokage Building anymore.
The stars glittered brilliantly across the night sky.
A cool breeze drifted through the air.
Uchiha Yu led the Uchiha clan through the familiar streets, heading toward the clan compound at the edge of the village.
Just as Mikoto had said, the district had been completely restored. Rows of familiar buildings lined the streets—the Konoha Police Department, the detention center, the residential blocks—all perfectly recreated. Even the walls along the road bore freshly painted Uchiha crests, courtesy of Iwagakure's builders.
"We're finally back…"
The Uchiha looked upon the place where they'd grown up, once lost and now regained. Emotions surged through them—some even broke down in tears.
Even Tamao, for once, said nothing inappropriate. Staring at their restored "home" beneath the moonlight, his expression was heavy with nostalgia and sorrow.
All of them recalled that night—the night of the massacre.
If not for Uchiha Yu, they would've all perished there.
If not for Uchiha Yu, they would never have known the truth behind it.
And if not for Uchiha Yu, the Uchiha's battle against Konoha would never have ended with the clan standing victorious.
°°°
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