With the daimyo of the Land of Fire stamping his golden seal on the agreement, the plot advanced just as in the original.
The age of shinobi villages had truly arrived.
A shift in the ninja economy would inevitably bring an overhaul of organization. The old clan-based model for taking missions could no longer keep up with the times.
They either had to adapt or be drowned by the tide.
"Big brother, why does it feel like the daimyo's attitude toward our Konoha is so cold…"
At the farewell banquet.
The daimyo still showed himself before Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. Even if he personally did not wish to stand near the dangerous Hashirama, etiquette and social niceties compelled him to come.
But toward the Senju brothers he wore a strictly formal face, a false smile. Tobirama, a sensor with keen insight, could feel the distance in the daimyo's bearing.
"Tobirama, you're being paranoid again. The daimyo came over with a kindly face just now and shook our hands."
"He was very warm!"
"Big brother, you're just too ready to trust others."
Konoha's continued prosperity required a friendly relationship with the Land of Fire's daimyo, yet the attitude he was showing worried Tobirama—especially when he saw Uchiha Makoto and the daimyo chatting away like old friends. That made him even more unhappy.
When Tobirama shook the daimyo's hand, he used chakra to check the body carefully, but detected no strange chakra fluctuations.
So Uchiha Makoto had not used genjutsu on the daimyo. Then why did the daimyo trust him so much—enough to entrust him fully with founding a shinobi village and building a mission-dispatch platform that could reshape the future of the ninja world. Akatsuki Village had been lifted up by the daimyo's hand.
Tobirama felt he had to act to maintain friendly ties between Konoha and the Land of Fire, thereby winning more funding and more mission sources.
Of course—
From Uchiha Makoto's perspective, anything Tobirama did would be futile so long as Hashirama lived. As long as Hashirama existed, the daimyo's fundamental stance toward Konoha would not change.
Even if Hashirama knelt and swore to the daimyo that he wanted only to be a wealthy village head, with no thought of rebellion—
Hearts are hidden in chests. Hashirama might say it, but the daimyo would never truly believe it. Whether you intend treason is irrelevant; if you have the power to rebel, that alone is reason enough to be targeted.
The banquet ended.
Hashirama and Tobirama left the capital of the Land of Fire, and Uchiha Makoto did not linger there either.
This time the Land of Fire could be said to have reaped a great harvest: not only securing 95 billion ryō in funding, but also gaining recognition from both the daimyo and Konoha that henceforth the ninja world should address him as "Lord Akatsuki."
Although Akatsuki Village's current strength did not yet match the title, with rightful status and cash in hand, recruiting and building strength would naturally follow.
…
A few days later.
Uchiha Makoto returned to Akatsuki Village. In the meantime, the daimyo of the Land of Fire signed a series of agreements on village construction and announced them to the entire shinobi world. Konoha already had fame and great power; that they would enjoy the daimyo's full support surprised no one.
But—
Akatsuki Village—where did you come from?
In an instant, the name "Akatsuki Village" was trending across the ninja world, drawing the attention of many clans, and Uchiha Makoto's name spread everywhere.
Oh—an Uchiha, is it.
So it's Konoha's alt.
"Damn it."
"Which bastard is spreading nonsense like that in the ninja world. How could Akatsuki Village be Konoha's alt."
In his office, Uchiha Makoto fumed at the ridiculous rumors yet had little recourse, because Akatsuki Village did indeed look like Konoha's smurf right now, without even a chance to clarify.
"If Akatsuki Village is attacked, Konoha will deploy troops unconditionally!"
Both villages had signed such a clause. Say Akatsuki wasn't Konoha's alt and nobody would believe it.
Tobirama Senju was playing dead and keeping quiet, probably wanting to watch Uchiha Makoto become a joke.
Makoto sighed in his office. Helpless as he felt, he had no plans to issue a statement, because scrubbing at rumors only makes the stain darker. Words alone would not suffice; he needed a forceful proof.
In the old days when Yongzheng took the throne, the people whispered that he had usurped it. He personally came forward to refute the rumors and even wrote a book called A Record of the Great Righteous Secret, only to blacken the matter further. In the end his son Qianlong wiped his backside, banned that book, and executed the rumormongers. That kind of forceful proof stopped the spread at once.
Akatsuki Village had nothing so decisive to produce for now.
Even so, being mistaken for Konoha's alt was not entirely without benefit. At the very least it let them ride Konoha's traffic, attracting many large and small clans.
The Hyuga had already promised Konoha and declined again. Of course, Uchiha Makoto was not giving up. If the direct route failed, he would take a curved one.
Earlier, he had contacted the Yuki, Kaguya, and Kurama clans. All wrote back, expressing great interest in Akatsuki Village.
Konoha already had plenty of bloodline clans. Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, and numerous secret-technique houses occupied most of the ecological niches. If others went there, even a 70% mission share would not be enough to divide.
Akatsuki Village had only a 30% mission share, but given the current number of shinobi, the quota was practically all-you-can-eat—so much they could not finish it and would have to outsource part of it.
The Land of Fire was wealthy and sat at the center of the ninja world. All things considered, settling in Akatsuki Village was an excellent choice. There was no need to move to the Land of Water, a closed island nation far from mainstream civilization. The four great nations usually didn't even include the island nation in their games.
Moreover—
In his secret letters, Uchiha Makoto promised resettlement payments: five hundred million ryō for a bloodline clan, three hundred million for a secret-technique family—smaller clans scaled accordingly—cash paid upon migrating to Akatsuki Village as a whole.
Jimmy joined a crew to do business and make a lot of money; clans join a village to take missions, earn money, and grow their houses.
A large mission quota.
And the obvious power of cash.
The number of clans in Akatsuki Village rose rapidly. Makoto felt a boundless surge of pride and, in a Fenghua accent, sighed, "What a scene of vigorous life, all things thriving!"
Amid the cheerful atmosphere,
Uchiha Makoto convened a clans assembly in Akatsuki Village.
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