"This naturally evil Uchiha brat."
"You... this bastard."
Senju Tobirama hadn't expected Uchiha Makoto to use Uchiha Madara to "seduce" his big brother.
Truly abominable!
Sister-in-law... can't you hurry up and exert some effort!
Are you just going to watch Uchiha Madara do whatever he wants with Big Brother?
Endless murmurings surged in Senju Tobirama's mind.
However, Uchiha Makoto's mood was excellent at this moment.
Although due to this unexpected situation, he would have to stay in Konoha for a while longer, helping Senju Tobirama deal with many problems regarding Konoha's internal reform, and inevitably continuing to intrigue against Senju Tobirama in the process... the final harvest was gratifying!
Akatsuki Village's influence on Konoha would expand further.
He could also take this opportunity to promote Uchiha clansmen—of course, not those clan elders.
Those uncles were a group of anti-reformists; it would be better for them to go home and retire quickly.
What Uchiha Makoto needed were open-minded Uchiha clansmen willing to obey Akatsuki Village's orders. As long as they were given a chance to climb up, clansmen challenging the authority of the clan elders would automatically appear within the Uchiha Clan.
Besides winning over and dividing the Uchiha Clan internally, Uchiha Makoto even had the opportunity to corrupt and win over a group of middle and high-level officials in Konoha.
This was an extremely rare opportunity.
—The comprador class is indeed annoying.
But if these compradors are our own people, then that's a different story!
"Alright, it's getting late today."
"I'll take my leave first."
"Little Tsunade, I'll come see her again tomorrow."
Subsequently, Uchiha Makoto walked out of the gate contentedly, and Senju Hashirama intended to accompany him all the way out of the Senju Clan grounds.
As for Senju Tobirama, watching Senju Hashirama's departing back, he was considering whether to deploy his sister-in-law to intercept Uchiha Madara.
He couldn't really let that bastard Uchiha Makoto sit on the Hokage's seat, could he!
......
"Makoto, don't forget to ask Madara out."
"Don't worry, Lord Madara is just in a bad mood recently; there's no problem."
"By the way, Lord Hashirama, remember to urge Senju Tobirama to write the letter of guarantee quickly. This matter cannot be sloppy."
"En, Makoto, I'll watch him write it when I get back!"
Along the way, the two talked and laughed.
Senju Hashirama couldn't stop thinking about Uchiha Madara, while Uchiha Makoto was obsessed with Senju Tobirama.
The bond between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan was simply terrifying.
Accompanying them out were also the various ninja clan patriarchs. Their moods were not as relaxed as Uchiha Makoto and Senju Hashirama's; they hadn't had time to thoroughly digest what happened today.
The patriarchs were not fools after all.
As everyone knew, the Konoha reform plan was planned and pushed single-handedly by Senju Tobirama.
It was no exaggeration to say.
This was enough to influence Konoha's direction for the next ten years, or even decades.
Originally, Senju Tobirama had Senju Hashirama's full support, while the Uchiha Clan was the opposition in the Konoha internal reform plan. Now that this Konoha internal reform plan was to be implemented, it was only natural that Senju Tobirama would be the person in charge leading this reform plan.
Senju Tobirama was about to regain the voice he had lost in the past.
But now... the Hikarikage had intervened.
The Hikarikage was an Uchiha; without a doubt, he stood behind the Uchiha Clan.
Connecting the many clues, it was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.
Seeing that the Konoha reform plan was imperative, the Uchiha Clan found Uchiha Makoto, an external aid, midway to help them reverse the decline.
The Uchiha Clan probably had big moves coming up.
With such thoughts, they each returned to their own families.
The news of the Hikarikage intervening in the Konoha internal reform plan also spread accordingly.
....
After Uchiha Makoto walked out of the Senju Clan grounds, he didn't rush to the Uchiha Clan grounds.
Taking advantage of the fact that the sun hadn't completely set and the afterglow of the sunset remained, he walked alone through the bustling streets of Konoha.
"Not bad."
"Just no streetlights... still a bit unaccustomed to it."
"There is plenty of time available at night. If it's just used for sleeping, it's simply a waste of life. It should all be utilized to send more people into factories to work."
"Tobirama, you still don't understand economics, let alone surplus value."
Looking at the bustling scene before him, Uchiha Makoto sighed lightly.
If humans hadn't invented lights, social production efficiency would be greatly reduced. Electric lights made up for the loophole that humans couldn't work at night.... Senju Tobirama was, after all, an old-school ninja who had fought wars all his life. It was still somewhat difficult for him to thoroughly understand certain new theories.
However, as Uchiha Makoto went deeper.
It was worth mentioning that Konoha's appearance was very different from the last time Uchiha Makoto came.
Whether in population, economy, or city scale, it had grown considerably.
While Uchiha Makoto's deliberate channeling of large sums of money towards Konoha certainly played a part, to be honest... Senju Tobirama played a significant role in this.
Senju Tobirama indeed did a good job.
In the past, Konoha's commerce was basically developed by villagers themselves, remaining at a primitive stage of self-sufficiency. This fragile and disorderly model could barely fill stomachs; wanting to use this as capital for external expansion was tantamount to a fantasy.
But now, under Senju Tobirama's deliberate guidance and the convergence of large amounts of capital, a virtuous positive cycle had begun.
No matter what, Konoha was currently the strongest ninja village in the ninja world, situated in the fertile land of the Land of Fire, occupying large tracts of usable land. As long as it continued to develop, with Konoha's foundation, it absolutely wouldn't be worse than Akatsuki Village.
Senju Tobirama felt this most deeply.
He knew that what Konoha needed was just development time; Uchiha Makoto was merely a tiny bit ahead of him.
As long as Konoha was given enough time, one day, Konoha could catch up to Akatsuki Village.
However... Senju Tobirama found that he didn't have much time left.
Because of Uchiha Makoto's continuous aid and guidance, the Uchiha Clan broke free from Senju Tobirama's restraints and began to compete with Senju Tobirama for a voice in various aspects.
The Uchiha Clan had always been eyeing the position of Hokage covetously.
This wasn't the era of Uzumaki Naruto in the original story.
Under the decades-long suppression by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, coupled with the black pot of the Nine-Tails Rebellion orchestrated by Uchiha Obito, the Uchiha Clan had moved to the edge of Konoha and was forced to the brink of internal explosion if they didn't rebel or stage a coup.
Now Uchiha Madara was still in Konoha, and the Uchiha Clan was a founding clan of Konoha.
Senju Tobirama wasn't the Second Hokage yet. Just by performing normally, the Uchiha could make Senju Tobirama feel immense pressure.
Not to mention Uchiha Makoto continuously providing aid from outside, and even the high-level officials of the Land of Fire were exerting force.
If he continued to replicate Akatsuki Village's development path in Konoha like boiling a frog in warm water, Senju Tobirama felt he probably wouldn't have time to realize his ambitions before being driven out of the Hokage's office by the Uchiha Clan.
So he could only find a way to accelerate and forcefully push the Konoha reform plan.
But this required money, a very large sum of money.
Akatsuki Village's history of rising to power wasn't glorious; it could be called a history of blood and tears of the Land of Fire's nobles, and even the ninja world's nobles. Uchiha Makoto's initial primitive accumulations could simply be described as "monstrous crimes."
Senju Tobirama couldn't "plunder" the nobles of the Land of Fire without scruples like him.
Even if he was willing, with the Uchiha Clan staring at him, Senju Hashirama wouldn't let him off either. Just like this time with the assassination of the Land of Fire's Cabinet Elder, Senju Tobirama almost capsized.
Of course.
Senju Tobirama could also choose to borrow, find ways to attract investment, borrowing a hen to lay eggs.
Originally, with Konoha's status and strength, many big merchants and nobles in the Land of Fire were actually willing to invest in Konoha. Just the signboard of Konoha was enough to deter bandits and robbers along the way.
However, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had long been a monster; he had seen how terrifying an Akatsuki Village with independent financial funds was.
Akatsuki Village ninjas only knew the Hikarikage, not the Daimyō!
It was simply turning the world upside down!
How could he watch helplessly as this situation appeared in Konoha too?
As long as he choked Konoha's financial lifeline, the Land of Fire would still have great capital to negotiate with Konoha.
This led to Senju Tobirama treating guests, visiting big shots, humbly smiling at people, drinking until he vomited, and ultimately the funds he could raise were just a drop in the bucket.
Old money and big nobles wouldn't choose to invest funds in Konoha... The Land of Fire's Daimyō had already greeted them.
Publicly offending the Land of Fire's Daimyō was no joke.
Moreover, compared to Konoha, these people were more willing to invest funds in Akatsuki Village.
Now in Akatsuki Village, opportunities were truly everywhere.
Of course.
Being able to make money was one thing; the most important thing was that the Hikarikage was truly a practical person.
If the Land of Fire's Daimyō dared to obstruct things and let Uchiha Makoto sense something wrong, he really dared to send ninjas to kill people.
Killing not just people of the Land of Fire, but also those who didn't understand the times.
So unwilling to invest in Akatsuki Village, not grasping the opportunity given to you to make money properly.... then Akatsuki Village could only tearfully kill your whole family and choose to take it for free.
On the contrary, Senju Tobirama.... good people only deserve to have guns pointed at them.
So the method Senju Tobirama finally thought of was to make the hardworking and capable Konoha ninjas suffer a bit, thus standing on the opposite side of the vast majority of Konoha ninja clans and grassroots ninjas.... and then he almost played himself to collapse.
Suffer?
Suffer what hardship!
When the First Hokage established Konoha, we Konoha ninjas had already finished suffering all the hardships!
Why do the ninjas next door in Akatsuki Village get to eat and drink well?
While we Konoha ninjas have to suffer and get tired?
The timing and reasons the Uchiha Clan seized at this moment were truly impeccable. It was only because Senju Tobirama had established prestige in Konoha all along that he barely managed to hold on, but he knew the funds wouldn't last long.
Otherwise, Senju Tobirama wouldn't have endured humiliation and even hesitated to sell his soul to cooperate with Uchiha Makoto.
"Ah... Tobirama, thinking about it carefully, it's really not easy for you."
"A big brother who pits his younger brother, foolish ninja clans, the covetous Uchiha Clan.... in the entire Konoha, you are the only one who sees the future."
"But Konoha will not thank you, Senju Tobirama."
Uchiha Makoto thought this, sighing in his heart at how difficult it was for Senju Tobirama.
With the continuous pressure from the Uchiha Clan and the continuous spread of news from Akatsuki Village, Senju Tobirama would only become increasingly unpopular throughout Konoha.
He paid so much, yet Konoha wouldn't thank Senju Tobirama.
Truly too miserable.
However, Uchiha Makoto didn't pity Senju Tobirama.
Clearly, he had a choice; wouldn't it be fine to just surrender to him quickly?
He wouldn't really make Senju Tobirama go pick up steel wool balls. What was so bad about Akatsuki Village uniting Konoha in the future..... He just insisted on opposing me!
This naturally evil old Senju ghost!
Uchiha Makoto certainly knew what Senju Tobirama was calculating in his heart, but precisely because he knew, he wouldn't show him mercy.
After cursing Senju Tobirama again in his heart.
Soon, Uchiha Makoto's gaze inadvertently fell on the small change a street vendor gave to a customer.
The amount of change wasn't large, just a mere five ryō.
But... it was currency issued by Akatsuki Village.
Subsequently, Uchiha Makoto specifically observed the surrounding vendors; almost all of them held Akatsuki Village currency in their hands.
Compared to traditional precious metals, paper currency was easier to circulate in daily trade.
Although Uchiha Makoto hadn't created a Bretton Woods system in the ninja world or bound Akatsuki Village currency to chakra yet, after experiencing a large influx of Akatsuki Village funds and under respective promotion, Konoha villagers seemed to have subjectively accepted Akatsuki Village currency.
Although he had expected it psychologically, Uchiha Makoto couldn't help but be a little excited when he actually saw it.
At critical moments, such a preference could be fatal.
Senju Tobirama paid so much, almost actively picking up steel wool balls, so his payment must have returns.
Although Konoha only got twenty percent of the bandit suppression funds, it was actually a small sum of capital.
Plus the loan borrowed from Akatsuki Village, it could be imagined that Konoha's finances this year would be relatively abundant.
Money can solve ninety-nine percent of problems.
With enough money in Konoha, many problems will no longer be problems.
It is foreseeable that Konoha's subsequent economic development will be quite rapid. It's just a pity that limited by a ninja's vision, Senju Tobirama doesn't have a long-term plan economically and simply cannot notice the danger right under his nose.
"In the future, an economic crisis might just make Konoha defeated without a fight."
"I wonder if the Hokage at that time will be Senju Tobirama... truly looking forward to it."
"Konoha's blessings are yet to come."
Uchiha Makoto's mood became even more pleasant, and his steps became a bit lighter.
Seeing that it was getting late.
He didn't intend to continue strolling on the streets of Konoha and walked briskly towards the Uchiha Clan grounds.