Uchiha Yorin: "I see, I see. Different clans give different rewards."
He thought it over.
Uchiha means Sharingan, Mangekyō, and all kinds of dōjutsu. Then Hyūga would be Byakugan, Gentle Fist, Tenseigan and the like.
The Ino–Shika–Chō are a big stomach, a pineapple head, and a love-brain, Inuzuka are dogs, Aburame are marked insects, and Sarutobi should be a staff… No idea whether clans outside Konoha count. Like the Uzumaki's huge chakra, or Kimimaro's osteogenesis. As for Ice, Lava, Boil, Magnet Release—great if I get them, but biting off more than I can chew is no good. Yorin would much rather the system just hand over attribute points.
Thinking that, Yorin's mind cleared; the road ahead felt bright, and he couldn't help showing a fresh, handsome smile.
"Why are you smiling?"
Walking beside him, the Uchiha elder Uchiha Yakumi asked with a peculiar tone.
As Fugaku's aide, Uchiha Yakumi was a typical Uchiha: arrogant and proud, eyes above the top, yet full of clan-love, placing the Uchiha's interests above all.
Though dissatisfied with some of Yorin's behavior, he still regarded Yorin as an important member of the clan—indeed, even the clan's future.
When he heard about the Cloud ambush, Yakumi grew anxious. Hearing that Yorin had awakened three tomoe made him even more anxious. Without waiting for Clan Head Fugaku to speak, he volunteered to bring Yorin to the Hokage Building to meet the Fourth Hokage. And because he wasn't at ease about his "apprentice's grandson," Sarutobi Hiruzen, who still lingered in the Hokage Building, planned to lend a hand.
\[Emergency Task · Gain the Hokage's Recognition: After the Senju declined, the Hokage's seat shifted under the Sarutobi name. This was temporary and done out of necessity.
One day, the Hokage's seat will welcome its true master.
Before that, it's necessary to build a good relationship with the Hokage and earn recognition.
If it can be handed over peacefully, all the better. If not, then watch "The Fifth Republic" a few more times. Task Reward: Chakra Increase]
After the corpses sealed in the scroll were laid out, both the Fourth and Third fell silent.
To be fair, they were willing to believe Uchiha Yorin.
Besides that direct evidence, ANBU and Root had also reported many unusual Cloud movements, showing ill intent toward Konoha.
Of course, Iwa, Kiri, and Suna too. Not one of them harbors good will toward Konoha.
In the Fire Country at the very center of the continent, geography is awkward: when strong, you strike on four fronts and all nations pay court; when weak, you're beaten on four fronts and all nations trample you.
Holding the most fertile land on the continent also means being easiest to attack. If the other four great villages don't take turns "serving" you, you won't grasp how sinister hearts can be.
…
The first two Ninja Wars were passable—at least the enemy was kept outside the gates. The Third Ninja War truly crushed Konoha's spirit.
Say as much or as little as you like—Konoha lost the Third Ninja War. It's just that the loss wasn't catastrophic and the damage not as great.
Why else would the Third, the old coot, abdicate for no reason? He lost and had to take responsibility.
Only because Jiraiya took a fine student and the Yellow Flash won back some face did the old coot get by. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as stepping down; he'd have had to perform the traditional seppuku to broaden everyone's horizons.
…
The Third Ninja War had barely ended. Konoha fought Kumo, then Iwa, then Kiri—facing three villages in one breath, fought to the end of the road, simply unable to keep fighting. So when the other villages probed, the main response was forbearance.
If the Second Hokage were still around, he'd certainly shout, "What the hell, how did Konoha become like this?!"
Sadly, the Second is dead. And with him died the Senju's yearning for peace and tranquility.
So naïve, that Hashirama.
As one who's "been there," Yorin had his own understanding of the ninja world's development.
Before Konoha, wars were led by individual clans. It's called the Warring States era, but to Yorin it looked more like the Spring and Autumn period.
After the five great villages formed and many clans united, history fast-forwarded into a true Warring States.
War scale grew with the villages. The five great powers had more and better ninja and greater manpower and resources; wars grew ever more brutal and bloody.
Normally, after a Warring States era, unification should follow. The ninja world should unify under one power and enjoy an era of peace and calm.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
Hashirama clearly had the power to sweep the ninja world, yet he foolishly indulged in his supposed peace, balance, and village system—going so far as to break with his closest friend Uchiha Madara.
In the end, facts proved Hashirama's path wrong. The tailed-beast deterrence theory was useless.
After all, tailed beasts aren't devices that guarantee mutual destruction like a gravitational-wave launcher.
So villages treated them as decisive weapons, throwing them into battle ruthlessly when needed, not as deterrents or a fleet-in-being.
By comparison, Madara's plan of conquest by force had a chance of success. If he'd joined hands with Hashirama, who could have stood against them?
Granted, with his abilities and temperament, a unified ninja world might, thanks to mismanagement, incur Heaven's wrath and people's resentment and eventually split again.
But in any case, even a brief unified empire is better than foolishly pinning hopes on others.
Plant the concept of unification in ninja minds, and later generations will strive toward unifying again.
One day, the ninja world will welcome a new future, not wallow like now in the mire of war and chaos, anxious and lost about what's ahead.
…
After roasting the First Hokage hard in his heart, Uchiha Yorin put on a gentle smile and delivered a string of correct-sounding platitudes to the Third Old Coot and the Fourth Young Coot.
Summed up, they compress into one line: "The Will of Fire, the Will of Fire, the Will of Fire. For the Will of Fire, I'm willing to let Kumo's responsibility go. It's all for the Will of Fire!"
While speaking, Yorin kept sculpting the persona.
He couldn't and wouldn't copy Naruto's rabid blond mode.
So he set himself as the "deeply loving" type: voice firm, low, highlighting his bearing of humiliation, pushing forward under burdens.
Though Yorin didn't know what the Will of Fire really was, he figured the Third and Fourth didn't either.
No matter. The Hokage doesn't need you to understand; he needs you to believe feverishly. Devote youth and offspring to it and that's enough. The Will of Fire is, in the end, a slogan.
That slogan could be the Will of Fire, or for the Emperor, or Restore the Ming.
What it's called doesn't matter. Most ninja haven't read much, yet think highly of themselves. PUA-ing such folks is all too easy.
If future health-supplement salesmen saw Naruto-world ninja, their grins would stretch to their cheeks.
Take Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After Yorin's deep-love routine and babbling about the Will of Fire, Hiruzen's eyes lit up as if he'd heard the secret-password of an underground comrade. He was one sentence short of "He's one of us!" His favorability toward Yorin soared.
Uchiha Yorin found it amusing.
The Will of Fire is clearly something the Hokage uses to con others. Con long enough, and the Third himself believed it.
In Yorin's view, that's the prelude to senility.
If the Fourth doesn't die, fine.
But if he dies young per the original plot, the Third can forget about a comeback. He should check into a nursing home and get treated. Curing the dementia would be better than anything else.
"—No!"
Right then, Uchiha Yakumi spoke up: "We can't just let this go, or where does that leave the Uchiha clan's face?!"