"They backed down?"
"They actually backed down."
"So much for nobles. They're not all that."
In the Fire Daimyo's name, the Chief Councilor sent envoys to Konoha and delivered Land of Fire's new proposal to Namikaze Minato.
After the envoys left, Minato gathered Konoha's upper echelon and shared the news.
Then came the uproar—everyone talking at once, the air full of giddy satisfaction.
The moderates turned into hardliners for a moment, the hardliners slid into neutral, and even the conservatives relaxed.
Even the Third Hokage, once he got past worrying "Is this a bit too harsh on him?", felt like he'd finally let out a long-held breath.
Back when he was Hokage, he'd eaten more than his share of crap from the Daimyo and the nobles. The only thing he could do then was comfort himself: They're just some pampered aristocrats; it's not worth stooping to their level.
But that sort of self-hypnosis wasn't even close to the feeling of actually slapping the Daimyo in the face.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen almost blurted, "See? The Daimyo isn't completely unreasonable after all."
In the end he held it in.
Because he knew if he said that aloud, few here would agree. They'd instead say:
"Reasonable my ass. If it weren't for Advisor Yorin scaring them with the Whirlpools Restoration Plan, you think they'd be backing off now?"
And then he'd just be embarrassing himself.
He was helpless. Ever since the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, the old man had felt his authority and say shrinking day by day.
If it were just loss of power, that would be one thing. The real problem was unease.
Yorin and Minato were walking a path no one had ever taken before. It wasn't even traditional world conquest.
So Sarutobi Hiruzen worried. Deeply. About where they might end up taking Konoha.
It's just like that old saying: inventions that existed before you were born feel "natural." Inventions that appear before you're thirty are miraculous breakthroughs that can change the world. Inventions that appear after you're thirty are blasphemous nonsense that must be stopped.
The older you get, the harder it is to accept new things.
The more power a codger clings to, the more he fights change—his learning slows to a crawl, he can't keep up, but he refuses to let go of authority. Step by step, he turns more reactionary, even unhinged.
By those standards, Hiruzen was still doing pretty well. The real lunatics were elders like Koharu and Homura. They were the true reactionaries—and they still held the reins of Konoha's civilian administration.
Every time Uchiha Yorin proposed a reform, their response was always the same: "No."
That was why Hiruzen had felt forced to come out of retirement and back into the fray. If he wasn't there as a buffer, a second round of "Hokage vs Elders" civil war would probably already be blazing.
…
"Since this matter's been resolved so smoothly, how about we do the Daimyo a favor and drop the Whirlpools restoration?"
The Third Hokage suggested, "We can't afford to truly burn bridges with the Daimyo, can we?"
He meant: since the Daimyo had yielded a step, maybe they should, too. Let the talk of "Lady Daimyo" and "restoring Uzushio" blow away with the wind.
"What's that supposed to mean, you old man?"
Kushina was having none of it. She skipped "Gramps" and went straight to "old geezer."
"Kushina, I understand how you feel, but—"
Hiruzen very much wanted to convince her to give up this unrealistic dream. But before he could even find the right words, Uchiha Yorin spoke up again:
"Restoration is non-negotiable. But for now, we do have to take a step back. The Daimyo needs to save face, just like the Third said.
But if we retreat too far, he'll look down on us—decide we were only bluffing from the start."
"That's true," someone nodded. "So, what's the plan, Yorin?"
The clan head of the Hyūga—exporter of loli brats and busty beauties—fixed his eyes on Yorin and posed the question.
As his words fell, everyone turned to look at Yorin in unison.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bitter certainty settle in his chest: his era was truly over. His voice and political weight no longer matched Uchiha Yorin's.
"If Land of Fire won't accept us restoring the Land of Whirlpools," Yorin said lightly, "then we'll restore Uzushiogakure instead.
The Daimyo can keep his 'country'; the shinobi will keep our village. If we're yielding a step, then the Daimyo should stop meddling beyond that."
"I see."
"That really does hit Land of Fire where it hurts, and they'll have no grounds to object."
"Whether it's the Land of Whirlpools or Uzushiogakure, their initial scale will be tiny. Aside from the name, there's practically no difference… but what we need is exactly that name."
"What do you think, Minato?"
"Mm." Minato nodded. "Rebuilding Uzushiogakure not only fulfills Konoha's promise to the Uzumaki and shows how we treat our allies, it also strengthens Konoha."
Yorin nodded back. "The Whirlpools' old territory is in a crucial spot—close to the sea, with excellent access. Konoha Transport's maritime trade is booming. We need a good port fully under our control."
"Yeah, we can't let Kirigakure take all the shipping profits," Tsunade tossed in, earning a knowing chuckle from the room.
She wasn't really salty at Mist so much as at a certain Mist Kage with big curls and bigger curves.
And so, in a relaxed atmosphere, they discussed how to rebuild Uzushiogakure: how to gather scattered Uzumaki survivors from all over, how to recruit civilians from various countries who'd be willing to move there, how to build up its ninja ranks…
Confirmed defectors would be amnestied; some of them would join Uzushiogakure. More importantly, a chunk—and a sizable chunk—of Konoha shinobi would need to transfer village registration and become Uzushinobi.
Uzushiogakure would have to evolve from a nominal "hidden village for the Uzumaki" that was really just a giant clan settlement into a modern, multi-clan, mixed civilian and shinobi village.
"So next, I'm going to do some travelling," Yorin said. "I know where some Uzumaki survivors are."
"Eh? You're not staying to help me with the paperwork?"
Minato looked genuinely reluctant to see him go.
"Of course not," Yorin shot back. "If you think it's too much, start pushing the administrative reform bill. Even if you only manage to expand the Hokage's secretary office, that's already a start."
If they couldn't manage a full modern central government, they could at least get some kind of proto-cabinet—secretariat, ministries, senior aides—off the ground. If even that couldn't pass, then Yorin would be sighing with one hand while sharpening knives with the other.
"I'll… do my best," Minato said.
Hearing the two of them casually playing off each other, completely ignoring the existence of "opposition," the elders Koharu and Homura were so sour they could curdle milk.
The biggest roadblock to Konoha's administrative reform was precisely this class of vested interest. Up to now, aside from the Hokage, the real civilian authority of the village lay with the elders.
If the Hokage Tower were broken up into a dozen proper departments and a modern central government built, just like Yorin wanted, these elders would be shuffled right to the margins.
They were furious—but they kept it to themselves.
In the current Konoha, the reformists clearly had the upper hand. Soft resistance was still possible; hard resistance would just make them the next Shimura Danzō.
Both of them strongly suspected that Danzō's downfall was inseparable from Uchiha Yorin, that it was likely all part of the so-called "Konoha Strategist's" schemes. But sadly, they had no proof. And even if they did, what good would it do?
"The times have really changed. If it goes on like this, we should just retire," one of them muttered privately.
"No. Absolutely not. If we hand the village over to someone like Uchiha, Konoha will be ruined. We must fight him, force the village back onto its original track."
They exchanged a look and each saw his own resolve reflected in the other.
Konoha's total transformation was still far from complete; the resistance was still strong.
Perhaps, in the new Uzushiogakure, where everything would be built from scratch, things would be easier?
Yorin was looking forward to it.
After leaving the meeting in the Hokage Tower and returning home, he barely had time to cuddle with Yakushi Nono for a bit before he began his next journey: travelling the world to lay the groundwork for Uzushiogakure's rebirth.
This time, Yorin's team was pared down again. Aside from Tsunade and Yakura—Konoha's own desert queen in exile—he brought no one else.
Konan had reluctantly returned to Kirigakure to sit in the Kage's chair; as a Mizukage, she couldn't spend every night in Yorin's bed and ignore her country.
As for Temari, Kurotsuchi, Yugito and the others—oh, they very much wanted to tag along. But they had no excuse.
The Uzushiogakure Project was a Konoha mission, not an Alliance mission; they had no official grounds to participate.
But no excuse doesn't mean you can't go, right?
Of course not—
Except that they got in each other's way.
When each girl finished packing and marched off, full of resolve, to "report in" to Yorin, they discovered all the others had the exact same idea.
No one was going to just stand aside.
This is Konoha's mission—what the hell are you lot doing here?!
In the end, none of them got to go. The resentment was so thick you could slice it, and more than one of them seriously considered a private night raid on Uchiha HQ.
"...Women really are terrifying when they go feral," Yorin sighed, watching from a distance with baby Sasuke in his arms.
He hugged his godson and solemnly said:
"Listen carefully, kid. Your godfather's perfect in every way except this situation. Whatever happens, don't learn this part from your old man."
Sasuke: "Huh?"
~~~
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