Then came the third day of the New Year.
Yorin happily handed out bonuses to the Anbu: extra pay, and special rewards for those who had distinguished themselves.
Sometimes the reward was a powerful, extremely practical ninjutsu or taijutsu. Sometimes it was a finely crafted ninja tool or even a personal blade.
For the three Anbu with the greatest achievements, Yorin simply waved his hand and gave each of them a secret technique.
That sort of thing was literally "not for sale at any price." Just two years ago, secret arts were still tightly locked down by the major clans, with zero intention of ever sharing them.
Only in the last couple of years—thanks to Uchiha marching east and west, north and south, winning war after war and collecting secret arts as reparations, and then thanks to Yorin's reforms after he rose to power—had the whole "secret technique" system started to open up even a little to common-born shinobi.
Even so, the Anbu who'd received a secret art were over the moon. The way they looked at Yorin burned with fanatic devotion—the kind of look that says, "I'd die for this man."
Riding that momentum, Yorin gave another speech inside Anbu, once again hammering home the idea that Anbu was the core base camp of the reformist shinobi.
"Our goal is to create a brand-new world—fairer, better, more humane!
The line between clan shinobi and commoner shinobi needs to be broken down. Secret techniques and other advanced skills are going to be shared.
Everyone has to pool their ideas and strength, so we can step forward together and usher in a new era where a hundred flowers bloom!
I believe that era will be the best era for shinobi.
What people worry about then won't be 'Where can I learn enough jutsu?' but 'Which jutsu should I choose to learn?'
Everyone receiving the share they deserve—that's what I mean by fairness. Fairness, and more fucking fairness!"
When Uchiha Yorin finished, the Anbu in front of him were so fired up they could barely contain themselves. They were ready to give him their hearts on a platter.
Yorin was very satisfied. It felt like all the effort he'd put in these past years hadn't been in vain. Just wait, he thought. Sooner or later, this will all bear fruit. That so-called legendary "great undertaking" is already within reach.
…
On the fourth day of the New Year, at the Konoha One-Heart Society's annual meeting, Yorin gave another speech to whip them up as well.
This time, the content was leveled up—deeper and sharper.
The Anbu speech had revolved around fairness.
The Konoha Youth Officer Corps speech revolved around how to create that fairness.
"The situation is clear as day. Daimyō and nobles are the parasites blocking the world's progress. They swallow up an enormous share of the wealth and profits and pour it into meaningless indulgence.
On one side: suffering people and comrades.
On the other: nobles wallowing in excess!
This is wrong. This should not exist. Our generation's mission is to sweep all of this away and build a fairer world, a world where children can smile, where everyone can live and work in peace—this is our sacred task!!!"
Dressed in black "Type-3 German"–style uniform, Uchiha Yorin clenched his fist and delivered this declaration. The eyes of everyone in front of him burned, as if they were ready to start World War II on the spot.
Opposite him, Konoha's shinobi—prepared in advance—raised their right arms at a forty-five-degree angle in perfect unison as he finished, roaring so loud it shook the rafters:
"RISE!"
Uchiha Yorin continued:
"Ten years. The goal I've set for myself is ten years. In ten years we will be ready to save, govern, and rule the world. Once all preparations are complete, we will move. We will unify the shinobi world and build the first, greatest, truly global nation this world has ever seen!!"
His words set everyone's hearts ablaze. The cheers were so loud it sounded like the roof of the Youth Officer Club might blow off.
"Comrades from other villages, head back to your homes," Yorin went on. "Spread our ideas. Expand our numbers. Get the young and ambitious in your villages to join us!"
Because today's "Konoha New Year meeting" wasn't just Konoha folks; there were plenty of people from other villages present too.
They, too, were Yorin's fanatics.
Aside from the other four great villages, many small villages were represented.
Naturally, there was Uzushiogakure—the second "base" after Konoha, essentially Uchiha's branch office.
And of course Ame—with whom Yorin had a very tacit understanding; they were functionally another branch.
Beyond that, there were shinobi from small villages like Takigakure, Yugakure—minor ninja villages on Konoha's "sphere of influence" map. They'd all made the trip over the holidays to hear Yorin in person, hoping to bring "Ninshū" cells back to their own villages and, ideally, ride that wave to seize power locally under the banner of the Sect.
…
Thanks to Konoha's sweeping victory, the ripples were spreading far beyond the traditional sphere.
In remote corners of the world, various people were hearing about "Ninshū," about "reviving Ninshū" and founding a shinobi empire—for the first time. Some were inspired; others terrified.
For example, a Priestess from the far-off Land of Demons—who, oddly enough, looked suspiciously like a Hyūga—withdrew from the meeting deeply shaken by Yorin's speech.
Is this a new would-be conqueror? she thought. If he really creates a shinobi empire, won't that mean huge wars? How terrifying. Let's just hope it doesn't reach our country…
People in small, remote nations worried that Konoha's aggressive, militaristic mood might spill over and drag them into chaos.
Of course, not everyone in those small nations felt that way.
Take the self-proclaimed Snow-nin from Yukigakure, in the Land of Snow.
When he heard Yorin's speech, something fierce ignited in his chest.
Not that he agreed with Yorin—or at least, not entirely.
More precisely: he approved of the idea of a shinobi empire. He just thought that the one to found it shouldn't be the Ninshū, nor Konoha, nor Uchiha…
But himself.
"Some random shinobi dares to dream of conquering the world…" he thought with a cold smirk. "Still… Power. With enough power, you can do whatever you want.
I'll admit, right now Uchiha Yorin is stronger than I am. But as for the future…"
We'll see.
Yorin did notice him—that "man from the Land of Snow," chief of Yukigakure, younger brother of Snow Country's lord: Kazahana Dotō.
In the movie timeline, he'd caused quite a mess. Yorin considered him… competent.
Both Kazahana brothers were talent in their own ways.
Dotō created chakra armor, which was genuinely useful. The elder brother, Kazahana Kōyuki's father, went even further, building a massive climate control system.
Some people claimed it was just a big geothermal harnessing device, but either way, the guy was clearly a tech genius.
Letting someone like that waste away as a minor feudal lord in the mountains was a crime against productivity. Far better to crush him, Edo Tensei him, and drag him into Orochimaru's science squad to do real work for the world.
…
While giving his speech, Yorin let his gaze rest on Dotō for a moment, then moved on. He didn't pay the man too much mind.
If Dotō stayed quiet, fine. If he tried anything, Yorin could just flatten him and bring him back as a reasonably powerful zombie researcher.
Compared to that man, there was someone else who drew far more of Yorin's attention.
An old man with gentle features, white hair, and an earth-colored knit cap.
At first glance he looked reliable—like a kindly grandpa. But in truth, he was a classic villain leader. And in Yorin's eyes, his organization was a much more serious threat than Dotō's little Snow gimmicks.
Codename: Shinnō.
Publicly, he traveled the nations as a herbalist. And yes, he really did know his medical ninjutsu.
But his true identity? Leader of Land of the Sky.
Decades ago in the previous war, Sky Ninja had used their air superiority and terrifying mobility to act like they owned the world, even going so far as to declare war on Konoha and dream out loud about conquering all shinobi lands.
In the end, they flew too close to the sun.
Sure, you're invincible in the sky—but you can't stay there forever.
Konoha struck the moment they landed. The Sky Ninja were shattered.
Since then, they'd gone to ground, almost like they'd been written out of history.
Yorin knew better.
They hadn't vanished; they'd just gone underground, quietly building themselves back up, waiting to unleash something big.
In the original timeline, that "big one" hit more than ten years later: after they repaired the man-made tailed beast Zero-Tails, used it to power an airborne fortress, then launched another lunatic revenge war on Konoha.
They still lost, but that was narrative armor, not incompetence. Drop even the Sage of Six Paths into a movie and a basic Rasengan could one-shot him. The fact Sky Ninja lost wasn't their fault—it was the script's.
Their ambition and their tech had left a deep impression on Yorin.
Leaving talents like that skulking in the ruins of Land of the Sky as glorified mole-people really was a waste. Far better to smash them, Edo Tensei them, and move them into Orochimaru's research corps to help push the world's science forward.
And so, from the podium, Yorin's eyes locked briefly onto Shinnō, then moved on. But in his heart, he'd already penciled the man's name into his "Future Recruits (Dead or Alive)" list.