Three days later.
New Konoha's population had risen by roughly ninety thousand, with yet another vast stretch of buildings springing up, and for that they had Kakashi to thank.
Because he personally persuaded him, Yamato chose to join New Konoha.
Clearly,
Yamato trusted Kakashi; they had been comrades back in the Anbu days.
Relying on his 'Wood Release: Serial Household Technique' and a steady supply of soldier pills, he erected a huge complex in three days, pocketed a mountain of merit points and cash, and in an instant became wealthier than Kakashi—who had been in New Konoha two years and served as Anbu chief.
You have to admit,
real estate really pays.
Of course,
those old land-hoodlums from Old Konoha, the informants Danzo had secretly backed, had once been his favorite weapons of public opinion. This time, New Konoha screened them out, and in the end Kakashi's Anbu quietly beheaded every last one.
Taking advantage of the purge, spies from every other Village were also swept away, down to the last few.
'Yamato!'
'How are you finding New Konoha?'
At a street corner, by an alley mouth,
Kakashi leaned against a wall, watching Yamato, who had just finished forming hand seals to raise a new house. A faint smile crossed his face.
In response,
Yamato turned at the words; when he saw Kakashi, a gentle smile appeared. 'Kakashi, your confinement's over?'
'Yeah, just finished.' Kakashi shrugged.
Even a seasoned Ninja looked haggard after that damned punishment.
'Great!' Yamato was delighted.
Kakashi clapped his shoulder. 'Come on, let's talk.'
Yamato didn't refuse.
They headed straight for a teahouse, where Yamato finally voiced his thoughts.
'New Konoha… how to put it?'
'Maybe because I've only just arrived, there's still a lot I don't understand, so I can't really say if it's good or bad.'
'But one thing strikes me deeply: order.'
'New Konoha rarely preaches the Will of Fire, and unlike Old Konoha it doesn't leave things vague.'
'What you can and cannot do is spelled out in clear laws.'
'Take learning a new jutsu, for example.'
'Here, the exact merit-point cost and required rank are laid out plainly; you just work toward the target.'
'Old Konoha was different.'
'Getting a new technique depended on luck—either you met a reliable Jonin instructor or you curried favor with higher-ups after some contribution, and they granted you access on a whim.'
'Under such ambiguity, people didn't even know how to strive for it.'
'So to obtain jutsu you had to scheme and flatter your superiors.'
'From that standpoint, I prefer New Konoha.'
'Everything runs like clockwork; no one needs to play petty games.'
Yamato's face was full of emotion as he spoke.
Indeed,
his affection for New Konoha was genuine. Things once taken for granted now looked appalling; only after arriving here did he realize how little Old Konoha had regarded its Ninja as human beings.
Take jutsu exchange: it had seemed normal until contrasted with New Konoha's system, exposing how wretched the old way had been.
In response,
Kakashi nodded and said, 'Our Hokage once said: law is the minimum standard of morality.'
'Ninja willing to die for the Village receive honor, money, support for their families, and public recognition of their deeds.'
'But if you choose not to sacrifice, the Village won't morally blackmail you.'
'As long as you observe that minimum—our laws—you can live peacefully and normally here.'
'The Hokage says we are human beings first, Ninja second.'
'Ninja is just a profession, so he refuses to treat us as tools.'
'That's why I'm willing to work for him—and why I joined New Konoha in the first place.'
Kakashi spoke with utter seriousness.
Yes!
At the start he had only sided with the Uchiha to protect Might Guy.
Now it was different.
He truly respected Uchiha Jin and was ready to fight for him and for New Konoha.
Sometimes he wondered: if his father had lived in New Konoha, that tragedy might never have happened.
Exactly!
The phrase 'moral blackmail' always brought memories of his father.
Hadn't Hatake Sakumo been hounded to death by just such blackmail?
Hearing this,
Yamato nodded, inwardly agreeing.
But just then the two noticed commotion outside. Stepping out, they saw crowds of Old Konoha citizens heading for the Hokage Building, still waving placards denouncing the evils of the old regime and Hiruzen Sarutobi's crimes, demanding that Uchiha Jin publicly try him and the others. At that moment an Anbu appeared: 'Kakashi-sama, the Hokage requests you.'
'Understood.' Kakashi nodded.
After the Anbu left,
he turned to Yamato. 'I'm off to work; we'll talk later.'
'All right!' Yamato smiled. 'I'll go build more houses!'
Indeed,
compared with the Anbu's blood-soaked missions, he far preferred raising buildings with Wood Release.
Kakashi watched Yamato leave, then used the Body-Flicker Technique toward the Hokage Building.
Not long after,
pushing open the Hokage Office door, Kakashi froze at the sight inside.
Because—Uzumaki Naruto!
Besides Jin, Tsunade, Fugaku, and Shikayasu Nara, the tiny figure drew his gaze most.
Kakashi bowed. 'Hokage-sama!'
'Mm, take a seat.' Uchiha Jin nodded.
Once Kakashi sat, Jin turned to Naruto. 'This Kakashi was your father's student; under Hiruzen Sarutobi's ban he couldn't appear to help you before.'
'From now on you'll live with him; I trust he'll look after you well.'
He patted Naruto's shoulder and gently steered the boy toward Kakashi.
Uzumaki Naruto looked bewildered.
His father's student?
Because of New Konoha's founding, he already knew the Fourth Hokage had been his dad.
Previously the old Jiraiya had turned out to be his father's teacher, and now another 'father's student' popped up—leaving him momentarily at a loss.
No help for it—
at this point Uzumaki Naruto was still a little too young.