Tazuna didn't dare waste any time. After giving his son and grandson a quick explanation, he hurried toward what used to be the company's headquarters.
When he arrived, he froze.
The once luxurious district had been reduced to rubble.
Even a professional demolition team would need days—maybe weeks—to destroy this many buildings.
And this?
This was just the aftershock of a ninja fight.
Tazuna swallowed hard.
Ninjas… aren't just "strong." These monsters are basically walking natural disasters.
Calling them "superhuman" felt like an understatement.
They were closer to gods.
Nervously, he stepped into the ruined compound and, under the guidance of guards, was brought to Naruto's temporary office.
Inside, only three people were present:
Naruto, Shisui Uchiha, and Haku.
Tazuna didn't recognize Naruto—but he immediately recognized Shisui and Haku.
They were the "travelers" who stayed at his house last night.
…Well, shit.
Hope they didn't take anything I said the wrong way…
Shisui and Haku smiled politely, as if nothing awkward had happened, and gestured for him to sit.
Tazuna sat down stiffly and looked at Naruto.
"The leader of Uzushio Village… Your Excellency?"
He hesitated, unsure how to address the masked man.
Naruto waved it off casually.
"Just call me Menma. Or 'leader' if that makes you feel safer."
Yeah… Tazuna definitely wasn't brave enough to just call him by name.
"Lord Menma… is it true? You plan to build a bridge for the Land of Waves?"
"If that's the case, I thank you on behalf of everyone here."
Naruto nodded.
"Yes. But building a bridge isn't that simple. We still need approval from the Land of Fire, and coordination will take time."
He paused.
"I plan to finish it within half a year."
Tazuna blinked.
Then blinked again.
"…Half a year?"
His professional instincts kicked in immediately.
"That's impossible. Even a small bridge takes three to five years. A large one? Ten years, minimum."
He leaned forward.
"Lord Menma… aren't you rushing this a bit?"
Naruto smiled.
"That's how long it takes for ordinary people."
"But I'm not using ordinary people."
"I'm using ninjas."
Tazuna froze.
"Y-you're going to make ninjas… build a bridge?"
That sounded absurd.
Also slightly suicidal.
Wouldn't ninjas get offended if you told them to go do construction work?
Naruto shrugged.
"If they don't want to, I'll do it myself."
"And not just bridges. I plan to involve ninjas in infrastructure projects in general."
He leaned back slightly.
"Using ninjas only for fighting and killing is a waste."
Tazuna stared at him.
Then slowly nodded.
"…You're not wrong."
Honestly, after seeing what ninjas could do, using them for construction felt like cheating.
The two talked for hours.
By the time the conversation ended, the entire morning was gone.
Tazuna left reluctantly—but with a completely different mindset.
This man…
He wasn't like Kado.
He actually intended to build something, not just squeeze people dry.
That kind of ruler?
Rare. Extremely rare.
After Tazuna left, Shisui looked at Naruto curiously.
"Lord Menma… why help the Land of Waves build a bridge?"
"We could just take Kado's money and leave."
Naruto smirked slightly.
"To win people's hearts."
Shisui didn't buy it for a second.
The people of the Land of Waves had endured Kado's exploitation for years without rebelling.
That meant they could tolerate a lot.
As long as Uzushio followed the same model, the money would keep flowing.
So why bother?
Seeing Shisui's expression, Naruto sighed.
"Fine. It's for jobs."
Shisui raised an eyebrow.
"Ninjas can't just keep being mercenaries forever," Naruto continued.
"After they graduate, what then? Fight? Kill? Repeat until they die?"
"In peacetime, ninjas need new roles."
He paused.
"Maybe one day… ninjas who fight will become the minority."
Shisui looked like his brain just crashed.
"…If ninjas don't fight, are they even ninjas?"
Naruto glanced at him.
"I thought you'd think bigger than that."
"If ninjas disappear, then they disappear."
"As time goes on, low- and mid-level ninjas will be phased out anyway."
He continued calmly:
"Have you noticed? Over the past decade, the gap between Genin and Chūnin has been shrinking."
"Their roles in large-scale wars are becoming less important."
"So we solve that problem now."
"Otherwise, we'll just end up with more rogue ninjas flooding the black market."
"And that's a security nightmare."
Shisui fell silent.
He couldn't deny it.
Naruto… had a point.
Naruto stretched slightly.
"I'm thinking about the future."
"Being both leader and daimyo isn't enough—I want to change the system itself."
"Don't limit your thinking to just ninja villages."
Shisui nodded slowly.
Haku, on the side, looked a bit stunned.
He didn't fully understand everything…
But if Naruto's vision became reality—
Then maybe…
People like him…
Wouldn't have to live lives filled with killing anymore.
And tragedies like the Yuki Clan wouldn't happen again.
Meanwhile—
Somewhere in the Land of Fire.
As soon as they entered a black market town, Orochimaru's subordinates quickly spotted Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Itachi-sama, right? Lord Orochimaru has been waiting."
Itachi nodded, glancing at the man.
The guy's appearance was… weird.
Strange markings covered his body—something similar to curse marks, but not quite the same.
New experiment, huh… typical Orochimaru.
"Where is he?"
"At a nearby base. Please follow me."
Both Itachi and Kisame frowned slightly.
Yeah, walking into a hidden base screamed trap.
But they still followed.
Not long after, Orochimaru appeared before them, wearing the Akatsuki cloak, his voice as hoarse as ever.
"Itachi-kun… you finally came."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Didn't we agree to meet alone? Why bring Kisame-kun? We're all Konoha rogues here—no need to be so cautious."
Itachi replied calmly:
"We're partners on a mission. I assumed you wouldn't mind."
Orochimaru smiled.
"I don't."
"But what I want to discuss… involves Konoha and the Uchiha."
He glanced at Kisame.
"If you don't mind, I can say it in front of him."
Itachi's expression darkened slightly.
After a moment, he signaled Kisame to step back.
Once Kisame left, Itachi spoke:
"Get to the point."
Orochimaru chuckled.
"According to my investigation…"
"The leader of Uzushio Village—comes from Konoha."
"It's very likely he's a Konoha ninja."
"And this whole Uzumaki setup?"
"Probably an outpost for Konoha to expand its influence."
Itachi's eyes instantly sharpened.
"That's impossible."
"Your intel is wrong… or you're lying."
His voice turned colder.
"If that were true, Konoha wouldn't need to destroy the Uchiha and then conveniently 'leave survivors.'"
"That makes no sense."
And just like that—
The tension in the air spiked.
Because if Orochimaru was right…
Then everything Itachi believed in…
Might be complete bullshit.
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