Chapter 139: The Nohara Protocol and the Echo of the Sea
While Tsunade was busy having her worldview dismantled by the sight of Uchiha and Iwa refugees sharing a park bench, Rimon was back in the Aegis Spire's command center. The blue glow of the System screens reflected in his eyes as he pulled up a specific file: [Nohara Family – Civilian/Lower-Tier Medic Class].
"Uncle Ren," Rimon said, without turning around.
The Chief of Security Analysis stepped out of the shadows, his silver visor flickering. "My Lord?"
"First stop saying those Lord stuff. I am much younger than you and Uzushio is my family. Yes that's true first in Uzushio only my Uzumaki clan used to live. But now many clan many people live here but still we all are family. And in family no one say other family member Lord. Keep in mind Uncle Ren. And now the thing I was talking about was The Nohara family in the Western Quarter of Konoha. The father is a merchant, the mother a nurse. They have a daughter, Rin. She's barely out of the cradle," Rimon's voice was lazy but gentle but his mind was flashing back to a memory that didn't belong to this world—a girl with purple markings on her cheeks and a hole through her chest. "They are currently struggling with the inflation caused by the war. Offer them a 'Commercial Grant' to move their business to the Whirlpool. If they refuse, use the 'Western Merchant' extraction route. I want them here by the end of the month."
Ren bowed. "Consider it done. May I ask why such a specific focus on a civilian family?"
Rimon looked out the window at the city below, where the first festival lights were being strung up. "Because, Uncle Ren, some hearts are too precious to be used as bombs. And I have an Uchiha brat in the Academy who's going to need a reason to stay kind. That guy is really in level of his own."
Rimon start to think when 1st batch of Uchiha came to Uzushio Rimon was checking their potential using system and every one even if they are civilian Uchiha they have atleast one S rank potential. And Rimon was surprise to see Fugaku have SSS and Mikoto have SS potential. But most surprising or maybe not actually surprising Obito Uchiha who is just 1-2 year old his potential is SSR+ and Unknown. That's first Rimon see something like that.
On the other side,
Tsunade, Kushina, and Young Mito were currently navigating the "Artisans' Row," which was in a state of beautiful, organized chaos. The anniversary preparation had reached a fever pitch.
"Oi! Watch the vibration!" a young Uzumaki shouted, using a delicate sealing brush to paint a massive mural on a carbon-steel wall.
Tsunade stopped to look at the mural. It depicted a ship with a lion's head, sailing over a sea of literal fire. At the bow stood a boy in a red vest, his arm stretched out impossibly long, punching a giant, blue-cloaked silhouette that looked suspiciously like a Tailed Beast.
"That's him, isn't it?" Tsunade asked, pointing at the rubbery boy in the mural. "Luffy?"
"Yep!" Kushina chirped, her eyes shining. "He's the one who taught us that being a King doesn't mean you have to be stiff and boring. He told Rimon-Baka that a King is the person with the most freedom in the whole world."
Everywhere Tsunade looked, the 'Straw Hat' influence was visible. She saw kids wearing replicas of Luffy's hat made of woven sea-straw. She saw a group of dancers practicing a wild, rhythmic dance that involved a lot of laughing and 'kampai' gestures—a far cry from the disciplined, somber traditional dances of the Leaf.
"The day they left," Mito said softly, "Luffy-san stood on the docks and shouted to the whole village. He said, 'This place is great! If anyone tries to mess with my friends, I'll come back and kick their asses!' Even the Elders were crying, Tsunade-Ni. For the first time, we didn't feel like a 'hidden' village. We felt like we belonged to something bigger."
As they walked, Tsunade saw the sheer scale of the labor. It wasn't just the Uzumaki.
She saw Kajuro, the Chief Mediator, settling a minor dispute between an Uchiha baker and a Kiri fishmonger over the placement of a festival stall. They weren't using kunai to settle the debt; they were using the Code of the Whirlpool.
She saw Tesser, the Chief of Infrastructure, directing a team of earth-affinity refugees to reinforce the "Projection Spires."
"Those spires will project the history of the last year across the sky tonight," Mito explained. "Rimon-nii wants every citizen to see how far we've come. From the day of the invasion to the day the first 'Vortex Credit' was minted."
Tsunade watched a group of Senju youth—her own clansmen—helping a team of former Stone shinobi lift heavy crates of fireworks. There was no tension. There was only the shared goal of making the festival perfect.
"They're actually happy," Tsunade whispered to herself. It was the one thing she couldn't wrap her head around. In Konoha, happiness was a fleeting thing between missions. Here, it seemed to be the purpose of the state.
Before the night fell, they passed a small training field where a group of toddlers was being supervised by Ami.
"And then," Ami was saying to a group of wide-eyed two-year-olds, including a tiny Yahiko and Konan, "Luffy-san looked at the big scary ship and said, 'Gomu Gomu no... Jet Pistol!' And the whole ocean split in two!"
The children cheered, some of them trying to stretch their own arms out, mimicking the "Will of D."
Tsunade looked at Rimon, who had rejoined them in the plaza. He looked tired, but satisfied.
"You've created a cult of personality around a pirate," she remarked, though her voice lacked its usual bite.
"I've created a culture of Will, Tsunade-Ni," Rimon corrected gently. "The Leaf teaches the 'Will of Fire'—the idea that you must burn yourself to keep others warm. I teach them the 'Will of the Whirlpool'—to be the water that can flow around any obstacle, or the tide that can wash away any wall. And Luffy? He was just the spark that showed them it was possible to laugh while doing it. And it's not just my captain Luffy. But other Strawhat members also have their own personality, own story, own dream."
As the first test-firework streaked into the sky, a brilliant crimson vortex that illuminated the glass towers, Rimon turned to her.
"Tomorrow, the world will see the 'White Power' in full effect. But tonight, just enjoy the preparation. For one night, don't be a Shinobi. Just be an Uzumaki."
Author's Note:
Can we just appreciate the mental image of Madara Uchiha watching a toddler try to do a "Gomu Gomu no Pistol" in the Academy? 💀 He's probably in his office drinking tea and thinking, 'Hashirama would have loved this idiot pirate.'
Rimon is out here playing 4D chess with the Nohara family. He's like, 'I'm not letting Obito turn into a villain because of a bad day at the bridge.' Extraction mission: SUCCESS. 🛡️