Due to the impact of Chibaku Tensei, the terrain had been completely reshaped. The lush forests were gone, and the original streams had been entirely diverted, rushing down from the top of the cliff to form a small waterfall.
Young members of the Uchiha clan were practicing chakra control on the waterfall.
Makiya sat cross-legged at the top of the falls, watching a group of teenagers bobbing in the current. They clumsily tried to focus chakra on the soles of their feet, but the rushing water frequently disrupted their control, sending them tumbling into the water in a disheveled state.
Tekka played the role of a cold-faced instructor, bluntly pointing out their mistakes in a stern tone.
These were all war orphans of the Uchiha clan. While the pensions from the clan and the village were enough for them to survive, to live better in the cruel ninja world, they had to speak with their own strength. They cherished every opportunity to learn, never getting angry at Tekka's criticism, but instead studying even harder.
Whoosh! With a flash of golden light, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, appeared beside Makiya.
"Phew... it's much more relaxing over here." Minato wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down cross-legged next to Makiya. "Aside from the Hyuga clan, who stick to their tradition of the Head Family not going to the battlefield or performing missions, the other clans have sent out a large number of ninjas. The long-standing backlog of requests is finally being cleared. Makiya, thanks for playing the villain this time. I appreciate it!"
Minato looked at Makiya with sincere gratitude. He had long had his eye on the massive power accumulated within the various clans but could never find a good enough reason to release it. Eventually, he thought of Makiya and asked him to play the 'bad guy.'
Makiya, confident in his strength and wanting to repay Minato for his earlier help in developing ninjutsu, readily agreed. The results were significant. Fearing Makiya's power, the various clans chose to contribute manpower and resources obediently.
"It's fine. I'm just doing my job; after all, I am a Konoha advisor." Makiya waved his hand dismissively. Then, noticing Minato's heavy expression as if something were on his mind, he asked, "What's wrong? Is Kushina not recovering well?"
Nagato's attack had been timed perfectly. Kushina was in the middle of giving birth when the delivery room was destroyed by ninjutsu. The spatial transfer of the Flying Raijin Jutsu isn't without physical impact. While a healthy adult could withstand it, a woman is at her most vulnerable during childbirth—not even Kushina, a member of the Uzumaki clan and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was an exception.
Having faced complications during labor, Kushina fell seriously ill. Under Tsunade's treatment, she was gradually improving and had only just managed to get out of bed this morning.
"Kushina is recovering well, thanks to those postnatal care methods you provided. Speaking of which..." Minato looked curious. "Makiya, you aren't married and don't even have a girlfriend. How do you know more about postnatal care than Grandma Biwako?"
Makiya's expression turned somber as memories of a past life he'd rather not revisit surfaced.
In his previous life, after successfully passing his postgraduate exams, Makiya had been ecstatic, planning to have a sweet romance during his master's degree. A senior student had told him that many students got married by graduation, and it wasn't uncommon to attend the ceremony holding a baby. Preparing for the future, Makiya spent his summer break cramming all sorts of useful and useless knowledge.
In the end, none of it was useful. His major required him to spend all day in the lab with expensive equipment. He had no time for anything else, and the female creature he interacted with most was the stray cat under the lab building.
At most, he'd scroll through social media while waiting for the equipment to run. Those were his few moments of 'excitement' during his three years of grad school.
"I am a medical ninja, after all. It's only normal that I'd know these things," Makiya defended himself calmly.
"Is that so?" Minato didn't seem convinced. "Lady Tsunade is a brilliant medical ninja too, but I feel like even she doesn't know as much as you!"
"...Don't worry about the details. There's a medical ninja nearby who is an expert in proctology, too. People's constitutions differ." Makiya awkwardly changed the subject. "How is the Sarutobi clan behaving? I haven't been paying attention to them lately?"
"They've been quite cooperative." Shifting back to work mode, Minato immediately became serious. "Although the Third argued quite fiercely with you during the meeting, the entire Sarutobi clan has been very compliant since the orders were issued. They've performed better than the Hyuga, and many clan members have even volunteered for extra missions."
"Oh? Volunteering for extra missions?" Makiya's brow furrowed, instinctively sensing something was off. "What kind of missions are they taking?"
"I don't recall exactly. Hold on a second..." Minato's figure vanished, reappearing beside Makiya a few minutes later. "I just went back to the office to check. Most of them are escorting merchant caravans, serving as bodyguards for nobles, finding people, or locating items. Everything seems normal. Is there a problem?"
Makiya glanced at the scroll records Minato brought back but found nothing unusual. "It's nothing. Maybe I'm just overthinking it."
That night, under a moon as bright as water, a special convoy slowly drove out of Konoha's main gate. The guards, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, were about to conduct an inspection when they were interrupted by the ninja escorting the caravan. "It's just beast meat. It reeks, so brace yourselves."
Hearing this, Izumo Kamizuki, who had been about to lift the wagon cover, stopped and gestured for the caravan to pass. "Isn't that Yusuke Sarutobi? I haven't seen you on missions much lately. Working hard, aren't you?"
A flash of ruthlessness flickered in the eyes of the ninja named Yusuke Sarutobi, but he replied with a smile, "I have to. The village needs it. Everything is for Konoha; our hardships don't matter."
Kotetsu and Izumo felt a surge of respect. "You guys have it tough. Safe travels!"
"Yeah, you guys too!"
Watching the caravan leave Konoha, the two gatekeepers returned to their post. Yusuke Sarutobi's words had deeply inspired them, and their drowsiness vanished. They stared into the darkness with sharp eyes, watching for any movement.
Elsewhere, within the caravan that had just left Konoha's boundaries, the three Sarutobi ninjas no longer bothered to hide their expressions. Their faces twisted with resentment, and Yusuke spat on the ground. "Damn that Makiya Uchiha, and damn the Fourth. I was doing just fine at the shelter. One word from them and I'm assigned to mission duty. Having to leave the village so late, dammit..."
His clansman behind him hesitated. "But Brother, the shelter is gone. Since we were the guards there, it's only right we were moved to other positions."
"Is now the time for that? Why are you siding with outsiders?" Yusuke glared at his companion, who immediately shrunk back, not daring to speak.
There were ninjas in the Sarutobi clan willing to sacrifice themselves for the village, but there were also many like Yusuke Sarutobi who only wanted the benefits without taking any responsibility. Thanks to Hiruzen Sarutobi's long reign, some clan members had used their connections to occupy high-paying, low-effort positions within the village infrastructure. This was simply human nature.
Faced with the decisions of Makiya and Minato, the Sarutobi clan had their own countermeasures. When Hiruzen was in power, he would reserve missions involving serving nobles for his own clan members, maintaining good relations with many great nobles in the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen's idea was simple: use the influence of the nobles to ensure the Sarutobi clan wouldn't be mistreated.
On the surface, this caravan was transporting ninja beast meat, but in reality, many ninjutsu scrolls were hidden underneath as gifts to persuade the nobles to speak on their behalf.
The nobles of the ninja world were no fools. They understood the importance of ninjutsu and power, and every family cultivated its own ninja forces. However, they lacked deep foundations. The Sarutobi clan's gift of ninjutsu scrolls hit the nobles exactly where they needed it most.
Their demands weren't high—just to allow some clan members to return to their original positions to idle away their time. Lord Third would continue to be active on the front lines, risking his life for Konoha, and his son and grandson would be no exception.
This was the request of the clan elders. Unable to refuse them, Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed.
The starting point of many major events is often inconspicuous. The development of an event is like a row of dominoes, expanding layer by layer until it eventually becomes unstoppable. Currently, everything was still in the brewing stage. In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, this was just a normal attempt to fight for his clan's rights. During his reign, Danzo had done similar things, as had the Ino-Shika-Cho families and the Hyuga.
The caravan traveled along the main road and, under the escort of the three Konoha ninjas, safely reached a major city in the east of the Land of Fire, entering the mansion of a local great noble.
The noble who received the ninjutsu scrolls was delighted. He granted Hiruzen Sarutobi's request on the spot and condescended to hand-write a letter, which he had the Sarutobi ninjas deliver to the Fourth Hokage.
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]