It really was exhilarating.
Haru basked in the cheers, his vanity enormously satisfied. He had long considered himself morally hollow, but it turned out those noble parasites were even more unrestrained than he was.
The laboring cattle in front of him had already been worked hard enough to do double shifts, even triple shifts, and yet they were still so grateful to him.
Only in the Naruto world could something like this happen. If he were back in his old Rabbit Country, a capitalist like him, no, a people's entrepreneur, would probably be blasted onto the front page of every trend list.
Good thing this was the ninja world. At this rate, he might even be named one of the Ten Great Philanthropists of the ninja world.
The working cattle were delighted to be exploited, and he felt wonderful exploiting them.
This was mutual devotion.
Haru's little display of glory struck Ashi hard. Haru's prestige in the Leaf had already reached a level comparable to the First Hokage. Even the First Hokage back then had never accomplished something this extraordinary: making ordinary people sincerely raise their voices and shout "Long live" to a ninja.
When superiors and subordinates shared one heart, victory was assured. At this point, even if the other four great ninja villages really did join forces to attack the Leaf, they still wouldn't win.
The Uzumaki Clan absolutely had to cling tightly to Haru's thigh.
Ashi made up his mind. The Uzumaki Clan was getting Haru as a son-in-law, and not even the Sage of Six Paths could take him away.
Hokage-sama clearly liked women. Rumor had it that the very first time Haru visited the daimyo, he brought back a pair of beautiful twin girls to serve as warming maids for his bed. As long as the girls of the clan were a little more capable and a little more proactive, one of them would definitely be able to win Haru over.
Afterward, Ashi said goodbye to Haru and returned to the Senju compound, planning to give Yozuki a little ideological guidance. It was for the future of the Uzumaki Clan, and also for her own happiness for the rest of her life.
As the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki, the best possible destination for her was naturally to marry the Hokage of the Leaf.
Just like Mito. As the Hokage's wife, who would dare treat her like a weapon?
Ashi only hoped Yozuki would be sensible, proactive, and make more visits to Haru's home. During the day, she could listen to Haru's teachings, and at night, she could also be thoroughly filled with the Will of Fire.
After that, Haru returned to the Hokage office and resumed enjoying his slacking-off life.
Everyone else in the Hokage Tower was busy from top to bottom. The end of the year was near, and everyone was desperately grinding through work, eager to clear their tasks as soon as possible. No one wanted to spend the holidays stuck in the office doing overtime. Who wouldn't rather have a holiday with wife and children on a warm bed, and maybe use the festive atmosphere to aim for a second or third child?
"Hokage-sama, the date for the Five Kage Summit has been finalized."
"It's set for February next year."
As always, Shikato reported the Leaf's work progress to Haru every day. The only matter Haru really paid attention to was the Five Kage Summit, which had already been in preparation for months.
Aside from the Sand, the other three villages had all been plagued by internal turmoil after the deaths of their Second Kage. Their newly appointed leaders had been busy suppressing opposition within their villages, dealing with rival factions and reactionaries opposed to them, which kept delaying the summit again and again.
After all, nobody wanted to go out for a meeting and come back to find their home stolen and a Fourth Kage already chosen.
The Mist Village in particular was a mess. The bloodline clans had never stopped stirring trouble. There were even rumors that several bloodline families had joined together, sent assassins, and attempted to kill the Third Mizukage during one of his trips out of the village to see the daimyo. Mizuto's bodyguards ended up with one dead and two wounded. No one could tell if the story was true, but afterward, strange rumors began spreading through the Mist Village and even the Land of Water, claiming that bloodline ninja were calamity and curse, and that wherever they were, war and death would follow.
The Stone and the Cloud were a bit calmer, quickly throwing themselves into postwar reconstruction. The problem was that the results weren't great. Without money, nothing moved. Their thinking just wasn't flexible enough. They were still pitifully begging their daimyo for funding instead of taking up kunai and shuriken and explaining real truth to them.
As for the Sand, they genuinely had no options. Even if they killed their daimyo, they still wouldn't get more money. They were truly poor. Sand everywhere, no proper farmland, and absolutely cursed by fate.
Once the summit report was done, everything else Shikato mentioned was basically trivial matters.
For example, when to begin New Year's holiday, and how much holiday bonus the ninja should receive.
"Hokage-sama, I have a suggestion. Shouldn't we make this year's New Year celebration a huge one? This is the first year since Hokage-sama took office. We absolutely need to make it grand. Otherwise, how can Hokage-sama's achievements really shine?"
Shikato very thoughtfully slipped in some flattery, and Haru enjoyed hearing it quite a bit.
It was a little oily, but Shikato could swear to heaven that every word came from the heart. In his own mind now, even if Tobirama himself were resurrected, he would still firmly support Haru as Hokage.
Who wouldn't love a Hokage who was this good at making money, this good at production, and this willing to throw money around?
When Tobirama had been in office, he'd even left behind a rotten financial mess for Haru to clean up. Who was more suited to be Hokage was obvious at a glance.
"Then let's do it that way."
Haru had no objections. This was exactly the kind of event that spread his achievements, so the bigger the better.
To maximize the propaganda effect, Haru even emphasized that the messaging had to be carefully designed.
The streets and alleys of the Leaf absolutely needed banners and slogans.
Without the Third Hokage, there would be no good life today.
The Leaf is red, the sun rises, and the ninja world has produced...
Slogans like these would subtly influence generations to come, especially if they were posted all over the schools.
Hokage-sama's kindness could never be repaid. Never.
Shikato took out his notebook and carefully wrote down Haru's instructions. Lanterns, decorations, drums, firecrackers, celebratory noise, all of that was mandatory.
Most importantly, the money had to be real. No matter how beautiful the words, nothing beat actual benefits. The Leaf treasury was full, so this year the ninja holiday bonus could be doubled.
The factories could also hand out several jin of meat per worker. What was a New Year without meat?
Shikato noted everything down and prepared to make it all happen.
Time passed quickly, and only two days remained before the new year. The New Year festivities Shikato had organized had already begun.
The entire Leaf entered a celebration frenzy. A great ninja war had just ended, and the wounds it left behind were scars the village would never truly erase, but the future was bright, and everything was moving in a better direction.
The streets were dressed in lights and color. Decorations hung all over every alley and road, alongside banners praising Haru. No one doubted the words written on those banners anymore. At least so far, Haru had fulfilled every single promise written on them.
The ninja received a large New Year bonus and immediately threw themselves into happy shopping. The merchants of the Leaf were delighted, busy making money, making money. Just one day's revenue now equaled two or three days from the old times.
The working cattle laborers also got a short holiday. With the meager wages they had painfully saved up, they could finally go out and buy a few things. After all, with New Year here, no matter what, you had to get yourself one or two new clothes. Hokage-sama had also kindly handed out a few jin of meat, but what kind of holiday was meat without alcohol?
That meant buying alcohol too.
That day, Haru was also off work. Guests came to his house wave after wave. Tomiya, the rest of the Uchiha clan, and even Kagami, who Haru had once slashed and left bedridden for half a year, came as well.
There was almost a feeling of old grudges fading into laughter.
Back then, when Kagami heard that Hiruzen and Danzo had been killed and Haru had become Hokage, he had been so heartbroken that even the wound in his stomach reopened.
Usurpation. It was naked usurpation.
But there had been nothing Kagami could do. All he could do was watch Haru's every move, watch the Leaf gradually pull itself out of the mire of war, and watch it grow vigorous and flourishing, surpassing even the height of prosperity it had enjoyed under Tobirama.
He couldn't beat Haru, and the Leaf had entered a second spring under Haru's rule. Little by little, Kagami had finally let it go. Presumably, even his teacher Tobirama would have been gratified to see this and would have looked at Haru in a new light.
Only Hiruzen had suffered for it. And Danzo too.
"You really are more fit to be Hokage than Hiruzen."
Kagami left after saying that one line.
Even though it was meant as praise, Haru still felt there was a bitter and resentful undertone hidden in it.
The only thing that genuinely gave Haru a headache was the Uchiha elders.
They were more satisfied than ever with Haru as both clan head and Hokage. He had fulfilled the Uchiha Clan's deepest wish.
In the end, the Uchiha really were stronger than the Senju.
These old fossils from the Warring States era still couldn't let go of that one point.
The one thing they were dissatisfied with was Haru's marriage situation.
Haru was already seventeen, and still hadn't taken a wife.
As for the two girls living in his house, to the elders they were merely playthings. As long as they pleased Haru, that was enough.
If they managed to give Haru a child, then perhaps the elders would consider letting them enter the Uchiha family register and place the noble name Uchiha before their own.
No matter what, the Uchiha Clan was an ancient noble ninja clan that had been passed down for a thousand years. Its status and pedigree were no lower than those of the great nobles of the Land of Fire, and not much beneath the daimyo either.
As clan head of the Uchiha, Haru naturally ought to marry a girl whose family background, looks, and talent were all top-tier.
The best option, naturally, was to choose one from within the clan. From ten years old to thirty, whether loli or mature woman, as long as Haru wanted, he could take his pick. No girl in the clan would reject the chance to become the Hokage's wife.
They needed him to marry quickly and produce a genius heir for the Uchiha Clan. After all, Haru carried two bloodline limits.
Haru still wanted to delay. He had already gotten used to a happy life with three people. If one more, or even several more, got added in, he would need some time to adjust. Then again, that didn't necessarily sound impossible.
Just as Haru was stalling, Takuya arrived with Asuka, Ashi arrived with Yozuki, and Shikato arrived with... just gifts.
Apparently they had all agreed to come at exactly the same time.
Outside the door, Ashi and Takuya exchanged a glance. The moment they saw the girls beside one another, each instantly understood the other's intention.
So you're plotting to make your family's girl the Hokage's wife too.
Absolutely shameless.
After entering and hearing that the Uchiha elders were planning to find Haru a wife from within the Uchiha Clan, the two of them immediately formed a temporary united front and actively stepped in as Haru's shield.
A great man's ambition should be like a great river, rushing eastward to the sea. How could he indulge in the soft trap of romance?
At Haru's current age, he ought to be dedicating himself to the future of the Leaf, not getting distracted by love and marriage.
One lofty speech followed another. The two of them played off one another like a comedy duo until the Uchiha elders were finally driven back.
The two girls kept their heads down the whole time, too embarrassed to look at Haru. Before they had come, Ashi and Takuya had already instructed them that no matter what, they had to win Haru over. This involved the entire family's future.
In the end, the elders simply couldn't out-argue those two shameless old men and had no choice but to leave cursing under their breath.
Tch.
Two shameless old bastards, bringing girls over, clearly just drooling over their clan head's body and hoping either the Hyuga Clan or the Uzumaki Clan could produce a Hokage's wife.
Still, the elders weren't actually all that hostile to Takuya and Ashi's actions. After all, no matter what, the meat would still rot in the Uchiha pot. Haru's children would all bear the Uchiha name.
Honestly, it would be even better if he married them all.
Haru hosted these shameless matchmakers for a while. Throughout the visit, Shikato seemed a bit awkward. He was the only one who had brought no girl, only gifts, which made him stand out badly.
Wrong timing.
Ashi and Takuya inwardly sighed. The earlier chaos and the presence of a rival had left them with no opportunity at all for Haru to spend any time alone with Yozuki or Asuka.
Haru spent an entire afternoon entertaining waves of guests before finally finishing.
Evening
Even during New Year, Haru hadn't forgotten Tobirama, who was still below ground working like a beast for him in the lab.
He went down into Tobirama's underground laboratory. There, time meant nothing, and Tobirama was still furiously grinding through experiments.
"Orochimaru, remember this cell."
"And this principle..."
The moment Haru entered, he heard Tobirama and Orochimaru talking.
Tobirama's face looked the same as always, that dead man's face.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, looked exhausted. His dark circles had gotten frighteningly deep, yet his eyes were shining with excitement.
Truly worthy of being Orochimaru. Even though it was New Year, he was still in the lab studying under Tobirama.
Still, Haru was a little worried about Orochimaru's condition. Ninja were physically stronger than normal people, yes, but there had to be limits.
Was he really not going to suddenly drop dead?
"Orochimaru, why not go get some rest? Do you even remember the last time you saw sunlight?"
Ever since Orochimaru came down here the last time, he hadn't left the lab once. Haru even had to deliver his meals every day himself. Worse, Orochimaru never ate on time. By the time Haru brought dinner, Orochimaru's lunch often hadn't even been touched yet.
"No, Hokage-sama. I think my current condition is excellent."
(End of Chapter)
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