Watching Might Duy walk away with a thick bundle of oilcloth-wrapped papers, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that as long as the Uchiha Clan kept this loan program going, they would win the people's hearts completely.
They had already managed to make the people who'd once looked down on them change their opinions of the Uchiha Clan.
Even some of the smaller ninja clans would inevitably start drawing closer to the Uchiha. After all, they weren't as wealthy as the Uchiha Clan.
That was naturally bad news for him.
He had always believed what his teacher had said: "The Uchiha Clan is an evil clan. They cannot be trusted."
The Uchiha Clan had rebelled during the First and Second's eras. Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't believe that, in his own time as the Third, they would behave themselves and stick to their proper place.
Compared with the First and the Second, he was nowhere near as capable.
After the Uchiha Clan changed leaders, it had taken them only a few days to cause him this much trouble.
Sarutobi Hiruzen massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Whenever this happened, he thought of his close friend, who had always been set on forcing him out of office.
If he were still alive, he could have helped shoulder some of the burden.
A string of moves so sudden that Hiruzen could barely react to them, each as decisive as the night he struck down Danzo.
Uchiha Yuji, you've made such a bold move in so little time. Aren't you afraid of taking one wrong step? Aren't you afraid of bringing the Uchiha Clan to ruin?
While Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a pained expression, the Uchiha Clan members on the lending side looked oddly conflicted.
"Hmph, what can you even do with this little money?"
"Are you looking down on the Uchiha Clan? You're only lending us this much?"
They cursed and sneered as they dragged people away without a trace of courtesy. But instead of the fear or disgust the villagers usually showed them, the people before them looked... grateful?
What was wrong with them?
Meanwhile, the Uchiha teaching ninjutsu were having an even better time.
"You can't even learn a ninjutsu this simple? Are you an idiot? Useless!" The Uchiha instructor clearly wasn't one for patience. He kicked the student aside. "Move. Watch closely, and I'll show you the power of the Uchiha Clan!"
He stood where he was and slowly formed the Hand Seals, demonstrating the Great Fireball Technique.
The roiling flames even set the pond ablaze. Their heat distorted the air, and the sight lit a fire in the hearts of the civilian ninja.
"It's just the Great Fireball Technique. For the Uchiha Clan, this is basic ninjutsu. If you can't even do this, you might as well retire!"
"Idiot, do you need me to show you again?" The Uchiha raised his chin and looked down his nose at them.
The students showed no sign of annoyance. Instead, they couldn't stop smiling.
They bowed and scraped as they asked how to use the technique. The Uchiha Clan's members might have foul mouths, strict teaching methods, and a habit of hitting people, but when it came to ninjutsu, they were teaching skills that could genuinely save their lives.
Civilian ninja couldn't learn anything useful by scraping by on their own. If they managed to pick up even two techniques, they could consider themselves seasoned Genin.
Besides, they weren't exactly brilliant. Of course they wanted the Uchiha to be even stricter. A few kicks were nothing compared with dying on the battlefield. This was far more comfortable.
It wasn't like paying for driving lessons and getting yelled at. This was a real survival skill!
The same scene played out at training grounds all over the village. The rumbling explosions made the Uchiha Clan's grounds even livelier.
It was truly hot and truly noisy.
The policy had been in effect for only half a day, yet nearly every Uchiha respected Uchiha Yuji even more. Even the older members, some of whom had only submitted to him because of his power, had to admit that people were not all the same.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had just slipped into the training hall. Looking at the scene before him, he felt as though the bright sunlight had dimmed.
"What a troublesome opponent. He's only a boy, yet he's already so calculating?"
Just yesterday, at the meeting, Hiruzen had said that the Uchiha Clan wasn't good at teaching. Today, Yuji had come up with this move. If Hiruzen proposed the same plan at the next meeting, he wouldn't be able to reject it so easily.
He could already foresee that many civilian ninja would side with the Uchiha at the next meeting.
Civilian ninja made up only a small portion of the Jonin, but there were many Chunin.
If their children had a Uchiha as their team leader, the Uchiha Clan's formidable combat ability would protect them, and they could learn ninjutsu for free. Those who benefited would surely support the Uchiha with all their might.
And faced with such a righteous cause, even the other ninja clans would have a hard time objecting.
"The Uchiha Clan has produced someone even more troublesome than Uchiha Madara."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped watching and hurried back to the Hokage's office to deal with the backlog of paperwork.
"Zero, go issue a notice. Starting today, the Hokage's office will also offer loans at the same interest rate as the Uchiha Clan."
He was a step behind the Uchiha, but at this point, he would save as much goodwill as he could.
As for teaching ninjutsu, no matter what he did, he couldn't match those Uchiha in expertise. Did anyone really think the Sharingan's keen observation was a joke?
Besides, the Anbu weren't suited to this kind of work, and they couldn't match the Uchiha Clan in manpower.
He had no intention of humiliating himself.
But before Sarutobi Hiruzen could pick up his pen and deal with the lingering affairs of the war, another Anbu suddenly appeared in the office.
"Lord Hokage, the Kumogakure delegation has reached the border of the Land of Fire," the kneeling Anbu reported gravely.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly. "Keep the delegation under constant watch, and order the border troops not to let their guard down. We must be ready in case Kumogakure suddenly doubles back and attacks."
"This time, we can make Kumogakure pay dearly."
The Anbu always came and went in a hurry. Before long, the Hokage's office was quiet again, with only wisps of smoke and the faint scratch of pen on paper.
When he was immersed in work, time flew by. When his lower back began to protest, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally stopped and rubbed the ache away before getting up and walking to the window to look out over his beautiful domain.
But when he looked down, he saw two people sitting close together, sharing snacks and chatting happily. Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened at once.
While I'm cleaning up the mess you caused, you're off having a carefree little romance.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's blood pressure was dangerously high that day.
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