Rikusei's Attempted Persuasion

If one were to ask the first batch of students at the Konoha Ninja Academy where to find the Uchiha Clan, they would all point in unison toward the newly opened dango shop in the center of the village, where a group of dango-loving Uchiha could always be found.

The facts supported this.

Since the start of the semester, every day at noon, three little Uchiha would head straight to the dango shop for a hearty meal before returning to their clan grounds. This routine had been noted by many who kept a close eye on the Uchiha.

The stereotype that Uchiha equals dango had been firmly established.

After all, who could resist the temptation of a skewer?

Naori, her cheeks puffed out, froze mid-motion, looking in confusion at Rikusei, who had suddenly dropped his dango and bolted out of the shop.

Kagami, sitting inside, swallowed his dumpling in one gulp, turned to look around, and hesitated. "Is he skipping out on the bill?"

"No." Naori, having noticed something, smiled and denied it, giving him a light, harmless swat. "How could Rikusei skip out on the bill?"

The owner of the dango shop stopped what he was doing and watched the two bickering children with a chuckle.

Rikusei, having run outside, had brought Madara back with him.

The lazy Kagami instantly sat up straight, gazing at the rows of Five-Color Dango laid out on the table.

With his idol nearby, he had to muster ten times the energy to show his best side.

Naori maintained her usual posture, continuing to eat her dango with small, delicate bites.

As Madara walked into the shop, he tried to greet them, but suddenly recalled the panicked look in a little girl's eyes when he and Hashirama had helped her up on the street. He could only nod in acknowledgment.

Rikusei, sitting beside him with a carefree air, shouted to the owner, "Uncle, another round of everything we just ordered!"

"Coming right up!"

The man behind the counter, wearing a headband, gestured that it was no problem, lifted the curtain, and headed into the kitchen to get busy.

As the cool dango slid down his throat, Rikusei felt the temperature was just right. He asked softly, "Teacher, why did you come out of the commission building alone?"

"That place should be called the Hokage Building now."

Madara corrected the error, scanning the shop's decor and sensing his surroundings to find the best tactical vantage point.

When the steaming hot dango was placed before him, he felt a sudden realization: peace had truly arrived.

With a calm expression, he picked up a Three-Color Dango and swallowed it, the sweetness suppressing the bitterness in his heart as he let out a long sigh.

"The position of Hokage?" Rikusei asked, though he already knew the outcome.

"It was an anonymous vote."

A vote, then.

The Uchiha Clan was undoubtedly the weaker side; the Senju Clan's connections far outweighed those of the Uchiha, and Madara's political acumen was no match for Tobirama's.

"These are the newly established departments in Konoha. Do you want to take a look?"

After finishing the dango in front of him, Madara wiped his palms and the corners of his mouth, which were stained with sauce, and pulled out a small stack of documents.

Rikusei took them and read through them carefully, finding them much the same as in his previous life.

Under his early advice to Madara, Konoha had paid extra attention to the Medical Department, with resources far exceeding those of the previous timeline.

The groups were numerous: Medical Emergency Squad, Corpse Disposal Squad, Beast Taming and Care Squad, Pharmaceutical R&D Squad, and Pill Research Squad.

There were also two new departments: the Barrier and Sealing Department and the Land Planning Department.

These must have been added by Tobirama; as the inventor of numerous forbidden techniques, he would naturally prioritize the ghost-like art of sealing.

"Which department will the Uchiha Clan be in?"

Rikusei's question caused Kagami and Naori to shift their bodies quietly, pricking up their ears to listen intently.

"The Police Department," Madara answered without hesitation.

"I refuse."

"Ah! What? The Police Department sounds like it has a lot of power!" Kagami hurriedly stood up, nearly tripping over his stool, and said with great anxiety.

The atmosphere fell silent.

Naori pulled back the hand she had frozen in mid-air, clenching it into a fist under her sleeve.

Rikusei clearly saw that the beautiful pupils beneath her purple hair were already burning with flames, and he couldn't help but offer a few seconds of silent prayer for Kagami.

Madara glanced at his agitated junior, then looked at his disciple, waiting for his answer.

"Before the village was formed, who in the clan was most easily criticized by the clansmen?"

"Those in charge of clan security and punishment."

Madara found the answer in his heart. He understood now: this department appeared to hold great power, comparable to the Anbu, but in reality, it was a hot potato.

The resentment generated by enforcing the law internally was not something easily smoothed over.

"It could be divided into four parts: Uchiha, Hyuga, other clans, and civilian ninja." Closing the document, Rikusei gave his answer.

With four forces checking and balancing each other, this scapegoat could no longer be borne by the Uchiha Clan alone.

"The Uchiha Clan could also join the Interrogation Department." Rikusei looked calmly at Kagami, who was sitting obediently to the side. "The unique genjutsu capabilities of the Sharingan could be used to extract intelligence."

Madara nodded in agreement, feeling that he was still somewhat hungry, and then called out, "Boss, another few servings of dango."

"Coming right up!" The busy voice of the boss drifted from behind the curtain.

"Teacher, can peace really be maintained like this?"

The question, stemming from the depths of his soul, was deafening, leaving his heart filled with conflict.

On one hand, there was the content recorded on the Stone Tablet; on the other, the dream he had held since childhood was now unfolding before his eyes.

However, some of the text further down the Stone Tablet remained blurred; once his ocular power reached the next level in a few days, he should be able to see it clearly.

Having witnessed the various darknesses of human nature, Madara shook his head. The Uchiha Clan was, after all, a clan of love, far too sensitive to the shadows of the world.

During the meeting earlier, he had seen with his own eyes the squalor between the various clans; people like Hashirama, who foolishly held onto expectations for peace, were far too rare.

Not to mention the other Hidden Villages currently being established outside the Land of Fire.

Weren't they all just collections of interests gathered together to resist the newly formed Konoha?

Seeing the shifting expressions on Madara's face, and realizing that Madara already knew the answer, Rikusei couldn't help but suggest, "What about capturing the Tailed Beasts? Once the other Hidden Villages are established, they will surely have designs on them."

Naori and Kagami, at the table next to them, were stunned by their companion's genius idea.

Tailed Beasts!

Those were existences comparable to natural disasters.

Wait a moment, their clan leader seemed to be a human-shaped natural disaster himself.

"Tailed Beasts?!"

Madara's left eye flashed with a sharp glint, and the aura erupting from his body made his long hair dance without wind; his hidden right eye was exposed to the air, filled with fighting spirit.

Now he could fight side-by-side with Hashirama again, and capturing them would also bring stability to the world; his long-dormant blood began to boil.

A good idea.

Madara suddenly wanted to pat his disciple's hair in encouragement, but thinking of the crowd, he suppressed his right hand.

If he did this, fighting alongside the Tailed Beasts, his ocular power should ascend to the next level, and he would be able to see all the blurred text on the Stone Tablet.

"Dango is here!~"

The boss's melodic tone pulled him back from his reverie, and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan manifested in his eye sockets, controlling the intensity as they made contact the moment the boss looked up.

Rikusei, holding a piece of dango he had picked up from Madara's plate, stared at the dazzling patterns of the Mangekyo with a blank expression.

Using the Mangekyo on a civilian, and an Eternal one at that.

You really are something, Teacher Madara.

Even if you wanted to erase his memory, a regular Three-Tomoe would have been enough.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Madara explained indifferently, "Tobirama is an existence not to be underestimated."

""

Rikusei shrugged at the dumbfounded Kagami and Naori, who was relaxing with her chin in her hands; Tobirama was indeed worthy of such an assessment.

The boss, whose gaze had been somewhat unfocused, snapped back to reality, rubbed his eyes, and said apologetically, "My apologies! I was a bit distracted."

"It's fine, please take care of your health," Madara comforted him understandingly while chewing on his dango. "How was school today?"

Rikusei stared at Kagami, whose excitement was written all over his face, signaling him to answer.

"Today, Great Elder Kaku was the one guiding us in taijutsu!"

Facing his idol's question, Kagami stood straight and answered respectfully.

"Mm, don't be so nervous." Madara stood up and gently pressed Kagami back into his seat. "You all must work hard; I have matters to attend to, so I'll be going."

He carried his plate and sauntered toward the exit, thinking to himself, I must let Hashirama taste this dango. Tobirama? I'll just let him watch from the sidelines.

Holding the silver coins Madara had given him, Rikusei looked at Kagami, who was so excited he was almost in tears, and shook his head helplessly at Naori, whispering, "Let him be happy for a while longer."

Naori, her anger already dissipated, rested her cheek in her hand, her purple hair cascading over the table like a waterfall, and looked quietly at the ceiling, whispering, "The world of adults is truly troublesome."