The Reborn Konoha Village

The warm sun pierced through the drifting clouds, casting dappled, swaying shadows upon the earth.

Standing on a wooden stool within the Uchiha Clan compound, Uchiha Rikusei stretched out his small arms, standing on his tiptoes as he exerted effort to paint the Flame Gunbai emblem onto the wall.

As he applied the white pigment evenly to the handle of the Flame Gunbai, Uchiha Rikusei couldn't help but sigh at the endless stretch of the perimeter wall.

Great Elder Kaku was truly strict; just because he had beaten Rai, Baru, and Naka to a pulp during the clan sparring match, he was being punished with the sole task of painting the Flame Gunbai handles on the newly constructed western courtyard wall.

Standing on the stool provided an excellent vantage point, allowing him to see the other clan compounds nearby, where dust billowed and loud slogans echoed as construction projects boomed.

Rikusei carefully recalled his recent conversation with Naori regarding the new families joining the village.

It must be the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō should have been born by now.

No, wait, Kagami was his contemporary.

Rikusei counted on his fingers, carefully recalling that they were all of the same generation.

He gazed toward that direction with sparkling eyes; he hoped the Monkey and the Pot King wouldn't disappoint him.

Completely unaware that he had smeared paint onto his waist while standing with his hands on his hips, Rikusei looked proudly at the finished fan handles on his left, hopped off the stool, and walked along the base of the wall, carrying the small stool in his left hand and the bucket of white paint in his right.

He had been in this world for five years now, and there had been times when he was alone that he would shout, "System, are you there?"

There was not a single response from within his body.

It didn't matter; as a member of the Uchiha Clan, he had to keep a low profile—after all, his life was his own! Cough! This world was in chaos, so it was best to be cautious until he awakened the Mangekyo.

He specifically noted Tobirama of the Senju Clan, whose entire arsenal of Water Style was designed to counter the Uchiha.

His method of awakening his eyes seemed different from other Uchiha clansmen.

It appeared he didn't need to suffer intense emotional stimulation to generate special chakra that fed back into his optic nerves to awaken the Sharingan; within five years, he had naturally awakened a single tomoe during a chance encounter.

Sudden footsteps startled the birds perched on the wall, causing them to take flight. Rikusei stopped his work and looked at the man walking slowly toward him, dressed in the signature high-collared robe of the Uchiha and carrying a bucket of red paint.

"Clan Leader," Rikusei said respectfully.

Uchiha Madara, his left eye visible beneath his long hair, seemed somewhat displeased: "Call me Teacher."

"Understood, Clan Leader."

Here it was again. Madara sighed as he carried the paint bucket, looking at the brat before him; this was one of his favorite games to play.

"Is Teacher here to help?"

Rikusei asked softly after standing on the stool to finish painting the fan handle in front of him.

"This village has a name now. It's 'Konoha'—I named it!" Uchiha Madara, in a good mood, applied the bright red pigment to the fan's surface, his tone carrying a hint of pride.

"Konoha Hidden Village? What a catchy name," Rikusei responded earnestly, then glanced over and teased, "Teacher, you painted that wrong. The lower part of the split fan surface should be white."

Uchiha Madara was caught off guard and sighed, "Well, it's fine as it is. The bright red look actually seems quite nice."

"So, is Teacher going to become the leader of the village?" Rikusei asked, looking up from his stool.

Uchiha Madara looked down at his disciple, whose resemblance to Izuna left him momentarily dazed. He continued to paint the Flame Gunbai in silence and replied, "Perhaps."

"Then has Teacher thought about how to plan the village's development?"

"Not yet..." Uchiha Madara opened his mouth, then paused before responding.

He truly hadn't considered what he would specifically do after becoming the leader. Continuing to fight everywhere as he had before didn't seem right, especially since all the surrounding ninja clans were now gathered together.

"Since all the ninja clans are together, our Uchiha Clan should set an example. We could propose building a place similar to a clan school where all ninja clans can come to learn, and also..." Rikusei put down his brush and began counting on his fingers for Madara: "A place to centralize the treatment of daily injuries and illnesses, a force for patrolling and security throughout the village, and a place to screen for spies from other factions."

"Don't tell me you're just trying to tear down the entire Uchiha clan school because you were punished by that guy Kaku."

Uchiha Madara, having grasped the main point, crouched down and poked the boy's forehead with his finger, his gaze burning.

"That hurts!" Rikusei rubbed his forehead, protesting as if he had suffered a great injustice, "What are you talking about? Teacher, the point should have been what I said afterward!"

"These suggestions sound quite familiar."

Uchiha Madara crossed his arms and fell into deep thought. These were issues they had frequently encountered during the war; he hadn't expected the little guy, Rikusei, to summarize them so clearly.

"Teacher, Lord Hashirama is here to see you."

Rikusei gestured with his chin toward the space behind Uchiha Madara, took the paint bucket from his hand, and consciously made space for them, moving his small stool toward the other side of the wall.

"Madara, shall we go for a walk in the street?"

Senju Hashirama, dressed in casual clothes, stood in the shade of a tree and suggested.

Madara nodded silently, gave Rikusei an apologetic look, and followed him as they walked out of the Uchiha compound.

"That was the Rikusei you often talk about, right?" Hashirama slowed his pace and said to his friend.

"Yes. In every respect, he is quite excellent. He has great talent in ninjutsu and taijutsu, and he has even awakened the Sharingan." As they passed through the increasingly bustling street, Uchiha Madara looked at Hashirama with appreciation, pleased by the topic.

"Could it be because he resembles Izuna? I'm sorry!" Hashirama, suddenly plunged into depression with black lines appearing on his forehead, lowered his head in apology.

From a familiar high slope, the entire scene of the village was visible at a glance. Uchiha Madara laughed and teased, "Has that bad habit of yours of falling into depression at the drop of a hat still not been cured? Do you remember our conversation here before?"

"Is it about the Kage Rock? I know, when the time comes, I'll have them make you look handsome!" Hashirama said softly, looking out over the busy clan compounds nestled in the forest.

"No!" Uchiha Madara loudly denied it: "It's about the clan school."

"Clan school?" Hashirama looked at him with curiosity.

"Now that the Sarutobi and Shimura clans have joined us, there will surely be other families to follow. Shouldn't we provide a common place for them to learn? If every family continues to teach within their own clan, how is that any different from before?" After refining the idea, Uchiha Madara voiced what was in his mind.

"A very good suggestion. As expected, Madara is the best candidate for Hokage! Then let the Senju and Uchiha lead by example."

Hashirama beamed at Madara, happy that his judgment had been correct; he believed that with their combined efforts, the village would surely go far.

"There's more!"

A hint of a smile appeared on Uchiha Madara's cold face as he responded.

"There's more? It seems you've really put some thought into this!" Hashirama plopped down onto a rock, preparing to listen intently to his friend's next topic.

"Are you mocking me for being as dense as you, Hashirama?"

Hashirama, having fallen into his usual state of depression, hung his head and stared at the ground: "I'm sorry."

"Honestly."

Accustomed to this, Madara sat beside him and looked up at the various shapes of white clouds drifting across the azure sky. As the Uchiha clan head, he possessed the ability to draw inferences about other cases, and he added many details to Rikusei's shallow ideas.

The place for treating the wounded would be a hospital, and security could be divided into internal and external; internal affairs could be roughly split into managing the daily affairs of ninjas and managing the common populace.

External affairs could be divided into screening for spies from other factions among ninjas and civilians, scouting enemy intelligence, and handling dark matters like assassinations.

"Did you think of all this yourself, Madara?"

Senju Hashirama carefully chewed over the various ideas Madara had mentioned, some of which coincided perfectly with Tobirama's own thoughts.

"It was expanded upon based on Rikusei's ideas," Madara said lazily, lying on the ground to relax.

"I've decided to take him as my disciple," Hashirama said, suddenly turning to his side.

"?" Shrouded in shadow, Madara widened his eyes and flatly refused: "You are not allowed to snatch my disciple!"

"Once the Ninja Academy is built, it wouldn't be impossible for both of us to teach him," Hashirama continued, turning his body with a spirited look: "Such an excellent junior must be cultivated properly!"

Rikusei, carrying an empty paint bucket, had no idea that he had already been hand-picked by Hashirama.

If he knew, he would probably beg Hashirama to spare him; he was already suffering enough under Madara's tutelage.

He had lived a happy life for five years under his grandmother's care, until he awakened his Sharingan while visiting the Uchiha cemetery and was spotted by Madara. From that day on, his happy life had abandoned him.

During training, even though Madara controlled his strength to match that of their age group, his muscle memory—honed by countless battles and currently at its peak—was not so easy to restrain.

In taijutsu training, single-tomoe against single-tomoe, Rikusei was covered in bruises every single time.

Although the Uchiha clan was wealthy and possessed special medicines that allowed him to recover by the next day, his small frame could never withstand the legendary "torture" of the Uchiha clan.

After placing the paint bucket in the clan school's storage room, Rikusei strolled quietly through the corridor, preparing to head home.

"Wait a moment, Uchiha Rikusei."

A noisy sound came from behind, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor; from the light thudding on the wooden floor, one could tell it was a group of children.

Rikusei turned around helplessly and looked at them, a faint smile on his youthful face: "What is it?"

"Nothing!"

Uchiha Rai, who was slightly shorter, took a small step back and denied it.

Uchiha Baru, with a bruised eye, shoved him, feeling angry at his lack of backbone, and stepped forward to shout: "We've come to challenge you again!"

"That's right, that's right!"

Beside them, Uchiha Naka nodded in agreement while leaning against a pillar.

"Where is Kagami?" Rikusei asked softly, taking a step forward.

The trio before him were all startled and took a step back. After some pushing and shoving, Rai was pushed to the front, where he shivered and said tremulously: "Kagami is following Big Sister Naori to study clan history."

Recalling some unpleasant memories, Rikusei suppressed his trembling right hand and asked them: "Are you not afraid of me?"

"Not afraid!" Uchiha Baru shielded Rai behind him and said passionately: "It's nothing more than physical pain."

"And now?"

Huddled together for comfort, they clearly saw the eyes quietly watching them from under the corridor. On the mirror-like wooden floor, the reflection of ghostly black tomoe appeared—it was the Sharingan.

"Go and train. I look forward to your challenge at the next clan competition." Deactivating his Sharingan, Rikusei walked up, patted their shoulders, and turned to walk toward his home.

"Hey, Baru, are we going to train?" Naka asked, looking at the boy's retreating back.

"Of course!" Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Baru draped an arm over Rai's shoulder to boost morale: "We must make Rikusei look bad at the next clan competition!"

"But now there are two people we can't beat: Big Sister Naori and Rikusei," Rai said weakly, breaking free from his arm.

"Shut up!!!"

An exasperated shout echoed through the corridor.