Why had Natsume defected?
Put simply, aside from the threat of the "Night of the Uchiha Massacre" itself,
it was because Konoha was just too rotten!
He couldn't stand living there.
As long as you were a shinobi of the Uchiha Clan,
you were watched when you went shopping.
You were watched when you went out for a bowl of noodles.
You were watched when you bought a piece of clothing.
And that was nothing compared to the discrimination and ostracism Uchiha children faced at the Ninja Academy.
It was also why hardliners kept emerging within the clan,
even to the point of joining forces to pressure Clan Head Fugaku into launching a coup.
Prejudice was like an insurmountable mountain.
And discrimination was even more terrifying than prejudice!
In Natsume's previous life, just look at the Beautiful Country. Over a hundred years, they'd passed who knew how many laws and fought who knew how many wars, yet they still hadn't eliminated racial discrimination.
Natsume had had enough.
More than half of the Uchiha had had enough, too.
That was what had led to this mass defection...
And Natsume had led so many clansmen to defect for two reasons.
First, many of them had been kind to him.
His parents in this life had both died in the Third Shinobi World War, and young Natsume had survived largely thanks to the clan's support.
He couldn't forget where he came from.
Second, he needed enough people to defect with him if he wanted to establish a new village and build a happy life.
What did a happy life mean?
A happy life meant enjoying all kinds of delicious food whenever you wanted!
It meant buying whatever caught your eye whenever you went shopping!
It meant getting pampered by pretty young women when you went for a soak and a foot massage!
It meant a complete, thriving commercial service industry...
That was why Natsume had led everyone to defect!
If he'd been alone, he could have cut his way through Konoha and escaped with ease long ago.
But what could he do after escaping alone?
Live in the forest, filling his stomach with wild fruit every day?
What was the point of living like a savage?
That was why he had to build a village and develop it.
He would turn this place into a beautiful paradise that belonged to him—and to the Uchiha!
Of course, protecting that paradise would also take enough strength!
Natsume had chosen a spot in the southwestern part of the Land of Fields, dozens of miles to the right of Otogakure, as the site for the new village.
It was on a modest hill.
Dense forest surrounded it, and a long stream ran behind the hill. It was nestled between hills and water, with a naturally favorable location.
Of course, in the Ninja World,
a village's ideal location only made life a little more convenient for its residents.
As for defense, that was more or less irrelevant.
If war broke out, the enemy could just send over a Planetary Devastation or a Shinra Tensei.
If you could withstand it, you could withstand it.
If you couldn't, it wouldn't matter if you built your village on a sheer cliff.
As promised, Orochimaru had sent people ahead of time to build more than a hundred simple wooden houses here.
They were enough to shelter the clansmen for now.
Of course, this was only the beginning.
There was still a lot of infrastructure to build before they could have a complete village.
1. Energy systems;
2. Transportation systems;
3. Food service systems;
4. Housing and environmental systems;
5. Water resources and drainage systems;
6. Disaster prevention and defense systems;
7. Medical and educational systems;
And so on...
Clearly, building a complete village wasn't something you could do overnight just by winging it.
Fortunately, the Uchiha Clan had spent years being pushed to the outskirts of Konoha.
They'd already developed a society of their own.
Although only a little over half the clan had come with them this time,
and only around fifty or sixty of them were shinobi capable of fighting,
the rest had experience in all kinds of trades, each with their own skills and specialties.
With a little effort and proper planning,
they could slowly build a complete town without much trouble.
As for building the village's infrastructure, Natsume left those matters to several respected elders in the clan.
These elders were in their sixties and seventies, and had witnessed Konoha's rise and fall over the years.
They naturally had plenty of experience building a village.
They certainly had more experience than Natsume.
Everyone had their own area of expertise.
Giving orders in areas you knew nothing about would only cause trouble.
Of course, Natsume could delegate these civil affairs.
But he kept the military and political power firmly in his own hands.
There could be only one leader in this new village—and only one voice: his!
Call him a dictator or an autocrat, if you wanted.
Unlike Konoha, Natsume wouldn't foolishly scatter power and let schemers like Danzo stir up trouble here.
What? You wanted to seize power?
Fine.
Just beat him!
Hm? You couldn't beat him?
Then go back and get to work!
All in all, Natsume believed that in this brutal Ninja World, true centralization of power would be better for the village's development!
Soon, the basic construction work was being assigned in an orderly fashion.
Freed from Konoha's restraints,
the clansmen threw themselves into the work with unprecedented enthusiasm.
After all, they could either toil for Konoha, which had pushed them aside,
or work hard to build a beautiful village of their own.
Compared side by side,
it was obvious which one they'd be more enthusiastic about.
And with the Young Clan Head's strength to back them up,
the clansmen felt much more secure and could devote themselves to building the new village.
Meanwhile,
the question of what to name their new village was drawing a lot of attention.
That night,
several respected elders and young jōnin from the clan sought out Natsume to ask what he thought the village should be called.
"Young Clan Head, what should we name our new village?"
"Any suggestions?"
"I have an idea. What about Pupil Hidden Village? It fits our Kekkei Genkai!"
"Not bad, but it doesn't sound imposing enough..."
"How about Uchiha Hidden Village?"
"That sounds kind of strange..."
"Then why don't you come up with something better?"
"What about Light Hidden Village? It heralds the bright future of our clan!"
"That's even stranger..."
Watching everyone laugh and argue,
Natsume was in good spirits.
Of course, as the Young Clan Head, he had the final say.
"Our clan specializes in Fire Release, so we'll call it Flame Hidden Village!"
"Put two fires together and you get flame. We'll trample Konoha and the Hokage underfoot!"
Natsume declared with ringing conviction.
The Uchiha clansmen around him brightened and broke into smiles.
After all, the word "flame" really did suit their clan.
Besides, most of those who'd defected from Konoha had suffered discrimination and mistreatment there.
Naturally, they welcomed a name that would put Konoha and the Hokage underfoot.
Before long, the new village's name was settled.
Three days later,
the Land of Fields would publicly announce that it had accepted the Uchiha Clan.
At the same time, the newly established Flame Hidden Village would make its first appearance on the grand stage of the Ninja World.
Hopefully, Konoha wouldn't be so furious that they spat blood.
And taking into account the speed at which news spread and how long each nation and village would take to react,
Flame Hidden Village should be safe for the next five days.
Natsume planned to use that time to take stock of his strength and improve it.
After all, he'd just raided Konoha's Vault and made off with a huge haul of Gold Coins to spend on the system.
It was time to enjoy spending them and exchange for some new abilities.
Before you continue