The Uchiha Clan Was Good at Fighting, but Didn't Like War!

After hearing Natsume's explanation, Orochimaru's eyes lit up even more.

"I see! These side effects are much milder than those of the previous experiments!"

Clearly, compared with before,

Natsume's transplant this time was by far the most successful! It had the fewest side effects!

It could practically be considered half a success already!

It was also a huge step forward for Orochimaru's transplant surgery!

The only question was,

now that Natsume had perfected the Sharingan thanks to this transplant, how many people would he give terrifying nightmares to in the future?

"Well! It has nothing to do with me, anyway. I'm just a researcher."

Orochimaru thought with helpless resignation.

If a few days ago he had still been able to give Natsume a run for his money by fighting with all his might,

then now, even if he tied several copies of himself together, he probably wouldn't be a match for this kid, would he?

Sigh!

Had the Ninja World really changed so much lately?

One astonishing prodigy after another had appeared. He was probably going to fall behind the times, too!

After the successful surgery, Natsume had no reason to stay there any longer.

To be honest, the atmosphere and smell in this laboratory were both unpleasant.

Soon, Natsume dispelled his clone,

put away the Divine Blade, and got dressed.

Of course, before leaving,

he made a point of asking about the arrangements in the Land of Fields.

"Are things ready in the Land of Fields?"

To put it simply,

he and Orochimaru were in a relationship of mutual exploitation and trade.

Each getting what they wanted was the foundation of their relationship.

And his strength was what held that relationship together.

As long as he was strong enough—and kept growing stronger—

the crafty Snake Auntie, cunning as a snake and shrewd as a rat, would never fall out with him or turn against him!

Orochimaru immediately replied:

"Of course!"

"Everything's been arranged. The ruler will probably issue the official decree in person today."

"He'll recognize the legitimacy of the Uchiha Clan and the Flame Hidden Village!"

Natsume smiled. "You've really found yourself a fine puppet!"

Orochimaru said, "You're too kind, Lord Natsume. It's just for convenience. I haven't laid a hand on the people of the Land of Fields."

"Besides, most of the test subjects here are bandits and rogue ninja captured from various places..."

"Capture anyone else you like. I don't care."

"But if you dare to reach into my village,"

"you know what the consequences will be!"

Natsume glanced at him again. That still-scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan was simply too terrifying.

"Of course. I'll be careful!"

Orochimaru nodded with a smile. He knew where to draw the line.

And so,

Natsume quickly left Otogakure and returned to his own village.

By the time he got back to the village,

it was already midday.

Apparently, he'd spent half the day at Orochimaru's base.

But Natsume had successfully transplanted Hashirama Cells, grown much stronger, and escaped the Sharingan's side effects.

He was in high spirits,

and didn't even bother hiding his presence.

Instead, he strolled openly down the main street all the way home,

taking the opportunity to see how the village was coming along.

"Young Clan Head!"

"Good day, Young Clan Head!"

"Big Brother Natsume!"

"Young Clan Head, these skewers just came off the grill. Please, have some!"

"These fruits were just traded for with ordinary villagers from a nearby village. You should try some, too!"

As soon as their Young Clan Head showed himself,

many of the warmhearted, straightforward clan members gathered along the street.

They greeted Natsume and offered him all kinds of delicious food and fruit.

Before long, he had a towering pile in his arms.

Although Natsume was young,

to the Uchiha Clan, which revered the strong, a powerful Young Clan Head was worthy of their respect.

And what was more, it was the Young Clan Head who had led them out of the "Konoha Demon's Den."

So now, nearly every clan member here saw Natsume as their benefactor and their true Young Clan Head.

If anyone dared to stand up and oppose him,

the others would probably tear that person to pieces before Natsume even had to lift a finger.

And so, Natsume cheerfully greeted everyone

as he accepted all sorts of gifts and headed toward his home.

By the time he reached the door,

the pile of gifts in his arms was already taller than he was.

It was a heartwarming sight.

Just then, before Natsume could open the door,

Nonō, the Wandering Shrine Maiden, came hurrying out from inside in a maid outfit.

She took most of the gifts from him.

"Lady Nonō, what's all this?" Natsume asked, eyes lighting up in surprise.

"Lady Hazuki gave me this outfit."

"Since Lord Natsume has kindly let us live here, I'll do my best to take care of you for a while. Please allow me to do so."

"Aunt Hazuki really does love fussing over people!"

"All right, do as you like. It's not as if I can kick you out, is it?"

Natsume waved his approval.

And, he had to admit, the shrine maiden looked pretty good in a maid outfit!

"What about that fellow Kabuto?"

"I heard they're building an Orphanage in the West District of the village. He went to help."

"That's good. There's plenty of food here, so there's no need to make lunch. Also, take some to Kabuto and the construction workers to share."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Nonō bowed her head in gratitude.

"They really shouldn't have. Almost all of them defected with me and have nothing to their names. They don't have much food at home, and yet they brought me so much..."

Looking at the huge pile of gifts in front of him, Natsume couldn't help smiling ruefully.

"Doesn't that prove how much the clan members adore you, my lord?"

"Are shrine maidens always this good at flattering people?"

Nonō smiled gently and continued:

"Although I haven't known them long,"

"the villagers here—and you, Lord Natsume—are nothing like the Uchiha Clan I knew about."

"When I was with Root, all the ninja were taught that the Uchiha were an evil clan, fond of war and extremely sinister, and that we had to stay on our guard around them at all times!"

"But now, all I see is a group of kind, enthusiastic people doing their best to build their village and make a living..."

"Maybe this is what the Uchiha Clan is really like?"

Nonō spoke from the heart.

Somehow, she felt much more at ease here than she ever had in Konoha...

"Of course!"

"No one is born irredeemably evil."

"Discrimination and prejudice are often among the roots of evil."

"That's true of Root, and it's true of Konoha, too!"

"From the very beginning, it wasn't that we hated Konoha. Konoha was the one that hated us..."

"In any case, this place will surely grow into a new village entirely unlike Konoha!"

Natsume declared with conviction.

The Uchiha Clan was good at fighting, but didn't like war!

There was a fundamental difference between being good at fighting and liking war!

You had to remember that even when their ancestor Uchiha Madara tried to overthrow the village and seize power by force after Konoha was founded,

the Uchiha clan members had opposed Madara. They didn't want to lose the peace they had worked so hard to achieve.

Clearly, the claims that the Uchiha Clan loved war were all slander!

And as the Flame Hidden Village grew and prospered,

those slanderous claims would be disproved once and for all!

Afterward, Natsume hurriedly ate some lunch.

Then he went outside the village,

found an empty patch of ground, and began practicing the new ninjutsu and abilities he'd recently mastered.

His strength had skyrocketed over the past few days. If he didn't put in the work to hone it, a mistake in battle could cost him dearly.

Meanwhile, Nonō went out to deliver the food.

The only one left inside the house was a panda, lying on the threshold with its legs crossed, basking in the sun as it dozed through the afternoon.

However,

while the Flame Hidden Village was peaceful and developing in good order,

the news that came out of the Land of Fields that very midday—that the Uchiha Clan and the Flame Hidden Village had been recognized as legitimate—

was like a boulder dropped into a lake.

It quickly sent ripples surging throughout the entire Ninja World.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages and countless smaller hidden villages were all shaken by the news.