Livelihood Risks

Bang.

Zhengye shoved the door open and strode in, using no small amount of force.

Fugaku held a pen in his hand, looking somewhat surprised. He could tell that Zhengye was agitated.

"What is it, Zhengye?"

Only after approaching Fugaku did Zhengye manage to steady himself slightly.

He pulled two Healing Talismans from his robes and solemnly placed them in Fugaku's hands.

"Keep these on you, and don't let them get wet. Tell me how you're feeling tomorrow."

Seeing Zhengye's grave expression, Fugaku carefully accepted them and tucked them away close to his body.

"Understood. Did you come all this way just to give me these?"

Zhengye took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his excitement.

Certification would take time. There was no use rushing it.

"Has Luhe made any moves?"

At Zhengye's question, Fugaku took several documents from the side.

"Yes. Luhe moved quickly. Starting yesterday, he traced six erroneous decrees issued by the Third Hokage and corrected them."

Zhengye picked them up and glanced through them. There were decrees reducing the Police Force's border patrol zones, refusing reimbursement for the Police Force's ninja tools, illegally sealing shops on Uchiha Street, cutting the voting rights of Uchiha jonin nominees, and more...

Every single one represented tangible benefits for the Uchiha.

For a ninja clan to establish a firm foundation, it needed territory, funds, and power. Not one of them could be lacking.

Yet in the five years since the Nine-Tails Incident, the Third Hokage had been quietly and continuously eroding the Uchiha's foundation.

Luhe had uncovered six documents in just one day. There would undoubtedly be more in the future.

"Looks like Luhe is a smart man."

A satisfied smile appeared on Zhengye's face.

He had not discussed this with Luhe beforehand. It was entirely an unspoken understanding between them.

Though he had some clever tricks of his own, they were all built upon nine years of compulsory education.

Searching for loopholes in all kinds of government affairs himself would take far too much time.

Besides, the Third Hokage would throw obstacles in his way, and Zhengye could not be bothered to argue with him.

His philosophy was to let professionals handle professional work. The Nara Clan had always served as Konoha's strategists.

He was using a Hokage advisor position that the Uchiha did not need to make the other side work for him.

It was a worthwhile deal!

Fugaku's face also showed delight. Some of the benefits involved had been ones he had voluntarily given up, yet they had been recovered so easily.

He hesitated briefly before asking in a low voice:

"Zhengye, when do you plan to take over as clan head?"

In just a few days, Fugaku had been completely won over by Zhengye's methods.

All he wanted now was to serve as Zhengye's vanguard.

Zhengye waved a hand.

"That sort of thing doesn't matter. Once Danzo's matter is settled, I'll make plans for the Uchiha's next stage of development. At the very least, we should separate ourselves from Konoha in many aspects of daily life."

Zhengye felt that if he were going to become clan head, the first thing he needed to do was ensure his clansmen lived well.

The clan's livelihoods were also an important issue right now. For instance, they still had no electricity or gas supply.

They also relied heavily on Konoha for food purchases. These were all pressing problems that needed to be resolved.

After all, once their conflict with the Third Hokage intensified, someone might very well cut off their supply lines.

Fugaku nodded. He knew that the Uchiha's struggle against the Third Hokage was still missing this final link.

After all, the other party was the Third Hokage. There would be many more opportunities for him to obstruct them in the future.

"Oh, right. Our Hyuga Clan members in the Police Force discovered that Jiraiya has returned."

Zhengye raised an eyebrow. "Jiraiya!? Then why wasn't he there yesterday?"

The signal flare they had fired yesterday had been village-destruction level. If Jiraiya had seen it, there was no way he would not have appeared.

"Yes, he returned to Konoha yesterday, but he went drinking in the red-light district."

Then Fugaku gave Zhengye a knowing, suggestive look that said men understood.

"Probably got too tired and overslept."

Zhengye's mouth twitched. He did not know what to say.

"I'll go patrol and see how things are today." As he spoke, he pointed at the talismans. "Remember to tell me how you're feeling tomorrow."

Zhengye did not linger. After giving Fugaku his instructions, he left.

At the same time, Jiraiya strolled through Konoha with his hands behind his head.

"I haven't been back in years. Konoha's gotten much more prosperous."

"Mm, these clothes look pretty nice too."

Jiraiya looked carefree, but his gaze kept roaming over women dressed scantily or blessed with good figures.

After wandering around for a long while, he spotted steam rising ahead. He had reached one of Konoha's bathhouses.

"Huh, is this new?" Jiraiya grinned, revealing a lecherous smile as he headed inside.

I need to see if there's any good material.

Among the five great ninja villages, Konoha Village had a relatively strong commercial atmosphere.

Merchant caravans hauling goods into Konoha Village could be seen everywhere.

In recent years, Konoha had opened a gate in each of the four cardinal directions.

They were meant to divert the flow of people and make management easier.

The western gate was the primary area for commercial activity.

People who came to trade were restricted to this area. This ensured that merchants could conduct business with Konoha quickly while preventing them from wandering around Konoha freely.

Naturally, this was also an area where conflicts frequently broke out.

Caravans and Konoha merchants would argue here at any time for all sorts of reasons, sometimes even coming to blows.

Like right now—

"Your goods have obviously gotten damp, and you still want to sell them at the price of quality goods? Do you take us Konoha people for idiots?"

A well-dressed Konoha merchant slapped a palm against the wagon shaft, his voice loud enough for half the street to hear.

Opposite him stood the leader of an outside-village caravan, a burly man with a full beard. More than a dozen guards stood behind him.

He refused to yield, slapping a hand against a crate of goods.

"Damp? I hauled these all the way from the Land of Rice Fields, keeping them out of rain and sun the entire journey. Stop slandering me! You just want to force down the price!"

"Force down the price? I wouldn't want this crap even if you gave it to me for free!" The Konoha merchant spat.

"What did you say?!" Fire blazed in the bearded man's eyes as he waved a hand.

The guards behind him stepped forward in unison, their hands resting on their sword hilts.

The Konoha merchant retreated half a step in fright, but a large crowd of Konoha villagers had gathered around to watch. Feeling emboldened, he puffed out his chest again.

"What? You want to start something on Konoha's turf? You outsiders have some nerve! Aren't you afraid of our Police Force?"

"So what if we start something?" The bearded man sneered. "Your Konoha Police Force controls heaven and earth. Can it control business disputes too?"

"I've traveled north and south for years. I've filed complaints against at least eight or ten Uchiha, and nothing ever came of it!"

The outside-village merchants around them chimed in.

"Exactly. The Police Force is just good at scaring people."

"Last time, I took up two extra feet of stall space, and they only scolded me a little."

The Konoha villagers wore strange expressions upon hearing this.

Someone muttered quietly, "What he's talking about... that was from a week ago, right?"

"Shh, don't say anything. Let's watch how they die."