Land of Fire Civilians and Their Friends; The Quietly Forming Tide of Public Opinion

After bidding farewell to Kaguya Takeori, Uchiha Makoto activated the Umasiashikabi (bullet time) and remained wary of any potential White Zetsu.

They stealthily made their way to a large lake by the sea in the Land of Water, which was the Three-Tails' hiding place.

Looking at the Three-Tails creature resembling a turtle in the water, Uchiha Makoto gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

He's suffered quite a bit these past few days searching for the Three-Tails!

The daily commute severely encroaches on his rest time.

Thankfully, it'll be done soon!

Uchiha Makoto concealed his aura, maximizing the influence of the Fearful Reverence, and quietly approached the Three-Tails.

Ensuring that the Transcription Seal is set up without anyone knowing is possible at any time under the current circumstances, but setting up a Transcription Seal that Madara Uchiha cannot detect requires utmost carelessness in the process.

Enter the village quietly, don't fire!

Uchiha Makoto recited this as he walked to the side of the Three-Tails.

The Three-Tails, lying on the bottom of the water, was still fast asleep, completely unaware that someone was approaching.

' The Tailed Beast, as materialized forms of Chakra, have every part of their bodies composed of raging Tailed Beast Chakra.'

'To leave a seal within them without being detected by Madara Uchiha, who had reached the Six Paths level, would be an incredibly difficult task.'

'Fortunately, Madara Uchiha couldn't possibly examine the livestock he considered closely, which gave me an opportunity!'

With that thought in mind, Uchiha Makoto arrived at the most suitable location for the Transcription Seal he had envisioned—the turtle shell at the Root his tail.

' Tailed Beast are Chakra themselves; any Chakra within them will be immediately detected, but if it's just a superficial seal, it's difficult to detect.'

'Especially since people always face the front of the Tailed Beast, and very few face its back, I've now placed the seal inside the edge of the turtle shell, making it extremely well-hidden!'

'After all, no one would bother to mess with the Three-Tails 'Three-Tails backside after arriving here unharmed!'

Upon reaching the back of the Three-Tails, Uchiha Makoto's Mangekyou Mangekyō Sharingan emitted a dazzling red light.

"Oh!"

Uchiha Makoto let out a muffled groan, and a tear of blood flowed from his right eye, staining his collar red.

Thus, Uchiha Makoto's journey to Kirigakure came to a successful conclusion.

"Time to return to the Mist Ninja front and prepare!"

"Hey, do you know Shimura Danzō?"

A commoner from the Land of Fire quietly asked his friend beside him.

Which one?

The friend standing nearby frowned; none of them had Shimura Danzō.

Could he be from out of town? His friend seems so interested in this Shimura Danzō; could it be that he likes him?

Thinking of this, his eyes instantly turned sharp. Someone was trying to steal his man?

He'd been cultivating this relationship for several years!

Someone actually picked the peaches!

"It's the one who fell in love with the Hokage, but was forced to separate because of societal norms!"

The commoner from the Land of Fire spoke with an air of gossip, not forgetting to share it with his friends.

The friend immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh!

Thankfully, it's not someone who came to steal his man!

Wrong!

Falling in love with the Hokage?

"How so?"

His friend became interested as soon as this was mentioned.

We're kindred spirits!

The civilian cautiously peeked out, and after making sure no one was paying attention, waved to his friend.

His friend, being quite tactful, leaned closer to him.

"My aunt's third uncle's nephew's friend's brother's nephew overheard Konoha Ninja saying a couple of days ago that the Hokage of Konoha and one of the Konoha's Hokage were having an affair!"

"These two are men!"

He whispered in his friend's ear, his warm breath making his friend feel itchy.

Especially in front of so many people, he found it even harder to contain his emotions.

"Come on, it's not safe here. Let's talk at my house!"

He swallowed hard, grabbed the other person's hand, and offered his suggestion.

"This... isn't a good idea..."

The civilian's lips twitched, and he tried to pull his hand back; he had a feeling that his friend seemed a little off today.

His eyes were shining!

"Why!"

That friend sighed with regret, looking like he had been let down.

"Don't you know who I'm talking about!"

"Oh, right! I have a cat at home that can do backflips, wanna go check it out?"

The friend said, looking at him with expectant eyes.

"Oh well!"

The commoner finally nodded; after all, in the years they had known each other, he was certain that his friend was not a bad person.

Moreover, his friend's family is much wealthier than his!

It's definitely not because he's interested in cats that can do backflips!

And so, hand in hand, they lived happily ever after. What a joyous occasion!

Watching the two figures walk away, Uchiha Makoto silently added voiceovers for them.

He originally just wanted to check the public opinion orchestrated by Uchiha Fugaku and his group, but he unexpectedly witnessed such a brilliant turn of events...

Uh, love.

Uchiha Makoto covered his face. He shouldn't have turned his sensory abilities up to the maximum!

Fortunately, there was only one oddball.

Uchiha Makoto walked towards a restaurant on the street, and as soon as he sat down, he saw two people arguing heatedly.

"Madara Uchiha was right! If Madara Uchiha had won back then, who knows if the Five Great Nations would even exist now!"

A burly man shouted at his friend beside him.

"Pah! With the Uchiha Clan's arrogant attitude, Madara Uchiha you twice back then!"

"What, you still think he quelled the chaos? It was Senju Hashirama who quelled the chaos!"

The other person didn't back down either, filling both of their cups with sake as they spoke.

"Why wasn't Madara Uchiha supposed to quell the chaos?"

The burly man picked up his wine cup, took a sip of sake to moisten his throat, and continued speaking.

"That Uchiha on the Mist Ninja front now, known as the second Madara Uchiha, single-handedly repelled the Mist Ninja!"

"If Madara Uchiha were on the battlefield, he would have wiped out the entire enemy single-handedly! There wouldn't be so many wars now!"

As the burly man spoke, his expression towards his friend seemed to carry a sense of superiority, as if he had seen through everything.

His friend looked the same way.

"How many people will die in such a war? How much hatred will it create? The situation will only get worse than it is now!"

"The Will of Fire is right!"

Eager to regain the upper hand, the friend immediately invoked the Will of Fire, attempting to overwhelm the opponent with sheer force.

"From the First Shinobi World War until now, not to mention the entire Shinobi World, how many shinobi and civilians from the Land of Fire have died? Can you even count them? How many of those around us have died?"

"Our two families used to have so many people, but now there are only the two of us left?"

The burly man wiped away his tears, picked up his glass, clinked it against his friend's, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"Ultimately, you're afraid the Konoha Ninja will come and capture you..."

The burly man spoke dismissively, but his expression suddenly turned melancholy.

"You should have said how great it would have been Madara Uchiha then!"

His friend held his wine glass, taking a sip with a complicated expression.

"Yes, if only Madara Uchiha had won back then!"