Setting Out for Loulan, Encountering Sand Ninja

Uchiha Makoto dragged his exhausted body home, splashed some water on his face, and cast aside his thoughts, which had long since become a tangled mess.

Facing the mirror, he began tidying his hair and clothes.

First came his hairstyle. After using a hair tie and forehead protector to secure his low ponytail, he adjusted his attire.

First was a modern, avant-garde yet simple and understated dark blue classic Uchiha fan robe, with a large right-over-left lapel, crossed collar, wide sleeves, and edged overlapping front panels. He paired it with cropped, narrow-cuffed ninja pants, bandages wrapped tightly around his calves, and open-toed wooden clog sandals. Wearing it gave him the unmistakable air of an old-school Uchiha.

Clothing was divided into formal wear and casual wear, but the proud Uchiha would never make such distinctions. What they wore was formal attire—presentable anytime, anywhere.

He now looked handsome and refined, while his tall, slender figure carried an especially elegant air.

"Open personal panel!"

[Name: Uchiha Makoto

Age: 15

Bloodline Limit: Mangekyo Sharingan

Skills: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu, Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson, Majestic Destroyer Flame, Shuriken Manipulation Jutsu, Chidori...

Strength: Kage-level

Clan: Uchiha Clan

Level: Four (47800/50000)

Items: A-rank Deduction Card*1, S-rank Deduction Card*1]

Uchiha Makoto nodded in satisfaction. In less than a day, his level experience had increased by twelve thousand eight hundred. What a joyous occasion, truly joyous.

"Clan Head, the convoy is ready."

"What about Nonō and the others?"

"They have already reported to the Hokage and departed as part of the escort."

"Let's go. Our destination is Loulan!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Uchiha Makoto's lips. Then he gave a slight nod and looked back toward the Hokage Building. Just wait!

When he returned, everything would begin!

He did not understand politics, but he knew how to flip the table!

The Uchiha were waiting for an opportunity. Konoha's upper ranks were waiting for an opportunity. Wasn't he, Uchiha Makoto, waiting for one as well?

"I wonder whether you can handle my Konoha Crush Plan, Third Hokage..." Uchiha Makoto murmured, a strange light gleaming in his eyes.

He still had the strongest fighter of this era in his hands—the First Generation Azure Beast of Konoha, Might Duy, who had become an Uchiha retainer five years ago!

As the father of Konoha's Second Generation Azure Beast, Might Duy had received Uchiha Makoto's full support over the past five years, with cultivation resources available to him without limit.

Might Duy, who had gone even further than in the original story, would become his trump card for suppressing every unforeseen change when he began to dance!

Watching the refugees outside Konoha make way for his convoy, Uchiha Makoto's thoughts grew complicated. He simply lowered the carriage curtain, out of sight and out of mind.

In truth, refugees throughout the ninja world were all much the same.

Sallow-faced and emaciated, clad in rags, they radiated numbness and sorrow, eating from their own bowls while eyeing everyone else's.

Of course, those were the fortunate few. Most of them did not even have bowls.

In comparison, the Konoha in his memories truly could be called a pure land.

White bones lay exposed in the wild; for a thousand miles, no rooster crowed. Of the living people, one remained in a hundred; to think of it tore one's heart apart.

When he had read Song of the Haoli before, he had only felt shocked. As for its cruelty, he had not felt much, unable to truly understand the horror and brutality within it.

Now,

he had learned.

The Land of Fire was located at the center of the ninja world, its political, economic, and cultural hub. It had seized every advantage, but in times of war, those advantages turned into vengeful demons coming to collect their debts.

Even though the Second Shinobi World War had ended several years ago, refugees still poured endlessly into the Land of Fire.

This placed enormous pressure on the Land of Fire's economy—even this great nation, famed for its fertile land, only produced around two or three hundred jin per mu.

Agriculture in this world was still at a relatively primitive stage, so even with intensive cultivation, ordinary crops did not yield much.

He was also researching hybrid rice. With the Gelel Stone used regardless of cost, hybrid rice could yield an astonishing one or two thousand jin per mu! Of course, that was an abnormal case. Normally, it could still produce around seven hundred jin.

Even if it went no further than that, it would still be no small food revolution for the entire ninja world.

But not now. Revealing it now would only accelerate the arrival of war and intensify the chaos.

"In this war-torn world, nearly every source of conflict from ancient times until now has converged on Konoha. As the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha has already become a serious threat to the world's balance in the eyes of the other ninja villages."

"Yahiko's group in the Land of Rain, Sasori in the Land of Wind, and the rest all have ties to Konoha. We have to use the opportunity of the Third Shinobi World War to pin down most of Konoha's fighting force. It would be best to drag the Land of Rain into it as well.

That evil Shimura Danzō raised the Land of Rain's combat power to a height it never should have reached!"

Uchiha Makoto knew clearly that, setting aside all his underhanded schemes and brainless operations, Shimura Danzō was still a qualified Shadow of the Shinobi for Konoha.

Shimura Danzō might not have been a good person, but so long as he was used at the right time for the right task, with a transmigrator's god's-eye view, he would be a nearly perfect tool and scapegoat.

In his Konoha Crush Plan, Shimura Danzō was also an indispensable part.

Once the plan succeeded, it would be his turn. Uchiha Makoto did not dare hand the results over to others, not even the future protagonists.

In Boruto, forty years later, Konoha had two Six Paths-level powerhouses stationed there, yet its villagers were still robbed today and stolen from tomorrow. Even ninja academy students like Boruto could catch thieves in Konoha. It was truly bizarre.

A mere daimyo actually dared to shout about cutting military spending in the Hokage's office right in front of Naruto. The small countries and minor ninja villages throughout the world were even more chaotic.

It was certain that once Naruto and Sasuke died, it would be nothing more than another cycle of a chaotic era.

"What a decaying world."

When the clattering of the carriage turned into the pleasant ringing of camel bells, Uchiha Makoto had already crossed the Land of Fire's border and entered the Land of Wind. The land was sharply divided, as if into two extremes: one side lush with green trees, the other a desertified expanse dotted only with sparse shrubs.

As they ventured deeper into the Land of Wind, the warm sun became a scorching furnace, the biting cold wind turned into rolling heat laced with sand, and the ground beneath their feet became nothing but sand.

"Clan Head, something's wrong."

Sanjie had spotted something. About a kilometer ahead, there was a ninja squad!

Uchiha Makoto raised his eyes, but all he saw was the setting sun. The hazy sunset reflected off the sand so brightly that he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Move closer!"

When the distance between the two sides was less than a li, a tightly wrapped male ninja stepped out from the shadows. He assumed a defensive stance and called out warily, "Friend, please stop. We are ninja of the Land of Wind. Who are you, and where are you headed?"