Owing the Uzumaki a Favor

"Cough, cough! Yuan! It wasn't what you thought!"

Madara stepped forward helplessly to explain. "Hashirama and I were discussing peace. Our two clans have fought for over a thousand years; it's time for it to come to an end."

Then he turned to Hashirama and said:

"This is my third younger brother, Uchiha Yuan. He's currently acting clan head."

"Oh?"

Hashirama was instantly intrigued. He had thought Yuan was merely a clan member who had stumbled upon them by chance. He had not expected him to be Madara's younger brother—and the acting clan head, at that.

Being an acting clan head was no easy job. Not only did one have to handle all sorts of irritating trivial matters every day, but one also had to read countless reports. Hashirama immediately placed Uchiha Yuan on the same level as his younger brother Tobirama.

"Interested in joining the conversation?"

Uchiha Yuan was not the least bit surprised by Hashirama's invitation and accepted it calmly.

He slowly took a seat beside them, forming something of a three-way standoff. However, with a fluffy Black Cat in Uchiha Yuan's arms, the atmosphere instead became more relaxed.

"You're Uchiha Yuan, right? Your elder brother and I were just discussing the current Shinobi World. What are your thoughts?"

"Thoughts? I don't have any." Uchiha Yuan shook his head, looking utterly uninterested. His tone was casual. "The Shinobi World is full of clans, each fighting for itself. What is there to discuss?"

There was nothing wrong with that statement. Most people saw things that way. Yet Hashirama asked again:

"Then do you think there's a way to change a world like this?"

"It's simple. All it takes is the rise of a powerful force to unify them all."

"Really?"

Hashirama's face lit up with delight. He had not expected Madara's younger brother to reach that conclusion. It was exactly the same as what he and Madara had in mind.

Uchiha Yuan looked at Hashirama strangely. Even elementary school kids know that. Why does this guy look like he's solved the world's greatest mystery? Armed with five thousand years of culture, he could practically see through the Naruto World.

"It's nothing remarkable. The world is bound to be unified eventually; it's only a matter of whether it happens sooner or later. And even if it is unified, peace may not necessarily follow."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. There's no need to worry about things so far away in advance. It's just pointless effort. You'd be better off focusing your energy on what you should do and what you want to do. That's more practical."

Hashirama Senju and Madara were both deeply shaken, as though their worldview had been impacted. Uchiha Yuan clearly still looked young, yet his words gave them much to ponder.

"Yuan, it seems you've really grown up. I can no longer see through your thoughts."

"Big Brother, you simply spend too much time training. I read whenever I have free time, and by now I've read nearly every record in the clan. So I came out for a stroll because I was bored."

Once the conversation got going, the three gradually became more engaged. At one particularly happy moment, Hashirama Senju even personally poured Uchiha Yuan a drink, making his face turn dark.

"Thanks, but I don't drink."

Who knew how drunk he would get after one cup? If he let something slip while drunk, that would be a disaster.

As time passed, it was soon time to part ways. Uchiha Yuan stopped Hashirama and asked him for a small favor.

"Hashirama Senju, your wife is from the Uzumaki Clan, right?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I've recently hit a bottleneck and want to study Sealing Arts. Help me get some scrolls."

"This... Yuan, you should know that those are Uzumaki clan secret techniques."

Tch! Clan secret techniques, my ass. Uchiha Yuan curled his lip. Do you expect me to believe Tobirama's Flying Thunder God wasn't inspired by Sealing Arts? And what about that Impure World Reincarnation thing? Yet you call them clan secret techniques?

"I only need the basic principles. If you don't bring them over, then before long, news of the Shinobi World's two greatest clans joining forces will spread throughout the Shinobi World."

"...Are you threatening me?"

In an instant, Hashirama frowned. Enormous Chakra burst forth, and the hurricane it stirred sent snowflakes on the ground flying wildly. Cracks even appeared in the ice.

Uchiha Yuan's mouth twitched at the sight, but he did not back down and directly confronted him.

"You can understand it that way."

Boom!

Black-red Chakra condensed into substance as Uchiha Yuan's pupils spun, activating the Beast-Eyed Mangekyō.

Neither moved from where he stood. Their invisible energies collided and struggled against each other without end, warping even the air.

"Yuan! What are you doing?! Stop this at once!"

Madara had not expected his younger brother to pull something like this at the very end, nor had he expected them to start fighting over a single disagreement.

Seeing Yuan's resolute expression and complete lack of retreat, Madara helplessly said to Hashirama:

"Hashirama, let it go. Consider it a favor you owe me."

As though giving Madara face, the two slowly withdrew their pressure at the same time, giving each other a way out.

"I'll bring them to you another day, Uchiha Yuan. Anyone who disrupts Madara's and my plans will receive no mercy from me."

"Heh, forget it. You're just a dimwit."

Uchiha Yuan turned to leave, then looked back and added:

"This isn't a favor my elder brother owes. It's a favor I, Uchiha Yuan, owe the Uzumaki Clan. Tell your wife to think carefully before acting~"

Uchiha Yuan's final words sounded like a riddle, and neither Madara nor Hashirama understood what he meant.

The Uzumaki Clan was not in the Land of Fire. It lived far overseas and did not even share a border with the Land of Fire. What use could this favor possibly have?

Uchiha Yuan left first. After Madara saw Hashirama off and arranged the time for their next meeting, he hurried after him.

"Yuan, what did you mean by those last words?"

"Huh? What could I have meant?" Uchiha Yuan walked slowly, practically taking a leisurely stroll. "Think about it. Once your plan succeeds, won't you need to choose a leader? What if the Senju use this favor as leverage then? I don't want Big Brother to end up beneath someone else."

"We'll definitely need to choose a leader then, but Hashirama and I can lead together, can't we?"

"Pfft. Then if the two of you disagree, who is everyone supposed to listen to?"

"Well..."

"And do you think that bastard Tobirama would agree to it?"

"..."

Madara did not know what to say now. If that day truly came, he really did not know what he should do. Should he settle for being second-in-command or deputy leader?

Madara had his own pride and had never been inferior to anyone in his life. Uchiha Yuan's question left him stumped.

After the new year.

The heavy snow melted, and all things revived.

People quickly threw themselves into work for the new year. As the Uchiha Clan's reputation and prestige continued to grow, the various orders and commissioned missions they received suddenly became countless.

For a time, there were not even enough clan shinobi to handle them all.

Uchiha Yuan therefore established the mission ranking system in advance and allowed clan members with Genin-level strength to accept commissions as well.

By the standards of his previous life, this counted as severe child labor exploitation.

"The weapons workshop is still far too inefficient. Pass down the order: open another five assembly lines!"

"The Medicinal Management Bureau needs to stockpile more medicinal herbs while spring has just begun. Those doctors among ordinary people may have no combat ability, but their medical skills are far superior to those of shinobi. Hire back whoever you can; tie up and bring back anyone you can't hire."

After issuing the orders, Uchiha Yuan picked up a pen and signed the proposal to establish medical shinobi, placing them under the combat forces.