The Uchiha Girl Who Left Konoha

The day after the Hokage inauguration ceremony, many foreign delegations left one after another.

The delegations of the major nations did not leave, choosing to stay behind instead, presumably to negotiate some secret matters with Konoha.

Judging from the recent actions of the four great nations of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water, they were also close to embarking on the path of establishing ninja villages.

He believed yesterday's ceremony made the delegations of these four great nations feel a near-terrifying shock.

If they did not establish ninja villages and be eliminated by the times, it was a fact all four great nations could foresee.

The communication among the several major nations did not affect Yayoi. On the day after the ceremony, he packed up and left Konoha along with a portion of the nations, returning to the Land of Night.

Konoha had a hundred things to do and was just getting started. Currently, apart from the military aspect, all other foundations were very weak.

Fields like education, commerce, and medical care were all blank slates, lacking a systematically constructed framework.

This was Konoha's greatest gap, yet it was the advantage of the Land of Night.

The Land of Night had been officially established for nearly ten years. Under Yayoi's step-by-step efforts, many basic fields had achieved considerable results. In the coming era, he held a certain head-start advantage.

There was another point that put Yayoi relatively at ease: Konoha showed no intention of external expansion, merely occupying the wealthiest Land of Fire and seeming to shoulder the important function of balancing the order of the Ninja World.

In a sense, this was a good thing.

An era where the situation was tense yet the environment was relatively stable, with supreme powerhouses willing to step forward and maintain peace, was undoubtedly an era of great development.

According to the original plot he knew, as long as the general trend remained unchanged, the First Shinobi World War would officially erupt a dozen or so years after the founding of Konoha.

In other words, whether the Land of Night could catch up with the pace of the Five Great Nations depended on the next dozen or so years, which were the most crucial.

While others felt apprehensive, he could rely on this prophetic advantage to stride forward in development.

I always feel that the future Ninja World will be completely different from the past.

Inside the sedan chair, after a day of digestion and having witnessed the Hokage ceremony from start to finish, Kicho was still shaken inwardly by yesterday's Hokage inauguration ceremony, unable to calm down for a long time.

The impact of that overwhelming grand momentum pressing down was fiercer and more suffocating than anything else.

Let alone Kicho, who did not know the future development of the plot, even a prophet like Yayoi, despite knowing many things about the future, sat on pins and needles at yesterday's venue just the same.

It was hard for people to imagine things they had never seen.

One Country, One Village was something unfamiliar, something people wouldn't even dare to imagine.

It made people know for the first time that ninja, ninja clans... could actually be linked and bound together in this way.

In ancient times, there were ninjas who initially understood the essence of chakra, and people called them Ninshū.

The earliest Ninshū was not between family and family, but rather individual and individual beginning to connect through chakra.

Then, the ninjas who first mastered chakra abilities, along with the evolution of the times, began to act in family units.

Thus, ninja struggles escalated from the individual level to the family level.

Now, single ninja clans exited the stage. Battles among ninjas were no longer person-to-person or clan-to-clan, but had transformed into country-to-country.

"It's alright, Kicho, I'm here."

He pulled Kicho's lingeringly fearful body tightly into his arms, comforting her softly.

Her palms were colder than usual, clearly not yet fully recovered from yesterday's suffocation.

A fragile individual facing such a torrent of the times could only submit and pray; aside from that, there was no other way.

Therefore, Yayoi knew he could not collapse. Even if it was very hard, he had to grit his teeth and persist.

Apart from himself, not a single person in the Land of Night was qualified to stand at the very forefront of this grand momentum and lead everyone through the thorns and brambles.

This was the capacity and boldness that a ruler of a country and a husband ought to possess.

This reminded him of a very reasonable ancient saying: To establish a foundation and initiate an enterprise, there has never been an emperor who achieved kingship without merit.

As a ruler, if he failed to achieve this, political power would become a vacuum, rule would disintegrate, the populace would no longer believe, and he would ultimately end up as a thorough failure.

"Mhm..."

Kicho nodded gently, nestling in Yayoi's embrace, breathing softly while enjoying the momentary peace and warmth.

"After we go back... let me sell the clothes and accessories I bought before."

After a long while, Kicho's muffled voice sounded out.

"Why do you say that?"

Yayoi was slightly taken aback.

"Because national development will need a lot of money next, right?"

Kicho broke free from Yayoi's embrace, sat up straight, her pure white pupils revealing an expression of seriousness and determination.

"..."

Yayoi was somewhat amused and exasperated.

Though Kicho's political intuition was quite sharp at times, she didn't seem very familiar with the nation's economic aspects.

That made sense too; she was still so young, so it was impossible for her to think of everything comprehensively, and her sensitivity to money wasn't high.

"You really are sometimes cute to the point of foolishness."

Yayoi tapped her smooth, fair nose as if teasing her innocence.

Under Kicho's puzzled gaze, Yayoi gave a steady and forceful answer:

"That is the expense you ought to have as the general's wife. Besides, didn't you do a very good job, Kicho? You previously communicated quite well with the civil officials' female relatives, thereby stabilizing the civil officials' hearts. You don't need to worry about money. Let's put it this way: whatever I might lack right now, money is certainly not one of them."

Or rather, long before this, he knew such an era would come, and for this reason Yayoi made a lot of preparations in the Land of Night.

Among those items were strategies on how to save and spend money.

Various feasible plans for people's livelihood, military, diplomacy, and other strategies were also prepared well in advance.

Facing the One Country, One Village era, apart from the Five Great Nations, no other country would be as steady as Mount Tai like the Land of Night.

Just like the Five Great Nations, the Land of Night possessed the qualification to sit firmly on a high platform and watch the show in the time to come.

Those desperately struggling were the small countries with weak anti-risk capabilities.

Not to mention, the Land of Night had long since undergone transformation; ninjas and samurai had already grown accustomed to the system of the Land of Night. One Country, One Village was something belonging to the Five Great Nations and had nothing to do with the Land of Night.

The reason he was silent was entirely because he was startled by the military strength of Konoha's founding period.

It was not out of worry that the system of the Land of Night could not compare to the Five Great Nations.

However, was he the only one startled?

The delegations and ninjas of the remaining four great nations were likewise the ones heavily intimidated.

"Is that so?"

After listening to Yayoi's narration, Kicho also felt a bit doubtful whether she was being somewhat presumptuous.

Thinking this way, her own meager expenses, when elevated to the national level, were entirely a manifestation of her panicking and losing her composure.

"Besides, if we don't buy a few more pretty clothes, wouldn't night life feel too dull? I still want to witness more of your different, beautiful postures, Kicho."

Yayoi touched his chin, quietly shifting the topic to a private one.

"Oh, you, my lord husband..."

Seeing Yayoi, whose mindset had completely relaxed, Kicho was also amazed at how optimistic and strong his heart was.

It was as if nothing in this world could crush him.

This is the husband I love most.

Kicho felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of emotion and pride.

Although the time they had known each other was less than half a year, if this man were to truly fail, she would willingly commit double suicide with him.

◎

Meanwhile, in Konoha.

The two great clans situated at the core of the village--the Senju and the Uchiha.

At this moment, an expected split was occurring within the Uchiha Clan.

"Izayoi, are you really planning to leave the clan?"

An Uchiha elder over sixty years of age with graying long hair looked at the young, delicate-faced genius girl in the clan who was only thirteen years old yet had already awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, letting out a deep sigh.

"Of course. Just the thought of living together with people from the Senju makes me physically sick. Elder Korei, are you going to stop me?"

The girl named Izayoi spoke her inner thoughts to the clan elder, and the gloom on her face meant the matter was irreconcilable.

This girl was precisely the Uchiha girl who had a brief encounter with Yayoi when he captured the Seven-Tails a few months ago--Uchiha Izayoi.

That day, after obtaining the news of the alliance between the Uchiha and Senju from Yayoi, she rushed back to the clan without stopping, only to see the scene of the Uchiha and Senju forming an alliance.

Although she made a huge fuss, nobody took a little Uchiha girl like her seriously.

The Senju clan head, Hashirama Senju, even patted her head and laughed heartily with a hahaha, saying naive things like from now on both sides will no longer need to fight and kill each other and the Uchiha and Senju will become one family.

It angered her so much that she kicked him right on the knee on the spot, nearly causing a diplomatic incident.

Thanks to Hashirama himself not taking it to heart and just smilingly stating, if getting beaten a few times more can trade for peaceful coexistence, little girl, feel free to punch me a few times...

Afterward, her foot swelled up.

Was the body of the Senju Clan head made of steel?

Without a doubt, she was treated by the Senju Clan head as an ignorant child.

Izayoi felt that as the victor, the Senju did not settle accounts with the Uchiha and instead invited the Uchiha to form an alliance; there must be some ulterior motive behind it.

She refused to believe that the Senju Clan head, Hashirama, was someone prone to foolish joy.

He must be that kind of insidiously smiling man.

After all, which ninja was so naive.

But no matter what the reason was, Izayoi did not plan to continue staying in this ninja village called Konoha.

She would rather starve or freeze to death outside than live in a place with the Senju Clan.

"If you have such thoughts, even if I want to stop you, it will be hard to accomplish. I can't tie Izayoi down for a lifetime and make you obedient. Moreover, you aren't the only one in the clan who thinks this way; you should have contacted those people."

Uchiha Korei's pitch-black pupils looked as though they saw through Izayoi's thoughts.

Wrinkled and aged, his face bore the marks carved by the passage of time.

As an elderly Uchiha in his sixties, he had lived through the long struggle against the Senju Clan.

In his era, very few Uchiha shinobi remained who could live to the present day.

Some had let go of the past, but for others, as time went on, that hatred toward the Senju only grew day by day.

Since you know, why ask such things? No matter what, it is impossible for us to coexist with the Senju.

Izayoi's youthful face fell silent for a moment, and then a soft snort escaped her nose.

That's right, she was not the only Uchiha clansman who wanted to leave Konoha.

Although the majority of the Uchiha clansmen had already compromised with the Senju Clan and were willing to coexist peacefully.

Because by this point, whether it was the Uchiha or the Senju, both were truly tired of the killing.

Though the Uchiha had suffered defeat previously, the clan still retained considerable strength and could easily relocate and leave, waiting until new powerhouses were born before going to contend with the Senju Clan once again.

However, due to exhaustion from the war, coupled with the favorable terms offered by the Senju, the Compromise Faction emerged in large numbers within the Uchiha.

Consequently, the Radical Faction, who wished to continue the fight, began to be squeezed out, suppressed, and silenced.

As a member of the Radical Faction, Izayoi would rather be killed than ever surrender to the Senju.

Her parents, sisters, close friends, and dear companions had all died at the hands of the Senju, and the bone-deep hatred made it impossible for her to coexist peacefully with the people of the Senju.

Even if she did not seek revenge, she could never accept living together with the Senju.

Against this backdrop, the members of the Radical Faction began to unite in secret, making the decision to leave Konoha and distance themselves from the Senju.

Are you here to stop us, Elder Guro? Or is this Madara's decision?

As the representative of the Compromise Faction, Uchiha Clan Head Madara Uchiha was once the shinobi Izayoi respected the most.

But now... he was the person Izayoi despised the most.

Similarly, Madara was viewed with hostility by the members of the Radical Faction; in their hearts, "Madara" the clan head was already dead.

"Lord Madara does not care about this."

"Ha, of course. That guy is probably hanging out with the Senju people right now."

Izayoi wore a mocking smile.

The clan head whom she once had to address with utmost respect could now be naturally called "that guy."

Defeat was not terrifying; weak compromise was the real disgrace.

"Perhaps, but the clansmen are truly exhausted. Not just the Uchiha, but those other clans that joined Konoha also feel fear and numbness amidst the long-standing slaughter and hatred, terrified of when their clan and families might be wiped out."

Guro's words carried deep meaning; he neither affirmed nor denied, simply stating the facts as he knew them.

In his youth, he had been among the most radical Uchiha shinobi.

As for now, for the sake of the clan's stability and continuation, he could also manage to put aside his hatred.

The peace of the past few months allowed this old man who had fought battles his whole life to understand the preciousness of peace.

"Hmph, weak excuses. If you aren't here to stop me, then I'm leaving. Everyone is waiting for me."

Izayoi sneered, growing somewhat impatient with this muttering old man.

Even though this old man was the close friend of her deceased grandfather and had taken great care of her in the past—teaching her ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and even the techniques for using the Sharingan.

He was both a close elder and a figure like a mentor.

...May I ask one more thing? After you leave, how do you plan to live?

Guro asked abruptly just as Izayoi was about to lift her foot and leave.

How else? Naturally, find new employers and work for money.

Izayoi spoke without a second thought.

...Since that is the case, take Meirou with you.

Guro's gaze flickered.

Uncle Meirou?

Izayoi frowned.

Uchiha Meirou.

This man was an elite of the Uchiha, having honed his Sharingan at the Three Tomoe level to the absolute limit.

He was currently the shinobi in the clan with the highest hope of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he also served as Guro's personal bodyguard.

During the previous war with the Senju, he had not appeared on the battlefield, instead remaining behind as part of the garrison force to execute the vital mission of protecting the clan.

The times have different demands now; if you still cling to past notions, you will die very quickly.

She wanted to retort, but upon seeing Guro's suddenly stern gaze, Izayoi stammered her lips twice and had no choice but to nod in agreement.

If she didn't agree to Guro's condition, Izayoi suspected she wouldn't even be able to walk out of the clan grounds.