Education

What happened in the outside world had little to do with Uchiha Mu. At least the Shinobi World now knew about the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation. First, he had to withstand the initial wave of attacks. Only then could he attract other ninja and merchants to join.

After all, no one would join an unstable village, especially merchants. Only a stable environment was suitable for business.

Uchiha Mu could not control when the others would attack. Ideally, they would band together, and he could pull off something huge to shock the Shinobi World.

His reputation had not mattered before, when he had no use for it. Now that he wanted to attract people, however, it was crucial, especially during the village's early days. He needed large numbers of Earth Release and Water Release ninja. They were perfect for civil engineering.

Everything else would have to wait until then. For now, he would teach the children properly. At the same time, Uchiha Mu checked his system rewards.

[You have established the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation and received a beginner reward.]

[Chakra greatly increased. Cells subject to rejection within your body have fused perfectly. Ocular power increased.]

The rewards were substantial, but not that substantial-at least, that was how Uchiha Mu felt. Had his body still been rejecting the Hashirama cells? Now that they had fused perfectly, he felt that his Wood Release flowed more smoothly, and his Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power had grown stronger.

Most importantly, his Mangekyō Sharingan already consumed very little power. With the added support of the Hashirama cells, it was practically no different from the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

"The better I build the village, the stronger I get. Time to go all out." Uchiha Mu clenched his fists. This was the Shinobi World, after all, and ninja were exceptionally efficient.

For this village, Uchiha Mu had used his three-bedroom-and-one-living-room technique and put everything up in a single day. With all the knowledge in his head, it should develop into the finest village in the Shinobi World before Hashirama died. No, the finest nation.

"Children, today we begin our lessons. Before we study ninjutsu, we must first learn about principles-what it means to be a ninja." Uchiha Mu's Shadow Clone began the lesson by teaching them how to think.

"Principles? Aren't ninja tools?" one of the Uzumaki children asked. He had not been born an orphan. His parents had died in the fighting, so he already had some understanding of ninja.

"In the past, during the Warring States Period, the clans instilled the idea that ninja were tools to maintain their stability. This strengthened their control over their members. But things are different now. We have a nation."

"The nation comes first, then the family. A nation needs ninja to build it, and it can also give those ninja a safety net. That is what a nation is for. If we build a new Shinobi Village using the old way of thinking, how is that any different from the Warring States Period? All that would do is make wars bigger and more chaotic..."

Uchiha Mu spoke at length, leaving the orphans deeply shaken. From this moment onward, they were no longer tools. They were living, breathing people first, and ninja second. Their blood burned with excitement.

"From now on, your surname won't matter here. Only your achievements will. I hope that one day, you can stand before me with confidence as ninja of this nation."

"Yes, teacher!" the children shouted. A quiet change was taking place in their hearts.

Uchiha Mu was very pleased. Lessons on principles were indispensable. Like the Will of Fire, they gave the children a reason to be ninja and the strength of conviction.

With this influence over time, they would eventually take pride in their nation first and their clans second. Of course, all of this depended on Uchiha Mu giving them that pride and freeing them from worries about their future.

Hyuga Lingnai's eyes shone with admiration. As a member of the main family, she understood all too well what it meant to be a tool, especially with their branch-family system.

Uchiha Mu really was handsome and talented, just as she expected of the man she had chosen. But one thing frustrated her: he was far too obsessed with construction. He worked flat out every day and paid little attention to women. Even after she had made herself so available, he still had not taken her.

The appeal of building things up lay in taking a village or nation from its founding all the way to strength and prosperity. Uchiha Mu found that process utterly fascinating. Perhaps that was why development-focused novels had attracted so many readers in his previous life.

When Uchiha Mu first schemed to obtain Hashirama cells, all he had wanted was to grow stronger and survive. Now, they had become a powerful tool for developing his village. All he could say was that Hashirama had not understood Wood Release well enough.

He used Earth Release to pave roads. This world's understanding of ninjutsu was still stuck in the Warring States mindset. Unlike them, he had already used ninjutsu to build houses and roads. He could even use his ocular power to increase the scale of his techniques. Could other ninja do that?

After the lesson on principles, they began with the Three Basic Body Techniques. Uchiha Mu taught them to mold chakra, using the Uchiha Clan's method, of course. With a thousand years of history behind it, the method certainly had its merits. Quite a few of the Uzumaki children mastered it quickly.

Although the other children felt a little discouraged, Uchiha Mu's encouragement rekindled their hope.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Mu was at the construction site, using Earth Release to uproot trees in the distance and expand the village's boundaries. The village lay midway between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Frost, bordering the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, with one small country separating it from the Land of Lightning.

"Lord Mu's Earth Release is incredible." Seeing the power of his technique filled the wandering ninja who followed Uchiha Mu with hope for the future.

"Get back to work. We have our own tasks." After another ninja interrupted, they began using Combined Ninjutsu to build roads. This was their job now.

They accepted Uchiha Mu as their leader. First, he was powerful enough to subdue all of them with a single glance. Second, despite that strength, he treated them as equals. Nor was he a dreamer like Hashirama.

After the Five Kage Summit, the other villages had little room to object because of Hashirama's strength. Behind his back, however, they scoffed at his idealism.

Uchiha Mu, by contrast, took steady steps forward. He knew what a village needed to do at each stage. Simply saying that he wanted peace was not enough. He often used Konoha as an example when explaining this to them.

Since Konoha had been formed by Shinobi Clans joining together, it was full of distinct Shinobi Clans. Over time, those divisions would become increasingly entrenched. Of course, Hashirama could force a change if he insisted, because he had the strength. His personality, however, prevented him from doing so.

From the founding of his nation, Uchiha Mu had established one basic principle: Shinobi Clans would never be allowed to gather together and form states within the state. Those groups had to be dispersed, then taught to identify with all hundred clans, so they understood that everyone was family.

Those with little chakra would work, while those with more would join the military to defend the nation. Uchiha Mu advocated making sensible use of everything. As for other nations, he planned to focus on trade. The First Great Ninja War was still a few years away, and he intended to profit from it.

That was what America had done in his previous life. Then, during the war, he could take in large numbers of people with kekkei genkai. Such behavior was certainly unethical, but once he demonstrated sufficient strength, none of that would matter.

Most importantly, this was the fastest way to build his fortune. With Black Zetsu, the Shinobi World's most devoted son, at work, a Great Ninja War was bound to break out anyway. If he did not make that money, would it not simply end up back in the hands of those nobles and Shinobi Clans? Better for it to go into his pockets. At least he would bring peace.