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Chapter 5 - 05 - Pain-sensei Rises

After some negotiation, the Uzumaki clan officially joined Yoake.

They devotedly contributed their advanced sealing techniques.

Moreover, the Uzumaki clan elders had a unique secret technique to locate their clan members, even those who were hiding far away. Counting Nagato, there were now a total of 67 members, and they were settled on the western side of the village.

Nagato took the position of clan leader, while Shuzen became the Grand Elder.

Yoake was not exclusionary, and relations with the Uzumaki clan were very harmonious. Even in the village's official meetings, the Uzumaki clan could send two representatives, Nagato and Shuzen.

One wondered if the neighboring Uchiha clan might get jealous seeing this.

---

The council meeting room, this was where official village policies were decided. The plans made here couldn't be leaked, and only high-level members were allowed to enter.

Yahiko sat at the head seat, resting his chin lazily on his hand as he watched the others argue noisily.

If you all were truly united, how could my seat as leader stay so stable? Keep arguing. The more chaotic, the better!

Of course, this was just him goofing off in his head because he was bored. But seriously, just a simple meeting, and they were already about to throw punches. He was truly baffled.

"Fools and children, unfit to discuss strategy!"

"Damn you, Shuzen! Don't think I'm scared of you just because you're older! I've seen more battles than you've had hot meals!"

"Enough! I have something to say."

Even the usually quiet Nagato spoke up personally.

Eventually, Yahiko slammed the table in frustration.

"Do you all think this is some kind of marketplace? What kind of behavior is this? Get your heads on straight before you come to a meeting again!"

He glared at everyone.

"We were wrong."

Of course, that too was his imagination.

In reality, when he slammed the table, everyone just turned to look at him silently, as if asking, "Who the hell are you, and what do you want?"

Damn it! I'm the damn village leader! How can you all give me that attitude? Want me to throw you out?

But in that moment when everyone turned, he felt like he saw them for what they really were:

The red-haired elder who mastered the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

The red-haired kid with Rinnegan glaring daggers.

The demon who'd add dozens of chili peppers to food.

And one who, with a sly grin, looked like she'd squeeze him dry... cough, okay, better not go there.

In short: all of his "enemies" were terrifying.

"How about... we postpone this meeting? You all write your proposals down, and I'll read them carefully."

"I promise! I'll try to approve every one of your suggestions."

The room fell silent, the only sound being the scratching of pens on paper.

After everyone left, he stared at the pile of proposal letters on the table and rubbed his brow in frustration.

The village needed money everywhere.

Even with Kusao donating a million ryō and what little was left in the treasury, it wasn't nearly enough to support the starving Yoake. Just building homes for the Uzumaki clan and the newly recruited refugees had already eaten up half of the funds.

The soldiers' money had been delayed for a year now. Though they didn't complain and generously said they didn't mind, urging him to prioritize village construction, he still felt bad about it.

He even seriously considered kidnapping Orochimaru to breed a few Yamato clones to develop real estate.

Yahiko picked up one proposal, the handwriting was crooked.

Genno: I request that the village allocate funds to improve the meals for the ninjas and workers.

He was tempted. Eating well makes you strong, right?

He wanted to throw out the rest of the proposals then and there, but decided to keep reading.

Shuzen: A long plan, whether a village is strong or not depends on its children. You've never seen your homeland destroyed before. There's a deep pool of experience behind these considerations, you wouldn't understand...

He immediately skipped the rest of Shuzen's long-winded lecture and went straight to the proposal.

Build a school for the children to study?

Shuzen's foresight actually aligned with his own ideas. So, he couldn't help but become interested. Just now he hadn't been listening seriously, but who would've thought that after all that arguing, there were actually some decent ideas?

Ah, even Nagato's proposal wasn't bad, spending money on international publicity to raise the village's visibility. That way, more clients would come to issue missions.

Who would've thought that the same Nagato, who in the original story quietly developed Ame from the shadows, would now be suggesting they go global?

As he flipped through more proposals, he was pleasantly surprised again and again.

Some suggestions were a bit naive, but still commendable.

Then came the final letter.

[I think the village needs to stockpile a large number of explosive tags. Within the explosive tag lies political power. Yahiko, do you remember? You told me this back when I was seven during one of your stories.]

Despite the gentle, soft handwriting, just one glance sent a chill down his spine, making him break into a cold sweat.

I must be seeing things. I must've read it wrong.

"Fire Release...!"

Ah well, better take another look...

Wait a minute!

Where's Konan's proposal? Why can't I find it?

After a few rounds of meetings, several major initiatives were finally decided for Yoake:

The school will be built!

The cafeteria meals will also be improved!

During that meeting, Yahiko agreed to every suggestion he saw. Even the more immature ideas were refined by him.

But in exchange, he had severely overspent the budget.

If he wasn't careful, the ship that was Yoake might sink before it ever sailed.

He looked around the meeting room. Aside from Konan, who was silently brooding, everyone else was full of expectation.

"As for the money, we'll find a way!"

---

By candlelight, in his study, Yahiko locked the door tightly, allowing no one to enter.

On the desk, a piece of paper faintly showed a book title: Naka River.

This was an epic novel chronicling decades of change within the Uchiha clan.

During the Warring States period, the Uchiha were locked in endless internal conflict over who would rule the Naka River and become the clan leader.

The book's opening line:

"Tatsuhiko was proud of the fact that he married seven women in his lifetime... She cried out not in pain, but in obsession..."

The first chapter already involved mature content. Which explained why Yahiko had locked the door.

Of course, this wasn't actually a lewd book, well, it was... But through delicate emotional description and a unique narrative style, it explored the depths of human nature.

Far superior to Jiraiya's overly flashy, shallow, smut-filled books.

Cough cough...

He'd better stay far away from the actual Uchiha clan in the future.

Wait, this book was written by "Pain"! What does it have to do with Yahiko?

Yes, Pain was his pen name.

He even thought about future fan interactions, like having readers affectionately call him "Pain-sensei."

You could tell just how much brainpower he put into all this. And how much he cared about his readers.

But one book's royalties wouldn't be enough, so there was a second book.

He was going to fund the village through book sales.

If the two books made enough profit, there'd be a third, and a fourth.

No hiatuses.

No delays.

This was his nindō.

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