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Chapter 23 - Chapter 23 – The Dawn of the Ninja Village Era: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times!

On the day Uchiha Makoto decided to ignite the tulip bubble in the ninja world, he sent Kazuma as an envoy, with Darkness trailing faithfully behind him, to the capital of the Land of Fire.

Why only those two? Simple.

Because Aqua and Megumin were—how should he put it—walking natural disasters. Sending them into the capital was like setting loose two unstable bombs inside a porcelain shop. If they didn't blow up half the streets with "God's Blessings" or "Explosion," they'd probably bankrupt him with sheer stupidity.

No, those two were best left behind.

Makoto himself stayed at the village base. His hands were full with a bigger project—recruiting clans.

If the tulip scam was the short-term cash grab, then securing clans was the long-term survival plan.

The problem? Things weren't going well.

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The First Bumps in the Road

In the ninja world, two clans towered above the rest: the Uchiha and the Senju. Their centuries-old feud was legendary, a tale of blood-soaked fields and endless grudges. Everyone knew it. And now, somehow, those two families had shaken hands, allied, and built a village together.

Naturally, the rest of the clans were staring at this strange phenomenon with great interest.

Alliances weren't new, of course. The Ino–Shika–Chō trio had been doing it for years. They'd moved their lands close, arranged their heirs to grow up together, even forced them to do missions as a unit. It was basically the ninja version of "team-building camp."

But that was small-scale.

What Hashirama proposed—a full-blown village—was on a different level entirely.

For clans, the advantages were obvious: collective defense, pooled resources, a stronger brand. A small clan with just a dozen people could be wiped out by a single war. One unlucky battle, and poof—your family name disappeared from history. Joining a village was like buying insurance: annoying, but necessary for long-term survival.

Of course, there were drawbacks.

Ninja clans prided themselves on loyalty. A clan head's word was law. But in a village structure? Orders might come from the Hokage—or in Makoto's case, "the great visionary leader Uchiha Makoto-sama." Would clans really bow their heads to an outsider?

Then there were the grudges. The clans had been stabbing, poisoning, and assassinating each other for decades. Now they were supposed to live under the same roof? Please. You'd be lucky if half of them didn't try to slit throats in the night.

Still, despite these challenges, many clans had begun to notice something important:

The era of the lone clan was dying.

If even the Uchiha and Senju had allied, what chance did smaller clans have by themselves?

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Makoto's Recruitment Campaign

"Rejected again!"

Makoto slammed the letter down onto his desk.

"The Hyuga clan… tch, just wait. Ino–Shika–Chō, you three farm animals, wait too! Sarutobi clan, Shimura clan, Mitokado clan, Utatane clan—Konoha F4? You bastards can all wait too!!!"

Darkness, standing nearby, trembled with joy. "Such anger, such domineering fury! Truly, this is the spirit of a leader! Please curse more, Lord Makoto!"

Makoto ignored her masochistic sighs.

He had sent out dozens of letters with painstaking care, personally writing (well, plagiarizing) inspirational words like "shared destiny," "mutual benefit," and "a new dawn for peace." He even gave his project a noble name:

Akatsuki Village.

A name that symbolized the rising sun, the beginning of a new age.

Sure, he may have stolen the idea, repackaged it with glitter, and hoped nobody noticed, but hey—visionaries borrow, geniuses steal.

At first, his plan worked. The moment clans saw the word "Uchiha," they were ecstatic.

"The Uchiha and Senju are inviting us? Quick, send the heir, don't miss this chance!"

Even the Hyuga clan, famed for their all-seeing Byakugan, dispatched inspectors to investigate Akatsuki Village.

But then… the truth came out.

Uchiha Makoto was no longer "with" the Uchiha. He had left. He was building his own village. Alone.

The mood shifted instantly.

"Deceiving us, are you?" the Hyuga elders muttered darkly.

"True, his personal strength is impressive. Three or five jōnin might not match him… but our clan can field dozens."

And with that, the Hyuga politely declined.

Their letter was maddeningly polite:

"Leader Makoto, we greatly appreciate your offer. Regarding our Hyuga Clan joining your esteemed Akatsuki Village, we will require further consideration. Please understand."

Translation? "Not in a million years."

Makoto ground his teeth.

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Makoto's Corporate Analogy

He got it, of course.

Recruiting a clan wasn't like hiring a cashier at the local market. It was like a corporation shopping for mergers. They weren't going to jump just because he waved pretty words.

It reminded Makoto of factories back on Earth. Even a worker slaving away on an assembly line still compared offers: hourly wage, social insurance, weekend holidays, overtime pay. If a better factory existed, you jumped.

The Hyuga were doing the same. This was about their clan's future for the next hundred years. They wouldn't tie themselves down unless the benefits outweighed the risks.

Makoto spat. "Love fills the belly? Hah. Maybe in fairy tales. Out here, it's benefits that matter."

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