Chapter 7: The Uchiha's Discontent and a Bridge of Hope
A deep-seated discontent festered within the Uchiha clan, directed squarely at Senju Tobirama.
Since coming to power, the Second Hokage had not only curtailed the authority of the Konoha Military Police Force—a force predominantly manned by the Uchiha—but had also relocated the Uchiha clan's territory several kilometers eastward, closer to the Nakano River. On the surface, it appeared the Uchiha had been granted more land, but in reality, this move had strategically distanced them from the village's political and administrative center.
Naturally, the Uchiha clansmen grumbled and protested. They had tried their utmost to integrate into Konoha, to prove their loyalty. And this was their reward? Was this how they were to be treated?
The Uchiha were a clan prone to intense emotions and extreme thoughts. Compounded by the fact that Senju Tobirama's actions in this matter were, by any objective measure, heavy-handed and unfair, the clan's resentment toward the Second Hokage grew with each passing day.
Witnessing his clan's growing alienation from the village and their bitter feelings toward the Second Hokage, Uchiha Kagami felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his chest.
"What's troubling you?" His wife, Uchiha Masako, was a dignified, elegant, and gentle woman. She knelt beside him in their courtyard as he stared silently at the stars, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I may not be able to help with shinobi matters," she said softly, "but sometimes, saying things out loud can make you feel much better."
Uchiha Kagami put an arm around Masako but remained silent. The men of the Uchiha were almost all shinobi. The few women with exceptional talent received special training—like the young Uchiha Rou, who displayed high talent in Fire Release and had been sent to the Ninja Academy as part of the clan's cooperation with Senju Tobirama's restructuring efforts. But what had their sincerity earned them? Further alienation from the seat of power and a reduction in their authority.
Could he share these frustrations with Masako? He could not. Uchiha Masako, born into the clan herself, would only worry. He forced a weak smile. "It's nothing. I just have another mission tomorrow. It means I won't be able to see you for a while."
Uchiha Masako's eyes instantly welled with tears. She mustered her courage and whispered, "Then... let's go to bed early tonight."
Uchiha Kagami nodded, gathered his wife into his arms, and carried her into their bedroom.
…
The next day, Uchiha Kagami reported to the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, you asked for me?"
Senju Tobirama looked at the Uchiha shinobi and spoke in a measured tone. "I have a task for you. If you perform it well, the reward will not be insignificant. If you perform poorly, you will face criticism from many quarters. Are you willing to accept it?"
Uchiha Kagami did not hesitate for a second. "I am willing, Hokage-sama."
A slight, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of Senju Tobirama's mouth before he shook his head. "My assistant will communicate the specific details to you. If you have any questions, you may discuss them with my assistant via messenger hawk post."
Uchiha Kagami nodded respectfully and accepted the assignment. Senju Tobirama signed a document and handed it over. Taking it, Uchiha Kagami was surprised by what he read.
"This... Hokage-sama... this bridge... Is it really advisable not to use Jonin for the construction and instead hire ordinary civilians?" Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but ask, voicing the conventional wisdom.
Senju Tobirama sighed inwardly. This is the normal reaction... He firmly reiterated that ordinary civilians were indeed to be used for this project. Uchiha Kagami accepted the order and withdrew.
But when Uchiha Kagami posted the recruitment notice for the bridge project, he immediately encountered an unforeseen problem. He was stumped from the very first step.
The number of applicants was overwhelming.
The project was only slated to hire three hundred people, but over a thousand applied. Uchiha Kagami had a relatively gentle disposition; he could strike down an enemy without flinching, but he found it difficult to turn away his own villagers in such numbers. He had initially thought he wouldn't need to contact the advisor whose information Tobirama-sama had provided, but now it seemed necessary.
He took out the communication scroll and detailed the problem he was facing. A reply came back swiftly. Reading the meticulously detailed instructions that guided him step-by-step through the selection process, Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but marvel.
As expected of Lord Tobirama's advisor. Their thinking is remarkably clear.
Following the instructions, Uchiha Kagami screened the applicants, asking if any possessed skills in hydraulics or blueprint drafting. Surprisingly, there were two elderly men with construction backgrounds. Drafting required professional tools, which Kagami didn't have on hand, so he couldn't have them demonstrate on the spot.
Next, as advised, he organized the applicants by family unit, asking the thousand-plus people to nominate one representative from their own family—someone who was either skilled or physically capable. For larger families where a single representative was impractical, they could nominate more. This method efficiently whittled down the list.
The main power structures in Konoha were, of course, the great shinobi clans. But the ordinary civilians constituted the vast majority of the population. In truth, the number of non-shinobi within the shinobi clans themselves was relatively small. These clans required a large base of ordinary civilians to support them.
Before Konoha's founding, these great clans would offer "protection" to ordinary civilians in exchange for the majority of the fruits of their yearly labor. It was a system of survival, not choice, for those civilians. The shinobi took the bulk of what the civilians had toiled for, offering little tangible security in return, as most clans, aside from the Senju and Uchiha, lacked the strength to provide genuine protection.
The establishment of Konoha had perfectly solved this issue. The clans now worked for the village, and the village provided them with resources. It was a model so successful that other nations had followed suit, establishing their own hidden villages.
But this new system created fresh problems. Compared to the few thousand shinobi in the village, the number of ordinary civilians was far greater. Furthermore, in the years since Konoha's founding, its safety and stability had attracted a continuous influx of civilians. This resulted in Konoha not having enough arable land to support all its civilian population, leading to significant unemployment and idleness.
Solving this wasn't conceptually difficult. One method was to cultivate more land. However, this was challenging, as many civilians would rather risk hunger within Konoha's walls than face the dangers outside. The other method was to increase productivity—either by boosting crop yields or by creating public works projects like this bridge, which would inject capital into hundreds of households. Both were valid paths.
Yet, this approach was inherently unsustainable for one simple reason: a lack of funds.
A dozen kilograms of gold could build one bridge. But to give Konoha a true facelift, to build the infrastructure needed to support its growing population and economy… even if you added the two hundred-plus kilograms of gold Shenjin Youya had hidden away in his scrolls, it would still be a drop in the bucket. It was simply impossible.
If they had a real gold mine… then perhaps someone like Youya could use it as a starting point to leverage the development of the entire village. But just like in any venture, the first pot of gold was crucial. You had to have it to begin with.
And two hundred kilograms of gold… it was a start, but it wasn't nearly enough.