Summer does not quietly slip away.
It vanishes in an instant.
One moment, a sudden shower falls. Then you step outside, glance up at the sky, and suddenly it is already late autumn.
The vast sky is filled with a tranquil orange hue, soft and crystal clear. The drifting evening clouds seem even more distant than the heavens themselves...
After a lingering dusk rain, the sky of Chu had been washed clean and vast, revealing wisps of autumn’s colors.
So it turned out that the rolling, roaring heat of summer would eventually come to an end.
That summer, which had inspired both love and hatred, had finally drawn to a close, and the curtain of early autumn had been lifted ever so slightly.
Autumn, it seemed, also arrived at some unnoticed moment, drifting gracefully into the world.
Konoha’s autumn, despite the withered leaves scattered everywhere, possessed a beauty of its own.
At this time of year, Konoha seemed to transform from the irritable liveliness of summer into something mature and composed.
Standing anywhere in Konoha, one could feel the autumn breeze sweeping toward them.
"."
The observant could always notice the first fallen leaf and sense autumn’s arrival.
Just as observant people could always detect the changes in Konoha from the smallest details.
Perhaps it was a change in people’s attitudes.
Perhaps the propaganda had finally done its job.
Or perhaps those smart, sharply pressed uniforms had simply won the goodwill of the populace.
Whatever the reason, the Uchiha working in the Konoha Military Police Force were treated completely differently now from how they had been in the past.
They still arrested the same drunkards.
They still dealt with the same hooligans causing trouble.
They still mediated the same disputes between neighbors.
But whereas the people of old Konoha had given the Uchiha nothing but contempt and complaints, after one generation of personnel was replaced, the Uchiha were now receiving praise and cheers.
The same actions were receiving completely different treatment.
Was it the people who had changed?
Or was it the actions?
Sometimes, it was genuinely impossible to define what constituted a good deed and what made someone a good person.
Perhaps the Uchiha had finally established themselves firmly in Konoha.
Konoha was still an immature political system, and its administrative orders remained a complete mess.
But the Uchiha liked this Konoha.
And they were willing to give even more for it.
Even when suffering the same grievances, one’s state of mind could be completely different.
The Uchiha clan head, the Fourth Hokage, Fugaku, sat inside the Hokage Building.
The Telescope Technique, which had once been used by others, was now in his hands.
Yet Fugaku had no desire to spy on different parts of Konoha.
He was simply too busy.
Far too busy.
Responsibility and pressure were like two mountains pressing down upon Fugaku’s head.
The various problems facing Konoha wouldn’t disappear simply because a war had been fought.
Nor would they disappear simply because the Uchiha had taken power.
Problems that needed solving still had to be solved.
Inflation.
Labor shortages.
The training and compensation of shinobi.
Balancing the relationship between shinobi clans and civilians.
The problems remained the same.
They had been the same under the Third Hokage, and they were still the same now that Fugaku had taken office.
The only difference was that the Uchiha had once been part of the problems themselves.
Now, they were the ones responsible for solving them.
But none of these problems could be solved overnight.
If they could, the Third Hokage wouldn’t have met such a miserable end.
Konoha’s current stability wasn’t something that could simply be forcibly maintained forever.
If these problems weren’t resolved, Konoha would eventually become a powder keg once again.
Whoever sat in the Hokage’s seat and failed to restore Konoha to the status it had once held as the strongest hidden village in the shinobi world would become a sinner in Konoha’s eyes.
"The Second and Third really didn’t have it easy..."
Fugaku sighed inwardly.
Compared with the First Hokage, the Second and Third had clearly seemed like men whose positions exceeded their virtue.
The difference in strength was simply too enormous.
It wasn’t that they weren’t powerful.
They were certainly among the strongest humans alive.
But how could mere human champions carry an entire civilization back to the heights established by gods while dragging along a whole host of people who only held them back?
And wasn’t Fugaku essentially no different from those two?
He had no confidence that he could restore Konoha to its former peak.
Konoha simply had too many hidden illnesses.
The strength of a political regime essentially came down to three aspects:
Military strength.
Economic strength.
And social influence.
The battle between Naka and Konoha had destroyed at least half of Konoha’s military strength.
Although it had made Konoha’s military structure more streamlined and cohesive, the shortage of manpower was still a fact.
Even cannon fodder had its uses.
Economically, Konoha had received assistance from the daimyō.
Fugaku had initially believed that this would lead to substantial development.
But after becoming Hokage, he discovered that money was merely a string of numbers.
Supplies and resources were the things that actually mattered.
And as your supply of money increased, the prices of those resources rose along with it.
In the past, a shinobi could earn two hundred thousand ryō a month and support an entire family.
Now Konoha had money.
Shinobi were earning more money as well.
Yet two hundred thousand ryō a month wasn’t even enough for a shinobi to support himself.
A defeated shinobi might endure a slight decline in living standards.
But if Konoha’s monetary system completely collapsed, the shinobi who could no longer survive might truly be capable of anything.
"Damn that Third Hokage. He still won’t let us rest even after he’s dead!"
Konoha’s economic problems were the lingering injuries left behind by the Third Hokage’s economic warfare.
They could only be treated gradually.
There was no emergency cure.
With Konoha’s defeat, its social influence had also plummeted.
The surrounding nations were beginning to stir.
If Naka hadn’t been fighting so fiercely in the Land of Grass, perhaps another Shinobi World War would already have broken out.
Previously, Fugaku had only been the clan head.
He only needed to consider the problems of the Uchiha’s thousand or so people.
Now he was the Fourth Hokage.
He could no longer concern himself solely with the Uchiha.
Sitting in the Hokage’s seat, Fugaku’s greatest realization was this:
Konoha’s affairs belong to Naka, but Naka’s affairs still belong to Naka.
As Hokage, he had to lead Konoha out of its current predicament.
He couldn’t rely entirely on Naka.
It was like a branch company wanting independence.
If it wanted autonomy, it couldn’t always expect the headquarters to clean up its messes.
Fortunately, Naka was still willing to be reasonable.
It had given Konoha an opportunity.
As long as the Joint Chūnin Exams went smoothly this time, and Konoha could demonstrate its considerable strength despite the turmoil it had endured, it would then be possible to rally the allies under Naka’s leadership and launch a victorious war against one of the Five Great Nations.
Shift the internal contradictions outward.
Use war to absorb the economic bubble.
Use plunder to alleviate internal pressure.
Expand Konoha’s influence abroad.
If all of that could be accomplished, Konoha’s situation would improve dramatically.
But now, the Uchiha apparently couldn’t even manage to hold the Joint Chūnin Exams properly!
"These damn clansmen. As the leadership of a political regime, how dare they treat unfairness as though it’s perfectly natural?"
Fugaku was furious.
"How is the Land of Waves supposed to view Konoha? How is the Land of Fields supposed to view Konoha?"
The normally taciturn clan head was truly enraged.
"Itachi, are our clansmen always this foolish? Why can’t they even manage to maintain the appearance of fairness and democracy?"
Fugaku was exhausted.
Itachi, who always remained by Fugaku’s side, was now an Itachi who possessed the mindset of Naka.
No one knew exactly how this rumor had started.
Everyone simply said it was true.
Naka had never denied it either.
So Konoha naturally took it as tacit confirmation.
Perhaps having a recognized successor was beneficial to social stability.
Despite his young age, Itachi was already capable of easing some of Fugaku’s worries.
"Father, there’s nothing that can be done about it."
Naka had never been a place that advocated equality.
The Uchiha were proud of Naka.
And Konoha was now a member of the Naka-led alliance.
Trying to make the Uchiha of Konoha behave fairly was simply impossible.
"Old man Naka was right after all."
Young Itachi’s thoughts always kept pace with Fugaku’s.
Seeing his father so troubled, Itachi could only offer some words of reassurance.
But Sanqiandai was highly dismissive.
"Hmph! How can you blame the Uchiha?"
"In the past, the Uchiha followed the rules in Konoha and did everything they could to uphold fairness.
"But nobody remembered anything good the Uchiha had done."
The old man, Sanqiandai, was fiddling with the Hokage’s crystal ball.
Today, Tenzen of Naka was waiting for his disciple to finish the examination.
Tenzen would be the commander of Konoha’s allied forces in the upcoming war abroad.
As Sanqiandai observed this rising star with a youthful face, he casually humored Fugaku while admiring him.
"Now the Uchiha aren’t fair anymore."
"They divide the people of Konoha into different ranks and treat them accordingly, and yet everyone is constantly trying to please them."
"Even fake flattery is more comfortable than genuine hatred."
Sanqiandai found those words immensely satisfying.
Young Itachi could only sigh helplessly.
The distorted relationship between the people of Konoha didn’t sound righteous at all.
Yet it was remarkably effective.
It was just like Naka’s Orleans honey-glazed fried chicken.
Unhealthy, but delicious.
"Father, the new residents who have moved into Konoha have all sworn loyalty to the Uchiha."
"Of course the Uchiha will favor them."
"And naturally, the remnants of old Konoha who try to push the newcomers out will themselves be ostracized."
"Naka’s saying really was correct."
Six-year-old Itachi shook his head as though he had already experienced the vicissitudes of life.
"People don’t want to live better than they do now."
"They want to live better than other people."
"As long as there are enough people in Konoha being ostracized for everyone else to trample upon, they’ll continue supporting Uchiha rule."
Unfortunately, Itachi’s answer didn’t make Fugaku feel any better.
"I know all that."
"But do these damn idiots in the Uchiha clan understand that they are already the rulers of Konoha?"
"Even if they’re only pretending, they need to at least maintain a respectable facade."
As he spoke, Fugaku pointed toward the examination grounds.
The watermelon-headed boy’s blatant cheating was clearly visible.
"Look at what they’re doing."
"If Konoha can’t even maintain fairness and impartiality, will our allies trust us?"
Sanqiandai and Itachi watched the scene as well and were left somewhat speechless.
If the examination couldn’t be fair, why hold an examination at all?
Fugaku slumped into the Hokage’s seat and said helplessly:
"I suddenly understand why the Third Hokage always suppressed the Uchiha."
"The Uchiha really aren’t a group of qualified rulers."
Although Sanqiandai also disapproved of the Uchiha’s blatant favoritism, he disagreed with Fugaku even more.
"So what?"
"Konoha isn’t the Konoha it used to be."
"We’re no longer the leader of the other nations."
"Now Konoha is simply one member of the alliance."
"So what if we don’t have their trust?"
"The Uchiha are the masters of the alliance!"
Only then did the slow-to-realize Fugaku understand.
Right.
Konoha now stood on equal footing with the Hidden Whirlpool Village, the Hidden Sound Village, and the Land of Waves.
It was no longer the boss.
"But the actions of the Uchiha of Konoha are bringing shame upon the Uchiha as a whole!"
Fugaku had subconsciously begun distinguishing between different groups of Uchiha.
Perhaps the Hokage’s position really had allowed him to gradually view problems from different perspectives.
Sanqiandai, the newly appointed elder of Konoha, thought this was actually quite good.
"What’s wrong with that?"
"Favoring their own people is precisely the message the Uchiha need to send to their allies."
"We can favor those in Konoha who have rendered service to the Uchiha."
"So naturally, when dealing with outsiders, we’ll favor our Uchiha allies."
"Last time, Konoha obtained nine Tailed Beasts, and the Senju distributed them without distinguishing friend from foe."
"If Konoha obtains Tailed Beasts again this time, guess how the Uchiha will distribute them."
At this point, Sanqiandai looked rather smug.
"Who doesn’t like it when their allies favor them?"
Those words finally allowed the angry Fugaku to relax.
Thinking about it that way, perhaps an unfair Uchiha really was a good Uchiha.
But Fugaku had barely relaxed when his eldest son gave him another headache.
"Father, the issue of unfairness has been resolved."
"But look, Might Guy seems to have withdrawn from the Chūnin Exams!"
"Teacher Tenzen is watching too. How are we supposed to explain this to that stubborn old man?"
Fugaku froze.
Oh.
He’d forgotten.
The Uchiha were biased.
And the Uchiha of Naka were even more biased.
He had been so focused on the question of fairness that he had forgotten there was someone on the scene who believed that all beings were equal beneath Susanoo.
His good disciple had withdrawn from the examination.
Would that old brother really lose his temper?
The Hokage’s heart was once again seized by anxiety over the Chūnin Exam results of a mere genin.
At this moment, Uchiha Tenzen was strolling through the streets of Konoha.
As the strongest warrior of the Uchiha Clan and one of Naka’s top combatants, his appearance in Konoha naturally carried a different significance.
Early autumn was beautiful in its gentleness, never harsh.
It seemed almost like a person itself, possessing its own thoughts and its own accumulated memories.
Like the ash falling from a poet’s fingertips, it carried a mellow, lingering fragrance.
Like the gentle evening breeze along a riverside as dusk first descended, bringing a wind that was half cold and half warm.
Soft.
Tranquil.
Early autumn’s gifts were all just right.
People of different ages had different realizations as they matured.
Having taken on disciples again, Tenzen felt that raising Kakashi, Uchiha Kabuto, and Might Guy was far more interesting than raising Koshiro.
Back then, he hadn’t been mature enough.
He had adopted Koshiro simply because Gen had gained a granddaughter, and therefore Tenzen felt that he needed a child of his own.
At the time, he had still been relatively young.
He had merely pretended to be a stern father.
Fortunately, he hadn’t ruined Koshiro.
At least he had done a better job than the one in the Kōga Clan.
Now, after experiencing so much more, Tenzen was confident that he could become a kind teacher.
A compassionate teacher capable of passing on the lessons he had learned throughout his life.
And now, because his disciple was taking an examination, he had even deliberately waited outside the examination grounds.
Back in Iga, who would ever have believed that Tenzen would do something like this?
"I really do have a compassionate side!"
Tenzen, in an excellent mood, actually began praising himself.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to bask in that feeling for long.
The disciple he had just watched enter the examination hall had already come back out.
Might Guy, having lost his examination qualification, was naturally extremely dejected.
But when he faced his teacher Tenzen, the naturally optimistic nature of the watermelon-headed boy made it impossible for him to show his vulnerable side.
The sunny young man opened his mouth in a huge grin.
The sunlight reflected dazzlingly off his pearly white teeth.
"I’m sorry, Teacher Tenzen. I disappointed you. I failed the Chūnin Exams!"
If Tenzen hadn’t heard him clearly, he might have thought the smug-looking boy had actually passed.
The old man froze.
Just as Fugaku had predicted, Tenzen wasn’t exactly easy to reason with.
I, Uchiha Tenzen, am a man capable of wielding two Susanoo blades.
I am a man who can carve a path from the eastern end of the Land of Fire to the western end.
And Konoha’s Chūnin Exams actually dared to eliminate my disciple.
Looks like they really don’t want to behave themselves.
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