Chapter 476: A Cheerful Naruto
With the stumbling block named Danzō kicked aside, the Konoha leadership held secret discussions for several days.
If they could truly eliminate the threat of war through a system and persuasion, upgrading from five opposing villages to a unified ninja world, even the stubborn Koharu Utatane would agree. War was a last resort, a path that led to death.
When war broke out, the younger members of their families would have to go to the battlefield. The death of even one outstanding youth would be a source of great pain. To end war through relatively peaceful means, through the exchange of benefits, was in line with the wishes of these elders.
In any case, they would never become Hokage, so they had nothing to lose.
During a meeting, Homura Mitokado asked Jiraiya, "Fifth Hokage, what exactly do you plan to do?"
Ino also looked at him.
Jiraiya had pondered this question for several days. He said, "We are the only ones who need to know the whole plan. Tomorrow, we will start by publicizing the history of the Senju and Uchiha clans' founding of Konoha. Let the ninja of the village know this history, know the merits and faults of our predecessors."
Koharu Utatane asked a rather sharp question: "How do we solve the Uchiha clan problem? Do we really need to give them such a high position?"
Jiraiya had thought this through clearly. "Yes, the history of the Senju and Uchiha jointly founding Konoha should not be forgotten. Madara Uchiha's betrayal of the village was his own choice. The rest of the Uchiha chose to stay in Konoha, and they are a part of Konoha. Many Uchiha have died on the battlefield as Konoha ninja; they too gave their lives for the village. If, in the future, Itachi and Sasuke perform great services for the village, I personally believe they would also be qualified to become Hokage."
This "qualified" and "able to" were two different things. An Uchiha who was a commander without an army, with no supporters, had no chance of becoming Hokage.
Jiraiya genuinely wanted to bring Itachi back into the fold of Konoha ninja. Koharu, however, thought he was just making empty promises to the Uchiha—an old trick of the Third Hokage's, nothing new. She nodded silently and didn't press the issue.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura ran up to Sasuke, out of breath.
Sasuke was intensely practicing his swordsmanship, his eyes focused. He paid her no mind.
"At the Hokage building... they put up a notice. It says something about the Ōtsutsuki Clan having outstanding merit, that they founded the ninja world, so they're rated as having the greatest contribution. And then, it's the Senju clan and your Uchiha clan! It says your contributions to the ninja world are second only to the Ōtsutsuki!"
Sakura was a bit winded from running, but her summary was concise.
Sasuke was initially unfazed. What was this Ōtsutsuki clan? He'd never even heard of it. What did it have to do with him? But when he heard that the Uchiha were ranked alongside the Senju, he slowly turned his head.
After Sakura finished, he waited a couple of seconds. "Is that it? Nothing else?"
"There was a lot more written, but I didn't remember it all, hehehe. Does this mean the village is going to promote you? Hey? Wait for me!"
Sakura's knowledge of the Uchiha clan's past was extremely limited. The little she knew had been told to her by Kakashi, who, despite his lazy appearance, was incredibly shrewd and never said a word more than was necessary.
She truly didn't know much. Sasuke was different. He realized the village's stance on the Uchiha issue had undergone a massive shift.
Sasuke took off at a sprint, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye. Sakura chased after him but couldn't keep up. She finally found him in front of the notice board on the first floor of the Hokage building.
Even in the later stages of the system's implementation, the village would never make the full contents of the Nine-Rank System public. The system was a tool, and only the leadership had the right to interpret it.
Today was the first day of the public announcements, mainly detailing the accomplishments of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.
Jiraiya and the others thought the Sage of Six Paths was just a figure from myths and legends and that they could just gloss over it. Ino once again voiced her opposition. No, absolutely not! Whoever dared to be perfunctory, she would fight them!
Seeing her persistence, and after weighing the pros and cons, the others acquiesced.
In any case, it didn't threaten their interests. It wasn't like they were going to elect an Ōtsutsuki as Hokage.
So, Ino took the opportunity to lavish praise on the Sage of Six Paths in writing.
There were three sheets of paper on the notice board. Two of them described Teacher Six Paths' achievements, reading like a fairy tale. On the remaining sheet, the Senju took up two-thirds of the space, leaving only one-third for the Uchiha.
Even if it was only a third, for Sasuke, this news was exhilarating. The village was finally starting to acknowledge the Uchiha.
The notice omitted Madara Uchiha's existence, focusing instead on the contributions of the two great clans during the founding of the village.
It went on to list the great services that Kagami Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha had rendered to Konoha. At Kakashi's strong request, Obito Uchiha's name was also added, with a note that he had died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge at the age of eleven.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Hehehehe, long time no see, Sasuke-kun! You're getting more and more handsome!"
A horde of young fangirls swarmed Sasuke, their eyes looking as if they wanted to devour him whole.
The Uchiha issue had always been a sensitive topic in Konoha. After graduating from the academy, the fangirls had gradually realized the village's attitude towards Sasuke and had been forced to keep their distance. Now that the village's stance had changed, they immediately flocked back to him.
Though they didn't say it, their intentions of having his children were crystal clear.
Sasuke: "..."
He was terrified.
Due to the trauma he had suffered as a child, and the fact that the Sharingan was a Yin Release based on spiritual energy, his development had been somewhat slow compared to his peers. But even so, at fifteen, he was mostly developed.
He knew what these women wanted, and that knowledge was the source of his fear! His iron rod was no match for so many demons!
A rampaging Sakura charged over and got into another scuffle with the fangirls.
Then she grabbed Sasuke and ran.
Just then, Naruto, leading Shion, arrived to see what all the commotion was about.
The Yin-Nine-Tails was frolicking happily just outside the range of the ninjas' perception, and its cheerful mood was affecting the Yang-Nine-Tails within the seal.
The already "yang" Tailed Beast had become even more "yang"!
This "positive" emotion also affected Naruto.
Naruto had been in an exceptionally good mood for the past few days. He didn't know why; he just knew he was very happy.
Shion thought it was because of her arrival that Naruto was so happy. The young girl, experiencing her first love, was so overjoyed her heart felt like it would explode.
The others, like Iruka and Jiraiya, also noticed Naruto's cheerful mood and were very happy for him.
Naruto had not been happy at all before. They believed that Shion had brought him joy, and they were all eager for the two to get married as soon as possible.
As his father, Minato Namikaze also returned to the village for a visit. Besides seeing Naruto, he also learned about the new system the village was preparing to implement.
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