At ten o'clock in the morning, inside the head of the Uchiha clan's house.
Shen stood before the mirror in his room, calmly adjusting his Uchiha coat.
He set aside his usual laid-back attitude and solemnly retrieved three sealing scrolls from his pendant, carefully studying their intricate patterns.
"From today on, I really need to pay attention to my image."
Last night's conversation with the Third Hokage had made him aware of Konoha's policy shift.
The village was moving away from clans fighting independently toward mutual understanding, eventually merging into a single unified entity.
A cohesive whole centered around Konoha, rather than the previous fragmented collection of families.
Though tearing down barriers seemed to reduce conflicts, it also opened opportunities for interaction, giving restless youths alternatives beyond their own bloodlines.
Only Shen and the Third Hokage realized that real peace could only come through intermarriage of bloodlines.
Who ever said you needed to keep marrying within the family to preserve inherited power?
For centuries, each clan's kekkei genkai had stagnated—the Sharingan remained the Sharingan, the Byakugan still the Byakugan.
In fact, close intermarriage had caused numerous hereditary diseases.
Like the Uchiha's tendency toward psychological instability, the Hyuga's declining Byakugan purity, or the Taketori's universal bloodlust and aggression.
Ignoring pure Otsutsuki genetics, other clans seldom married outside their own lineage.
Conservatism was ingrained as an instinctive survival mechanism for people in this world.
Shen's ancestors, however, embraced inclusiveness thousands of years ago, gradually forming a powerful nation through integration with other tribes.
Genetics, after all, is a matter of probabilities—wouldn't combining strengths make more sense? Why stubbornly isolate oneself, believing your family's traits were superior?
Future Kumo would adopt open-minded tactics, even resorting to kidnapping to strengthen themselves—but that was clearly an inferior strategy.
Mist was wiser; its many bloodline limits showed fewer restrictions.
Still, after the First Great Ninja War, they became isolationists limiting external development—an average middle-level strategy at best.
Impressive was Sunagakure's bold decision to abolish the concept of clans entirely, significantly increasing village unity. Despite desert hardships, it became one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations—a truly upper-level policy.
As for Konoha, occupying the most fertile land, without several strong shinobi clans joining early on, who knows when some family might have rebelled against Senju assimilation policies.
If Hashirama had proposed integrating the Senju and Uchiha during the village's founding, maybe Madara wouldn't have plotted the Moon's Eye Plan.
Ultimately, mental rigidity constrained them all. Even Sarutobi, a progressive leader, married someone surnamed Sarutobi himself—nothing like Hashirama's openness in choosing a wife from the Uzumaki clan.
As for the Second Hokage—the golden bachelor—he likely never seriously considered women from other clans.
That's why only Minato and Naruto, father and son, truly served as exemplary role models. Unfortunately, by then only one last Uzumaki remained in Konoha.
Until the Fourth Ninja War ended, the shinobi world finally ushered in peace, and people began to move freely.
What if they'd done this earlier? Would peace have arrived more quickly?
Shen and the Third Hokage both shared the same belief: the first step was to open each clan to the outside world, gradually abandoning the concept of clans and transforming it into a mere awareness of surnames.
In this way, the entire Konoha could become integrated. After another two or three generations, the younger generation would no longer fight for clan honor, but instead fight for Konoha itself—and for their loved ones and friends within the village.
Then, through trade relations with Sunagakure and marriage alliances with them, building several railway lines, perhaps the entire shinobi world could achieve peace.
When we're all intertwined, when one side moves against the other, everyone will have to think carefully about the consequences.
Whether this plan is ultimately superior, moderate, or inferior can only be proven by time.
In the conference room of the Hokage Tower, the Third Hokage succinctly and clearly expressed that Konoha needed to abandon outdated ideas.
Kazushi was the first to declare the Uchiha's compliance with these instructions, openly stating that his clan's compound welcomed visits from all major clans, and they certainly wouldn't tie guests up like some other clan would.
All the clan heads knew exactly whom he referred to—the Hyūga clan.
In this round, Meide took it on the chin but couldn't lash out on the spot—he didn't want to be seen as stingy.
The Uchiha's approval was no surprise—they'd already built the commercial street inside their compound.
All the families in Konoha knew them well enough—no major problems expected.
However, the situation was different for other clans. Danzō stood up second and voiced opposition: "How can we guarantee the security of major clans? If we tear down those walls, some clans might steal secrets."
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow, immediately thinking his childhood friend's words sounded far too conspiratorial.
"Hahaha," Kazushi laughed loudly.
Only after Danzō's expression turned dark and intimidating did he address the assembled clan leaders with a fact: "Do you know why the Uchiha Commercial Street has become increasingly prosperous? Because we were the first clan in Konoha to open ourselves to outsiders—three years have given you enough time to build trust."
Kazushi made his point crystal clear: The Uchiha's current strength came largely from their openness to outsiders.
Originally, Shen had merely wanted to get rid of the burden of the Police Force, so he proposed placing the commercial street within the clan's territory.
Over time, more and more people came to realize that the Uchiha weren't an unfeeling clan—they simply lacked expressive skills.
A single little commercial street changed how the whole of Konoha saw the Uchiha—for better or worse.
This example made every clan leader in the room fall silent, seriously considering whether they should open their own compounds to outsiders.
Standing at the main gate of the Uchiha compound, Shen created two [Shadow Clone Techniques], each carrying a sealing scroll as they headed respectively toward the Senju, Hyūga, and Sarutobi compounds.
As the original Shen approached the Hyūga compound, he lifted his hand and flung an official notice stamped with the Hokage seal right into the guard's face.
"Starting today, I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, have decided to demolish the walls of all major clans. For specific arrangements, please contact Shen Uchiha, the construction coordinator in charge. If any accidents occur, I will not be held responsible." Hyuga clan members stood frozen in place after reading the notice.
"So I'm here to let the Senju know — I'm tearing this wall down now!" Shen's Shadow Clone announced at the Senju Clan compound.
At the Sarutobi clan estate, Biwako Sarutobi, the wife of the Third Hokage, was very cooperative with the Shadow Clone's work.
She was being really accommodating — she'd even prepared some tea.
"Auntie Biwako, you really don't need to be this courteous," the Shadow Clone said while pulling out a scroll and summoning a bulldozer.
"This is construction equipment? It looks surprisingly soot-covered and unattractive." The massive, soot-covered bulldozer made Biwako question Shen's sense of style.
The Shadow Clone didn't answer that question.
A certain obsessive scientist's sense of style had, under the influence of his original form, become increasingly warped.
Taste? To Orochimaru, a strict utilitarian, such concerns were entirely disposable.
He put on his yellow hard hat and climbed into the bulldozer, ready to get started. "Sarutobi clan members, please pay attention! Construction is about to begin — everyone, please prepare accordingly."
A few minutes later, the bulldozer smoothly proceeded along the wall of the Sarutobi clan estate, easily carrying out the demolition work.
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