Chapter 10 — Tsunderes Fade, but the Beautiful-Tragic Archetype Never Dies
Shimura Danzō was furious—so furious that he nearly stormed straight into the Hokage's office to slam the desk and shout lines like:
"What are you thinking?!"
"Exterminate the Uchiha immediately!"
"They're evil to the core, how can you rely on them?!"
"Listen to me! Only my decisions protect Konoha's true interests!"
But halfway there, he remembered something important. This wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi's era anymore.
Namikaze Minato wasn't his old drinking buddy. Minato would not indulge him.
If he barged in ranting like a lunatic, Minato would strip him of rank, power, and dignity in an instant.
This world wasn't "all under heaven belongs to Dad."
If not for Hiruzen shielding him like a doting lover, Danzō's arrogance would've gotten him killed eight hundred times already.
Yujiro would've put it this way: Danzō is the monster Hiruzen raised. Overindulged like a spoiled brat until he grew fangs too dull to bite, but still insisted he was a predator.
"Minato… Hokage…" Danzō's shadow grew darker.
"Only if I become Hokage can I truly protect the village's interests."
A line no one believed—except Root, his personal echo chamber.
…
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Minato was flipping through the New Konoha Times.
Aside from the front-page headline "Uchiha: The Clan of Love," most of it was harmless gossip—Killer B's freestyle rap, Sasori's puppet show, that sort of thing.
Any ordinary villager might have been entertained. But Minato wasn't just anyone; he was Hokage. He didn't have the luxury of enjoying fluff.
He skimmed quickly, then reread the front page—two sentences over and over again:
"If the village gives the Uchiha love, they will return it tenfold, a hundredfold."
"Treat the Uchiha as comrades with sincerity, and they will treat you as comrades with all their heart."
"Yujiro…" Minato whispered. "This is what you wanted me to see, isn't it?"
In his mind's eye, he saw that boy in blue once more.
"Obito… Uchiha… May my choice be the right one."
…
Yujiro's plan was simple: give the Uchiha a new persona. Not the modern knockoff "tsundere" that's all bite and no blush, but the classic archetype:
"I fight, I bleed, I suffer — not for you, of course! …Definitely not because I care about you!"
A clan of reluctant heroes, proud but secretly tender.
Pair that with the "tragic but noble" archetype—because beauty, strength, and tragedy never go out of style. Everyone loves a beautiful, strong and miserable character.
If the Uchiha wanted to survive—wanted to mend ties with Konoha, its leadership, and the other clans—then this newspaper was Yujiro's offering.
Whether or not he eventually became the Senju's son-in-law, the fact remained: he was Uchiha, and the Night of Massacre still loomed like a sword of Damocles above his head.
New Konoha Times was meant to thicken that thread, turning it from a hair-thin string into a rope, however fragile.
And beyond that—when the Senju were revived, they'd need allies, wealth, and influence.
Where would that come from? From the Uchiha, of course.
Yujiro's goal was clear: bind the "new Senju" and the Uchiha together, tighter even than the old Senju-Uzumaki alliance. A merger. Sen-chiha. Or maybe Uchi-ju. Branding still in progress.
…
At the edge of the village, inside a small printing house by the forest, Yujiro stretched with a grin.
"People must be losing their minds by now. Let's hope they don't actually kill me—out of respect for me being the genius of my generation."
He mentally reviewed his plan. No problems. Across the table, he flashed a bright smile at his partner.
"See, Shisui? Didn't I tell you? We'd do something big together."
Shisui opened his mouth, but stopped. Yujiro's statement was packed with so many red flags he didn't know where to start. In the end, the kindhearted, idealistic boy made the only choice he could:
Don't overthink it. Just smile.
…
The New Konoha Times had been Yujiro's long-brewing project, the cornerstone of his scheme to flip the Uchiha's destiny. Of course, he couldn't do it alone. That's why he pulled Shisui in.
They hadn't been especially close, but when Yujiro pitched it with:
"I've got an idea. Low risk, high reward. It'll help the clan and the village get along."
Shisui immediately lit up: "Please, let me join! I want to help!"
And so he became Yujiro's unpaid intern, running around gathering material and pulling all-nighters, while Yujiro never once offered overtime pay.
…
And beyond Shisui, there were five hundred ninja cats running the presses—some loading ink and paper, others stacking the finished issues, and still others carrying them off in their jaws, scattering the "Clan of Love" gospel across Konoha.
Uchiha Yujiro was broke. Dirt poor. No way he could afford to maintain an entire printing press.
Fortunately, the Uchiha clan still had clout.
Thanks to their long-standing pact with the Nekomata Clan, Yujiro could summon those clever little furballs to do the heavy lifting.
All it cost him was some dried fish, a splash of matatabi wine, and the occasional back rub or chin scratch. Ten times cheaper than hiring real printers, and with zero labor laws to worry about. Utterly convenient.
"…"
This setup left Shisui utterly floored. The sheer absurdity of it hit him like a kunai to the forehead.
What the hell?! You can do that?!
The thought rattled in his mind so loudly he couldn't even form a proper response. In the end, he went with the safest option: Just smile. Always just smile.
…
"Next," Yujiro said, glancing over at him, "we wait to see how the Fourth responds. New Hokage, new stage, new games. If he's smart, he'll send us a signal."
Truthfully, Yujiro knew he had lucked out. He had landed in the timeline while Minato was still alive.
If he'd transmigrated after the Nine-Tails incident, there would've been only few words left to cling to: 'Abandon illusions, prepare for struggle.'
By then, relations between the Uchiha and Konoha's leadership would've been beyond saving—dragged deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of paranoia and mistrust. Survival would've meant preparing for bloodshed.
But now? With Minato alive, there was still hope. Still room to maneuver.
"This will work!" Shisui finally blurted out, his voice brimming with conviction.
"Yujiro-nii's plan is flawless! Once it's put into motion, everything will get better! I know it!"
Yujiro looked him dead in the eye, solemn and steady.
"Yes, Shisui. I believe that too. Everything will get better."
"Yujiro-nii!"
"So then, Shisui…" Yujiro clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You're willing to give everything for the clan and the village, right?"
"Of course!"
"Great. Then I'll leave the explaining to you. I'm out."
"Eh? Wha—"
Before Shisui could react, Yujiro flickered away with Shunshin, vanishing without a trace.
Shisui had just opened his mouth to say "Yujiro-nii, your Body Flicker really is impressive" when he heard the sound of many footsteps approaching fast. Very familiar footsteps.
"Uchiha Yujiro! Bastard! Get out here!!"
It was the clan—elders, uncles, cousins, all charging in with murder in their eyes. Their tsundere façade had been exposed in print, and now, humiliated and furious, they were here to kill him.
"!?!?!"
Shisui froze.
"W-wait, no—this isn't what it looks like—"
…
Elsewhere, in the year Konoha 50, the Fourth Hokage issued his first official Hokage Order:
The Mission Hall would divert a portion of contracts to the Uchiha Police Force—an act of goodwill and olive branch extended to the clan.