Konoha: Rebuild the glory of the Uchiha!

"The ninja world is in turmoil again. There are undercurrents outside the village, and there is a time bomb inside the village that could blow the entire Hidden Leaf Village to smithereens!"

"I have a headache!"

"When will I finally be able to happily slack off all the time?!"

Uchiha Nan took a sip of his iced cola, leaned back in his chair, and sighed. Becoming the Third Hokage of Konoha was truly miserable. Sometimes he felt a bit sorry for that old man, Hiruzen Sarutobi. When he took office, he had no strength, no background, no money, and couldn't even handle the forces within Konoha. There were so many other rising ninja villages in the ninja world, each one ambitious and driven by their own ambitions.

Tsk, how miserable!

Time passed little by little.

It was noon before long.

There was a knock on the door of Uchiha Nan's office.

"Hokage-sama!!"

Chapter 128 Uchiha Madara: The food at the factory is delicious!

"Hokage-sama!!"

Before anyone even entered the room, Uchiha Nan heard a crisp "snap" sound as the door to his office was opened.

High ponytail, blonde hair, wearing a green training uniform. Chest and forehead. Unremarkable, not yet in the rapid growth stage.

"Lord Hokage, Tsunade insisted on coming along, and I couldn't stop her."

Orochimaru was somewhat helpless; he really couldn't control Tsunade. When Tsunade saw that Orochimaru, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, had returned to school and was going to see the Hokage with that idiot Jiraiya at noon, she volunteered to come along too.

Tsunade's identity is known throughout Konoha: the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, a princess personally appointed by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Once she makes a decision, Orochimaru is no match for her.

"Fine, let them come. Anyway, Tsunade used to come to this office all the time."

Uchiha Nan waved his hand. It was quite a unique feature of Konoha that the trio of gambling, prostitution, and drugs could be together. His office was inherited from the Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama. Tsunade might be more familiar with this building than he was.

"Yay! Lord Hokage, your place is even more comfortable than my second grandfather's and my grandfather's!"

Tsunade casually sat down on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the snacks on Uchiha Nan's coffee table. For the past two days, Kaede and Rin had been fighting Uchiha Nan every day. Although Uchiha Nan was fighting two against one, a ninja is a ninja, and an ordinary person is an ordinary person; victory was inevitable for Uchiha Nan. Kaede and Rin hadn't come to the Hokage Building for several mornings, but the usual desserts and snacks in Uchiha Nan's office hadn't stopped appearing every day.

"Hokage-sama...!" (in a coquettish voice)

"Eat...eat!"

Uchiha Nan rested her chin on her hands, looking at the playful Tsunade. The difference between the young Tsunade and the grumpy old woman from Naruto Shippuden was truly striking. So adorable.

With Uchiha Nan's permission, Tsunade happily picked up a small cake and began eating it by herself. Uchiha Nan looked at Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Orochimaru stood there calmly, waiting for Uchiha Nan's instructions. He and Uchiha Nan were already quite familiar with each other. In the underground laboratory, they often saw Uchiha Nan and Senju Tobirama arguing, and the insults were quite vulgar. The image filter of the important figures of Konoha had been almost completely worn away.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, stood there meekly like a lackey, much like Uchiha Nan's first encounter with Jiraiya.

"Orochimaru, I asked you to teach Jiraiya the Summoning Jutsu. How is his learning going?"

"He hasn't learned it yet... Jiraiya's chakra reserves aren't high enough. His chakra control is poor, and his hand seals aren't proficient."

Orochimaru gave a serious report on Jiraiya's study progress, saying that Jiraiya had acted like an idiot throughout the morning's study session.

Uchiha Nan subconsciously scratched his head and looked at Jiraiya. Jiraiya was still a student. The theoretical and practical lessons taught at the school were very basic. Ninja academy students mainly focused on refining chakra, practicing hand seals, and throwing shuriken. The teaching revolved around these basic ninja skills. Upon graduation, if one learned the Transformation Technique, the Shadow Clone Technique, and the Substitution Technique, one could be considered a rookie genin. Geniuses like Kakashi were still too rare.

Summoning Jutsu is considered a relatively advanced ninjutsu. Even now, Jiraiya is still grinding away at chakra. Water walking and tree climbing are probably just beginner level techniques.

"Lord Hokage, I...I..."

Jiraiya stammered in his answer, his pride severely wounded. In just one morning, Orochimaru had completely humiliated Jiraiya. Orochimaru, who had been trained by the renowned Tobirama Senju, and Jiraiya, who had been playing house at the Ninja Academy, were no longer competitors.

"Don't be discouraged, Jiraiya. Your potential is far greater than you imagine. You just need time to hone your skills and a little bit of luck. You will become a great ninja in the future."

Uchiha Nan comforted Jiraiya, who was considered a hard-working genius. He was naturally talented and persevered in his Sage Mode training, eventually accumulating knowledge and skills to become the famous Toad Sage in the ninja world.

I overlooked this problem. Extending the ninja academy's curriculum is a good thing for ordinary people, but for talented kids like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, having them receive ordinary instruction at the ninja academy is a waste of their precious growth time.

"Really"

Jiraiya's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the Hokage to think so highly of him. Even Tsunade, who was enjoying a hearty meal, and Orochimaru, who was standing to the side, showed surprise. This lecherous brat, the Hokage actually thinks so highly of him.

"I have a very good eye for people."

Uchiha Nan spoke with certainty, saying that Jiraiya's future achievements were extremely dazzling. However, they needed to consider finding him a teacher now, as keeping him at the Ninja Academy would only waste his talent.

The gambling, prostitution, and drugs duo should still be together. Uchiha Nan didn't want to separate Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade; it's just that there aren't many suitable candidates in Konoha to be their teachers.

Orochimaru couldn't stay in the lab with Tobirama Senju forever. Although Uchiha Nan didn't want Orochimaru to experience too much of the darkness of the ninja world, as a ninja, these were things he couldn't escape.

It's not that I'm incapable; it would be quite interesting to sneak out during my free time at work to tutor students.

However, Naruto seems to have a tradition of students killing their teachers. Orochimaru killed Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Obito Uchiha killed Minato Namikaze. Superstition is unacceptable... but you still have to believe in it. If you get killed by someone who brings bad luck, you'll be at a huge loss.

I'll train Jiraiya in summoning jutsu first, then I'll hand the three of them over to Sakumo Hatake. Right now, that white-haired kid Sakumo Hatake is following Kakuzu around as his sidekick, only responsible for small things like looking at the accounts and keeping Kakuzu's calculator. I need to find him something to do.

After some thought, Uchiha Nan decided that Jiraiya should stop wasting time at the Ninja Academy and instead study with him for a while. He would then arrange an assessment for Jiraiya so that he could graduate directly from the Ninja Academy.

"Really"

Jiraiya looked incredulous after hearing Uchiha Nan's arrangements for him. He was going to study under the Hokage for a while.

"Lord Hokage... Where am I?!"

Orochimaru looked on with anticipation. Compared to wasting his life at the Ninja Academy, surrounded by a bunch of infatuated girls all day, and not being able to do experiments with Tobirama Senju, learning from Uchiha Nan was a much better option.

"You... come along. Teaching one is the same as teaching two, it won't take much effort."

Seeing Orochimaru's expectant gaze, Uchiha Nan readily agreed. "Hokage-sama, I...I...I'll go too!"

Tsunade hadn't even wiped the cream off her lips when she eagerly raised her hand. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had both gone, so she wanted to join in the fun too. Not having to go to school and learning from the Hokage would definitely be more interesting than staying at school.

"Tsunade...you should get your grandma, Lady Mito, to agree first. I don't want Lady Mito knocking on my office door."

Mito Uzumaki was always very wary of Uchiha Kusunoki and kept a close watch on him, just like she kept a very close watch on Uzumaki Yotsuki. Of course, Tsunade did the same. Uchiha Kusunoki was just too young. In fact, Tsunade and Uchiha Kusunoki weren't that far apart in age, and they were a good match. However, Uchiha Kusunoki never showed any strange intentions and didn't watch over Tsunade as closely as Uzumaki Yotsuki did, as long as Tsunade didn't gamble.

If Tsunade were to study under Uchiha Nan now, Uzumaki Mito would suspect that Uchiha Nan had ulterior motives. After all, in Uzumaki Mito's eyes, Uchiha Nan was morally corrupt, had no integrity, and was fond of women, making him unsuitable to be Tsunade's teacher.

Uchiha Nan was too lazy to get entangled with Uzumaki Mito at this time. If Tsunade wanted to learn from her, she first needed to get Uzumaki Mito's consent.

"Grandma Mito has been busy teaching Yozuki-neechan sealing techniques lately, so she hasn't had time for me, Hokage-sama. I'm so bored being all alone at the Ninja Academy. I've already learned everything they teach there. Hmm. (whining)"

Tsunade unleashed her ultimate technique, a move that had always been effective against Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. Uchiha Nan held out for a while, but also succumbed... Tsunade's playful and adorable coquettishness was indeed very effective, quite different from the Tsunade of our memories, creating a strange contrast. So cute...

"Then let's go together as a group of three. I'll treat you to lunch, and we'll officially start teaching this afternoon."

The streets of Konoha

Madara Uchiha climbed down from a tree early in the morning. Having slept on rocks for years, Madara had no aversion to sleeping in trees. He then wandered aimlessly through the streets of Konoha.

The bustling scene was something Madara Uchiha couldn't get enough of. Konoha and the ninja world were like two completely different worlds, the difference was like heaven and earth. When would the entire ninja world be like Konoha? Madara Uchiha hoped that all of this could be extended to the entire ninja world.

However, this takes time. The development of productivity and the innovation of technology both require time. The future described in Uchiha Nan's book does not give a specific time. In the more distant future, humanity's desire for a better and happier life is endless. A nice-sounding way of putting it: human greed is endless.

Madara Uchiha hadn't read much and hadn't yet grasped the true meaning of the texts, but Uchiha Nan's beautiful vision—breaking the fate of ninjas as mere tools, developing productivity, and dismantling unequal production relations—was a series of theories beyond Madara's perspective. This prevented Madara from seeing the ultimate goal of this path; the absence of an ultimate goal represented an infinite future.

The Eye of the Moon plan was ultimately a pipe dream. Was it better to exchange the lives of all humanity for a beautiful dream, or to pursue a distant, beautiful, and real future? Deep down, Madara Uchiha preferred the latter.

Reality versus falsehood. For a character of Madara Uchiha's caliber, reality is far more appealing.

Furthermore, the key item for Project Eye of the Moon has not yet been obtained, and it is unknown when it will be acquired.

If I were the one who orchestrated all of this in Konoha, I imagine even Hashirama would have to bow down and admit defeat.

Looking at the flourishing scene of Konoha, a vibrant and thriving world before his eyes, Madara Uchiha longed to drag Hashirama Senju out of the Pure Land. "The Konoha under the leadership of my Uchiha clan is a hundred times stronger than you and that bastard Tobirama Senju. It will only get better in the future."

You lost, Hashirama!

"I'm a little hungry."

Around noon, Madara Uchiha's stomach began to protest, but he was already out of money. Should he go and mooch a meal off that brat Sosuke Ito?

Madara Uchiha felt he still had some sense of shame; constantly freeloading off children made it clear that making money was now a pressing matter.

Madara Uchiha pulled out an address from his pocket. The agency had given him this address; mentioning his name would get him a workstation, free dormitory accommodation, and a free cafeteria. He'd go there for a free meal first... *cough* Sharingan genjutsu. Even with such methods, Madara Uchiha maintained his pride as a strongman. He couldn't bring himself to use such methods to get a free meal from defenseless villagers.

A factory in Konoha.

"Oh, it's you. Why didn't you report yesterday? Never mind, you're an old man. It's good that you came today."

"We get one day off every two weeks, and we work ten hours a day. If you include the night shift, we work twelve hours a day. However, there are night shifts almost every day, but the night shift pay is equivalent to a month's salary. Do you understand? If you are willing to work here, you can sign here."

Uchiha Dazzle nodded. He had no intention of staying here long. Before coming, he had already sent a clone out to take on bounty missions. He could probably earn several million taels in less than a month. He was just experiencing life and taking care of his basic needs for the time being.

"Then sign it!"

"Spotted Pillar!"

Madara Uchiha signed his pseudonym, then received two sets of factory uniforms and was taken to his bed in the dormitory.

A wooden shack, an eight-person dormitory, with bunk beds.

"This is where you'll stay tonight. Qi Shu, you're the dorm leader, so please take good care of this old man. We're all refugees living in Konoha, so we should help each other."

"okay!"

Qi Shu, with his loud voice, readily agreed.

"Sir, you're new here. According to the rules, you'll officially start work tomorrow. You can familiarize yourself with the environment here this afternoon. We're about to have lunch, let's go together. I can also introduce you to my roommates while we're at it."

Qi Shu patted Uchiha Madara on the shoulder, signaling him to follow and go to the cafeteria to prepare for lunch.

"Uncle Banzhu, this canteen is free for employees. Food is distributed in fixed quantities every day. Today we have rice balls, protein cubes, vegetables...soup with meat bones in it!"

"Eat more. It's your first day of work this afternoon, so make sure you eat well. The work here isn't easy, but it's so much better than what we used to live. We have food and drink, and there's hope for the future. I've already bought a house in Konoha, and we'll be holding a lottery to move in soon. I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to get one."

Qi Shu kept talking the whole way, he was a very outgoing person, and he kept talking to Uchiha Madara. At first Madara was fine with it, but later he found it a bit annoying. Old people like quiet, but he didn't find it annoying.

Cafeteria

"Rice balls, protein chunks, and a meat-flavored soup."

"The food is alright."

Madara Uchiha took a bite of the protein; it was sticky and tasteless. Then he took a sip of the soup... Mmm! Delicious, it tastes amazing!

Madara Uchiha wondered what Uchiha Nan did in his factory every day, as he ate his rice ball.

Chapter 129 Uchiha Madara: Making money in a factory is so easy!

"Eat more protein cubes from the cafeteria; they give out quite a lot. If you can't finish them, remember to take them home. Protein cubes can be kept for a long time, but they get a bit hard. But don't waste them."

Qi Shu ate heartily, quickly picking up and eating the rice grains that had fallen on the table. He muttered to himself about the feeling of hunger, the exhaustion and weakness in his body, and how he only wanted to eat something...no matter what it was...he never wanted to experience this feeling again in his life, whether it was dirt, tree bark, or rotting flesh.