Chapter 67 (Patreon)

Yujiro stepped up to the hospital bed and looked down at Sasuke as a newborn.

For a moment, he fell silent.

Even as a baby, that face already carried a strange kind of arrogance.

It was the sort of face that made people want to pinch his cheeks a little too hard.

Nearby, Itachi had already slipped out of Mikoto’s arms and carefully moved closer to Sasuke’s side.

The instant Yujiro saw the faint excitement on Itachi’s usually calm face, he understood.

The Uchiha clan’s traditional skill had awakened.

An overwhelming attachment to one’s otōto.

“Yujiro,” Fugaku said with a faint smile, “congratulations on becoming the commander of the Anbu.”

“Fugaku-san,” Yujiro replied casually, “I want to add a few members of the Uchiha clan to the Anbu.”

“Very well.”

Fugaku agreed without hesitation.

He understood the changes taking place inside Konoha better than most.

When the Sandaime held power, he had never openly oppressed the Uchiha, but Fugaku knew very well what sort of small moves had been made in the shadows.

Fugaku had always been moderate by nature, and because of that, he had never completely broken with Hiruzen.

But now, the situation was different.

First of all, the Yondaime had truly begun taking control of Konoha.

More importantly, Minato’s attitude toward the Uchiha clan was far better than Hiruzen’s had ever been.

He had even proposed easing the barrier between the village and the Uchiha, allowing both sides to coexist properly.

Naturally, Fugaku stood on Minato’s side.

Of course, he would never forget who had created this opportunity for the Uchiha in the first place.

The most important factor was the young man standing before him.

Yujiro.

Forget merely allowing members of the Uchiha clan to join the Anbu.

Even if Yujiro asked Fugaku himself to enter the Anbu and serve under him, Fugaku would not refuse.

“Fugaku-san,” Yujiro said with a faint smile after seeing his agreement, “if you truly want the Uchiha and Konoha to reconcile, then you’ll have to be a little more decisive.”

Fugaku’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“The village side will be cleaned up by me.”

Yujiro’s meaning was clear.

He would deal with Konoha’s hardliners.

As for the hardliners inside the Uchiha clan, Fugaku had to handle them himself.

Of course, Yujiro knew Fugaku would not truly kill his own people.

But Fugaku had his own means of making them submit.

After all, he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

“I understand.”

Fugaku took a deep breath.

A red light briefly flashed within his eyes.

It was time to unify the clan.

In the past, Fugaku had always worried that yielding too much to Konoha would estrange him from his clansmen. Because of that, he had tolerated the more aggressive voices within the clan for years.

But things were different now.

The times had changed.

After leaving the hospital, Yujiro threw himself into training the Anbu.

Every day after that, the Anbu training ground became a place of merciless discipline.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Building, Minato began establishing a new merit system.

The names of Anbu members who had made great contributions to the village were recorded one by one.

The reform of the Academy also began.

Following Yujiro’s suggestion, history would no longer be written according to political convenience.

It would be written according to the truth.

The phrase “the Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage in history,” once treated as required reading, was removed and burned.

The founding of Konoha was recorded properly.

The village had been established by the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan.

The strongest Hokage in history was the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

And the shinobi who stood beside him as an equal was Uchiha Madara, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan.

Their real achievements were written down.

After that came the accomplishments of Konoha’s elite shinobi and the Anbu.

Yujiro also had Kakashi’s father, Konoha’s White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, recorded in the official textbooks and merit list.

On top of that, Yujiro established one iron rule.

Comrades came first.

Missions came second.

The purpose of a mission was to protect one’s comrades.

If a mission demanded that comrades be discarded, then it was no mission worth respecting.

Konoha’s great reform had begun.

A month passed quietly.

The hottest season of the year arrived.

Yet inside Konoha’s Anbu training ground, nearly five hundred Anbu were training with terrifying intensity.

Konoha had many ordinary shinobi, but the Anbu were still the Anbu.

Only true elites could enter.

Besides, the Anbu was no longer what it had once been.

Now, even the major clans considered it an honor to join.

Among the current Anbu, there were many shinobi from the Hyūga clan, and several from the Uchiha clan as well.

After training and working together for a month, the invisible distance between them had started to fade.

They all realized something.

Once they let go of their pointless pride, the way others looked at them changed as well.

The Uchiha felt this more clearly than anyone.

When they stopped carrying themselves as if they stood above everyone else, they suddenly discovered that the people around them were not so difficult to get along with.

And the Uchiha clan understood very well who had caused this change.

Yujiro.

Commander of the Anbu.

The legendary shinobi known on the battlefield as One-Sword Shura.

Because of that, even the usually proud Uchiha lowered their attitude when facing Yujiro.

And they did so sincerely.

Yujiro had earned that respect through strength.

Inside the Hokage Building, Minato sat behind his desk, his expression solemn as he looked over the documents in his hand.

“The Anbu has confirmed Orochimaru’s crimes.”

His voice was calm, but heavy.

“As of now, the operation to capture Orochimaru officially begins.”

“Yes.”

Shisui and Kakashi nodded at the same time.

Yujiro remained indifferent.

So Orochimaru’s defection was happening today.

“Wait.”

At that moment, the office door suddenly opened.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked in with a grave expression.

“Minato, about Orochimaru…”

Before he could continue, Yujiro slowly picked up his black blade and rose from his seat.

Hiruzen frowned.

“What is it?”

His gaze fell on Yujiro, and a trace of regret passed through his heart.

If he had noticed this boy’s potential sooner, Yujiro might have become his most useful subordinate.

“Excuse me,” Yujiro said lightly, “but where are we?”

Hiruzen’s brow furrowed deeper.

“The Hokage’s office, of course.”

“Then what should a shinobi do before entering the Hokage’s office?”

Hiruzen’s expression stiffened.

“Naturally, they should knock and wait for permission.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“Then did you knock?”

“…”

Hiruzen fell silent for a moment.

“No.”

He had never thought about such a thing.

In the past, he had entered this office whenever he pleased.

After all, this room had once belonged to him.

“Then please go out,” Yujiro said calmly. “Knock, wait for permission, and then come in.”

His hand rested lightly on the hilt of his blade.

“As Anbu commander, I am responsible for discipline inside the Hokage Building. A shinobi who ignores protocol can be treated as someone violating military regulations.”

The threat was obvious.

Hiruzen’s face darkened.

“I…”

“Sandaime-sama,” Yujiro interrupted, his smile unchanged, “this is no longer your office.”

He pointed toward the still-open door.

“I will not repeat myself.”

The atmosphere inside the Hokage’s office became strangely tense.

Minato sat behind his desk with his eyes closed, saying nothing.

He knew Yujiro was venting anger on his behalf.

And since Yujiro was speaking as the Anbu commander, Minato had no reason to stop him.

More than that, hearing those words made Minato feel an unexpected sense of relief.

For the past few years, he had suffered quietly.

Though he was the Yondaime Hokage, Hiruzen had treated him like a figurehead.

In fact, the total amount of time Minato had truly sat in this office and exercised authority over the last two years was probably less than what he had done in the past month.

“I understand.”

Hiruzen turned around with a dark expression and left the office.

He had something important to discuss with Minato today.

For now, he had to endure.

Knock, knock.

Hiruzen stood outside the door, looked at Yujiro through the open doorway, and raised his hand to knock.

“Close the door first,” Yujiro said. “Then knock again.”

“You…”

Hiruzen felt tightness in his chest.

Still, remembering why he had come, he gritted his teeth and closed the office door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound came again.

Yujiro returned to his seat and quietly admired the black blade in his hands.

Shisui and Kakashi exchanged a glance.

Neither of them said anything, but for some reason, both felt extremely satisfied.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door sounded again.

Minato slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Yujiro.

“Yujiro…”

“Oh, Minato-sensei,” Yujiro said with a smile. “You are the Hokage. You should be the one to answer.”

Only then did Minato nod.

“Come in.”

The office door opened.

Hiruzen walked back inside with a dark face, taking a deep drag from his pipe.

He glanced silently at Yujiro, who was wiping his blade, and forced down the anger in his chest.

Then he walked up to Minato’s desk.

“Minato, you said just now that you intend to move against Orochimaru…”

Before he could finish, Yujiro interrupted him again.

Hiruzen’s fist clenched.

“I knocked.”

“Smoking is prohibited in the Hokage’s office,” Yujiro said without looking up. “Please go outside and put it out.”

His tone remained calm.

“Then knock again before entering.”

“Minato!”

Hiruzen finally turned toward Minato, his expression grim.

“Are you just going to let your student behave like this?”

“I’m sorry, Sandaime-sama,” Minato replied expressionlessly. “Yujiro is the Anbu commander now.”

His blue eyes were steady.

“Please follow the rules.”

Hiruzen’s entire body trembled with anger.

“…Fine.”

Leaving only that word behind, he turned and exited the office once more.

A minute later, the sound of knocking came from the office door again.

Knock, knock, knock.