Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance.
"Economic reform?"
"That's right."
Kiyohara turned around.
Back when he had been chosen as Hokage, he had already made a statement along those lines.
He had also mentioned several times recently that he intended to carry out economic reforms.
"Konoha cannot rely solely on mission commissions. Tourism, trade, technology… as long as it can bring income to the village, I'm going to do it."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
"I'll present the specific proposal at the next jōnin meeting. Until then, there's no need to discuss the Anbu restructuring any further."
Mitokado Homura opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the moment he met Kiyohara's Sharingan, he swallowed the words back down.
He took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his chest.
He suddenly felt that Kiyohara had clearly gone out of control.
This matter had to be discussed with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Koharu, let's go."
Mitokado Homura turned and walked toward the door.
The door closed.
Only Kiyohara remained in the room.
He stood where he was, looking at the tightly shut door.
Did those two old fools think he was easy to control?
Kiyohara shook his head.
Once his economic reform plan was implemented, once Konoha's finances were no longer dependent on funding from the Daimyō's office, these so-called advisors would truly be nothing more than advisors.
He pulled back his thoughts and sat down again.
There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Uzuki Yūgao walked in.
She was wearing the Anbu's black uniform, her mask already removed, revealing her elegant face.
Her long purple hair was tied behind her head, with a few strands hanging beside her ears, making her skin look even fairer.
"Hokage-sama."
She dropped to one knee and presented a sealing scroll.
"The first batch of materials has been collected."
Kiyohara took the scroll and opened it.
A dense list was written on it. The name, origin, and quantity of every material had been clearly recorded.
He skimmed through it quickly, then closed the scroll.
"Well done."
Kiyohara raised his head.
If he had tried to collect these chakra-bearing materials by himself, who knew how long it would have taken?
With the Anbu putting in the work, efficiency had improved dramatically.
"Any news from the Hidden Cloud?"
Kiyohara continued asking.
"Yes."
Uzuki Yūgao stood up.
"The Hidden Cloud has stated that as long as the Raikage is released, all terms can be discussed."
Kiyohara stroked his chin, then said:
"Tell them that in one month, I will personally visit the Land of Lightning. At that time, all matters can be negotiated."
Uzuki Yūgao froze slightly.
"Hokage-sama will go personally?"
"Yes. I'll go myself."
Kiyohara looked at her.
"What, is there a problem?"
"No."
Uzuki Yūgao shook her head.
"I'll reply right away."
"Go."
Kiyohara watched Uzuki Yūgao's back as she left.
After the door closed, Kiyohara opened the scroll again, his gaze falling on the list of materials.
Chakra ore, chakra magnetite, sealing crystals…
With these things, the artificial tailed beast plan could officially begin.
He stood up and tucked the scroll into his clothes.
...
Konohagakure, the orphanage.
The newly built orphanage was in a relatively quiet part of the village, not far from the Ninja Academy.
A row of unknown flowering shrubs had been planted along the courtyard wall, and at the moment they were blooming with tiny white flowers.
When Kiyohara pushed open the door and walked in, Nono Yakushi was crouched in front of a flowerbed, holding a small trowel and loosening the soil around the plants.
She was wearing that heavy black nun's outfit, and her complexion looked much better than before.
Hearing footsteps, she raised her head.
"Kiyohara?"
She put down the trowel, stood up, and brushed the dirt from her knees.
"What brings you here?"
"Just came to take a look."
Kiyohara walked up to her, took out the sealing scroll from his clothes, and handed it over.
"A new batch of materials arrived. I need your help testing them."
Nono Yakushi accepted the scroll and opened it for a look.
"This many?"
"Mm."
Kiyohara nodded.
"I need to know how well these materials can withstand different chakra natures. The more detailed, the better."
Nono Yakushi closed the scroll and raised her head.
"Leave it to me."
She nodded.
"By the way, Kiyohara, there's something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"The orphanage is much larger now than before, and there are more children too. Thanks to your support, they can eat well, stay warm, and even attend the Ninja Academy."
She bowed slightly.
"Thank you."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"No need to thank me. These children are Konoha's future. Investing in them is investing in Konoha."
To Kiyohara, the more new ninja there were, the better.
That way, the odds of producing talented people would increase greatly.
"Where's Pakura?"
Kiyohara sensed around the orphanage but didn't find Pakura's chakra.
"When she learned that the orphanage was moving into Konoha, she left," Nono Yakushi explained.
"I see."
Kiyohara wasn't surprised.
Pakura had probably had enough of living under someone else's roof. Now she likely intended to become a wandering ninja and wait for an opportunity.
He wondered how strong Pakura had become by now.
Kiyohara was quite interested in Scorch Release. At this point, he might be able to use his own understanding of chakra natures to develop the Scorch Release kekkei genkai, rather than relying on inheritance.
"Kiyohara-sensei!"
Suddenly, Kiyohara heard someone calling him.
He turned and saw Uchiha Izumi running over from the courtyard.
She ran up to Kiyohara and looked up at him.
His reflection appeared in her dark eyes.
"Why is Kiyohara-sensei here?"
"I came to handle something."
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at Uchiha Izumi.
"What about you? Why are you here?"
"The school arranged volunteer work."
Uchiha Izumi blinked.
"We came to help the Dean organize books and clean."
As she spoke, she reached out and tugged on Kiyohara's sleeve.
"Sensei, do you want to come take a look?"
Kiyohara was pulled forward by her.
In the courtyard, several children were gathered together.
Guren was crouching on the ground, holding a pink crystal in her hand and turning it beneath the sunlight.
The crystal refracted colorful light, casting broken patterns of brightness and shadow across her face.
Shion stood beside her, wearing shrine maiden robes similar to Miroku's. Her somewhat pale long hair fell over her shoulders, and a small golden bell hung around her neck.
Kiyohara glanced at it and realized it was the very bell Miroku had given Shion in the original story.
Inside the little bell was a red gemstone that sealed some of Miroku's chakra.
Hearing Kiyohara and Uchiha Izumi's footsteps, Guren raised her head.
"Kiyohara-sama!"
She stood and jogged over, lifting the crystal in her hand in front of him.
"Look! My Crystal Release has improved again!"
The crystal was much larger than before, and its shape was far more regular.
It had clean edges and corners, with not a single impurity inside.
Kiyohara took the crystal and weighed it in his hand.
"Not bad. You've improved a lot since last time."
At the same time, Kiyohara was wondering whether Guren's Crystal Release counted as a kind of gemstone. Could it be sold for money, like his gold dust?
After thinking it over, he slipped the crystal into his pocket.
He could examine it from two angles first. One, whether it had any use in research, such as semiconductors, optics, and so on.
Two, whether he could create a luxury brand around it and link it with high-end goods.
Guren's eyes lit up. On that little face, usually somewhat cool, there was nothing but pride.
In her eyes, receiving Kiyohara-sama's recognition was the most important thing.
"I practice every day. The teachers at the Ninja Academy said my chakra control is much better than before."
Kiyohara reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"You're doing very well."
Guren narrowed her eyes like a little cat being petted.
Shion stood to the side, looking a little envious.
Because of the Daimyō of the Land of Demons, Shion had actually lacked fatherly affection.
Kiyohara noticed her gaze and turned his head.
"Shion, have you gotten used to life here?"
Shion nodded.
"Mm. I've learned a lot of things I never knew before."
She counted on her fingers, as if trying to calculate exactly how much she had learned.
"So there are that many kinds of ninjutsu in the shinobi world. Back in the Land of Demons, I only knew about sealing techniques."
Shion quickly realized ten fingers weren't enough. She had learned far too many new things here.
"The power of shrine maidens is also a very special kind of power."
Kiyohara crouched down and met her eyes.
Shion had grown a little taller compared to when she first arrived.
"If developed properly, it might become stronger than many ninjutsu."
Shion blinked.
"Really?"
"Really."
Kiyohara smiled.
"When you're a little older, I can teach you some chakra control methods. Shrine maiden power has some similarities with senjutsu. Perhaps they can learn from each other."
Shion's eyes lit up.
"Okay!"
Guren stood to the side, watching this scene, her lips pressing together slightly.
She walked over and tugged on Kiyohara's sleeve.
"Kiyohara-sama, I want to learn too."
Kiyohara laughed.
"Fine. You can all learn."
Uchiha Izumi stood at the outer edge, watching Guren and Shion crowd around Kiyohara. A feeling she couldn't quite describe rose in her heart.
She bit her lower lip and moved closer too.
She hugged Kiyohara's arm and looked up at him eagerly.
"Sensei, I've been working hard too."
There was a trace of grievance in her dark eyes.
"I recently learned several C-rank ninjutsu, and my Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu has improved a lot too…"
Seeing her like this, the corners of Kiyohara's mouth lifted slightly.
Sure enough, if you were going to cultivate someone, you had to start young.
Shion, Guren, Uchiha Izumi—none of them would be simple figures when they grew up.
Yet in their childhood, they were all so cute.
"I know."
He reached out and rubbed her little head too.
"Izumi has worked very hard as well."
Uchiha Izumi's face flushed slightly. She lowered her head, but the corners of her lips curved high.
At that moment, the children in the courtyard noticed the commotion.
"It's the Hokage!"
"The Hokage is here!"
"Fourth Hokage-sama!"
They all put down what they were doing and ran over, gathering around Kiyohara.
Some looked up at him. Some stood on tiptoe to see him more clearly. A few bolder ones even grabbed the hem of his clothes.
"Hokage-sama, you're so handsome!"
"Hokage-sama, I want to be a ninja when I grow up too!"
"Hokage-sama…"
Kiyohara stood there, surrounded by children.
Nono Yakushi stood beside the flowerbed.
"Hokage-sama really is popular," she teased.
"Not as popular as you, the Dean."
Kiyohara shook his head.
When it came to being liked by children, that still had to be Nono Yakushi.
After talking with the children for a while, Kiyohara formed a seal with one hand.
Poof.
White smoke spread.
A figure walked out of the smoke, with the exact same face as Kiyohara and the exact same Hokage robe.
It was Kiyohara's shadow clone.
"I still have things to handle."
Kiyohara said to the children.
"My shadow clone will stay and keep you company."
The children froze for a moment, then cheered.
"Yay!"
"Hokage-sama's clone!"
"Can you teach us ninjutsu?"
The shadow clone smiled and crouched down.
"What do you want to learn?"
"Fire Release!"
"I want to learn Fire Release!"
"Me too!"
The shadow clone shook his head and said:
"It's still too early for chakra nature transformation. I'll teach you how to maintain chakra for longer periods first. We'll start with tree climbing…"
Seeing that, Kiyohara turned and walked toward the entrance.
Nono Yakushi followed him.
"Kiyohara, thank you."
Kiyohara stopped and looked back.
"For what?"
"For everything you've done for these children."
She paused, her gentle eyes filled with sincere gratitude.
"Without you, the orphanage wouldn't be what it is now."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I only did what I should."
He turned, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Nono Yakushi stood where she was, watching his back disappear at the alley entrance.
"Dean, did the Hokage come just now?"
Yakushi Kabuto, who had just finished his work, returned to the orphanage and saw the children gathered around a figure up ahead.
"Mm. Kiyohara left a shadow clone and went off."
"I see."
Kabuto looked a little regretful that he hadn't seen Kiyohara himself.
"Does Hokage-sama have another new task?"
"Yes. He asked us to research a batch of materials."
Nono Yakushi nodded slightly and looked at Kabuto.
Even as the Dean, she had not expected Kabuto's talent in research and medicine to be so outstanding.
He had learned more than half of her skills already, and he was often able to infer three things from one.
This also allowed Nono Yakushi to somewhat understand why Kiyohara valued Kabuto so highly.
Perhaps Kiyohara's sharp eyes had already noticed Kabuto's talent long ago.
...…
A few days later.
Konohagakure, Hokage building.
Kiyohara sat behind his desk, holding a file and reading it intently.
The file was densely filled with various data. Several sticky notes were attached to the side, written in neat, graceful handwriting. They were from Nohara Rin.
There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
Kiyohara said.
The door opened.
A slender figure walked in.
Anbu uniform, animal mask, blue hair peeking out from the edge of the hood.
Konan raised a hand and removed the mask.
Kiyohara set down the file and looked up.
"Why are you back so soon?"
Konan walked up to him.
"The matter was handled, so I came back."
Konan said.
Kiyohara glanced at her.
That cool, elegant face carried a faint trace of fatigue.
"That's good."
Kiyohara gestured for her to sit across from him.
Konan didn't sit.
She stood there in silence for a while.
"There's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"There's someone in the Akatsuki who wants to spar with you."
Kiyohara raised a brow.
"Who?"
"Kakuzu."
Konan said.
"He said he wants to witness the strength of the new Hokage."
Kiyohara leaned back in his chair, Kakuzu's information surfacing in his mind.
The greatest rogue ninja of Takigakure.
Through Takigakure's secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu could release black tendrils to steal a target's heart. He could possess up to five hearts, with each heart corresponding to a chakra nature. With a heart, he could use the corresponding nature transformation. If a heart was destroyed, he could no longer use that nature.
But after stealing a heart, he could even inherit the victim's lifespan. Kiyohara guessed that it was probably not merely the heart being taken.
For example, transplanting a blood relative's Mangekyō Sharingan actually included all of that person's eye power.
Stealing a heart was very likely equivalent to stealing all of a person's chakra and vitality as well, which was why it granted life extension.
Kiyohara felt that Kakuzu's main body had already turned into a mass of black tendrils. That was why even when he was over ninety years old, his appearance had not aged.
If he had not been killed in his nineties, he probably could have continued living.
From the results alone, Kakuzu was even more long-lived than Orochimaru.
And to extend his life with Earth Grudge Fear, all he needed to do was steal hearts.
He didn't need to take on the backlash risks Orochimaru faced. If Orochimaru encountered an Uchiha like Sasuke, then in the spiritual struggle of the Living Corpse Reincarnation, he would be unable to win at all.
"Interesting."
Kiyohara straightened.
"When?"
"Anytime."
Konan said to Kiyohara.
"Then set it at the border of the Land of Fire. You pick the location."
Konan nodded.
"Okay."
She turned, intending to melt back into the shadows and continue guarding Kiyohara.
"Wait."
Kiyohara stopped her.
Konan paused.
"I'll continue researching Nagato's condition."
Kiyohara said.
"When the first batch of medicine is ready, take it back to him."
Konan looked at him and was silent for a moment.
"Thank you."
Konan said.
After Konan returned to the shadows to keep watch, Kiyohara picked up the file again.
Kakuzu really was a decent opponent, and Kiyohara was also very interested in the Earth Grudge Fear technique on his body.
That technique might have a few things in common with Hiruko's Chimera Technique.
The former stole lifespan and chakra natures, while the latter stole kekkei genkai.
What if the two techniques were combined?
After thinking it over for a while, Kiyohara temporarily set that thought aside.
Right now, he planned to find a way to collect secret Yang Release and Yin Release techniques in order to fulfill the final wish.
Which ninja clan should he start with?
After thinking about it, Kiyohara decided to begin with the Yamanaka clan.
Their clan's Yin Release secret techniques would be the easiest for him to learn. He might even be able to use them better than they could.
…
One hour later, after Kiyohara finished handling government affairs, he left the Hokage building.
"What have you been sneaking around for lately, brat?"
Just as Kiyohara was about to head to the Yamanaka clan, he ran into Tsunade.
Tsunade stared at Kiyohara, inexplicably feeling that there was a woman's scent on him.
"I've recently been discussing ninjutsu with Rin."
Kiyohara believed Yin-Yang Release counted as ninjutsu too.
"Ninjutsu?"
Tsunade didn't catch the double meaning in his words.
"Then where are you going now?"
Tsunade asked suspiciously.
"To take a look at the flower shop."
Kiyohara said.
The Yamanaka clan ran many flower shops, especially the one owned by Ino Yamanaka's parents.
"Do you want to come too, Teacher?"
Kiyohara asked.
"Sure, I'll take a look."
Tsunade thought it over and felt there was no harm in going with Kiyohara.
In any case, she didn't have anything to do that afternoon.