After Sora and the others departed, news of their actions quietly spread across the entire shinobi world. Soon, nearly everyone had heard the tale.
The Hidden Stone and Hidden Sand Villages immediately became uneasy. Their strength was roughly on par with the Hidden Cloud, and if they somehow provoked Konoha, they knew the consequences would be dire.
So, orders were issued to all units: avoid provoking Konoha's shinobi at all costs and maintain friendly relations.
Their only small relief came from the fact that Konoha's shinobi no longer took on missions from other nations. They were too busy helping their own villagers—watering fields, plowing soil, pulling weeds—leaving others' missions untouched.
This drastically reduced direct contact and lowered the chances of conflict. But it also made them incredibly envious. Konoha had clearly moved past the stage of relying on missions to make money and had shifted its focus entirely to commerce.
Cash flowed like rain every day, and even their shinobi were now drawing regular salaries!
From that point on, even civilians of the Land of Fire walked with pride, carrying themselves like nobles.
"Our citizens lack for nothing. Our shinobi are government employees. We can even hire them to help with farming, and the rates are dirt cheap."
Upon hearing this, civilians from other nations couldn't bear it anymore—they began flocking to Konoha with their families.
If other nations hadn't discovered it quickly and blocked the routes, they might have been left with empty lands.
Even so, the population of the Land of Fire more than doubled.
The daimyōs of other countries were not pleased. They pressured the Land of Fire's daimyō to return the people who had fled.
When they met with him, the Fire Daimyō burst into tears, putting on a heartbreaking act.
"Yes, I'm the Daimyō… but no one listens to me anymore!"
Even his military arm, Konoha, had completely broken away from his control.
Once upon a time, he could manipulate Konoha through budget control—he said go east, and they wouldn't dare head west.
But now, Konoha's revenue was dozens, even hundreds of times greater than his own. They didn't even bother to acknowledge him anymore.
Yet he didn't dare speak out, afraid that they might eliminate the position of daimyo altogether and render him obsolete.
In the hearts of civilians and merchants, the Daimyō had become nothing more than a ceremonial mascot. Real power lay with Konoha.
Hearing his pathetic tale, the other daimyōs dropped their pressure and instead began to console him.
But none of them noticed the flash of cunning that passed through his tear-filled eyes.
"Konoha no longer answers to me—but they still protect the Land of Fire, and they do show me respect.
With their help, the population has exploded. Every household has surplus grain, and my tax income has multiplied several times over!
Sure, I don't make as much as Konoha, but it's more than enough to spend freely.
And I can take leisurely vacations in Konoha anytime I like. Doesn't that sound better than what you fools are dealing with? You want your civilians back? Keep dreaming!"
That's right—he was putting on an act. Everything he'd said before was fake!
He understood Konoha well, and as a relative of Tsunade, he knew they'd never truly harm him. Otherwise, the Land of Fire would've abandoned the Daimyō position long ago.
Others might not dare do that—but Sora absolutely would, and he might even enjoy it.
Because of these relationships, the Fire Daimyō sat firmly on his throne, unafraid.
Why stress when he could just lie back and collect tax money?
But one shinobi village stood out from the rest—completely different: the Hidden Mist.
After Uchiha Obito's death, perhaps due to someone's manipulation—or perhaps as a form of world correction—a lone orphan from the Uchiha Clan mysteriously vanished, only to reappear before Black Zetsu.
The moment this Uchiha dropped from the sky, Black Zetsu was overwhelmed with delight.
Following his manipulations, the boy—named Uchiha Shin—awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Harboring deep hatred for the world, he vowed to see the Eye of the Moon Plan through.
Coincidentally, Shin's Mangekyō abilities were identical to Obito's.
The only difference? He had both eyes, making him significantly stronger than Obito had been.
He inherited Obito's will and continued controlling the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, enforcing a brutal "Bloody Mist" policy.
It was all such a perfect coincidence that Black Zetsu remained suspicious for a long time—but found nothing.
In the end, he used Shin, but never truly trusted him.
Even so, he became so preoccupied that he all but forgot about Nagato and Konan in the Land of Rain.
All of this happened in complete secrecy. No one had a clue—not even the Uchiha knew they were missing someone.
Had Sora known, he would've quickly figured it out. But unfortunately, he didn't.
On their way back to Konoha, Sora, Minato, Jiraiya, and the others had a candid talk with Uchiha Fugaku.
Thanks to Fugaku's decent relationship with Minato—who had always advocated for fair treatment of the Uchiha—combined with a clear recognition of their relative strength, Fugaku decided to come clean.
"The Uchiha Clan has been increasingly isolated. The elders are preparing for rebellion. That's the situation," he said, honestly and without holding anything back, which made Sora sigh.
Fugaku, in truth, wasn't a bad person. He never truly intended to rebel.
This was evident in the original timeline—he suspected Itachi had acted under orders from Hiruzen and Danzō, yet didn't resist.
He could have activated his Mangekyō and taken out many in the village—even if he couldn't kill Hiruzen, he could've dealt massive damage.
With Itachi's presence, no one in Konoha would've dared harm Sasuke afterward.
Even if someone tried, the threat of losing the Sharingan would've made Hiruzen protect him.
But none of that happened. Fugaku had accepted death quietly.
"That's the weight of one's role," Sora muttered after hearing the whole story.
Everyone in the room had mixed expressions.
Minato dropped his usual warm smile, adopting a serious but calm demeanor. Hiashi felt a deep unease, afraid the Hyūga might one day face a similar fate. Orochimaru remained expressionless—at this point, science was his only love.
Only Jiraiya looked visibly upset—not at Fugaku, but at Konoha's previous leadership.
Ever since the Second Hokage, Tobirama, placed the Uchiha in charge of the Konoha Police Force, the clan had been subject to endless manipulation.
Being enforcers meant alienating civilians, and gradually they were pushed out of Konoha's inner circle, clinging desperately to the Police Force as their only foothold.
When the Third Hokage came into power, things worsened. If not for the high death toll during wars, the Uchiha might never have left the village on missions.
Even then, during war, the Uchiha were often used as cannon fodder—and many had died.
Had Sora not prevented the Nine-Tails incident, that too would've been pinned on them.
Even for a proud clan like the Uchiha, rebellion seemed almost inevitable under such pressure.
Everyone in the room understood all of this. But no one had a solution.
Konoha was partly at fault, but the Uchiha's overwhelming pride was also a barrier—blending in with commoners was impossible.
Look at Sasuke later on—even he looked down on others. That tells you all you need to know about the clan's attitude.
If they tried raising the Uchiha's public image, it would only inflate their egos further.
Under such conditions, even giving Fugaku a seat in Konoha's inner circle wouldn't solve anything.
After Minato pointed this out, Fugaku fell silent, unsure how to respond.
As clan head, no one knew the Uchiha better than him. And he knew—this was a problem with no easy fix.
The group discussed the issue all night—even Orochimaru offered his insights—but still, no viable solution emerged.
At last, Sora stood up and said, "Leave this to me. Give me some time to think it over."
Only then did the meeting finally conclude.
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