Sora slept straight through until noon the next day before finally escaping the clutches of his blanket and dragging himself out of bed.
He decided to treat himself to some long-missed Chinese dishes—kung pao chicken, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and fish-fragrant pork strips. The aroma alone made his mouth water.
In his previous life as a single man, Sora had honed his cooking skills to perfection just to survive.
Knock knock knock!
Just as he was about to enjoy his delicious meal, someone knocked at the door.
Too lazy to open it himself, Sora used a sensory jutsu. Recognizing the chakra signature as Kakashi's, he called out lazily, "Come in."
"What's up?" he asked with his mouth half-full of food.
"Minato-sensei wants to discuss something with you. He asked you to come to the Hokage's office," Kakashi said. Only after delivering the message did he let his gaze settle on the food. "What is this? I've never seen it before."
The scent had hit him the moment he entered. He had been fighting the temptation ever since.
Seeing his expression, Sora figured Minato's matter wasn't urgent and waved him over. "Come on, eat with me."
Kakashi didn't need to be asked twice. The two of them started digging in, passing food back and forth like a couple of hungry wolves.
While they ate, Sora casually asked, "What does Minato want with me?"
"It's about the high-yield crops you and Lord Orochimaru introduced. Now that the people of the Fire Country are no longer worried about food, there's been a surge in criminal activity."
At this point, Kakashi couldn't help but twitch at the absurdity. "Turns out, once they're fed and have nothing to do, they start looking for trouble."
Just thinking about it gave Kakashi a headache. When they were starving, they had no time for mischief. Now they had food, but no productive outlet—so chaos ensued.
Sora instantly understood. The same thing had happened in his previous life. After Yuan Longping boosted agricultural output, the population experienced a similar transitional phase.
Eventually, entertainment culture developed, giving people something to do and calming things down.
Looks like Konoha's entertainment industry needed to be kick-started too.
But the thought made his head hurt. All he wanted was to help Minato strengthen the village. Now it felt like every problem was landing on his shoulders.
The Uchiha issue, rising crime in the Fire Country—one thing after another, all for him to handle.
After their meal, Sora washed the dishes with a Water Style jutsu, and the two of them headed to the Hokage building.
When they arrived, only Minato was there. Shikaku Nara, who usually helped with paperwork, had likely gone to lunch.
"Little Sora, you're here. Kakashi should've told you—do you have any ideas?" Minato's face was full of hope. Clearly, he was overwhelmed.
Normally, this sort of thing would be the daimyō's responsibility. But now the people only recognized Konoha. Minato couldn't bring himself to drive them away, and this was the result.
Sora didn't disappoint. He nodded and said, "I have some ideas, but I'll need a little time."
"That's great—just great!" Minato beamed with relief.
He'd been buried in trivial cases all day long. Hundreds of them every day. It was exhausting. He barely had time to spend with his son anymore.
There were even moments he wanted to step down and just stay home in peace.
After parting ways with Minato, Sora headed to Orochimaru's lab. After greeting him, he laid out what he needed—cameras, video editing software, and more, detailing both the functions and the designs.
"How long would it take to develop these?"
"Give me a month. You'll have them by then." With that, Orochimaru waved him off.
These technologies were already beginning to emerge—Fujiyama Fubuki would be a huge star in twelve years.
So with the groundwork in place, this was all child's play for Orochimaru.
Sora often thought Orochimaru was the greatest hidden treasure in this world.
If a transmigrator had even a basic high school education, just telling Orochimaru a bit of physics or chemistry could get you ten thousand times the return.
With the prep work out of the way, Sora turned his attention to the Uchiha problem.
This was going to be a massive project. No way it could be resolved overnight.
Step one: list the issues.
First, the suppression from Konoha's higher-ups—that had already been addressed.
Second, the deep-rooted hostility from Konoha's middle ranks and civilians. That one was incredibly difficult to resolve.
Third, the Uchiha's overwhelming arrogance. They looked down on both shinobi and civilians alike, with no desire to change.
The second and third problems fed into each other. The more arrogant the Uchiha acted, the more the others despised them.
"This… isn't going to be easy," Sora muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.
Fixing the problem required changing the Uchiha's attitude—but their pride was etched into their very bones. Changing it seemed impossible.
On top of that, there needed to be a path for the Uchiha to integrate into Konoha. But the villagers weren't exactly welcoming.
"The root of the issue lies in the third point—the Uchiha's attitude. If they could change, even if it took time, integration would be possible."
"But how do you change them? They're all stubborn mules!"
Sora frowned so hard he looked like a grumpy old man.
"Wait—I've got it!" He clapped his hands, his face lighting up. "If we can't make them give up their pride, then let's redirect their pride!"
"In that case, I'll write a book: The Proper Way to Be a Proud Uchiha."
Once he had the idea, he got to work immediately. As he picked up his pen, his thoughts briefly returned to the days when he'd written Battle Through the Heavens in the ninja world to earn money.
But he quickly shook that off—this was the real task.
First: How should a proud Uchiha treat civilians?
– When shopping, don't haggle—pay extra.
– When greeted by a civilian, reply more warmly than expected—prove you're better than them at being polite.
– If a civilian has a problem, a proud Uchiha should solve it easily and graciously.
Second: How should a proud Uchiha treat fellow shinobi?
– In conflicts, show that you're too strong to bother with petty arguments—take the high road.
– When completing missions, outperform everyone else—your results must shine.
– During teamwork, act like a benevolent elite—follow orders flawlessly, offer guidance when needed.
– When danger arises, the proud Uchiha steps in to save the day—because everyone else is too weak.
Third: How should a proud Uchiha treat the Konoha leadership?
– When given a mission, respond with, "That's it? I'll finish it in five minutes."
– When encountering a superior, greet them first—you're so proud, you have to take the initiative.
Fourth: How should a proud Uchiha treat the enemy?
– "You can't beat me. Just sit there and wait for death."
Summary:
– With civilians: I must do better than other shinobi, because I'm proud.
– With comrades: I must shine brighter—in combat, in obedience, in teamwork.
– With enemies: I kill the most, and I do it best.
That was the general idea. Of course, what Sora actually wrote was far more detailed—he didn't stop until he'd filled 40,000 to 50,000 words.
On the title page, he scrawled the bold heading: The Proper Way to Be a Proud Uchiha
Author: Sora.
Satisfied, he finally put the pen down.
Everything was in place—all he needed was the "eastern wind." If he could just get the Uchiha to study and memorize this book, things would change.
But that was a big challenge. The Uchiha wouldn't just take orders from Sora.
Even if Minato went in person, it might not work.
This called for a bit of scheming—and it would require Fugaku's cooperation.
"Tch. It's already this late. I'll go tomorrow."
Seeing that the sky had already darkened, Sora shelved his visit to the Uchiha district for another day.
He carefully stored the manuscript of The Proper Way to Be a Proud Uchiha and finally turned his attention to making dinner.
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