Time passed quickly, like a white horse flashing through a narrow gap—gone in the blink of an eye.
Over the past month, Uchiha Su had lived a very busy life. Apart from his daily training, he often took Uchiha Nami with him to handle the official affairs of the Hidden Mist Village. Whenever he had spare time, he traveled across the islands of the Land of Water, carefully observing the conditions of the country.
His trips served two purposes.
First, he needed to personally inspect the progress of infrastructure projects such as bridge construction and road paving. These projects were vital for the long-term prosperity of the Land of Water.
Second, he wanted to ensure that people across the entire country clearly understood one fact: the Uchiha Clan had officially migrated to the Hidden Mist Village.
With the help of Tazuna and the cooperation of numerous ninjas, bridges connecting the scattered islands of the Land of Water were completed one after another. The nation, once divided by sea channels and difficult travel routes, was slowly becoming connected.
Transportation became easier than ever before.
Merchants who once hesitated to travel between islands were now willing to move goods more frequently. Small ports gradually became lively marketplaces, and the movement of people and trade increased significantly.
Commerce was beginning to flourish.
Seeing these changes, Uchiha Su felt satisfied. Infrastructure was the foundation of a nation's prosperity. Without roads and bridges, no matter how talented the people were, development would always remain slow.
At the same time, Uchiha Su reorganized part of the ninja workforce within the Hidden Mist Village.
Many older ninjas and those with weaker combat abilities were gathered together into a newly created department called the Engineering Department.
The responsibility of this department was simple: infrastructure construction and maintenance.
Unlike traditional ninja squads that performed dangerous missions, the Engineering Department focused on building roads, bridges, docks, and other essential facilities across the Land of Water.
Of course, Uchiha Su ensured that these ninjas were paid a stable monthly salary.
This was an entirely new system.
The ninja profession was extremely expensive. Maintaining a ninja lifestyle required enormous financial support.
First, there was food. Ninjas required highly nutritious meals to maintain their bodies and refine chakra efficiently. Ordinary food was not enough for intense training.
Second, there were ninja tools—kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, wires, and many other pieces of equipment. These were consumables that wore out quickly during both training and missions.
Daily training alone could destroy a large number of tools.
Therefore, spending money like flowing water was not an exaggeration for ninjas.
To further motivate the members of the Engineering Department, Uchiha Su also placed several ninjutsu scrolls within the department's training library.
These techniques had been confiscated long ago from various ninja clans defeated by the Uchiha Clan during the Warring States Period.
Most of them were not high-level ninjutsu, but they were practical and useful. They included techniques of different elemental attributes that could assist with digging foundations, shaping terrain, strengthening structures, and other construction work.
After completing certain infrastructure missions, members of the Engineering Department were allowed to redeem these ninjutsu for training.
The more techniques a ninja mastered, the higher their base salary became. Additionally, they could earn extra rewards by completing major construction tasks.
This system greatly increased motivation among the lower-ranking ninjas.
However, not everyone in the Hidden Mist Village welcomed these reforms.
Some conservative factions strongly opposed the creation of the Engineering Department. They believed that ninjas should only focus on combat and missions, not construction work.
Their dissatisfaction eventually erupted into a serious disturbance.
A group of angry ninjas stormed the Mizukage Office Building, protesting loudly against Uchiha Su's policies.
Their main complaint was simple:
There had never been a precedent in any ninja village for paying ninjas a monthly salary.
Furthermore, the Engineering Department consisted mostly of individuals they looked down upon—old, weak, sick, or disabled ninjas, along with genin whose combat power was too low to perform dangerous missions.
These genin normally could only accept D-rank or C-rank tasks such as cleaning, delivery work, or assisting civilians.
To many elites, these people were practically useless.
But Uchiha Su did not tolerate the disturbance.
This was precisely the moment when authority had to be established.
With the support of Uchiha Madara and Hōzuki Gengetsu, Uchiha Su acted decisively. A large number of Uchiha clan members were assigned to the Anbu, strengthening the village's internal security forces.
Soon afterward, swift action was taken.
Every person who participated in the attack on the Mizukage Office Building was arrested. They were sentenced to labor reform in prison, where they would repay their crimes through forced work.
But Uchiha Su did not stop there.
He launched a thorough investigation and uncovered the influential figures who had secretly supported the disturbance from behind the scenes.
Those individuals were also eliminated from positions of power.
In a very short period of time, Uchiha Su demonstrated his absolute authority.
His reputation spread rapidly throughout the Hidden Mist Village. Among civilians and even among ninjas, stories about the young Uchiha leader circulated everywhere.
Some parents even joked that mentioning Uchiha Su's name was enough to stop children from crying at night.
Meanwhile, infrastructure development continued at an astonishing pace.
There was a saying that Uchiha Su strongly believed in:
"If you want to become rich, you must first build roads."
The original roads of the Land of Water were in terrible condition. Many were uneven, filled with potholes, and difficult to travel.
During rainy seasons, these roads turned into rivers of mud. Ordinary villagers would return home covered in dirt after traveling just a short distance.
But with the Engineering Department working tirelessly, the roads were quickly leveled and rebuilt.
The speed of construction was unbelievable to the local population.
The second goal of Uchiha Su's journey across the islands was also gradually achieved.
He wanted the name Uchiha to echo throughout the entire Land of Water.
Even on remote islands, Uchiha Su personally visited with a small escort team. Sometimes they simply appeared, demonstrated their power, and left after ensuring that the local residents clearly understood who now held authority.
In truth, this approach was deliberate.
Grandeur is essential for authority.
If unstable elements in society witnessed the overwhelming strength of the Uchiha Clan beforehand, they would think twice before causing trouble in the future.
Sometimes, a display of power could prevent conflict before it even began.
Eventually, even the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water sent a representative to the Hidden Mist Village.
Uchiha Su had already prepared for a confrontation. In many countries, feudal lords disliked the sudden rise of powerful ninja clans within their territories.
However, to his surprise, the representative did not cause any trouble.
The envoy simply observed the recent situation in the Hidden Mist Village, asked several questions, and then expressed the Feudal Lord's approval.
This unexpected reaction puzzled Uchiha Su.
He had prepared countless strategies to deal with political resistance, yet the challenge never came.
Curious, he immediately sent people to investigate the situation.
Soon the truth emerged.
It turned out that Araki Taro, the Feudal Lord of the nearby Land of Waves, had spoken highly of the Uchiha Clan during discussions with the Land of Water's ruler.
He had explained the advantages of the Uchiha's arrival and analyzed how their presence could strengthen regional stability.
Because of this persuasion, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water ultimately chose to tacitly approve the Uchiha Clan's integration into the Hidden Mist Village.
Uchiha Su could not ignore such assistance.
To express his gratitude, he sent several valuable gifts to the Feudal Lord of the Land of Waves. In addition, he dispatched two Uchiha ninjas and three Hidden Mist ninjas to serve as personal protectors for Araki Taro.
Outside the village, Uchiha Su also closely monitored developments throughout the ninja world.
At present, the international situation remained relatively calm.
Aside from minor conflicts along national borders, the major powers had not yet entered open warfare.
Konoha appeared to have swallowed the bitter pill regarding the rumor that "the true orthodoxy of Konoha now lies in the Hidden Mist."
Although Senju Tobirama had not taken immediate action, Uchiha Su did not believe that Tobirama was the kind of person who would silently accept humiliation.
Especially when the matter involved the Uchiha Clan—the group Tobirama disliked the most.
To prepare for potential threats, Uchiha Su secretly established contact with the Nekomata Clan that remained within Konoha.
Through them, he could receive intelligence quickly if any unusual movements occurred in the Leaf Village.
Meanwhile, the Land of Waves had already become closely connected with the Uchiha.
But Uchiha Su's ambitions did not stop there.
He also began sending envoys to establish diplomatic contact with the Land of Whirlpools.
Publicly, the visits appeared to be friendly exchanges.
Secretly, however, Uchiha Su had already begun infiltrating agents into the country.
The Land of Whirlpools was not weak. Its people were especially famous for their mastery of sealing techniques.
This knowledge was extremely important to Uchiha Su.
Currently, the Hidden Mist Village possessed the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails.
However, the Uchiha Clan lacked powerful sealing techniques capable of turning humans into Jinchūriki, vessels that could safely contain tailed beasts.
Without such methods, controlling these powerful creatures would be extremely difficult.
As for the Nine-Tails, Uchiha Madara intended to take it with him.
Madara planned to use the beast in his upcoming battle against Senju Hashirama.
Although Uchiha Su suspected that the Nine-Tails might never return once Madara took it away, he chose not to interfere.
After all, if the Nine-Tails disappeared unexpectedly and Madara failed to achieve his objective, the situation could become very troublesome.
One morning, as faint sunlight illuminated the horizon, a significant day arrived.
It was the day when Uchiha Madara prepared to leave the Hidden Mist Village and head toward Konoha to challenge Hashirama.
Uchiha Su stood silently in front of the window of the Mizukage Office Building.
From there, he could see members of the Engineering Department working energetically on nearby construction projects.
These ninjas had once been the lowest-ranked individuals in the entire village.
They possessed no exceptional strength, no bloodline limits, and no powerful ninjutsu.
They were simply ordinary genin.
Before the Engineering Department existed, their lives had been miserable.
They survived by performing trivial tasks such as searching for lost pets or helping villagers with small chores.
Many of them lived from day to day, often struggling to find enough food.
But now everything had changed.
With stable salaries and meaningful work, these ninjas suddenly displayed incredible enthusiasm.
Their lives finally had security, and their children now had the possibility of becoming real ninjas in the future.
Still, the truth remained the same.
Being a ninja was an extremely demanding profession—one that required enormous time, money, and courage.
Without a strong family background or financial support, surviving in this world was extremely difficult.
Just as Uchiha Su quietly observed the scene outside the window, a sudden message appeared in his mind.
[Mission Completed: Establish the new Uchiha, and successfully spread the rumor in the Ninja World that the Konoha orthodoxy is in the Hidden Mist Village]
[Mission Reward: Mangekyō Sharingan]
At that moment, Uchiha Su felt a sharp chill spread through his eyes.
The two tomoe within his Sharingan began to spin rapidly, gradually transforming into a new pattern.
Six petal-like shapes slowly formed within the crimson pupils, surrounding a dark circular core.
An unprecedented clarity filled his vision.
It was as if he had once suffered from severe nearsightedness and suddenly regained perfect sight.
The world became incredibly sharp and detailed.
He could clearly see the veins of leaves hundreds of meters away.
Even the faint vibration of an insect's wings in the distance could be detected.
Yet these heightened senses were merely the most basic abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The true power of the Mangekyō lay in its unique techniques.
And the moment his eyes awakened, Uchiha Su instantly understood what ability his Mangekyō possessed.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)