Perhaps due to the joy brought by his regenerated arm, Uchiha Kagami seemed very energetic, and his efficiency in handling affairs in the Hokage Cabinet was very high, significantly reducing the backlog of documents.
At the same time, good news came from the Eastern Front: Hiruzen Sarutobi and others had already forced the Hidden Mist Village and the Land of Water's army out of their homeland, compelling them to relocate to islands. The Land of Water, eager for a ceasefire, immediately began negotiating peace terms with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others. It is believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura will return soon; Choza Akimichi, who was assisting on the Eastern Front, has already returned.
Once the Land of Water ceases hostilities, the Second Shinobi World War can officially end. Regarding this large-scale war,Fumori Masaki decided to establish an "Anti-Aggression War Victory Day" to help people deeply understand the significance of the Fire-Lightning Alliance's victory in the Second War.
These tasks had already been placed on the Hokage Cabinet's table by Fumori Masaki when the Western Front war ended, so no one else was too surprised. It was merely a matter of putting this on the agenda after the Eastern Front war was completely over, and to ensure the effectiveness of this commemorative day, they would also need to contact the Hidden Cloud Village.
However, with the conclusion of the Eastern Front war,Fumori Masaki inevitably encountered some troubles. Upon hearing that the Land of Water had been forced to withdraw, some nobles of the Uzumaki clan secretly inquired or consulted, hoping to return to the islands of the Land of Whirlpools and rebuild their nation.
Fumori Masaki felt somewhat helpless about these people's ideas. Although he knew when he brought them here that some would definitely be unwilling to give up their status there—even the smallest country has nobles who can have absolute authority and do as they please—they couldn't do the same in Konoha Village.
However, no matter what,Fumori Masaki could not let these people go back. Possessing powerful kekkei genkai but lacking sufficient strength to protect themselves, sending them back would sooner or later lead to problems. What would Konoha Village do then? Continue to deploy troops to protect them from afar? Wouldn't that incur greater costs and sacrifices without good returns? And if they didn't rescue them, it would damage Konoha Village's reputation.
The best solution was to have the Uzumaki clan members reside within the village. Stationing troops in the Land of Whirlpools was originally an option, beneficial for Konoha Village's naval development, but Konoha Village's priority now was to stabilize the Southern Alliance and address the growing conflict between ninja villages and nobles domestically. It didn't have the strength to spare to protect maritime interests.
Anyway, the Hidden Mist Village couldn't yet develop a modern naval force, and its ability to protect its sea rights was very limited. Konoha Village could completely wait until the domestic situation was stable before acting. At that time, concentrating the entire nation's strength, even if the Hidden Mist Village had the advantage of being an island nation, wouldn't he, with his greater foresight, be able to catch up?
Honestly, given the size and resources of the Land of Fire, as long as it was given time, the gap with other countries would grow wider and wider. In the original timeline, it was only because it was repeatedly challenged by the other four great nations that it didn't open up a significant distance. But the fact that the Land of Fire could challenge the four great nations, even using various tactical means, showed its advantage.
Fumori Masaki did not believe that, given the current advantages of the Land of Fire, it would fare worse than in the original timeline.
Therefore,Fumori Masaki completely ignored the hints from those nobles of the Land of Whirlpools, pretending not to understand. Those people also didn't dare to ask him directly. If they dared, he wouldn't be polite with his words.
Fortunately, these nobles were only a small fraction of the Uzumaki clan. With the assistance of Tsunade's parents and the Uzumaki clan members who had previously come to the Land of Whirlpools, it was believed that they wouldn't cause too much trouble. Once a generation passed, the generation that grew up in Konoha Village would surely have a stronger sense of belonging to Konoha Village than to the Land of Whirlpools, which had become a ruin.
After the day's work, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado still had some parts of their responsibilities to go back and ponder,
so they left early. Uchiha Kagami also wanted to understand the aftermath of his clan. He still didn't know how the clan was doing after the purge.
Uchiha Kagami's wife, Maki, had been waiting at home. She saw Uchiha Kagami leave to report for work and still hadn't returned by night. She felt a little resentful, thinking he was still so dedicated to work even with one arm missing—she didn't know that Uchiha Kagami had already undergone regenerative surgery.
And when Uchiha Kagami stepped through the door, Maki, hearing his familiar footsteps, immediately came out to greet him. Before she could say anything, her eyes immediately fell on his perfectly intact arm.
For a moment, Maki couldn't believe her eyes. When she confirmed that Uchiha Kagami's arm had regenerated, all her complaints vanished, replaced only by joy. She quickly ran over, took Uchiha Kagami's regenerated arm, and examined it, saying, "Did you have the surgery so quickly?"
"Yes. I've been waiting for it," Uchiha Kagami said with a smile. The regeneration of his arm had kept him in a good mood.
"You're so impatient," Maki said, trying to suppress a laugh, then pulled Uchiha Kagami inside. "No wonder you stayed out working. So it was because you'd already had the surgery. How were the results?"
"Tsunade performed the surgery, and there were no problems. Of course, she said I still need to go for a check-up," Uchiha Kagami said.
"It was Tsunade-chan, then there's definitely no problem. She's the best medical ninja in this village. Back then, only Lord Hashirama might have been even better," Maki said.
As the two entered the room, Uchiha Kagami didn't see his daughter Mizuki—Mizuki had returned early withFumori Masaki—so he asked where she was. Maki replied, "She went to Fumori Masaki's house to play with Asuna. Like you, she stayed out late. Honestly, it's rare for both you and her to be back, but neither of you can settle down."
"Since the war is over, it's good to relax a bit, lest our nerves stay tense and eventually lead to health problems," Uchiha Kagami said.
"That's true. That child must have had a hard time too. Although she awakened her Sharingan during the war, she doesn't seem particularly happy about it," Maki said.
Compared to typical Uchiha clan members, Uchiha Kagami's temperament was relatively gentle. Therefore, his view of the Sharingan was not as obsessive as other clan members. For other clan members, the Sharingan represented something sacred, and whoever awakened it early would gain respect.
But Uchiha Kagami, who had thoroughly read the clan's history, held two different psychological views on the Sharingan. On one hand, as the clan's kekkei genkai, the Sharingan was a guarantee for the clan's survival and prosperity. On the other hand, the Sharingan was also a product of tragedy. Those who awakened the Sharingan at a younger age were certainly burdened with heavy psychological loads.
Uchiha Kagami never thought this was a good thing, especially after he had a brief understanding of the progress of psychological treatment from Fumori Masaki. In addition to ninjas who developed psychological problems during the war, it also had very good therapeutic effects on Uchiha clan members in daily life, and a lot of data had been collected, which indicated that most Uchiha clan members had psychological problems.
Given Mizuki's age, awakening the Sharingan at this time was actually a relatively good age. Uchiha Kagami understood that for older Uchiha clan members, it was not as easy to awaken the Sharingan because adults were more mature and not as easily stimulated. Those who were younger and more talented were the ones to worry about the most.
"After this war ends, there should be a period of peace, and it won't be short," Uchiha Kagami mused. "It shouldn't be shorter than the period after the First Shinobi World War ended. This time, Fumori Masaki has set out to establish an alliance connected by the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. Even if the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning have ulterior motives, it won't lead to another war in a short time."
Hearing Uchiha Kagami mention the Land of Lightning's ulterior motives, Mizuki showed no surprise. Although the Land of Lightning was an ally of the Land of Fire in this war, wasn't the Land of Earth also an ally of the Land of Fire in the previous Shinobi World War? And what role did the Land of Earth play in this war?
Even Mizuki, who wasn't heavily involved in high-level decision-making and only worked within the Security Force, understood that in national affairs, relying solely on temporary emotions was useless. The emotions of leaders could at most serve as a driving force. Once it came to the entire nation, what truly maintained relationships were other things.
Therefore, Maki was very curious about the alliance between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire that Uchiha Kagami mentioned. She stayed in the village and wasn't very familiar with decisions made on the front lines.
Uchiha Kagami then explained the purpose of this alliance to her. In this alliance, member states would engage in trade through friendly cooperation, achieving a win-win situation. Of course, to ensure the maintenance of the alliance and prevent major conflicts, Konoha Village would hold a dominant position within it.
In this alliance system, the interests of all member states are the same.Fumori Masaki has made it clear that if any country invades one of the member states, even a small one, it is equivalent to declaring war on the entire alliance, and all member states are obligated to participate.
In this war, Konoha Village sent troops to the Land of Rain to assist in defense, which was actually an unwritten manifestation of this policy. In the battle in the Land of Rain,Fumori Masaki called it the "Defense of the Land of Rain." Since Konoha Village was the leader of the alliance, it had an obligation to protect the legitimate interests of small countries.
Maki couldn't help but nod. In her opinion, if the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth had established such a relationship after the First Shinobi World War, perhaps this Fire-Earth War wouldn't have happened.
Uchiha Kagami, however, shook his head slightly and said that in the First Shinobi World War, the strength of both sides was similar, and establishing an alliance was not much different from the so-called alliances of the past. Once both sides pursued their own interests, the alliance would be difficult to maintain, and it would be very easy for the Land of Earth to withdraw. But in this alliance, Konoha Village holds the main position, and the Land of Wind will largely depend on the help of the Land of Fire. Even if the Land of Wind's strength recovers in the future, it would be unlikely to break away from the alliance.
Maki then realized that her thoughts were not thorough enough. This was understandable; after all, she had not participated in the highest levels of decision-making and had spent these years helping Uchiha Kagami manage internal affairs.
Speaking of this, Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but ask about the internal purge during his absence. From the current situation, the clan remained stable, but he needed to confirm what potential future troubles there might be.
Maki then recounted her actions during that period. In the name of the clan head's wife, and with Uchiha Kagami's written order, she allowed Konoha Village's ANBU to legally intervene, arresting all the hawk-faction members in the clan. The Kagami faction completely took control of everything in the clan.
The hawk-faction members were then subjected to public trials within the village, where respected members elected by the village issued legal sentences. Whatever punishment was deemed appropriate was given. After the trials, Maki also impartially reviewed the entire process, confirmed its legality and correctness, and then formally signed her name, handing it over to the village's judgment.
Afterward, Maki also worked to stabilize the clan, which had been unsettled by the sudden purge of the hawk faction and various related phenomena. The subsequent results were as Uchiha Kagami saw: the clan was currently very stable.
Uchiha Kagami nodded slightly upon hearing this, remaining silent for a moment before saying, "Even now, I'm still reluctant to accept what happened with Uchiha Setsuna. If he had understood me, the clan might not have experienced such a great upheaval."
Uchiha Kagami, who had read the clan's history, understood that in the past, the Uchiha clan often saw kin killing kin. After inheriting the position of clan head, he had hoped that such a situation would never occur again, but to his dismay, it still did.
"Long-standing bad habits are not so easy to change. These people are traditional believers and will not accept new ideas. I don't think it's necessary to waste time on them," Maki consoled. "Uchiha Setsuna's actions have already shown that no matter how good you are to them, they will betray you sooner or later. At least most of the clan members still recognize your efforts, and that's enough."
"That's true," Uchiha Kagami said, smiling with a sense of relief.
Maki smiled, then seemed to recall something and said, "Oh, right, Tsunade-chan played an indispensable role in your arm's regeneration this time. You really should thank her properly. And Fumori Masaki has helped our family a lot. Why don't we invite them to our house for dinner, as a way of thanking them?"
Uchiha Kagami considered this upon hearing it, then nodded. "You're right, I need to thank Tsunade. I'll talk to Fumori Masaki tomorrow."