"Perfect timing to strengthen our defenses at home and stay alert," he added, looking at Yojin with a satisfied expression before letting out a heavy sigh.
"I've heard there's been a lot of unrest over in Sunagakure, too. Who knows how long this peace will really last? We here in the Land of Grass need to be ready."
"Peace, huh..." Yojin echoed thoughtfully, nodding as he sighed. "I'll make sure to calm the workers down."
"How's the literacy campaign going these days?" Charlie asked.
"Everyone's working hard," Yojin replied with a smile. "It's a bit late to start chakra refinement now, but once it takes off, it'll be a huge help for us."
Then, as if remembering something, he pulled out a stack of documents.
"About Kawaki, the worker involved in that incident. His supervisor says he's diligent and responsible and takes his studies seriously. The team even recommended him as this period's outstanding worker."
"Kawaki, huh…" Charlie murmured thoughtfully. "I know him, he was the first to come in for the interview. Bold but conscientious. As for 'outstanding worker,' it's mostly a morale booster."
Charlie nodded. "Handle it however you think best, but make sure there are no issues. And the year-end holidays are coming up, right? It's a great chance to pay them and let them get out and see more of the Land of Grass. Just keep supervision tight."
Might as well spend some money, Charlie thought to himself.
"Another year's passed. Let's make this New Year a good one!"
"I understand!" Elder Yojin replied, giving Charlie a strange look but nodding without question.
"Oh, speaking of holidays... a few people from Rain who came with Yahiko and the others actually asked me a few days ago if they could go out for a walk."
"Them? Want to go out? No trouble?"
"No trouble at all. One bald guy even went so far as to submit a written request properly."
"... ??"
Later on at the workfield, Renjiro glared furiously at Kongo, who was wearing the same green work uniform as the other workers.
"Kongo, what are you doing? Writing an outing request to the Kusa Shinobi Village?" he demanded, feeling utterly betrayed. How long had it been? How had this guy changed so much?
Fuming, he snapped, "We're from the Land of Rain!"
Kongo looked at him in surprise and said, "It's just a request. I'm not betraying anyone."
Renjiro's eyes narrowed further. "And you're actually wearing their clothes too!"
Kongo shrugged. "Come on, it's just a uniform."
"There are tens of thousands of people here from the Land of Rain," Kongo said seriously, than added, "I've learned a lot since arriving with my own eyes. After watching for a few days, I'm starting to think the Kusa Shinobi lord might be stronger than anyone, even beyond the gods of the shinobi. You should calm down and focus on your studies too."
"I, Renjiro, would rather die, write myself to death on these exams!" Renjiro snapped back.
"Suit yourself," Kongo shrugged. "I even wrote a request for you. If you don't want to go out, you don't have to."
Silence hung between them.
"Oh, and just so you know, it's getting colder. If you don't dress warmly, you might get sick. I need to get back to studying now." Kongo headed for the door but paused, then turned back with a grin.
"Actually, these Kusa Shinobi clothes are pretty warm!"
Renjiro stared at him with a dark scowl. Once Kongo left, he muttered bitterly to himself,
"We're from the Land of Rain, yet you trust the Kusa Shinobi so much. Even that damn brat tricked us. We agreed to save the Land of Rain together. But in the end? It was all a lie!"
A cold breeze whispered through the door, making Renjiro shiver involuntarily as he rubbed his arms.
"It really is a bit cold."
His eyes flicked toward the neatly folded green work uniform on his bed. After a moment, he turned away firmly.
"A little cold? I, I, Renjiro, am absolutely not afraid!"
His stubborn voice echoed through the empty room.
Meanwhile back at the underground…
White Zetsu with the fake name Jugen poked his head into the cave, calling out, "Lord Madara! Lord Madara!"
When Madara slowly opened his eyes and sat up on the stone chair, White Zetsu grinned and hurried inside. "Are you awake, Lord Madara?"
Madara glared at him and said flatly, "What's all this noise? Is this morning reading or evening reading? Didn't I say this was break time? Why are you waking an old man?"
But when he noticed something tucked in White Zetsu's arms, his eyelids flickered slightly. "Did you sneak out to play again?"
White Zetsu shook his head seriously. "No, I didn't play at all. I just went out to study. And I brought you something while I was at it!"
Madara leaned back against the stone bench, eyes half-closed and clearly uninterested, offering only a faint "Hmm~" in response. White Zetsu didn't mind; he seemed used to this reaction. Then he pulled out some specially bought tri-colored dango and grinned cheekily. "Ta-da!"
Black Zetsu often told White Zetsu he wasn't taking good enough care of Lord Madara, but look at this! He had even secretly bought food for Madara. What was wrong with that? "Please enjoy, Lord Madara!"
Madara snorted coldly. "Hmph! Such a boring thing. You should be studying harder to become a useful tool like the other White Zetsu clones instead of wasting time on nonsense like this! Acting like an idiot!"
Despite his harsh words, Madara's wrinkled hand reached out and took the dango. Though his expression was annoyed, his mouth trembled slightly as he slowly bit into it. After a moment, he said with a tone full of disgust, "Still tastes terrible."
White Zetsu giggled. "Heeheehee~ Maybe they don't taste as good here as they do in Konoha. You're just not used to them."
Watching Lord Madara eat with such obvious dislike while lecturing him didn't bother White Zetsu. He sat down beside Madara, pulled out his sketchpad, and asked, "Lord Madara, can I ask you a question?"
Madara immediately snapped, "No! You idiot! All you ever want to talk about is poop and other boring stuff!"
"Oh no, you caught me again, Lord Madara!" White Zetsu replied with mock surprise.
"Hmph, you're just as dumb as that idiot Hashirama! No, actually, Hashirama's even dumber than you, a complete fool!" Madara sneered, chewing on his dango. Then he glanced around and asked, "Where's the main Black Zetsu? Out gathering intel again?"
"Yes!" White Zetsu nodded happily, though it wasn't just about gathering information. "By the way, I heard the shinobi world's been pretty tense lately. Especially the Sunagakure, they're looking for something."
"Is another war coming? Hmph! This world really is a mistake." Madara looked at the tag in his hands and said flatly, "Weren't you supposed to be on a mission the other day? Why are you back so early today?"