Chapter 29 – If We're Mercenaries, Learn from the Italians
That's how Yujiro roasted Fugaku:
If you can't manage backstabbing like the Italian mercenary companies, at least learn from Wallenstein of the German wars, right?
And the very next night, he said the exact same thing to Minato Namikaze.
---
Minato: "…"
Fugaku: "…"
Kushina, who had followed to catch her husband cheating: "…"
Everyone was stunned by Yujiro's brazen shamelessness.
Wait—what? Ninjas… can actually operate like this? Isn't this… wrong?
After all, the daimyō was their sovereign and their sponsor. To treat him this way—wasn't that going a little too far?
---
Here the cultural gap showed.
Yujiro, a transmigrator, carried with him a mindset steeped in "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Whoever holds the arms, holds the crown.
In his eyes, Konoha controlled the strongest military force in the Land of Fire, so they deserved the fattest slice of the pie. Not this pitiful role as the daimyo's guard dog.
Tobacco, tea, sugar, salt, iron—these trades should belong to Konoha.
And if the nobles or daimyo dared to object? They'd be crushed like insects.
Yujiro's fantasies ran hot: if the daimyo dared play hardball, then flip the table, storm the palace, cut them down where they stood. Show them what real defiance meant.
And when the timing was ripe? Keep the daimyo under house arrest, and when the world forgot, have him "commit suicide" by eighty kunai to the back.
But of course, these radical ideas were poison to Fugaku, let alone Minato. They had no such tradition, no such way of thinking.
To them, Yujiro's words weren't bold—they were treasonous.
---
"Wait… this is the big money-making scheme you were talking about?" Minato asked, bewildered.
He felt utterly wronged. During the day, Yujiro had spoken to him about Obito, which left Minato uneasy. They'd agreed to meet at night to discuss things quietly.
Obito wasn't a matter to rush—careful planning was needed. But right now, the Third Shinobi War had left Konoha drowning in deficits. Compensation to widows, orphans, and injured shinobi piled up unpaid. Ninja bled on the battlefield only to come home to empty promises, their once-proud eyes dulled to dead fish.
Minato hadn't realized the scale of the crisis before becoming Hokage. Now, staring at ledgers every night, he was tearing his hair out.
So he dragged himself out at midnight—not to sleep beside his wife, but to meet Yujiro. And of course Kushina noticed.
Her first thought? Her husband, the Hokage, sneaking off to meet a mistress!
Shocked and furious, she followed, ready to catch him in the act.
Then she saw Minato slip into Yujiro's house.
Her rage flared hotter. Really? Not only cheating, but with a man?
---
So now Yujiro had two jobs: not only to pitch his outrageous ideas to Minato, but also to keep Kushina from exploding. Like some neighborhood committee auntie, he patiently explained to her that Minato was way too much of a wimp to ever cheat.
Kushina thought for a moment, and grudgingly admitted, "That… does make sense."
The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero sat down beside them. And so, instead of a secret meeting, Yujiro found himself pitching to both the Hokage and his wife.
---
Minato, though, was still uneasy.
Kushina was a jinchūriki. For all Konoha's talk of the Will of Fire, its treatment of its jinchūriki was nowhere near as humane as Kumogakure's. Was it really okay to involve her in national strategy?
Yujiro, on the other hand, was delighted. He'd been wondering how to build ties with Kushina—and now she'd walked right into his lap. What better stroke of luck?
But in the end, both Minato and Kushina reacted the same way Fugaku had: shaken, overwhelmed, and disturbed.
Kushina rubbed her temples, unsure what to say. Minato opened his mouth, then shut it again.
They'd expected clever solutions. Instead, Yujiro had handed them a blueprint for treason.
---
But Yujiro's expression remained calm as he spoke:
"Yes, that's the daimyō you're talking about. The great daimyō, the nobles. But if we do this—Konoha will be rich. The budget crisis solved. Shinobi salaries and pensions doubled. Every citizen fed and happy."
He leaned forward, his eyes sharp:
"The real problem of the ninja world has never been ideology. It's always been scarcity.
Iwagakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure—they all started wars under the excuse of 'resource shortages.'
But the truth? Resources aren't scarce. They're just hoarded. A handful of parasites sit atop them, contributing nothing to their nations or the world, while others bleed and starve.
That… that is the real root of this endless tragedy. Don't you agree, Hokage? Don't you agree, Lady Kushina?"
Kushina was still frowning, lost in thought. Minato, however, had already calmed down.
Minato Namikaze:
"True. But if we do this, the daimyō will hate us. The nobles will never forgive us. And the other great nations? They'll see us as a threat. The Five Great Shinobi Villages might form a coalition, strike from outside while the nobles undermine us from within… and Konoha will be destroyed."
At that, silence settled over the room.
As expected of the Fourth Hokage—he might look mild-mannered, but in just moments he'd dissected Yujiro's proposal and struck straight at its fatal flaw.
Uchiha Yujiro:
"Exactly. That's why communication is key. If Konoha moves alone, it'll never work. But what if all five great villages act together?"
Minato:
"…There isn't enough trust between us."
Yujiro:
"Then build it. That's what summits are for. Why not turn the occasional Five Kage Conference into a permanent institution?
Money and military might, combined—let Konoha grow rich and strong, then sweep across the entire shinobi world in one stroke.
And when that day comes, Minato Namikaze—you'll be the first Emperor of the Shinobi. And I, Uchiha Yujiro, will gladly serve as your right hand."
---
Minato fell quiet, troubled.
"…Let's not talk about distant futures," he finally said. "You claimed you had a way to make quick money. Let's hear that instead."
Yujiro:
"No problem."
To Minato's surprise, Yujiro actually dropped the subject without protest. That alone made him breathe easier—though for some reason, he also felt a faint, inexplicable sense of loss.
What Yujiro said had been outrageous, treasonous even. And yet… why had it felt so compelling?
He forced the thought down. But that moment of hesitation didn't escape Yujiro's sharp eyes.
In Minato's gaze, Yujiro saw it—the flicker of desire, the spark of ambition he'd just ignited.
The Hokage's noble yearning for peace across the shinobi world.
The leader's burning drive for Konoha's glory and prosperity.
To Yujiro, though, it was all the same fuel.