It had been almost five months since he left the village. During this time, Uchiha Yoichi only returned once, using the Flying Thunder God to come back briefly before heading to the battlefield again.
Upon his return this time, Uchiha Yoichi and the other ninjas received a warm welcome. The villagers knew that the hero who had defeated the Hidden Cloud invaders was back.
Konoha would publicize the accomplishments of the ninjas on the battlefield, ensuring that the heroes who contributed to the village did not return in obscurity.
This was one of the village's small gestures to appease the ninjas who had experienced war, at least allowing them to feel the warmth of the village.
Among them, Uchiha Yoichi also made some efforts. He sent messages to his clan, ensuring that the newspapers and TV stations controlled by the Uchiha Race vigorously promoted the heroic deeds of himself, Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and the Uchiha clan's ninjas on the battlefield.
There were other Konoha heroes mentioned as well, but they were brushed over. Compared to Uchiha Yoichi, the contributions of other ninjas in this war seemed so insignificant.
Mitokado Homura also made it onto the newspapers, but it was about him being reprimanded and held accountable by the Thirteen Letters of Daming Prefecture. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, it vividly exemplified his incompetence after taking over battlefield command.
After enjoying the reception, Uchiha Yoichi and the Uchiha clan's ninjas returned to their homeland.
As he approached home, Uchiha Yoichi sensed a familiar Chakra. When he reached the door, he saw everyone there to welcome him.
Uchiha Mikota, dressed in elegant and form-fitting attire, exuded a gentle and graceful aura. Her delicate and beautiful face showed an excited expression when she saw Uchiha Yoichi.
Then there was Uzumaki Minami, whose belly had grown. She waved ecstatically, almost as if she wanted to run towards Uchiha Yoichi despite cradling her belly.
Standing beside Mikota and Minami were Uchiha Itachi and Yugito, likely because Mikota was worried about leaving Itachi alone at home, so she brought him along.
Yugito pouted when she saw Uchiha Yoichi return, but she glanced at him several times.
"I'm back."
Uchiha Yoichi used the Instant Body Jutsu to arrive at the doorstep directly, saving Uzumaki Minami the trouble of running over.
Seeing Uchiha Yoichi appear in front of her, Uzumaki Minami excitedly hugged him immediately: "Lord Yoichi!" Since the last war, she hadn't been away from Uchiha Yoichi for such a long time, especially now that she was pregnant.
"Be careful, Minami."
Uchiha Yoichi opened his arms to carefully hold Uzumaki Minami. She was still so lively as if she hadn't changed despite being pregnant.
Watching from the side, Mikota was almost dying of envy. She also wanted to go up and hug Mr. Yoichi; she also wanted to become pregnant with Sasuke. But with Itachi nearby, Mikota could only restrain herself a little.
"Let's go inside first. Gates, you can leave now."
Uchiha Yoichi spoke to the crowd and a bear, which roared, complaining to Uchiha Yoichi telepathically that it had been sleeping soundly and was pulled up to welcome the owner back.
Once inside, Uchiha Yoichi found that a lot of good food had already been prepared, and the table was large enough for everyone to take a seat.
"Let's eat first, and we can talk after the meal."
Uchiha Yoichi noticed that Uzumaki Minami seemed to have a lot to say, but he insisted they start eating, or else the meal could extend into the night.
The food on this dining table was such that not many families in the Ninja World could afford it, primarily featuring magic lamb supplemented with other high-grade ingredients, requiring about seventy to eighty thousand ryō.
After picking up a few bites, Uchiha Itachi, sitting across from Uchiha Yoichi, suddenly stopped his chopsticks and asked, "Clan Leader, why does war happen?"
"Itachi."
Mikota paused her chopsticks, softly telling him, "We can talk about these things after the meal."
"It's alright, Mikota."
Seeing Uchiha Itachi's expression, Uchiha Yoichi guessed that he might be pondering philosophy. Then he asked, "Itachi, what is the sealing method for the Fire Release: Great Fire Extinguishing?"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi shook his head. All he knew was that the Uchiha Race mainly practiced Fire Release Ninjutsu, and their family crest was a fan representing fire.
But such an advanced Fire Release Ninjutsu, he was hearing the name for the first time.
"And what about Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu?"
Uchiha Itachi shook his head again.
"How many countries are there in the Ninja World, and what country is to the west of the Land of Demons, do you know?"
Uchiha Itachi still shook his head.
Uchiha Yoichi asked him many questions, but Uchiha Itachi couldn't answer any of them. Next to them, Uzumaki Minami started feeling that Uchiha Yoichi was making it hard for Uchiha Itachi. Though she was often at odds with Mikota, she never involved a four-year-old child.
"Lord Yoichi, aren't these questions too hard?"
"Not hard. Compared to the reasons why Ninja World wars occur, these are only intermediate questions. You climb stairs step by step, and if you can jump three steps at once, it's because you've grown taller or older."
Uchiha Yoichi told Uchiha Itachi, "You currently have too little knowledge and think too much. If you want to know about the problems behind Ninja World wars, first take a journey throughout the Ninja World. Once you've learned about all the countries, you'll understand."
".....Alright, I understand, Clan Leader."
Uchiha Itachi nodded thoughtfully, then picked up his chopsticks to continue eating.
Listening to Uchiha Yoichi's words, Mikota felt relieved, realizing she had misunderstood Mr. Yoichi earlier.
The instruction just now was very attentive, and Mikota saw it all. When she looked at Uchiha Yoichi after that, her eyes were filled with gentleness, almost overflowing like water.
"Mr. Yoichi, you've worked hard outside, have some of this, I made it myself..."
"Hmm, it smells delicious, thank you, Mikota."
Upon seeing this, Minami felt a bit unhappy. It was just cooking, she hadn't learned it, but if she did, her dishes would definitely taste better than anything on the table.
After finishing the meal, Uchiha Mikota let Itachi go home first as she had something to discuss with Uchiha Yoichi.
Seeing this, Yugito pouted and prepared to go back to her room. She didn't have to guess what was going to happen next, but as she was returning, Yugito suddenly saw Uchiha Yoichi gesture with his palm.
Initially, Yugito was confused, not knowing what it meant, but soon she remembered it was the signal for five months of backwalking service.
Four times a month, accumulating over five months meant Yugito had to perform the service twenty times wearing white knee-high socks.
Her face turned red all of a sudden, and like an angry little cat, she glared fiercely at Uchiha Yoichi before stomping back to her room.
However, after being back in her room for a short while, Yugito, who was originally lying on the bed, suddenly sat up and slowly walked to the door, her ears like a cat's perked up, and then she pressed them against the door.
She put her face against the door for a while, then returned to bed… Why is there no sound?
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Uchiha Yoichi certainly wouldn't act as impatiently as Yugito imagined, especially since Minami was pregnant.
It's been over five months now, and through the checkup, they knew she was having a daughter.
Upon learning that Minami was expecting a daughter, Uchiha Yoichi immediately thought of Uzumaki Karin, but his daughter definitely wouldn't be as unfortunate as Karin.
Besides this, Uchiha Yoichi also asked Mikota about some matters within the clan.
The war had quite an impact on business, especially when the Hidden Cloud Ninja were causing trouble in the Land of Fire; all business in the Land of Fire was affected during that period.
Even the family business faced attacks from a Hidden Cloud Squad, luckily Uchiha Toshiki had two Reanimation Bodies and clan ninja with him, able to annihilate the squad they happened upon.
Though the impact was significant, it wasn't massive, just losing out on some profit.
Moreover, after the war ended, it was a boom time for ninja games. Uchiha Hayato even planned to release a Third Ninja World War version of the game, and the promotional advertisements were ready: "Follow the Konoha Hero to expel foreign invaders!"
Upon hearing Mikota's report, Uchiha Yoichi could only think that Uchiha Hayato was born to thrive in this industry.
Once official matters were discussed, Mikota warmly held Uchiha Yoichi's hand, slightly parting her red lips and said, "Mr. Yoichi..."
Uzumaki Minami, not to be outdone, hugged Uchiha Yoichi's arm, showing a pitiful face as she said, "Lord Yoichi, your daughter hasn't seen you in five months..."
Upon hearing this, Mikota's lips twitched slightly, then she struggled to keep her voice gentle as she said, "Minami, this is not the right time given your condition..."
"Oh, Lady Tsunade isn't here; I seem to be the most skilled medical ninja in the village right now. Thanks for your concern, Mikota~"
How come the relationship between the two hasn't improved at all.
Uchiha Yoichi gestured to stop them, saying, "Let's rest for today. Tomorrow the ninja from the Land of Grass battlefield will return, and there will definitely be a meeting for the whole day."
After speaking, Uchiha Yoichi shot Mikota a knowing look.
Mikota, gentle by nature, was merely provoked earlier. Now seeing Yoichi's look, she had no choice but to step back.
The battlefield in the Land of Grass had also come to an end, with the Shinobi Bridge destroyed, and the Hidden Rock's logistical pressure suddenly unbearable. Before their current resources ran out, they couldn't further their achievements and decided to withdraw from the war.
The Third Generation Raikage also died under mysterious circumstances, Onoki wanted to continue the assault on Konoha, but the Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village dropped this idea.
They gained no benefits in the war and suffered quite a bit; the Hidden Waterfall Village directly withdrew from the battlefield, and the Grass Village also refused to collaborate with the Hidden Rock in a joint assault, even refusing to provide resources.
The Hidden Rock couldn't sustain the effort alone, and not everyone within the village supported Onoki's continued warfare. After much discussion, Onoki was persuaded by the Hidden Rock high-ups.
Before resources ran dry, the Hidden Rock retreated to the Land of Earth, thus ending the war with them, and Sarutobi Hiruzen arranged matters and would soon return to Konoha.
Once they return, it's estimated a new Hokage will be elected, and this won't take long.
In the battlefield, Uchiha Yoichi devised a clever scheme against Mitokado Homura, tarnishing his reputation with the Daimyo.
Along with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzo being students of the Second Generation Hokage, Homura often represented Hiruzen in negotiations.
Now, with Homura losing the trust of the Daimyo, and the Hokage needing to take responsibility for the losses in this war, stepping down became his best choice.
Next, Uchiha Yoichi could leverage the press to build momentum in the village; regarding the ninja faction, he didn't need to be worried as Hatake Sakumo already had a stellar reputation, with a 100% mission success rate, the Konoha White Fang..... They couldn't find anything to criticize.
Uchiha Yoichi just needed to have the newspaper mention it and let the public believe the Fourth Generation Hokage would be Hatake Sakumo, spreading the message far and wide, ensuring that when it came time to elect, everyone would instinctively choose Sakumo.
Furthermore, if Sakumo wasn't chosen as the Fourth Generation Hokage, it would certainly cause widespread discontent and skepticism.
Uchiha Yoichi just needed to give instructions and then he might enjoy a long period of relaxation.
Then Uchiha Yoichi visited the Security Team, handled some matters there, and also checked on Uchiha Kenji.
To delegate power to him, Uchiha Kenji stepped down from the position of Second Elder, leading a leisurely life every day.
His only wish now was to see the Uchiha Race become the first great ninja race, but Uchiha Kenji felt confident that under Yoichi's leadership, this wish would soon come true.