Madara Uchiha: "You Shameless Plagiarist!"**
The article was finished in no time.
Makoto Uchiha smiled as he read through it again.
Staring at this vivid little inspirational story, he felt that all those years secretly reading Reader-style essays during class had not been wasted.
The flavor was just too authentic.
So authentic it was criminal.
Satisfied, he turned to Kazuma, who was standing nearby.
"Kazuma, what do you think of this article?"
"It's… incredibly good."
Kazuma answered honestly, though his expression was rather strange.
The piece was lively and engaging, rich with meaning. It perfectly showcased Akatsuki Village's excellent business environment while highlighting the civility and moral character of its residents.
Especially the final line—
'If the shinobi world allowed free migration, then the direction of human movement would be the direction of civilization—without question, Akatsuki Village is civilization!'
It was the finishing touch, the stroke that brought the dragon to life.
If Kazuma were a merchant, he'd genuinely want to relocate to Akatsuki Village immediately.
And yet…
Something felt off.
As far as he knew, Akatsuki Village didn't even have a gold shop yet.
And that "unnamed daimyō" mentioned in the article—
Who was that supposed to be?
The Fire Daimyō… maybe?
That seemed plausible.
"Yes, I made it all up."
Makoto casually revealed the truth the moment he noticed Kazuma's odd expression.
"The whole thing is fictional."
"…So it doesn't exist?"
"Then isn't this just… lying?"
Kazuma silently complained in his heart.
But the strange look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a 'well, of course it's you' expression.
When it came to Makoto Uchiha, doing something outrageous—but effective—was entirely expected.
In every possible sense.
"Spare no expense," Makoto said decisively.
"Have the publishers, editors, and printing houses run this piece at full capacity."
"Within three days, I want every city in the Land of Fire flooded with newspapers printing this article."
Makoto understood the power of public opinion all too well.
Who cared if it was fabricated?
First, you paid to create exposure—build traffic, boost visibility—then you worried about substance later.
It was a classic tactic of unscrupulous media outlets.
Simple.
Effective.
And it worked just as well in the shinobi world.
"Yes, Lord Kōkage."
Kazuma agreed without hesitation.
Once Makoto gave an order, obedience was the only option.
Loyalty.
Very soon, this aggressively catchy little article spread throughout the Land of Fire.
It caused a massive stir among merchant circles.
These were the most authoritative and influential newspapers in the country—and they even included commentary from a certain unnamed daimyō.
At that point, people couldn't not believe it.
Fire Country's great merchant houses mobilized immediately.
They flocked to Akatsuki Village to investigate for themselves—
To join civilization.
Makoto and Kazuma personally met with them one by one.
Akatsuki Village was already pushing hard for commercial expansion—this was exactly the moment they needed such investment.
In just a few days, the number of merchants officially settling in Akatsuki Village skyrocketed.
News about Akatsuki Village began spreading rapidly outward.
After all, the village's recent actions were far too conspicuous to hide.
Meanwhile—
In neighboring Konohagakure.
The ninja clans were also collecting intelligence on Akatsuki Village.
At this very moment, Tobirama Senju sat in his office, organizing documents for an upcoming high-level meeting.
Konoha was gradually falling into place as well.
However, due to its larger scale and the sheer number of clans joining, relocation alone had slowed progress somewhat. Compared to Akatsuki Village, Konoha was only lagging slightly behind.
Some time ago, Tobirama had returned triumphantly to Konoha with 100 billion ryō in funding.
The village treasury was more abundant than ever before.
This filled him with ambition.
He wanted to seize this opportunity and build Konoha into the most prosperous ninja village in the world.
To that end, Tobirama had shut himself away, refusing all visitors. Even routine administrative matters were postponed as he poured his mind into crafting a comprehensive grand strategy.
Now—
Everything was ready.
Today, he would unveil his Strong Village Plan.
The Konoha High-Level Council convened.
Inside the meeting hall, Konoha's leadership listened as Tobirama outlined his blueprint for the village's future.
"I intend to establish a secret tactical assassination force—"
Several clan leaders frowned.
That sounded… familiar.
Wasn't that exactly the ANBU-style system proposed earlier by Akatsuki Village's Kōkage?
No, no—maybe just coincidence. Let's keep listening.
"I also plan to establish a Ninja Academy. Not only will clan children enroll, but civilians as well. Basic instruction will begin with the Three Basic Techniques—Clone, Substitution, and Transformation."
The clan leaders exchanged glances.
Hmm…
Very similar, but perhaps still coincidence.
Tobirama noticed their strange expressions but paid them no mind. He assumed resistance stemmed from inevitable clan interest conflicts.
So he continued.
"I also intend to establish Konoha's guiding ideology—
the Will of Fire."
The room fell silent.
…Wait.
That was also exactly what Akatsuki Village had just announced.
At this point, even pretending felt unnecessary.
Yes, borrowing good ideas from other villages was acceptable—for the village's future.
But Akatsuki Village had just begun implementing these policies.
And Tobirama was already rolling them out wholesale—while claiming they were the result of his own deep contemplation.
Wasn't this a little too shameless?
At least wait for the heat to die down first.
"Plagiarizing hack. Full of nonsense."
Madara Uchiha spoke bluntly.
As always.
Because of Izuna's death, he had long harbored hostility toward Tobirama. Others might care about Tobirama's dignity—
Madara did not.
"What did you say?!"
Tobirama snapped instantly.
His hearing was sharp, and Madara hadn't bothered lowering his voice. Everyone in the chamber heard it clearly.
"My brother is right here," Tobirama added coldly.
"I'm not afraid of you, Madara Uchiha."
"He said, 'Brilliant insight, Tobirama!'"
Hashirama Senju hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, trying to prevent the situation from escalating.
"I said you're plagiarizing!"
Madara shot back without hesitation.
"Every single proposal you made today—Makoto Uchiha from Akatsuki Village already announced them first. It hasn't even been that long, and you're already rushing to act like a shameless copycat!"
"Disgusting. Pathetic."
This time, Madara didn't give Hashirama any face at all.
He openly accused Tobirama—right in front of all of Konoha's leadership—of being a plagiarist.
Tobirama froze.
"…I'm a plagiarist?"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789