As Masashi once again saw the gates of Konoha uhe night sky after traversing half of the Land of Fire, he couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

  At this point, the stoi leader had to have already gohrough the first round of voting. The votes shouldn't look too bad.

  Hiryū was just there as a formality, so no real petition there. Shikaku and Tazuna would be fighting over votes amongst themselves, and the Hyūga might even throw a few votes toward the Uchiha.

  Their vote tally shouldn't look as pitiful as it used to.

  As for Uchiha getting the most votes overall, he hadn't even sidered that possibility.

  The Hokage fa couldn't possibly be that inpetent.

  The Uchiha were politically i, so their focus had always been on making mohe Hokage fa, oher hand, had both power ah. All they o do was tralize authority where needed, delegate appropriately, and py the card of civilian rights with the vilgers.

  Their votes would be solid.

  This kind of thing wasn't Masashi's forte, and even if he wao make suggestions, he wouldn't know where to start. After all, his expertise was in physical bat, not politics.

  In his previous life, even though he held official positions, there was no "politics" to speak of. With two majures overshadowing everything, no one dared to challeheir dominance.

  Who would dare go against them?

  Those were simpler times. You either followed orders or disappeared.

  W under such tita little opportunity for Masashi to accumute political experience.

  As he pondered his steps, he approached the vilge gates.

  "Masashi-sama!" The gate guards greeted him enthusiastically, startling him from his thoughts.

  "Oh, hello there," Masashi replied.

  "You're ba the vilge?"

  If I'm not back, then am I leaving? What kind of question is that? Masashi gave a polite smile. "Yes, I just returned. Let's get the paperwork done."

  "Oh, there's no need for that! You just ght in."

  "What? Are y to get me into trouble? I want tister. Hurry up."

  What kind of attitude is this? Ign Konoha's rules aions. Who even traihese people?

  Masashi noticed the familiar armband on the ninja's right arm.

  Ah, they're with the Police Force.

  Wait—what? The Police Force?

  Did they expand the force this quickly? The stoi leader couldn't have moved this fast without approval.

  Sighing at Fugaku's recklessness, he pleted his registration and teleported back to the Uchiha pound using Flying Thunder God.

  At first gnce, he thought he had arrived at the wrong pce.

  The entire pound was decked out in celebratory decorations. Bright beams of light shot into the sky as enormous fireworks bloomed, scattering like rain.

  Something's definitely wrong.

  Excited members were everywhere. When someone spotted him, they shouted his name, and the crowd surged toward him. Before he k, Masashi was hoisted into the air and tossed upward.

  What the hell just happened? someone expin this to me?

  As he nded ahe crowd preparing to toss him again, he hurriedly waved his arms and shouted, "Wait! Hold on! What's going on!?" If they throw me again, I swear I'll use Substitution Jutsu.

  "Masashi, you don't know?" a sman asked with a grin. "Fugaku-sama has been appointed as Hokage Advisor!"

  What? That wasn't part of any sario I sidered. Masashi turo see a familiar elder.

  "Uncle Fujibayashi? But wasn't the voting just starting?"

  "There's no need for voting. Everyone else withdrew!" Fujibayashi chuckled. "You were out of the vilge, so you didn't know. Fugaku-sama presented your proposal and won over everyone!"

  Nonsense! roposal of mine? I never wrote any proposal! Fugaku's gone and done something eous again.

  "That wasn't me!" Masashi said, struggling to process the information. "It was the Fugaku-sama's idea! But seriously, everyohdrew?"

  "Yes."

  "Tazuna was the first to step down."

  Tazuna? That weakling? But why did Shikaku also withdraw? What kind of game is the Hokage fa pying?

  I hadn't even pyed my trump card yet! You're tellihe game's already over?

  Do you have any idea what I went through at the daimyō's pace these past few days? One of his ministers even dragged me to tea sessions!

  Although, to be fair, the tea was quite good...

  Wait—this isn't the point!

  Seeing Masashi's dumbfounded expression, the smen assumed he uood and cheered again, tossing him into the air like a ragdoll.

  As one of the few porary masters of the Flying Thunder God, Masashi found himself pletely disoriented by their enthusiastic tossing.

  The crowd's excitement only attracted more members to join the fuually, after everyone had takeurn, they finally set him down.

  After pnting his feet firmly on the ground, he felt relieved.

  Theiced someone leaning against his house: Pakura, smiling faintly at him.

  Looking back, he realized he had been carried straight to his doorstep.

  Pakura was no longer in her usual tight bat outfit. Instead, she wore a loose, kimono-style casual dress and even had light makeup on.

  She looked stunning.

  Except for the fact that he'd just made a plete fool of himself.

  "This is how the Uchiha operates—everyone's like family, no need for formalities," Masashi said as he tidied his clothes and tried to expin. "By the way, that outfit looks great on you. Where did you get it?"

  "Mikoto gave it to me," Pakura replied, her smile widening. "White Ghost, even you end up in such a mess?"

  "White Ghost?" Masashi uzzled.

  "Your niame—it's already spread far and wide."

  Masashi was stuhat embarrassing niame from Kiri had gotten out?

  Realizing this, his mood instantly plummeted.

  "I guess it's fine," he sighed. "But this turn of events—I really didn't see it ing."

  "Your doesn't see it that way," Pakura said with a ugh. "They're calling you the hero behind it all."

  "I don't have that kind of ability. It was a collective effort," Masashi replied, shaking his head.

  In the shinobi world, individual prowess could sometimes outshine collective efforts—like when Hashirama used his charisma to unite people aablish Konoha.

  But such cases were rare exceptions.

  The sed notable exception in the inal timeline was Naruto.

  This world was essentially a pyground for the Six Paths family. Everyone else was just pying catch-up.

  "Want to take a walk with me?" Pakura suddenly asked.

  "Huh? Sure, let me just ge clothes," Masashi said, heading inside. After all that tossing around, I must look a mess.

  But she grabbed his arm and leaned iouch soft and warm.

  "Looks like the situation really caught you off guard," Pakura said, tightening her grip. "You should e out and see for yourself."

  ---

  In Masashi's memory, the nights in Konoha had always been tranquil.

  As more people came, it gradually grew livelier, but the level of bustle remained moderate.

  The inal ercial street was just a pce filled with small stalls. When he came back for a sed round, oh wow, the ercial street had everything.

  As a frequent visitor to the ercial street, he immediately felt something slightly different as he stepped onto the street.

  The people of Konoha walking along the street were all wearing expressions he was once very familiar with.

  They were all talking about the new Hokage Advisor matter.

  From their versations, he firmed it.

  Fugaku had really bee the Hokage Advisor.

  This was absurd.

  Masashi realized ohing: Konoha's financial crisis had e even faster than he had anticipated.

  "As a key tributor, how does it feel right now?" Pakura's voice cut through his thoughts.

  "What key tributor…" Masashi turo look at her. "Yetting quite skilled at teasing people now, huh? What happeo your aloof demeanor?"

  "This isn't Suna." Pakura's reply was rather yered, her expression very rexed. "I just want to live a carefree life too."

  "Fair enough." Masashi sighed. "I want to live a carefree life too…"

  "You think like that as well?"

  "Why wouldn't I? You've been in Konoha for quite a while now; you should have noticed, right?"

  "No, in my opinion, the situation of the Uchiha isn't that bad at all." Pakura suddenly grabbed Masashi and pulled him toward a store.

  It was a shoe shop.

  Pulled inside, he watched as Pakura let go of him and began looking at shoes.

  "In Suna, the Uchiha 's lifestyle is something even the most powerful s would envy," she said as she picked out a pair of shoes and began trying them on.

  As she bent down to try them on, her clothing struggled to keep her modesty.

  "That's really tragic…" Masashi couldn't help but ent. "Suna is in such a state, ahere's been no rebellion?"

  "The Land of Wind is a poor try," Pakura said as she removed the shoes and asked a store clerk nearby, "Could you get me a size rger, please?"

  "Of course." The clerk was sharp enough to notice Pakura had entered arm-in-arm with Masashi and didn't say anything unnecessary.

  Among other things, Masashi's dusty Konoha ninja outfit was clearly a key detail.

  The clerk moved quickly and soht over a new pair of shoes.

  But as she hahem over, she gave Masashi a sly wink and said, "Yirlfriend is really beautiful! What a great figure!"

  Masashi eechless.

  If this clerk weren't a woman, with that expression, he might have thought he'd run into some kind of lecher.

  Pakura had already put on the new shoes and inning around for a look.

  "Masashi, how do I look in these?"

  He squirying hard to dis any differences, but…

  "Fantastic!" He gave a big thumbs-up.

  Sigh… He couldn't tell the differe all. They all looked the same, didn't they!?

  "You're so ving in your insiy," Pakura remarked approvingly. "No wonder you helped your leader successfully campaign for the Hokage Advisor position."

  She hadn't fotten her first day in Konoha when he had brazenly cocted nonsense right in front of her with the Hokage.

  Back then, she'd thought this guy had great potential, and sure enough, he'd delivered. He'd gotten Fugaku appointed as the Hokage Advisor.

  That was sedary, though; the proposal itself was truly impressive. If Suna had someone like him, Rasa wouldn't have to spend his post-work hours panning fold.

  "I'll take these shoes; please them up for me," Pakura said to the clerk.

  "Got it! Please wait a moment." The clerk cheerfully ed the shoes, pced them in a bag, and ha over—directly to Masashi.

  "???"

  Oh, she wants me to carry it.

  He didn't react at first, probably because he'd just e back from the daimyō's mansion, where he hadn't carried anything himself.

  The lifestyle of the nobility was truly det.

  After taking the bag and paying, he looked at Pakura and asked, "Just one pair?"

  Her spending seemed pretty restrained; back when he'd gone shopping with girls, they were alower shoppers.

  "So generous?" Pakura said with a pyful smirk, c her mouth with her hand. "Be careful, or I might bankrupt you."

  "That's impossible," Masashi said. "You might not know, but I'm actually very wealthy now."

  "Never mind then," Pakura said, shaking her head. "I won't trouble you." Her pride as a former Suna ninja showed through.

  She hooked her arm back through his, and the two left the store, tinuing to stroll along the street.

  Pakura was in a great mood that evening.

  She'd stop to check out snaoment and try on clothes the . Her eyes sparkled with a joy that had been absent in Suna.

  She's adapted well to life here, Masashi noted, watg her examine a dispy of colorful fabrics.

  But she always insisted on paying quickly, never giving him a ce to foot the bill.

  Masashi didn't mind showing some generosity, but seeing how much she cared about it, he let it slide.

  "Masashi?"

  He turned around and saw someone he knew.

  "Hokage-sama? Out shopping?"

  He noticed Minato carrying several full bags in both hands. Even the Hokage 't escape shopping duty.

  Ihe shop, a fsh of fiery red appeared.

  Kushina stepped out of the fitting room with a battle-ready look on her face.

  Goodness, it was a kimono with a daring cut.

  Masashi looked at Kushina, then at the somewhat awkward-looking Minato. The Hokage's disfort was almost visible.

  "Hokage-sama."

  "Hm?"

  "You're quite the pyer, huh."

  "Huh?"

  Minato looked utterly fused but felt certain this wasn't a proper ent. His face reddened slightly.

  "Masashi, you've got it wrong! I'm just apanying Kushina to buy clothes!"

  "Uh-huh, I get it," Masashi said, raising his thumb again. "Quality of life is important. I uand pletely."

  "Oh? Masashi, you're here too?" Kushina finally noticed him and the bag he was holding.

  "That brand… You're out shopping with a girl?"

  Masashi shifted to reveal Pakura standing behind him. She stepped forward.

  "Kushina-sama," Pakura greeted politely.

  She'd adapted well to Konoha's style by now. When walking the streets, no one suspected she wasn't a local. Her at had even picked up some of Konoha's lilting tones.

  "Ah… I remember. You're Pakura, right?"

  "Yes."

  "I've heard a lot about you!"

  "I'm nothing pared to you, Kushina-sama,."

  The two women began exging pliments, their versation flowing naturally despite their different ins.

  The poor man looks like he needs help. Watg Minato's deadpan expression, Masashi decided to share a piece of wisdom.

  "Hokage-sama."

  "Call me Minato, Masashi."

  "Alright, Minato. Want some advice? It'll help you stand more fortably."

  "Oh? As expected of you! Tell me!"

  "Stand tall like a piree. You've got room for improvement, my dear Hokage."