"What's going on, Yorin—what is this?"
"Yeah—who exactly is this kid…? Did you and Tsunade-sama have her?
Don't tell me you two weren't 'recently' together at all—you'd been in contact way earlier?!"
"No, wait—hold on. Is it that… the 'artificial Uchiha' project finally produced results?!"
Uchiha Yorin brought Uchiha Hikari back to the Uchiha district.
After a rapid-fire barrage of tongue-twister questions, they were immediately surrounded by a crowd of Uchiha clan members, all talking over each other.
Every last one of them was a diehard Yorin supporter. One after another, they'd joined Konoha's "One Heart Society," the Ninshū, and some had even been pulled into deeper circles.
They didn't necessarily understand Yorin's grand blueprint for a "new shinobi world," but when it came to "conquering the world," "toppling daimyō and noble privilege," and "building a shinobi empire," they were all wildly enthusiastic.
Yorin knew these people were a double-edged sword. Handle them poorly and they'd become an unstable factor. But if he refused to use such a powerful force just because it might backfire, that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater—and the Second Hokage would laugh him to death.
Speaking of which, Yorin and the Second Hokage had been getting along a bit better lately.
Seeing Konoha flourish under Yorin—bigger, stronger, and more unstoppable by the day—the Second Hokage still complained out loud, but deep down he'd started acknowledging Yorin. Honestly, he was even… satisfied.
Still a little irritated, though.
The main source of irritation was basically: "How the hell is someone this good an Uchiha?"
It bugged him.
But then he'd remember Yorin's future heirs would be with a Senju, and he'd get this "it's delicious but it stinks" feeling—like eating durian.
And when he imagined that "grandchild-or-great-grandchild" of his, in a manner of speaking, becoming the second Emperor (or Empress) of the shinobi world, he nearly wanted to laugh out loud. He'd been working harder too—recent tech progress had shot forward thanks to the Second Hokage actually trying.
Then again… if Uchiha Madara hadn't defected, would he ever have become the Second Hokage?
Yorin couldn't help wondering.
But that wasn't the point right now. The point was: how do you explain Hikari's existence to a bunch of Uchiha whose eyes were full of bright, uncomplicated curiosity?
There'd been an older guy who'd been pushing Yorin to "marry an Uchiha bride" for ages.
Fugaku had stepped down and been "upgraded" into an elder role, but because the transition was peaceful and orderly, he still had status and influence.
He couldn't decide major political calls anymore, so he'd gotten extra invested in the whole marriage topic—like it was his favorite way to hassle Yorin.
His stance was: "Fine. You want Tsunade as your main partner? We'll grit our teeth and accept it. You want to date others? Whatever.
But can you at least, for once, also marry an Uchiha woman and keep the bloodline here? The Uchiha are still a core pillar of Konoha—you should 'tie us in' too, right?
You can't just treat us like we don't matter because we're your base."
It was a headache.
Yorin wasn't opposed to marrying an Uchiha woman in principle—but he also had an obvious weakness for "notable" girls. Ordinary candidates didn't really spark anything.
As for famous beauties within the Uchiha… the first name people would think of was Mikoto.
And Yorin had zero interest in playing the villain there.
But Fugaku kept bringing it up day after day, and Yorin couldn't help thinking how ridiculous it was.
It was basically the elder walking himself straight into jealousy problems.
Then Uchiha Hikari appeared.
In a way, it was a lifesaver for Fugaku.
That old man didn't know it, of course—he just stared at Yorin, baffled, not understanding why Yorin was looking at him with this faintly regretful expression.
At the same time, Hikari's social-anxiety mode kicked into overdrive.
So many people were crowding around her and Yorin that she instinctively clung closer to him, fingers gripping his sleeve. She looked so small and pitiful in that moment.
The instant Fugaku saw her, he knew the "find an Uchiha bride" issue was basically solved.
He didn't know which branch she came from, but she was clearly an Uchiha. That was enough.
Was she a lost Uchiha relative from outside the village…? Or—no way—was it really…
Yorin had once told Fugaku he wanted to find the legendary "Uchiha No-Name" and marry her.
Back then, Fugaku thought Yorin had lost his mind.
Not because he didn't believe the legend—Uchiha records were detailed. That era where the clan was packed with Mangekyō users and overwhelmingly powerful… just thinking about it made the blood stir.
And in that era, "Uchiha No-Name" stood above even the strongest.
From the modern Uchiha perspective—who now talked about bonds and "clan love"—the old days of brainwashing someone into a weapon instead of raising them as a leader candidate felt unbelievably stupid.
But considering what the Uchiha were like back then, it was also… understandable.
Back then, they didn't have "clan love." Killing your own kin and stealing Sharingan had become disturbingly common.
If Izanami hadn't been created to counter Izanagi, the clan might've wiped itself out centuries earlier.
Yorin: "Seriously, it's dangerous. Do Uchiha just have a built-in self-destruct button?"
That tendency toward self-destruction was so bizarre that all Yorin could do was sigh and think: "Yeah… that's Uchiha."
Well—he did have a plan.
Changing a people's temperament takes time—generations. But it can be done. One generation, two, maybe three—around sixty years—and you can reshape the cultural baseline.
Yorin figured no matter how low he sank, he could survive sixty years.
So, sure. That was the plan.
…
"The girl's name is Hikari," Yorin announced to the crowd. "As you can see, she's an Uchiha.
I'm bringing her home. If you need to address her, keep it simple—call her 'sister-in-law.'"
At Yorin's words, the gathered Uchiha all let out a collective "Ohhhh." Their eyes filled with admiration.
As expected of Brother Yorin—he casually pulled off something none of them could.
A gorgeous, petite-but-clearly-adult Uchiha woman, no less. Unbelievable.
"Alright, alright," Yorin said, waving them down. "Questions later.
You can see she's shy. We're going home."
"Yes, yes!"
"Welcome, sister-in-law!"
"Sister-in-law, thank you for your hard work!"
The crowd immediately made way, bowing and scraping as Yorin led Hikari out.
Everyone was polite—except Fugaku, who looked like he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.
Fugaku had guessed who Hikari really was, but he had no intention of telling anyone.
It was too explosive. If word got out and people started connecting dots, it could shatter the fragile stability Konoha had finally built.
After all, "Uchiha No-Name" had been sealed by the Uzumaki and their allies.
Those old secrets were exactly the kind of thing modern leadership did not want the younger generation poking at.
Same with Madara's rebellion, and later Uchiha unrest.
Let those messy eras drift away like a bad century in history.
Seriously—does anyone actually enjoy living through that kind of chaos?
…
Once they were away from the crowd, Hikari's stress eased a lot.
At that point, Yorin explained it to her bluntly:
"I had to give you a public identity. So for now, just act like you're my girlfriend. Problem?"
Hikari didn't really care.
"The Uchiha here… aren't like the Uchiha I knew," she said.
"Of course they aren't," Yorin replied. "Times changed. The Uchiha today are a symbol of civilization and—yes—love. And as clan head, I'm the most loving man in the world."
Hikari: "…"
Hearing him say that with a straight face, Hikari had no idea how to respond.
In situations like this, the best move was probably to say nothing and just smile.
So she gave him a gentle, polite smile.
Fugaku, watching that exchange from a distance, couldn't help muttering under his breath.
Honestly, when Yorin said he'd marry Tsunade and then actually pulled it off, Fugaku thought that was already the ceiling.
Now he'd gone and "solved" even the legendary Uchiha No-Name problem.
If Yorin wasn't Konoha's greatest romantic menace, then who was?
Fugaku shuddered.
"Good grief… who's next? Is he going to 'win over' Kaguya too?"
Thinking that far made Fugaku instinctively decide he should keep a closer eye on his own household.