---Third POV---
"Hm?"
Ryouma looked down at his feet. "Why'd you guys put the kunai on the table?"
Kushina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't put kunai on the table, then where else are you supposed to put them?"
"...Fair point."
Ryouma nodded, then lightly hopped down from the table.
Rin picked up a cloth from the tea tray to wipe the table, while asking, "You came back so late. Did something happen?"
"Eh? Was I that late?" Ryouma glanced at the clock on the wall. It really had been a while. "Sorry. I got held up a bit while gathering materials."
Kushina tapped her finger on the table, drawing everyone's attention. "Then you must have collected quite a lot of moonstone, right? Come on, let me see!"
Black Moonstone, no sealing master could resist being fascinated by it.
He pulled out a scroll from his ninja pouch, spread it out on the table, and formed a hand seal with one hand.
Poof!
Thirty-six pieces of black moonstone appeared, neatly arranged in perfect rows.
"Whoa, that's really quite a haul!" Kushina rubbed her hands together.
Finally, someone who got it. Back on the Land of Whirlpools, Shukaku and Kurama had no clue how precious this stuff actually was.
Ryouma picked one up and toyed with it in his hand, then spoke under Kushina's expectant gaze.
"Besides these moonstones, I've also gathered all the other ink-making materials. They're the highest-grade stuff the Land of Whirlpools has to offer. None of this good ore will go to waste."
"That's fantastic!" Kushina cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
Obito, who didn't quite follow, went ahead with a barrage of questions.
"Why are you so happy about this too, Kushina-nesan? Didn't Kurama already separate from you? You don't need sealing ink anymore to stabilize a seal, right?"
Kushina puffed her cheeks. "So many questions! And what do you mean 'separate'? You make it sound like I had some kind of romantic relationship with the fox."
Kurama, listening on the side, twitched its ears. "To think that brat from back then has grown this much, and yet she's still just as rude."
"What was that?" Kushina leaned forward, staring Kurama straight in the eyes. "I let you live in my body all those years for free, and you didn't even pay me a single coin of rent! Is that what you call polite?"
"Rent? Go ask Mito for it, then."
Kurama squinted, flopping lazily onto the table as if it couldn't care less.
Kushina flicked her hair, deciding not to waste more words on the fox.
Instead, she pointed at the storage scroll spread across the table. "You all know what this is, don't you?"
"I see." Kakashi clapped his hands together, his face lighting up.
"What? What do you see?"
Obito glanced at Kakashi, not knowing what this guy had supposedly figured out again.
Ryouma pulled out a chair and sat down. Under Obito's puzzled gaze, he explained, "Sealing ink has a very wide range of uses. Take this kind of storage scroll, for example, if you use sealing ink to inscribe the formulas, not only can it hold more space and a greater variety of items, but its lifespan is also extended. If you were to sell one, a single scroll could fetch a reward equivalent to an S-rank mission."
In the shinobi world, storage scrolls had always been in high demand, since producing them was extremely difficult and required great skill in sealing techniques.
Scrolls made by genin or chunin might become damaged after only a few uses, rendering them useless.
Back in the day, the Uzumaki clan had been the largest supplier of such scrolls in the entire shinobi world, and the quality of their scrolls was unquestionably the best.
But ever since the Land of Whirlpools fell, the price of storage scrolls had skyrocketed. Even the cheapest, lowest-grade scrolls, still sold for decent profit.
Back when Kushina couldn't take missions outside the village because she was Kurama's jinchūriki, she had asked the Third Hokage for materials to make storage scrolls in her spare time.
Because of her sensitive status, every scroll she produced was purchased directly by him, under the name of Konoha's logistics division, and at prices higher than the market rate.
But since making scrolls required drawing out intricate formulas, it was time-consuming and demanded absolute concentration, one slip could ruin an entire scroll.
So after a while, her impatient personality got the better of her, and she gave up on making them.
Hiruzen had regretted it deeply. Although her success rate wasn't high, the scrolls she did finish were of excellent quality, perfect for safeguarding critical supplies, almost never failing.
Now, it seemed Kushina was picking up her old craft again.
"Kushina-nesan," Rin suddenly spoke up, catching everyone off guard. "Don't forget you're still pregnant. Making scrolls is exhausting work, so it's absolutely forbidden."
Unlike Kakashi and Obito, she had already heard about this from Kushina, so she wasn't surprised.
As Kushina's attending medical-nin, there was no way she would allow her to overexert herself.
"Ugh..." Kushina sighed. With her free-spirited nature, this pregnancy period was really testing her patience.
When she still had Kurama inside her, she hadn't felt it as much. But now that she was no longer bound by the jinchūriki restrictions, there were so many things she wanted to do.
Like asking Minato to reinstate her as an active kunoichi, taking missions outside the village, and finally experiencing the life of a "normal" shinobi...
"Don't worry, Rin." Ryouma put away the moonstones as Kushina's eyes sparkled. "According to my calculations, this batch of sealing ink will need at least eight months to fully dry. By then, Naruto will already be born."
"So in the meantime, just focus on taking care of your baby. If you get bored, how about I leave Kurama here with you? I think you two actually get along pretty well."
Kushina immediately waved her hands in refusal. She may have let go of her hatred toward Kurama, but that didn't mean she could coexist peacefully with it.
Not getting into a fight was already the best-case scenario.
---
A few days later, Ryouma was alone in the quiet chamber Minato had specially prepared for him.
The notes Mito had left behind on the ink-making process were extremely detailed, so recreating them wasn't difficult for Ryouma.
In the room, two neat rows of wooden shelves were already lined with freshly made ink blocks.
Each block contained finely ground black moonstone powder.
Although the Land of Whirlpools had been the birthplace of sealing ink, its climate wasn't nearly as favorable for drying ink as the Land of Fire's.
Ryouma looked around the room, clapped his hands, and muttered to himself, "Now then, all that's left... is patience."
The matter of sealing the ink had come to a temporary end, and now he still had another task to attend to.
That was to use his newly acquired ability to sense malice in order to investigate the entire village.
His first goal was to capture all the White Zetsu that Black Zetsu had sent to hide in the village, and then deliver them to Orochimaru so they could still be of some use.
His second goal, naturally, was to help clean up the village of those wandering "bounty hunters."
In fact, this mission should have already been started when he returned from the Land of Whirlpools. However, since there were many materials from the sealing ink that needed to be dealt with urgently, it was delayed until today.
But since those with malicious intentions had been lurking inside the village for more than just a day or two, he wasn't too concerned.
Leaving his meditation chamber, he used the Flying Thunder God technique to instantly teleport into the Hokage's office.
Back when Hiruzen was Hokage, both Ryouma and Minato could only teleport to the outside of the Hokage Building, then enter through the main door. But now that Minato had taken the position, Ryouma simply placed his Flying Thunder God mark directly inside the office.
At this moment, Minato was carefully studying a map of the village, occasionally frowning in thought before jotting down notes and markings.
Suddenly, he sensed a familiar chakra and looked toward the doorway.
At the same time, Ryouma opened the door and walked in. Seeing Minato busy with work, he didn't interrupt, but went straight to the desk, pulled up a chair, and sat down, ready to wait until Minato finished before bringing up the matter of investigating spies.
But Minato wasn't one to leave others hanging. He set the map aside and spoke first, "What brings you here, Ryouma?"
"It's nothing too serious. Remember last time I told you about Kurama?"
Minato nodded. "Yeah. Thanks to your help, Kushina is now even more cheerful than before."
The only small issue was that Kushina was now perhaps a little too cheerful. In the past, she had avoided crowded places because she worried about Kurama inside her possibly going out of control.
Now that concern was gone, she hardly spent any time at home, and it was common for Minato to return from work only to find that she still hadn't come back.
Fortunately, Rin often accompanied her, otherwise he really wouldn't have felt at ease.
Ryouma continued, "Since you've already become Hokage, you should know about Kurama's unique ability to sense malice, right?"
Minato gave a slight nod in reply. "Of course. I read about it in the confidential Konoha archives passed down to me by the Third Hokage. It's an ability only accessible to a perfect jinchūriki who has complete control over Kurama's chakra."
As soon as he finished, he seemed to have realized something.
"Don't tell me you..."
"That's right." Ryouma smiled faintly, confirming Minato's guess. "I've also mastered the same ability that Lady Mito once had. That's why I came, to discuss with you how to best use this ability to completely root out all the spies within village."
As one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, it was nothing new for spies to be lurking within Konoha.
In fact, in certain cases, Konoha would even deliberately make use of spies it had already discovered, feeding them carefully fabricated false information in order to mislead the enemy.
Precisely because of this, he didn't take rash action. Instead, he chose to first discuss matters with Minato, so they could devise a thorough plan and avoid making mistakes despite good intentions.
"Excellent."
Hearing Ryouma's confirmation, Minato excitedly pulled back the map of Konoha that he had just set aside.
"What's this?" Ryouma leaned forward curiously, not quite understanding what Minato had in mind.
"Actually, there's something that's been troubling me lately," Minato explained. "Ever since Konoha achieved an overwhelming victory in the Third Great Ninja War, a flood of clients have come to us with commissions, as you know."
Ryouma nodded to show he understood.
"Thanks to my arrangements and the efforts of our ninjas, we've managed, though with some difficulty, to accept these missions and keep the mission market stable. However, perhaps because our ninjas have performed too well on these missions, Konoha has now earned the reputation of being 'the safest refuge in the shinobi world.'"
"This has led to large numbers of people from the Land of Fire, and even other countries, pouring into Konoha, hoping to settle here. Recently, the price of land has been rising rapidly, and at this rate, we'll be forced to consider expanding outward."
Ryouma raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? With a larger population, Konoha will naturally grow even faster."
Minato let out a quiet sigh. "That's what I thought at first too. But now, the influx has become overwhelming. It's difficult to tell whether any of them harbor ill intentions. If we don't establish detailed records and screening procedures at this early stage, and simply let so many people settle here unchecked, it will definitely lead to serious trouble in the future."
Pointing at the different areas on the map. "We must ensure Konoha's safety and order. We can't allow potential threats to exploit any gaps. That's why I'm considering how to effectively manage this new population without disrupting the village's natural development."
Ryouma thought for a moment. Having come from an information age in his previous life, he immediately grasped Minato's concerns.
"So, what you mean is that you want to use Kurama's ability to sense malice in order to conduct household registration?"
"Exactly! That's it!" Minato smiled and gave Ryouma a thumbs-up.
He had previously sought advice on this issue from Inoichi and Fugaku, but it was clear that neither of them fully grasped the village's current situation.
He had already been preparing to take a long-term approach, but Ryouma's sudden suggestion came as a huge surprise.
Most admirable of all, Ryouma clearly understood the importance of the matter, summarizing his exact needs in just a single sentence.
As I thought... Ryouma, you're even more suited to be Hokage than I am. Minato silently sighed in his heart.
Ryouma, unaware that his casual remark had earned such praise, instead felt that using Kurama's power in this way was somewhat wasteful.
But since Minato had asked him so earnestly, he could only muster his resolve.
With that thought, he met Minato's gaze.
The two then leaned over the map of Konoha, enthusiastically drafting a concrete plan of action.
The first matter at hand was choosing a name. After heated discussion, they finally settled on:
"The Heart of the Shinobi World: Konoha's Era of Prosperity Project."
---
Early the next morning, in a dark alley of Konoha's Sixth District.
Look closely, this man's name was Yousuke Yamamoto. Right now, he was running frantically through the alley, his heart hammering like a war drum. Suddenly, he crashed into what felt like a brick wall at the alley's entrance.
"Ow!"
Clutching his forehead, he squinted against the sunlight streaming from the alley's end and looked up at the figure he'd bumped into.
The summer sun was too damn bright, and for a moment he couldn't make out the man's features. But that unnaturally gleaming row of perfect white teeth burned the man's image into his memory like a brand.
"Shit, I can't stop here!" Yamamoto forced himself up off the ground and turned to flee toward another exit.
But before he could take more than a few steps, leaning against the wall with a cigarette dangling from his lips and blocking his path, was Asuma, looking every bit the delinquent with his scruffy beard and cocky grin.
And just then, a soft voice sounded from behind.
"Oh?"
At his fingertips, Ryouma twirled a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Sweat trickled down Yamamoto's forehead as he instinctively backed away, only to find himself cornered by Ryouma, Guy, and Asuma, herded like prey against the brick wall.
Feeling the cold stone pressing against his back, Yamamoto cried out, "What the hell do you want from me? I haven't done anything wrong! Besides, I fought in the Third Great Ninja War, I'm a hero of this village!"
"Hero?" Ryouma spoke, "Let's cut the bullshit. Sure, you haven't done anything yet, but you're just a White Zetsu impostor."
"How can you—"
SMACK!
Asuma suddenly slapped Yamamoto hard across the face, and before he could recover, grabbed him by the collar with both hands.
"We can't wait until you start causing trouble to catch you. Now, show your true form."
Without waiting for a response, he swung him around and slammed him violently onto the ground.
Struck with such force, the Transformation Jutsu instantly collapsed, and Yamamoto's form twisted and warped, revealing the featureless face of a White Zetsu clone.
"Damn it, how did you figure it out?!" The White Zetsu struggled to lift its head, only to see a few white feathers fluttering down before its eyes.
Caught completely off guard, the White Zetsu succumbed instantly, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Ryouma pressed a fingertip against its forehead and used Flying Thunder God to teleport it directly into one of Orochimaru's specially prepared containment cells.
"Yeah! Another spy caught! This is youth!" Guy pumped his fist enthusiastically.
For the first time, he felt that completing missions was this easy. This was already the fifth White Zetsu they had captured today, along with four spies from other villages.
According to the plan Ryouma and Minato had made yesterday, Ryouma would sweep through all of Konoha in the coming days. All spies were to be captured, except for those still useful and intentionally left in place. White Zetsu infiltrators, in particular, had to be completely eliminated.
Since Kurama had already been separated from Kushina, that information remained top secret. For security, Kakashi and Obito were still tasked with guarding her.
To aid Ryouma's operations, Minato had assigned him two helpers:
The newly promoted special jonin, Sarutobi Asuma, known for his powerful Wind Release techniques.
And, upon Ryouma's strong recommendation, the freshly promoted chunin, Might Guy, exempted from exams.
Familiar faces, all of them.
Ryouma unrolled a scroll, marked Yamamoto's name and situation on it, and gave a quiet order.
"Let's continue the operation."