Chapter 327: Thriving with Prosperity!

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and an entire week passed.

During that week, although turbulent undercurrents were surging beneath the surface, Konoha Village itself appeared to be bustling with activity and thriving with prosperity.

On the second day after the jōnin meeting a week earlier, an official administrative document was posted on the bulletin board in front of the Hokage Tower.

Right at the beginning, the document concisely explained that, because the village's residents had long been dissatisfied with the way the Konoha Military Police Force enforced the law, the village had decided to reform the Konoha Military Police Force.

The news immediately filled the villagers of Konoha with delight and excitement.

Everyone knew that the people of Konoha had suffered under the Konoha Military Police Force for far too long.

Although the Konoha Military Police Force's strict enforcement had only offended a small portion of villagers who refused to follow the rules, after decades of provocation and agitation by the so-called Konoha F4, the image of the Konoha Military Police Force as cold and merciless had become deeply ingrained in people's minds. Everyone feared them as though they were tigers.

Even those who had never been punished by the Konoha Military Police Force were still deeply wary of them and preferred to keep their distance.

It wasn't as though the villagers of Konoha had never gone to the Hokage Tower to lodge complaints. They had repeatedly hoped that the Hokage would abolish the Konoha Military Police Force or order it to change the way it enforced the law.

But the Hokage Tower had always brushed them off with excuses such as, "Since ancient times, the village has had no authority to interfere with the administration of the Konoha Military Police Force," and that "the Konoha Military Police Force is managed independently by the Uchiha clan."

As a result, while the villagers could only swallow their grievances, they also developed an increasingly strong impression of the Uchiha clan as a domineering, arbitrary, and privileged clan.

Thus, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the villagers grew increasingly severe.

Although relations between the Uchiha and the villagers had eased somewhat recently thanks to the Uchiha clan's efforts, and the villagers' impression of the clan had improved accordingly, old prejudices did not disappear overnight.

At the very least, the villagers of Konoha still retained their fear and dislike of the Konoha Military Police Force.

So when the villagers learned that Minato Namikaze intended to reform the Konoha Military Police Force, they were practically as happy as if the New Year had arrived.

Then the villagers discovered that the rest of the document went into considerable detail about the original purpose behind establishing the Konoha Military Police Force, the origins of the conflict between the Force and the villagers, and the efforts the Konoha Military Police Force had made for the village over the years.

Only then did the villagers realize that the problem had never been the members of the Konoha Military Police Force enforcing the law strictly.

The real problem was that the laws themselves had become outdated.

The Konoha Military Police Force had not been unwilling to change, either. They had made efforts in the past, only for the previous Hokage to reject them for one reason or another.

And this time, the proposal to reform the Konoha Military Police Force had come from none other than Uchiha Ren, the head of the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan was willing to relinquish its exclusive control over the Konoha Military Police Force. They had even invited ordinary villagers to become members of the legislative committee and participate in drafting the new laws.

This series of revelations caused the villagers' impression of the Uchiha clan to undergo a complete reversal.

Support for Uchiha Ren reached an unprecedented level.

After all, the Uchiha were the first to propose giving ordinary villagers a share of political power and a voice of their own!

If someone like that wasn't worthy of people's support, then who was?

The final section of the document also outlined the village's specific plans for reforming the Konoha Military Police Force, earning the reform plan unprecedented support from the villagers.

But the villagers weren't the only ones celebrating.

Konoha's shinobi were equally delighted during this period.

The reason was simple.

The village was paying out money!

Under the mutual oversight of the Uchiha clan and Konoha's Finance Department, compensation payments, subsidies, and mission rewards were actually being distributed to every person entitled to receive them.

Furthermore, on the second day after taking office, Minato Namikaze had ordered the Mission Assignment Office to resume normal operations and announced that it was once again accepting missions.

While waiting for word to spread, Minato, following the Uchiha clan's suggestion, had the village directly issue a series of infrastructure missions.

These included repairing houses, repairing roads, rebuilding walls, developing new land, constructing new houses, and so on.

Normally, such work would have been handled by construction teams made up of ordinary civilians recruited by the village.

But doing things that way meant longer construction periods, greater expenses, and countless complications.

Having shinobi handle the work was far simpler.

This was especially true for shinobi proficient in Earth Release and Water Release. In most cases, they only needed a few jutsu to establish the basic framework before making some finishing adjustments.

For shinobi, such work was practically child's play.

Of course, shinobi were not professional construction workers. No matter how carefully they worked, what they produced would ultimately only be a rough shell.

Things such as electrical and plumbing work, interior decoration, waterproofing, suspended ceilings, and other finishing work still required professional construction crews.

This was also the main reason why the emergence of shinobi had never completely squeezed construction crews out of the market.

The village had issued these infrastructure missions primarily as an emergency measure when there were no other missions available, while also shortening construction times and reducing various expenses.

And for the idle shinobi in the village, being able to earn substantial mission rewards without risking their lives naturally made them more than willing to take such assignments.

Thus, the shinobi of Konoha had been working with tremendous enthusiasm these days.

With the merger of the Konoha Orphanage and the Compensation Office, the relocation and care of orphans, and a series of other initiatives getting underway, the entire Konoha Village was flourishing.

Everywhere one looked, there was an unmistakable sense of vitality.

But beneath the surface, Konoha Village was far from as peaceful as it appeared.

Two days earlier, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado had left Konoha Hospital one after another.

Their injuries had not yet fully recovered, and they still required a considerable period of rest, but they had already recovered enough to resume their daily activities.

None of the three were the sort to remain bedridden in Konoha Hospital, so they had all left once their conditions had stabilized.

The moment Koharu and Homura were discharged, neither of them even returned home. They went directly to the Medical Department and Administration Department respectively to take charge.

Hiruzen, however, went straight home.

And after that, there was no further news of him. No one knew what he was doing.

Just as some observant individuals were beginning to wonder about this, a piece of news landed like a stone thrown into calm waters, sending ripples through the entire village.

The date for Shimura Danzō's public execution had finally been set.

It would take place three days later, in the plaza in front of the Hokage Tower!

Although everyone had known for some time that this would happen, when the date was finally confirmed, quite a few people still couldn't help but sigh at the turn of events.

Nevertheless, no one said much.

Everyone simply waited quietly for that day to arrive.

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