Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 170 Obito's Parents and the Civil Service Exam

Obito Uchiha's parents were both Chunin of the Uchiha clan.

This level is awkward; he's not in the Uchiha's decision-making circle, but because he's a Chunin, he's considered a pillar of the clan. Therefore, his parents actually didn't have a bad life in the Uchiha clan.

But it certainly isn't that great.

Many members of the Uchiha clan had previously left their clan's territory to make a living in Konoha's inner city, and now almost everyone owns two houses.

Obito's parents were not envious, because the Uchiha clan's land now seemed quite empty, and his parents had been allocated a new house.

After all, many people who originally lived in the clan's territory have left.

However, those that are excessively luxurious are mostly the kind of houses on the outskirts where no one lives, so they aren't really that great.

They're lucky if they even have any; they're not picky.

Later, Obito's grandmother also moved in.

The family seemed to be living a happy and harmonious life.

That's true, at least for now.

After Obito was born, the family became even happier and more lively.

However, new problems soon followed.

The place they lived in was somewhat awkward; it was definitely inferior to the very center of the Uchiha clan's territory.

However, owning a detached mansion with a courtyard is definitely better than living in the inner city of Konoha.

Basically, it's not the best, but it's not the worst either.

Obito's father was just a Chunin and had no say in the clan.

He wanted to give his son Obito a better life, so in March of Konoha year 37, after Obito was born, he went to the Hokage's office.

"Hmm...you're applying for the Jonin Exams?" Yua looked at the couple standing in front of him, scratched his cheek, and thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out why they were doing this...

He didn't put any effort into those two...

"Hmm... Strictly speaking, I shouldn't ask, but... can I ask why?" Yuya finally decided to ask directly.

The young couple didn't think there was anything wrong with the question, so they answered truthfully.

After hearing this, You Ya fell into deep thought. Had he been too permissive?

After thinking for a moment, Yuya looked at the two of them seriously and said, "The Chunin to Jonin exam, strictly speaking, only requires you to stay in the Forest of Death for three days while being pursued by three Jonin, but it is definitely not as simple as just staying for three days and that's it."

It's a potentially deadly conflict, do you understand?

The young couple hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Yuya sighed. In the original history, Obito's parents died in the war, leaving him and his grandmother to depend on each other. Why are these two willing to risk their lives now?

You Ya was puzzled, but since they had applied, it was impossible to refuse.

After all, it does meet the requirements.

After thinking it over, Yuya ordered one of the Anbu captains, Uchiha Yu, to go to the Forest of Death with a team to guard it. Once they confirmed there was no possibility of advancing, they were to rescue the person if there was any danger.

We can't let OB and the original history continue to rely on their grandmother for survival, can we?

However, things still turned out differently than Yuya had expected.

Looking at the disability certificate in his hand, Yua stared in shock at Uchiha Yu, the ANBU captain wearing a fox mask: "Seriously injured and on the verge of death?! Didn't I tell you to save people?!"

Uchiha Yuu was speechless. Another figure wearing a dog-slaying mask appeared in the office. Yuuya could tell who it was just by looking at the size of the body.

"Rou tried to stop them, but for some reason, the couple launched a sneak attack on the team of Jonin in charge of the assessment. They instinctively retaliated, so they hit a little too hard..."

Yuya gritted her teeth, glaring at the ANBU ninja in front of her: "Kazuko, you mean that couple attacked the examiner even with you two present? Do you think that makes any sense?!"

Hyuga Kazuko abruptly ripped off her mask and slammed it on the table in front of Yua: "What's unreasonable about it?! You don't know why? That's because you don't believe in the Uchiha! Don't you want to see what you've done for the Uchiha all these years?!"

Uchiha Yu reached out and tugged at Hyuga Kazuko's sleeve.

Yuya gritted his teeth: "What have I done for the Uchiha? Do you want to see what the Uchiha clan was like twenty years ago when I was ten, and then see what they are like now!"

Hyuga Kazuko's expression suddenly changed. She casually propped herself up from the table, crossed her arms, and hummed, "You knew that, didn't you?"

Yuya was taken aback, then looked at Hinata Kazuko suspiciously: "What do you mean?"

Then he looked at Uchiha Yuu, who remained silent. Wearing a mask, Yua couldn't tell what her expression was.

Yuya stroked his chin thoughtfully. Why did Hyuga Kazuko's expression change so suddenly? What did I say? I talked about the comparison of the Uchiha clan over the past twenty years...

The Uchiha clan's lives have definitely improved!

Twenty years ago, even members of the Uchiha clan had people who couldn't get enough to eat. Now, go and see where you can find that.

Does the Uchiha clan blame me for giving them such good conditions now?

Even a heartless ingrate wouldn't be this ungrateful...

and many more……

Yuya was startled, as if he understood something. He looked up at Uchiha Yuu: "Could it be... that the two of them... actually wanted to..."

I want to...

Leaving the Uchiha clan?!

Hyuga Kazuko snorted coldly: "Don't talk about them, about me and Yu..."

If we could leave the family…”

You Ya fell silent.

When Yuya was studying at the Ninja Academy, these two were his classmates; strictly speaking, they were his childhood friends...

However, most talented ninjas in a ninja clan will form internal alliances.

The Uchiha clan, the Hyuga clan, Sarutobi, Shimura, and others are all like this.

If it were before, then there would be no problem.

Because it was indeed better to be a member of the clan than to be an ordinary villager in Konoha.

Moreover, with the protection of their family, it's impossible for them to be worse off than being an ordinary villager.

But that was in the past.

Now, after more than ten years of development, Youya has built up the village.

The villagers of Konoha Village usually earn around 50,000 taels a month, and with year-end bonuses, it's normal for them to earn 700,000 to 800,000 taels a year.

The average villager in Konoha earns about the same salary as a Jonin for a month in a year, which seems a bit odd.

However, the calculation cannot be done this way.

Most of the work of a Jonin involves combat; even the simplest intelligence gathering may require fighting.

High wages mean high risks.

Therefore, no one would object to Jonin receiving high salaries.

The problem lies within the group of Chunin and Genin.

To understand these contradictions, a very simple distinction needs to be made...

Clan ninjas of Konoha and ordinary ninjas of Konoha Village.

Take Obito's parents and some of their colleagues who were responsible for guarding, patrolling, and protecting the village, for example.

Their colleagues live in the inner city of Konoha. Although they don't have large courtyards or spacious houses, their children can receive basic education in Konoha.

These are the schools that Youya started building more than a decade ago.

Obito's parents even managed to attend the Ninja Academy for a year before it was too late, but they couldn't go because the Uchiha clan didn't want their children to attend schools that taught subjects they didn't understand.

Of course, this applies to the Hyuga, Sarutobi, Shimura, and other families as well.

They were unwilling to let the descendants of their clan's ninjas study at Yuya's school alongside the descendants of ordinary villagers.

Whether it's out of contempt or a rebellious spirit of not wanting to follow Yua's path, these families don't send their children to school between the ages of five and ten.

Even an ordinary villager in Konoha Village has the opportunity to pay tuition to attend school.

In the past, not many people would have valued this opportunity to go to school.

However, You Ya has been in power for more than a decade.

In addition, the dozen or so years that Tobirama Senju spent were enough for Yua to outlive the first batch of Konoha officials established by Hashirama Senju before they retired.

These are the district chiefs of Konoha Village and the managers of the various streets under their jurisdiction.

As is well known, You Ya really likes children who are good at math.

Or rather, the most important component of the "civil service" exam arranged by You Ya was the mathematics exam.

If you want your child to go further in life and become a manager in Konoha Village, they must be good at math.

Here comes the point.

If Obito's parents had continued to live in the Uchiha clan's territory, their child, Obito, would have been raised with a happy education from birth to age ten.

While it's not fair to say that every parent would give everything for their child, they would certainly be willing to spend a lot of money to help their child get a head start over others.

Not to mention that the tuition fees for Youya are not high; the most expensive student, a 9-year-old, in their final year of primary school, only spends 30,000 taels of silver a year.

This is merely due to the convenience provided by the school and the child's future prospects.

There are many other conveniences as well, such as the nearby farmers' market, friends to chat with when you have free time, the hospital, the amusement park, and the shopping mall.

Convenient transportation, easy commuting, and a secure future for the child...

but……

The problem is coming.

How do I leave the Uchiha clan's territory?

Obito's parents were not Jonin and did not reach the core power circle of the Uchiha clan. Of course, if they had, they would not have thought of leaving the clan's territory.

After all, once they reach the Jonin level, their salaries are enough to hire private tutors.

Unfortunately, I haven't reached the Jonin level yet, so the salary isn't enough. I'm broke...

Without a doubt, Jonin are a minority in any clan; the majority are Chunin and Genin.

Therefore, Obito's parents were probably willing to take this opportunity to get seriously injured, and then use that injury as an excuse to leave the Uchiha clan.

That's incredibly dedicated...

After figuring things out, You Ya could only sigh.

Do you think this couple is stupid? They really are.

But when I think about how they're doing this for their own children...

On one hand, they faced their own family.

Then, thinking about how the Uchiha surname meant a bunch of simple-minded, stubborn people, Yuya shook his head helplessly.

"What...two idiots..."

Yuya could only utter this curse before letting Hyuga Kazuko and Uchiha Yuu leave.

Now that we've seen what happened, how should we resolve it?

There must be many people like Obito's parents.

The word "family" carries a very deep meaning.

Yuya then recalled that in the original history, even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Sarutobi clan still had three thousand ninja soldiers, and their motto was "For the Sarutobi Clan"...

You Ya felt a sudden headache.

Obito's parents' perception was correct; Yuya was indeed preparing to hold a civil service exam this year.

This exam will cover all aspects of life essential to the residents of Konoha Village, including banks, hospitals, factories, and schools.

Those who pass the exam will receive a certificate, which means they have secured a government job, a 20% salary increase, a pension, the right to an annual tax refund, and gifts during holidays...

The exam questions were naturally not going to be easy, and mathematics was indeed of paramount importance.

However, there are some unique aspects. Doctors' exams involve mathematics related to various diseases, surgeries, and prescriptions, while factory exams involve mathematics related to various parameters and the thickness of iron sheets. Similarly, bank exams involve mathematics related to various savings balances, loans, and interest rates.

The questions weren't difficult to come up with. In his previous life, every year during the civil service exam season, You Ya would come across a lot of complaints or explanations about related exam questions.

However, he needs to think carefully about the consequences for Konoha Village after Yua set this precedent.

Yuya initially thought there would be some unrest, but nothing too serious; now it seems...

The unrest might be much bigger than I imagine...

After all, who wouldn't want their child to pass the civil service exam?

You Ya sighed and dragged his tired body home.

Tsunade is revising her second book. She has to be extremely careful with typos and data, because even a single decimal point error could cost someone their life.

Tsunade didn't want things to go wrong.

However, Tsunade still felt a little sorry for Yua when she saw his tired expression.

So she put aside her work and came over to massage Youya's shoulders.

"Tsunade..." Yua sighed softly, enjoying the massage with her eyes closed, "Why are you so rough when you hit me, but so gentle when you massage me?"

A vein suddenly appeared on Tsunade's smooth forehead, and then she exerted force, and with a "crack," Yua let out a scream...

"..."

When Tsunade and Yuru came out after taking a shower, they saw Yua still sitting on the sofa, thinking about something.

"Honey, I'm going to sleep now. You should take care of yourself and not stay up late."

You Ya waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

However, when Yuya cried and asked Tsunade to take her to the bathroom at night, waking Tsunade up, Tsunade discovered that Yuya was still awake.

Tsunade frowned, and after taking Yuru to the bathroom, she coaxed the child to sleep and came out wrapped in her pajamas.

"What's wrong, honey?" Tsunade wanted to yell, but then she thought it was too late and maybe it really was something important.

Yuya thought for a moment, then looked at Tsunade and said, "Today, Kazuko, Yuya, and I discussed a phenomenon..."

You're saying...aren't there many chunin and genin in various clans...who want to leave their clans but are too afraid to act because of ethical and moral constraints?

Tsunade almost exploded when she heard the beginning, but she calmed down after hearing the end.

She sat down on the sofa next to You Ya with a frown: "Tell me what exactly happened."

Yuya then told Tsunade about how Obito's parents had almost crippled him.

Tsunade immediately slapped her palm to indicate that she knew these two people and that she was the one who came up with the rescue plan. However, they would not be disabled; at most, they would be seriously injured for a month or two, but there would be no major problems.

After learning the reason, Tsunade was not only stunned, but could only sigh helplessly.

Looking back now...

Hashirama Senju's decision to disband the Senju clan and scatter them among the villagers of Konoha was truly a stroke of genius...

If the Senju clan hadn't disbanded, they would probably be facing the same headaches right now.

The problem is...

The heads of each clan certainly don't want their clans to dwindle. Those who left in the past were ordinary people from various villages, who were, strictly speaking, a "burden" on the rule of the ninja clans. Therefore, although they were dissatisfied, they would only say, "Brother, I still have some ordinary clan members here. Do you want me to send them over?" because of the hundreds of millions or billions of yen in dividends they received each year, which have now increased to billions.

However, if it involves a clan's ninja, especially a key Chunin... then that's definitely not an option.

The Sarutobi clan now has more than 5,000 members. Excluding newborns (more than 1,000), elderly people (nearly 1,000), the remaining backbone consists of more than 2,000 ordinary people and more than 1,000 ninjas, including more than 600 Chunin.

If all six hundred-plus Chunin were to leave the Sarutobi clan, then no matter how good the relationship between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Yua was, or how deeply their interests were intertwined, out of respect for Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi would only say, "I'll fight you to the death, but I won't kill you."

No family could afford such a loss.

But the crux of the problem is...

What Youya can give... these family patriarchs really can't give!

What can these clan chiefs offer their children, a future that Youya can potentially secure for them?

Tsunade originally intended to urge Yua to go to sleep, but as they chatted, she herself couldn't fall asleep either.

If this problem is not resolved, it could easily lead to trouble.

But Yuya told Tsunade something else.

The elderly people who were there in the early days of the village have reached retirement age, and in fact, many of them have been over the retirement age for a year or two, and some have even been over for four or five years, but they still occupy their positions and refuse to step down.

The reason, of course, is that Konoha Village doesn't have that many talented people yet, so they can hold the fort.

As for what they themselves are thinking, Tsunade isn't stupid, how could she not know?

Power is a deadly poison...

Well, looking at it this way, it seems we really need to get Ya's civil service exam sorted out as soon as possible.

But in terms of implementation...

It was incredibly attractive to the ninjas of those ninja clans...

At that time, it's possible that some clans' Chunin might actually leave their clan territories en masse...

Tsunade's head was spinning just thinking about it. Looking at her husband, she could only pat his head pityingly, then say, "You're the Hokage, I believe in you," before slipping away to Yuru's room to sleep with her sweet-smelling daughter.

Youya was left speechless and sighing in the living room.

Damn it, I should have known better than to let the travelogue visit his grandparents' house.

If you're feeling annoyed, it's good to find a reason to beat up this kid.

Looking at the information he had compiled, Yuya finally gritted his teeth and made a decision...

Between two evils, choose the lesser one...

Those old fogies who are clinging to their positions and refusing to step down need to be dealt with.

As for the other ninja clans...

They've unleashed their ultimate weapon.

What is the ultimate move?

Ah~ We are all deeply indebted to the First and Second Generations. I believe that we are all inheritors of the Will of Fire. Since we are all inheritors of the Will of Fire, then everything is negotiable.

What? You disagree? Do you mean to deny the Will of Fire?! What are your intentions?!

Although Yuya dislikes wielding the Will of Fire, and personally doesn't believe in it at all, having that title does make many things much easier in many situations...

……

于是，木叶37年3月11日，游亚宣布将会在今年木叶37年9月15日，到木叶37年10月15日，举行为期一个月的「公务员」考试。

The specific exam content will be released later, and the details of the exam rules have been published in a booklet.

Those who pass the "civil service" exam will enjoy the following benefits:

...[Click to expand]

As soon as the announcement was made, Konoha Village became lively...

(End of this chapter)