Who should be the next 'victim'?

Minato Namikaze left to attend to his own matters.

Uchiha Qi also reported for duty at the Konoha Military Police Force that afternoon.

The Konoha Military Police Force was established by the inherently evil Second Hokage, Old Man Senju, and staffed by members of the Uchiha Clan. Its responsibility was to maintain peace and order in the village. Essentially, this extremely powerful and crucial department within Konoha became a private preserve for the Uchiha Clan.

The wicked Old Man Senju was naturally not so kind. While the Uchiha Clan gained immense authority, they also became directly monitored by everyone in Konoha, making anything the Uchiha did highly conspicuous.

Furthermore, the Uchiha's main strength was directly confined to Konoha, making it difficult for them to earn merit through external missions and combat. This, in turn, made it hard for them to secure a place among Konoha's high-ranking officials.

However, despite the underlying ill intent, for a low-level Uchiha like Uchiha Qi, who was weak in combat, the Konoha Military Police Force was an excellent place.

Especially since, due to his lack of strength and his tendency to act on his own initiative, the Uchiha Clan didn't even consider Uchiha Qi for patrol duty. They simply assigned him a leisurely, do-nothing position in the logistics department.

Yes, his salary was actually not much different from that of field personnel.

Moreover, there was very little to do, and even if he didn't show up for work, someone else would cover for him. It essentially made no difference whether he was there or not.

For instance, today, it didn't matter that Uchiha Qi didn't go to work in the morning. When he arrived in the afternoon, he simply brushed it off with the excuse that he had "trained too hard last night and was too exhausted, so he slept through the morning," and his supervisor didn't even press him for details.

To the proud Uchiha, this was undoubtedly internal clan bullying and a form of punishment. Any other Uchiha would surely leave the Military Police Force in resentment and anger, or perhaps humble themselves before the clan, or even simply erupt, perhaps by awakening their Sharingan or evolving its tomoe.

Undoubtedly, this was psychological torment for a normal Uchiha. Even an abnormal Uchiha like Uchiha Obito wouldn't be able to stand it.

But...

Did Uchiha Qi see it that way?

What internal clan bullying? Ultimate insult? Isn't this just endless love from my fellow clan members?

Any office worker on Earth looking at this job would have to say, "Why don't you just bully me manually? Otherwise, I can't take this salary with a clear conscience."

Yes, Uchiha Qi's current job, if he had it before he transmigrated, would be like working in a leisurely department where the maximum amount of work in a day was two hours, with the rest of the time spent slacking off. He wouldn't have to take the blame or responsibility, and while his colleagues might be indifferent, they wouldn't actively seek to bother him. Yet, his base salary would be twenty thousand, with bonuses and other benefits during holidays—a truly divine job.

Damn, how is this bullying? This is clearly the profound love of a group of surrogate parents for me!

Truly worthy of being the Uchiha, the Clan of Love. Their love knows no bounds!

Honestly, if he could, Uchiha Qi wouldn't mind working there his entire life, and the Uchiha Clan could indeed support him for life.

Unfortunately, this wonderful life would be lost in a few years.

After the Nine-Tails Attack, although the Uchiha Clan could still retain the Konoha Military Police Force, their days became like a poor man's New Year—worse each year.

By then, all the high benefits and leisurely slacking would be gone. They would even be exterminated by Konoha's high command, in conjunction with Uchiha Weasel.

Although the original story clearly states that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, opposed the extermination of the Uchiha, and that the one who committed such heinous acts was Pot Kage and Weasel.

But...

Where you stand determines your perspective, and your position determines your values.

As a member of the Uchiha, unlike Weasel who had never learned political ideology, Uchiha Qi was acutely aware that he naturally stood with the Uchiha. He was diametrically opposed to Konoha's high command, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and they were mortal enemies.

Regardless of whether the classic "Third Hokage conspiracy theory" existed in this world, and regardless of what the Third Hokage truly thought, when they inherited the ideology of suppressing and controlling the Uchiha from the inherently evil Old Man Senju, but lacked Old Man Senju's strength and sophisticated methods, the conflict between them became irreconcilable.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi were truly a good person, merely sentimental and politically naive, appearing like a conspirator in many instances, it wouldn't matter to the Uchiha Clan. Only a dead Third Hokage was a good Hokage.

Of course, understanding all of this was useless. Uchiha Qi knew very well that in this world, strength spoke loudest. Without sufficient power, his thoughts were merely thoughts, having no impact on reality.

Moreover, before the Nine-Tails Attack, although Hiruzen Sarutobi was past his prime, he was still at the tail end of it. In terms of strength, he could easily take on a large number of Three-Tomoe Sharingan Uchiha by himself.

Even though various conspiracy theories disparage Hiruzen Sarutobi as worthless, as a Kage, his true strength, while not as great as the First or Second Hokage, was a whole level above other Kage.

He was a classic hexagonal warrior, not reaching the absolute peak in any single aspect, but extremely strong in all areas and without any weaknesses—a true jack-of-all-trades who could handle almost any situation.

Furthermore, among the Second Hokage's legacies, there were many techniques specifically targeting the Uchiha, and these were inherited by the Third Hokage. In a real fight, even a Three-Tomoe Sharingan would likely be completely ineffective against him; a Mangekyo Sharingan would be required.

But did the Uchiha have Mangekyo Sharingan before the Nine-Tails Attack?

While the original anime featured an original clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, with Mangekyo, the manga showed him with only a regular Three-Tomoe Sharingan. And Uchiha Qi had no way of knowing whether this world followed the anime or manga storyline.

Therefore, before the Nine-Tails Attack, if the Uchiha had tried any abstract acts of rebellion, it would have been a classic act of suicide.

After the Nine-Tails Attack, although the Third Hokage's strength continued to decline, the Uchiha had by then lost both power and prestige. There was also an internal traitor who wiped out their own clan. The situation was dire to the extreme, and there was basically no hope of recovery.

It was precisely for this reason that Uchiha Qi was so obsessed with becoming an "Uchiha Runaway."

Having lived in the Ninja World for so many years, he had long seen through the essence of things: the Uchiha had no hope, and he himself was a mediocre person with limited talent and weak strength. Running away was the only hope for survival.

Of course, this was all in the past. As for now...

Looking at the number 1285/5000 displayed on his system panel, Uchiha Qi couldn't help but anticipate the completion of the mission. And 1285 was the total amount of emotional value Minato Namikaze had provided. In just over an hour of gameplay, halfway through the game, his dear friend had provided all the emotional value he could offer for this game.

"As expected of Minato. When I make a new game, I'll definitely let you be the first to try it. You're my personal playtester now!"

Muttering to himself, Uchiha Qi sat at his desk, processing the day's work while considering who else to play the game with.

Undoubtedly, based on the premise that stronger individuals provide more emotional value, at this point in Konoha Year 46, he should seek out Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha Sannin—these Kage-level powerhouses of Konoha.

After them would come the various Elite Jonin, including Pot Kage, Shimura Danzo, and the other two members of the Konoha F4.

What? Pot Kage and the other two Konoha F4 members aren't Kage-level?

Sorry, they really aren't.

The other two old men of the Konoha F4 were, at their peak, only Elite Jonin, and they subsequently declined. By the time of the Nine-Tails Attack, they were merely ordinary Jonin. They could only provide support against the Nine-Tails and were severely injured after only a few hits. The manga even has specific panel close-ups of their injuries. They were classic minor characters.

As for Old Man Pot Kage, perhaps he had reached Kage-level before, but after suffering injuries and losing an arm and an eye, he immediately fell from that rank. It's estimated that before he transplanted Hashirama Cells and Sharingan, he couldn't even defeat those two weaklings from the Konoha F4.

These are the power levels established in the original story, and they're the levels Uchiha Qi is currently aware of within the village.

Whether there are other hidden masters in the village isn't something he needs to concern himself with.

Right now, Uchiha Qi's only concern is finding his next "victim."

In terms of efficiency and benefit, it would naturally be best to involve the current strongest in Konoha, the Old Man Sarutobi.

However, given their respective positions, how could Uchiha Qi possibly approach him?

Setting aside whether the Third Hokage would trust him, an Uchiha, enough to let him use his Sharingan without resistance, even if the Old Man Sarutobi did agree to the game, there would be too many problems afterward.

Not to mention anything else, Konoha's higher-ups would definitely find out, and given Shimura Danzo's personality, he would 1000% target him. At that point, Uchiha Qi would truly have no peace.

So, the Third Hokage route is directly abandoned.

As for the Konoha Sannin, each one is more significant than the last, and some aren't even in Konoha, making them unsuitable as well.

Therefore, he can only approach this from other angles.

On that note, the Uchiha Clan seems like a good choice. There's no shortage of experts within it. Should he try to keep it an internal matter?

2nd update, please continue reading.