Minato Namikaze left to take care of his own affairs.
Uchiha Qi also went to report to the Konoha Military Police Force that afternoon.
The Konoha Military Police Force had been established by the innately evil Second Hokage, Old Man Senju. It was staffed by members of the Uchiha Clan and responsible for maintaining order in the village. Essentially, this department—which held immense authority and importance in Konoha—had become the Uchiha Clan's private domain.
Naturally, the evil Old Man Senju had not been so kind-hearted. While gaining enormous power, the Uchiha Clan had also become a target of direct surveillance throughout Konoha, making everything they did highly conspicuous.
Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan's main strength had been effectively trapped within Konoha. They rarely had opportunities to earn merit through external missions and combat, making it difficult for them to secure a place among Konoha's upper ranks.
Still, malicious intentions were malicious intentions. For a low-level Uchiha like Uchiha Qi, whose strength was pathetic, the Konoha Military Police Force was a wonderful place.
Especially since his lack of strength, combined with his habit of acting on his own, meant the Uchiha Clan had not even considered making Uchiha Qi a patrol officer. They had simply assigned him an easy, dead-end logistics position where he could slack off.
Well, the kind where the salary was actually about the same as that of field personnel.
There was barely any work, and even if he did not show up, someone else would cover for him. The whole point was that it made no difference whether he was there or not.
For example, it did not matter that Uchiha Qi had skipped work that morning. When he arrived in the afternoon, he simply said, "I overtrained last night and was too exhausted, so I slept through the morning," and that was enough to brush it off. His superior did not press him for details.
In the eyes of the proud Uchiha, this was unquestionably clan bullying and a form of passive punishment. Any other Uchiha would surely leave the Military Police Force in resentment and fury, bow his head to the clan, or simply erupt—perhaps awakening the Sharingan or adding another tomoe to it.
Without question, this was mental abuse for a normal Uchiha. Even an abnormal Uchiha like Uchiha Obito would not have been able to endure it.
But...
Did this even count as a problem for Uchiha Qi?
What clan bullying? What ultimate humiliation? Was this not his clansmen's boundless love for him?
If any corporate drone back on Earth saw this job, they would say, "Why don't you just bully me manually? Otherwise, I won't feel at ease taking this salary."
Well, Uchiha Qi's current job, if placed before his transmigration, would be equivalent to working in a leisurely department where a day's work could be finished in two hours at most, with the rest of the time free to slack off. He would not need to take the blame or bear any responsibility, and although his colleagues were distant, they would not actively pick on or harass him. Yet his base salary would be twenty thousand, with bonuses and other benefits for every holiday.
Damn it, how was this bullying? This was clearly the profound love of a whole group of honorary fathers and mothers!
As expected of the Uchiha Clan, the Clan of Love. Their love truly knew no bounds!
Honestly, if he could, Uchiha Qi would not mind working here for the rest of his life. And the Uchiha Clan really could support him for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, such a wonderful life would disappear in a few years.
After the Nine-Tails Attack, although the Uchiha Clan would retain the Konoha Military Police Force, their days would only grow worse with each passing year.
By then, all the generous benefits and leisurely slacking would be gone. They would even be exterminated by Konoha's upper ranks working together with Uchiha Weasel.
Although the original story clearly stated that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, opposed exterminating the Uchiha Clan, while the ones who committed that heinous act were Konoha's Shadow of the Pot and Weasel.
But...
One's position determined one's perspective, and one's stance determined one's values.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Qi—unlike Weasel, who had apparently never studied political ideology—understood perfectly that he was naturally on the Uchiha Clan's side. He and Konoha's upper ranks, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, were irreconcilable enemies who would fight to the death.
Whether this world had the classic Third Hokage conspiracy theory or not, and regardless of what Old Man Third truly thought, once they inherited the innately evil Old Man Senju's philosophy of suppressing and controlling the Uchiha Clan without possessing Old Man Senju's strength and superior methods, the conflict between the two sides became impossible to reconcile.
Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi truly was a good man, merely sentimental and politically incompetent, which made many things look like conspiracies, none of that really mattered to the Uchiha Clan. Only a dead Old Man Third was a good old man.
Of course, understanding all this was useless. Uchiha Qi knew very well that strength still ruled this world. Without sufficient power, his thoughts were merely thoughts and had no impact on reality.
What was more, before the Nine-Tails Attack, although Hiruzen Sarutobi had passed his prime, he was still at the tail end of his peak. In terms of strength, he could single-handedly take on a whole group of Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Do not let all those conspiracy theories that disparaged Hiruzen Sarutobi into worthlessness fool you. As a Hokage, while his true strength was inferior to the First and Second Hokage, he was a tier above the other Kage.
He was a classic all-rounder. None of his abilities had reached the absolute pinnacle, but every aspect was extremely strong, and he had no weaknesses. He could handle practically any situation.
Furthermore, the Second Hokage's legacy contained many methods specifically aimed at the Uchiha Clan, all of which had been inherited by the Third Hokage. If they truly fought, even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan would likely be completely ineffective against him. They would need the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But did the Uchiha Clan possess the Mangekyō Sharingan before the Nine-Tails Attack?
Although the original anime had an anime-original Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, he only had an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the manga. Uchiha Qi had no way of knowing whether this world followed the anime route or the manga route.
Therefore, if the Uchiha Clan wanted to do something as absurd as rebel before the Nine-Tails Attack, it would be a classic act of courting death.
After the Nine-Tails Attack, the Third Hokage's strength would continue declining, but by then the Uchiha Clan would have lost both power and prestige. They would also have traitors within their ranks who would help destroy the entire clan. The situation would be so terrible that they would basically have no hope of turning things around.
That was precisely why Uchiha Qi was so determined to become an Uchiha opportunist.
After living in the ninja world for so many years, he had long seen through its essence. He knew the Uchiha had no hope whatsoever, and that he himself was an ordinary person with limited talent and pitiful strength. Running away was his only hope of survival.
Of course, that had been before. As for now...
Looking at the number 1285/5000 displayed on the system panel, Uchiha Qi could not help anticipating the moment the mission was completed. The 1285 was all the Emotion Value Minato Namikaze had provided. With just over an hour of gameplay, and with the game only halfway through, his close friend had already provided all the emotional value he could offer for this game.
"As expected of Minato. Whenever I make a new game in the future, I'll definitely have you try it first. You'll be my personal test player!"
Muttering to himself, Uchiha Qi sat at his desk, handling the day's work while considering whom he should find to keep playing the game.
Without question, based on the premise that stronger people provided more Emotion Value, at this point in Konoha's Year 46, he should seek out Kage-level powerhouses such as Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha Sannin.
After that would come the various Elite Jonin, including Pot Kage Shimura Danzō and the other two members of the Konoha F4.
What? Pot Kage and the other two members of the Konoha F4 were not Kage-level?
Sorry, they really were not.
The other two old men of the Konoha F4 had only been Elite Jonin even in their prime, and they declined afterward. By the time of the Nine-Tails Attack, they were merely ordinary Jonin. Against the Nine-Tails, they could only provide support, and after just a few hits, they were severely injured. The manga even gave close-up panels of their injured appearances. They were classic minor supporting characters.
As for Pot Kage, perhaps he had once reached Kage-level, but after being injured and losing an arm and an eye, he had fallen directly from that level. Before transplanting Hashirama Cells and Sharingan, he probably could not even defeat those two weaklings from the Konoha F4.
Those were the power levels established in the original work, as well as the extent of Uchiha Qi's current understanding of the village's situation.
As for whether there were hidden experts in the village, that was not something he needed to care about.
Right now, Uchiha Qi only needed to concern himself with finding the next "victim."
In terms of efficiency, naturally, having Old Man Third—the strongest person in Konoha at present—play the game directly would be the most suitable choice.
However, given the positions of the two sides, how could Uchiha Qi possibly seek him out?
Leaving aside whether the Third Hokage would trust an Uchiha enough to let him use the Sharingan without resisting, even if Old Man Third truly agreed to experience the game, there would be far too many problems afterward.
Not to mention anything else, Konoha's upper ranks would definitely find out. And with Old Man Danzo's personality, there was a thousand-percent chance he would set his sights on Uchiha Qi. At that point, he truly would never have another peaceful day.
Therefore, the Third Hokage route was discarded outright.
As for the Konoha Sannin, each was a major figure, and some were not even in Konoha. They were equally unsuitable.
So he could only approach things from another angle.
Come to think of it, the Uchiha Clan seemed like a pretty good option. There was no shortage of experts within it. Should he try keeping it in-house?
Second update. Please keep reading.
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