Leaf Village: I, an Uchiha, Am Done Lying Flat!

Hiruzen Sarutobi began his performance.

Of course, he knew perfectly well about what had happened to Kagami Uchiha's subordinates.

But he had not intervened.

They were a group with no value to exploit, and evil Uchiha at that. Naturally, he had no interest in lending them a hand.

But things were different now!

Shisui was a good chess piece. Naturally, he could not bear to give him up.

Honestly.

His performance was crude. If Uchiha Jin had been there, he could have easily found plenty of flaws.

Unfortunately.

The one standing before him was Shisui—Shisui, who had been thoroughly brainwashed.

His face was filled with gratitude. He immediately interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi and said resolutely,

"No, this isn't Lord Hokage's fault!"

"You handle countless affairs every day. How could you have time to deal with such trivial matters?"

"The ones truly to blame are those Radical Faction members in the clan. They're utterly despicable!"

"Lord Hokage, rest assured. As long as I, Shisui, am still here, I will never allow those Radical Faction members to commit evil!"

Shisui's words were firm and decisive.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was naturally quite satisfied with that.

After chatting briefly, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and spoke.

"Shisui, go back."

"I don't think Fugaku alone can suppress those Radical Faction members in this matter."

"Those victims were once your grandfather's subordinates. You have an obligation to help Fugaku handle this."

"And the village bears some responsibility in this matter as well."

"In the name of the Hokage, I hereby declare that if the descendants of Kagami's former subordinates encounter difficulties and the Uchiha Clan is unwilling to help, then the village can bear the burden in full."

"I have failed as Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was full of anguish.

Shisui was so moved that tears nearly welled up in his eyes.

What a wonderful Hokage!

How could those bastards in his clan still accuse the Hokage of being unfair?

What he did not realize was that Hiruzen Sarutobi was only generous with his words.

In reality, it was complete bullshit!

That group who had followed Kagami Uchiha had long since been purged to the last man.

As for their descendants?

How many were even left?

Even if the village covered all of them, how much money could it possibly cost?

Not to mention someone like Uchiha Jin, who had already become a ninja. Would he really have the nerve to ask the village for compensation?

This was Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He had not spent a single bit of benefit, yet earned himself a wave of good reputation.

And with this arrangement, he could continue dividing the Uchiha.

Let the Moderate Faction and the Radical Faction fight each other!

He would be happy even if just one of them died.

But unfortunately.

Uchiha Shisui did not understand any of this.

Instead, he spoke gratefully. "On Jin's behalf, and on behalf of those innocent people, I thank Lord Hokage for your generosity."

"Jin?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in confusion.

Hearing the Hokage's confusion, Shisui immediately explained everything.

After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.

Now that he had obtained the information he wanted, he had no interest in wasting words on Shisui.

"Alright, go back."

"But Lord Hokage, my mission..."

"That's fine. I'll have someone else do it. Just focus on resolving the Uchiha matter."

"This... thank you, Lord Hokage!"

Shisui left with a face full of gratitude.

After he left, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke indifferently.

"Someone!"

In an instant.

A masked Anbu appeared, half-kneeling on the ground as he spoke respectfully.

"Lord Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.

"Retrieve Uchiha Jin's file for me!"

The masked Anbu bowed, then left the office.

Five minutes later.

The Anbu appeared again and placed a file on the desk.

He then bowed once more and, before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, vanished in a puff of smoke.

Clearly.

This was a Shadow Clone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paid no attention to the Anbu and merely examined Uchiha Jin's file.

But the more he read, the more deeply he frowned.

It was terrible!

If Uchiha Shisui was a genius, then Uchiha Jin was an absolute idiot.

He was already fucking twelve. Kakashi was already a Jonin, while Shisui was at the peak of Chunin rank. As long as he earned a little more merit, he could be promoted to Jonin at any time.

And Uchiha Jin?

It was hard to put into words.

He was already in fifth grade, yet he could only barely use the Three Body Technique, and his chakra reserves were pitifully low.

This was an Uchiha?

Looking at the file, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore the expression of an old man on the subway.

It was far too pathetic!

Even a civilian would not be this bad, right?

He never considered that Uchiha Jin might be hiding his strength, because that was not something an Uchiha could do.

If the Uchiha truly had that kind of cunning, the Third Hokage would be an Uchiha.

Sigh!

Looking at the file, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a terrible headache.

Originally, he had wanted to summon Uchiha Jin, preach the Will of Fire to him, and trick him into helping Shisui deal with the Uchiha Radical Faction.

But now, he had lost all interest.

A piece of cannon fodder like this was not worth wasting his time on.

Creak.

Just then, the office door opened.

An elderly man wrapped in bandages walked straight in, leaning on a cane.

Yes.