My Brother Minato Has the Makings of a Hokage, An Unexpected New Colleague

After dinner, Uchiha Dan led Namikaze Minato to a training ground.

At the training ground, Namikaze Minato diligently demonstrated his recent training results against a wooden post.

Sometimes he pulled back to throw shuriken from a distance, sometimes he closed in on the dummy to execute a close-combat combo.

Uchiha Dan sat off to the side, bored out of his mind, occasionally pretending to take an interest with a glance.

But in truth, Uchiha Dan's attention was entirely on Namikaze Minato, carefully sensing every detail of his movements.

Half an hour later, Namikaze Minato stopped his demonstration and walked up to Uchiha Dan, beaming with pride. "Big brother, I'm amazing, right?"

"Haha, amazing, amazing!" Patting Namikaze Minato's little head, Uchiha Dan didn't hold back his praise.

Hatake Sakumo, monitoring Uchiha Dan, simply watched this familiar scene from a distance, sensing nothing out of the ordinary.

Back in the bedroom, Uchiha Dan's expression turned serious, making Namikaze Minato's heart skip a beat.

Uchiha Dan didn't dawdle. He immediately pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and handed it to Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato took the paper and read it carefully.

After reading for a long while, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He nodded firmly and began writing in the remaining space.

Though outsiders believed Uchiha Dan had never trained in ninjutsu, his thoughts on ninjutsu never stopped for a single second while he was awake.

Thus, his wealth of ninjutsu theory and depth of understanding of ninjutsu principles were likely unmatched by few in the entire ninja world.

Under his guidance, Namikaze Minato's talent and strength far exceeded what they would have been on the normal path.

This written exchange was Uchiha Dan's unique method of guiding Namikaze Minato, and the only method he dared to use.

To be safe, they didn't even write in the ninja world's script, but in Chinese characters—a language only the two brothers in the entire ninja world knew.

It had to be said, to repay the kindness of Namikaze Toneri and his wife in raising him, Uchiha Dan had gone to great lengths.

Of course, he was also using Namikaze Minato to verify many of his own ideas—killing two birds with one stone.

After exchanging writings for a while, Namikaze Minato wrote: "Big brother, I've run into a problem while training in the Chakra Body Strengthening Technique you taught me."

"Tell me the details!"

Taking an acupoint chart, Namikaze Minato pointed to three acupoints on it and continued writing: "When chakra passes through these three acupoints, the flow is a bit obstructed."

"Run the Body Strengthening Technique right now, and let me sense it!"

After sensing carefully for a while, Uchiha Dan smiled and wrote: "It's because your chakra reserves are still too small to break through the acupoints. At most, in half a year, this problem will disappear, and your physical condition will see a massive improvement."

Smiling, Namikaze Minato nodded firmly, then tore the paper into shreds, burned them completely, and flushed the ashes down the toilet.

With that, the two brothers' exchange for the day finally ended.

Uchiha Dan was used to this.

But Namikaze Minato felt pained every time.

His big brother had done nothing wrong, and his talent was so high, his understanding of ninjutsu far deeper than the school teachers'.

So why couldn't he train?

Why did the Hokage keep sending people to monitor him?

The explanation Uchiha Dan gave was that perhaps it was because his talent was too strong, and he was of the Uchiha Clan.

Namikaze Minato didn't accept that.

He only wanted to get stronger quickly, so his brother could train without worry and live freely.

That was why he wanted to become Hokage, and why he worked so desperately hard.

Because only if he became Hokage could all of this be realized.

To outsiders, Uchiha Dan and Namikaze Minato weren't blood brothers.

But from the moment Namikaze Minato could remember, Uchiha Dan had been his brother, and had treated him incredibly well since childhood—better than a real brother.

Uchiha Dan didn't know what Namikaze Minato was thinking, and if he did, he'd just laugh it off.

He wasn't pinning his hopes on a child who hadn't even turned seven yet.

If he wanted training and freedom, he had to save himself.

The only problem troubling him now was: if he escaped, how could he avoid affecting Namikaze Toneri's family?

Fake his death and slip away?

The next morning, Uchiha Dan went to the hospital as usual.

But as soon as he stepped into the office and saw the person inside, he quickly backed out and looked up at the door number.

"What are you dodging for?"

Before Uchiha Dan could turn and run, a fair hand grabbed his collar and yanked him into the office.

"Why did you run the moment you saw me?" Lord Tsunade crossed her arms, fuming.

"Can't I even go to the bathroom?" How could Uchiha Dan admit he was fleeing?

"No!"

"Do you have any humanity left? You savage, baboon, gorilla, monkey, caveman..."

"Shut up!" Hearing that familiar string of insults, Lord Tsunade cut him off with a sharp shout.

She didn't know how she'd endured the past five years.

If it weren't for her competitive streak driving her to win back what she'd lost, she truly never wanted to see this guy again for the rest of her life.

And now, she'd actually gotten used to being cursed at!

There was no denying the power of habit.

Seeing there was no escape, Uchiha Dan slumped into his chair in despair and said irritably, "Fine, what do you want from me? Say it and leave!"

"Naturally, I'm here to continue our competition!"

"Will you ever stop?" Uchiha Dan snapped in sudden anger. "I've already conceded defeat! What more do you want?"

"Is this how you treat your benefactor?" Lord Tsunade, savoring the rare sight of Uchiha Dan losing his temper, felt a flicker of vengeful satisfaction and taunted him.

"Benefactor?" Uchiha Dan echoed with hollow agreement. "Yes, yes, from now on you're my benefactor. I'm so grateful."

"So you'd better leave. I'm afraid you won't like the way I show my gratitude."

But no sooner had Uchiha Dan spoken than the office door swung open.

Two orderlies carried in a desk and set it down opposite Uchiha Dan's.

Then the director walked in, personally holding a chair, which he placed behind the newly positioned desk.

"Lord Tsunade, this will be your seat from now on!" the director said with utmost courtesy.

Lord Tsunade didn't stand on ceremony; she sat down immediately and shot Uchiha Dan a challenging look.

Uchiha Dan was dumbfounded.

What the hell was going on?

"I get it!" Uchiha Dan snapped back to reality, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pen. "Director, don't leave yet. I'll write my resignation right now."

"You bastard!" Lord Tsunade snatched the paper from Uchiha Dan and tore it to shreds.

"Tsunade, what are you really up to?" Uchiha Dan genuinely had no idea what game she was playing.

He could tell she was going to work at Konoha Hospital from now on, and in the same office as him.

But how had things come to this?

Seeing the situation turn sour, the director—knowing he couldn't afford to offend either of them—quickly slipped out, even thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

"So, is the Hokage sending you to keep an eye on me?" Uchiha Dan ventured, testing a possibility.