The journey was uneventful.
Because Danzo was no longer pulling strings behind the scenes, Sunagakure naturally found it difficult to obtain his intelligence, and the difficulty of attempting to ambush him increased exponentially.
That afternoon, around five o'clock.
After the group saw the Konoha Gate once again, their respective moods became quite complex.
Finally.
After obtaining their entry permits, the Uchiha squad headed straight back to the clan grounds, while Takada Fujiwara's squad proceeded to the Hokage Building.
"Well, not bad!"
"You completed your mission brilliantly, go ahead and record it as a B-Rank Mission directly."
"Of course, what moves me even more is the Will of Fire within you; you didn't even rest after the transport mission was completed, and directly took on other missions instead."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke in a sincere tone.
At this moment, he had put down his smoking pipe for once, talking at length about the Will of Fire to the group, while Uchiha Jin and the others looked slightly awkward.
Especially Uchiha Jin, whose mouth even twitched.
He did not believe that Sarutobi Hiruzen knew nothing about Sawada Seiichi helping them; since the Hokage knew and could still say such words, it forced Uchiha Jin to admire him.
This skin is truly thick!
Amidst Uchiha Jin's headache, Sarutobi Hiruzen lectured for fifteen minutes before finally concluding this speech, dismissing Takada Fujiwara and the others while keeping only Uchiha Jin behind.
Upon seeing this scene, Uchiha Jin understood in his heart that the most critical moment had arrived!
Facing a five-year-old Uchiha with awakened Sharingan, it would be strange if Sarutobi Hiruzen did not try to recruit him.
"Jin!"
"I've been too busy with work previously and haven't had a chance to chat with you yet."
"How do you feel about your current squad?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked very amiably.
And in response to this.
Uchiha Jin put on a poker face, maintaining a standard Uchiha look.
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, it feels exceptionally comfortable."
"Captain Takada has been a great help to me. Although Rokuichi's personality is somewhat lazy, he is quite friendly toward us teammates. Every time I encounter a problem I can't figure out, Rokuichi finds a way to explain it to me."
"Although Kakashi's personality is a bit cold, he is still a very reliable teammate, and I was saved by Kakashi twice during the mission."
"In short, staying in this squad makes me feel exceptionally comfortable!"
Although he was extremely vigilant inside, having long practiced camouflage in the clan grounds, he was confident that this performance was completely flawless.
A standard Uchiha should be like this!
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, feeling quite satisfied in his heart.
Through simple communication, he could sense that although Jin was similar to other Uchiha on the surface, he actually did not have much interaction with people inside the Uchiha clan.
He had very few friends within Uchiha; on the contrary, the few friends he could play with were basically figures from the village side.
Yes!
Upon learning about Uchiha Jin's situation, he had long since investigated Uchiha Jin's background thoroughly.
This child walked closest to Nohara Rin, and precisely because of Nohara Rin, he had ties with Kakashi, Might Guy, and others, and the people he interacted with after graduation were all from the village.
Judging from this point, it was similar to his own thoughts; this child was very hard for the Uchiha to buy off.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was certainly not stupid!
The decision to accept and recruit Uchiha Jin was not made on the spur of the moment either, but was a decision made after truly rigorous investigation.
If Uchiha Jin had grown up surrounded by friends from within the Uchiha clan and was often helped by them, then no matter how much of a genius Uchiha Jin was, he would have no intention of recruiting him.
On the contrary.
He would only find every possible way to execute him!
Uchiha Jin was completely different.
Because of his commoner Uchiha background, he had never been exposed to the clan's teachings, and no Uchiha had ever helped him since childhood. Coupled with the fact that the friends he interacted with were all people from the village.
Therefore, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, this was a Uchiha sapling inclined toward Konoha!
It was precisely for this reason that he did not hesitate to pay a slight price to make an agreement with Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan Head, allowing Uchiha Jin to continue operating in a normal squad.
Otherwise.
Judging from the thoughts of that fellow Uchiha Fugaku, he would definitely have made Uchiha Jin join the Konoha Military Police Force.
"Right, Jin."
"Why did you guys take the initiative to take on a mission back then? Can you quietly tell me your true thoughts?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked suddenly.
And this abruptly changed topic momentarily stunned Uchiha Jin.
However, his reaction was fast, and he immediately spoke up: "It was mainly Kakashi; he wanted to become stronger as soon as possible."
"Oh, is that so?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said thoughtfully: "And you guys just agreed like that?"
Uchiha Jin nodded slowly: "It doesn't matter to me. Slaughter is also a part of training."
"Captain Takada said that war tempers people, and he also suggested that under the premise of ensuring safety, we should execute as many missions as possible. He said that only in this way, when the war completely erupts, can we better survive on the battlefield."
"As for Rokuichi, he was very reluctant!"
"However, upon hearing that it could increase his survival odds on the battlefield, he agreed rather reluctantly after thinking about it for a moment."
This speech was very realistic.
He felt that chatting about the Will of Fire would definitely make Sarutobi Hiruzen suspicious.
After all, they were just a bunch of kids; having a playful mindset and a bit of selfishness was normal. If he kept talking endlessly about the Will of Fire, it would feel a bit too fake.
The real situation—must absolute not be known by Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Otherwise.
If the Hokage found out that he was not only an Uchiha genius, but could also rival the Nara Clan in scheming and temperament, Sarutobi Hiruzen would definitely find a way to kill him.
Of course.
He also could not reveal a mindset that was too close to the Hokage faction. On one hand, hailing from the Uchiha would naturally incur guard, but more importantly, Uchiha Jin himself hated trouble.
If he cozied up to the Hokage faction right now, he would definitely be targeted in all sorts of ways by the clan. Just think about Itachi and Shisui from the original work to know.
Besides.
Betraying the clan was not a good thing!
Because with his Uchiha background, even if he ripped out his heart and lungs, he wouldn't gain the trust of the Hokage faction.
Therefore, keeping a respectful distance and offending no one was the true path!
Anyway, he was just a kid right now; whether it was the Hokage faction or the Uchiha clan, their tolerance for him could at least be maintained for seven or eight years.
A fence-sitter might be the worst choice, but for the current Uchiha, it could already be considered the optimal solution.
And his goal was...
To take advantage of this precious growth period to expand his influence as much as possible, and then build his own faction!
He hadn't dared to have this thought before, but Hatake Sakumo's legacy gave him this precious opportunity.
The predecessor had already laid the foundation for him; if he couldn't even manage this much, he might as well go find a piece of tofu to crash his head into and die!
Yes.
Even when building his faction, he never thought of making the Uchiha the core.
Most of the Uchiha had screws loose in their heads, and their emotional states were also quite unstable, so the core in his mind was still Hatake Sakumo's legacy.
As for after he truly became strong, subduing the Uchiha would be relatively simple!
As long as he could display his power, taking down the radical faction would be very easy. Using that as a foundation to handle the other Uchiha wouldn't really be a difficult task for him.
As for now? He should just lay low!
Before you continue