Sarutobi Hiruzen's Probing, Uchiha Jin's Response!

The journey was uneventful.

Without Danzo meddling behind the scenes, it was naturally difficult for Sunagakure to obtain his intel, exponentially increasing the difficulty of ambushing him.

That afternoon, around five o'clock.

As the group spotted the Konohagakure gates again, their emotions became indescribably complex.

Finally.

After receiving their village entry permits, the Uchiha squad headed straight back to the clan compound, while Takada Fujiwara's squad proceeded to the Hokage Building.

"Hmm, excellent!"

"You completed your mission wonderfully. We'll record this as a B-Rank mission."

"What truly touched me, however, was your Will of Fire. You didn't even rest after the transport mission before immediately taking on other tasks."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was sincere.

For once, he set aside his pipe and spoke at length to everyone about the Will of Fire, while Uchiha Jin and the others appeared somewhat awkward.

Uchiha Jin, in particular, twitched at the corner of his mouth.

He didn't believe Sarutobi Hiruzen was unaware of Sawada Seiichi's involvement in their affairs. The fact that he could still say such things made Uchiha Jin have to admire him.

What a thick skin!

While Uchiha Jin was preoccupied with this thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen's speech, which lasted a full fifteen minutes, finally concluded. He dismissed Takada Fujiwara and the others, but kept Uchiha Jin behind.

Seeing this, Uchiha Jin understood that the crucial moment had arrived!

It would be strange if Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't try to win over a five-year-old Uchiha who had awakened his Sharingan.

"Jin!"

"I was too busy with work before, so I haven't had a chance to chat with you."

"What do you think of your current squad?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's demeanor was very kind.

As for Uchiha Jin...

He maintained a poker face, the very picture of a standard Uchiha.

"Reporting to Lord Hokage, I feel extremely comfortable."

"Captain Takada has been a great help to me. While Shika's personality is a bit lazy, he's very friendly towards us teammates. Whenever I encounter a problem I can't figure out, Shika finds a way to explain it to me."

"Kakashi's personality is a bit aloof, but he's still a very reliable teammate. I was saved by Kakashi twice during the mission."

"In short, being in this squad makes me feel incredibly comfortable!"

Though he was extremely wary internally, his years of maintaining a facade within the clan compound made him confident that this performance was flawless.

A standard Uchiha should be like this!

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, quite satisfied.

Through their brief exchange, he could sense that while Jin was similar to other Uchihas, he didn't actually interact much with people within the Uchiha clan.

He had few friends within the Uchiha, and conversely, the few friends he did have were mostly from the village.

Yes!

Upon learning about Uchiha Jin's situation, he had already thoroughly investigated the young Uchiha's background.

This child was closest to Nohara Rin, and through her, he had connections with Kakashi, Might Guy, and others. Now that he had graduated, he was only interacting with people from the village.

From this perspective, it was similar to his own thoughts: this child would be difficult for the Uchiha to sway.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was certainly not foolish!

His decision to accept and try to win over Uchiha Jin wasn't made on a whim, but rather after a rigorous investigation.

If Uchiha Jin had grown up interacting only with friends from within the Uchiha clan, and had frequently received help from within the clan, he wouldn't have bothered trying to recruit him, no matter how much of a prodigy he was.

Instead.

He would have done everything possible to eliminate him!

Uchiha Jin was completely different.

Due to his upbringing among the Uchiha commoners, he had never received instruction from within the clan, nor had any Uchiha helped him growing up. Furthermore, his friends were all from the village.

Therefore, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, this was a Uchiha seedling leaning towards Konohagakure!

It was precisely for this reason that he was willing to pay a small price to make an agreement with Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, to allow Uchiha Jin to continue operating in a normal squad.

Otherwise.

With Fugaku's mindset, he would surely have had Uchiha Jin join the Konoha Military Police Force.

"By the way, Jin."

"Why did you guys proactively take on that mission? Can you quietly tell me your true thoughts?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly asked.

This sudden change of topic caught Uchiha Jin by surprise.

However, he reacted quickly and immediately said, "It's mainly Kakashi, he wants to get stronger as soon as possible."

"Oh, is that so!" Sarutobi Hiruzen mused, "And you agreed right away?"

Uchiha Jin nodded slowly, "It doesn't matter to me, fighting is also part of training."

"Captain Takada Fujiwara said that war tempers people, and he also advised us to take on as many missions as possible while ensuring our safety. He said that only in this way can we survive better on the battlefield when the war fully erupts."

"As for Shisui, he was very reluctant!"

"But after hearing that it could increase his survival rate on the battlefield, he reluctantly agreed after a moment of consideration."

His words were very honest.

He felt that talking about the Will of Fire would definitely make Sarutobi Hiruzen wary.

After all, they were just a group of children, and it was normal to have a playful attitude and some selfish desires. If they kept talking about the Will of Fire, it would seem too fake.

The truth—Sarutobi Hiruzen must not know!

Otherwise.

If he knew that not only was he an Uchiha prodigy, but his planning and mindset could even rival the Nara clan, then Sarutobi Hiruzen would definitely find a way to kill him.

Of course.

He also couldn't show any intention of getting too close to the Hokage faction. On one hand, as an Uchiha, he would naturally be guarded against. But more importantly, Uchiha Jin himself was afraid of trouble.

If he got close to the Hokage faction now, he would definitely be targeted by various members of the clan. Just think about Itachi and Shisui in the original story.

And.

Betraying one's clan is not a good thing!

Because as an Uchiha, even if he gave his all, he wouldn't gain the trust of the Hokage faction.

So, keeping a distance and offending no one is the truth!

Anyway, he was just a child now. Both the Hokage faction and the Uchiha clan would tolerate him for at least seven or eight years.

Although being a fence-sitter was the worst option, for the Uchiha clan at this moment, it could be considered the optimal solution.

And his goal was...

To take advantage of this precious period of growth to improve himself as much as possible, and then to build his own force!

He didn't dare to have this idea before, but Hatake Sakumo's legacy gave him this precious opportunity.

The predecessors had already laid the foundation for him. If he couldn't even achieve this, then he might as well find a tofu to smash himself to death with!

Yes.

Even if he were to build a force, he never intended to make the Uchiha clan the core.

Most of the Uchiha had flawed thinking and unstable emotions, so the core in his mind was Hatake Sakumo's legacy.

As for conquering the Uchiha clan after he became truly powerful, it would be relatively simple!

As long as he could display his strength, it would be easy to win over the radical faction, and with that as a foundation, he could then deal with the other Uchiha. It wouldn't be that difficult for him.

As for now? He would lie low!