Mystic Code? Transforming Armor! You Still Have to Rely on Snake Auntie! [Part 1 and 2 Combined]

"Your choice."

Uchiha Gin didn't refuse. They were only working on the basics, and it wasn't any kind of secret, so he let Sasuke decide for himself.

Sasuke's little face scrunched up with uncertainty.

"Then sorry for the trouble."

In the end, he decided to give it a try. He wanted to see how far his abilities fell short when facing other ninja.

Besides, sparring with Uchiha Gin left him completely helpless, so he wanted to find someone else and regain some confidence.

Naruto came over too and watched from the side.

"Don't be shy. Attack me with everything you've got. I won't get hurt, so don't worry!"

Jiraiya had plenty of confidence in the children.

He spoke to Sasuke encouragingly.

Sasuke glanced at Uchiha Gin. After receiving an affirmative nod, he stopped hesitating, rushed straight at Jiraiya, and launched a Taijutsu attack.

Naruto watched intently from the side, never taking his eyes off them.

"Other than being a little weak, he's already at Genin level in every other regard."

"The Uchiha Clan has produced another genius!"

Jiraiya looked astonished. Sasuke's talent exceeded his expectations.

His Taijutsu was solid, and he was also extremely accurate with his Shuriken. He could use feints and even the Three Body Technique appropriately. He was nothing like an ordinary child.

When Sasuke's final Fire Release attack proved ineffective too, he went into the red-light state, just like yesterday. He looked frustrated; he hadn't expected that he wouldn't even be able to brush against the clothes of the street performer he'd mistaken for a ninja yesterday.

Uchiha Gin called a stop to the fight as well, and sent the panting Sasuke off to rest.

Naruto, meanwhile, skillfully started catching fish. Clearly, he still hoped they could all eat fish together for lunch.

"This kid really is a genius."

Standing beside Uchiha Gin, Jiraiya praised Sasuke without reservation.

"Mm."

Uchiha Gin nodded and accepted the praise without a hint of modesty.

Jiraiya felt like he'd met his match—a fellow shameless soul.

"It seems like it'll be difficult for Naruto to catch up to him."

Jiraiya continued.

He didn't think it was merely difficult. It was extremely difficult. He could tell just from Naruto's chakra training: the Nine-Tails was interfering, making it impossible for him to extract chakra smoothly. He'd started on hard mode.

"Maybe Naruto should eat his fill and get enough nutrition before we talk about catching up."

"For the child of a hero, that should be the bare minimum, shouldn't it?"

Uchiha Gin's words made Jiraiya clench his fists. The atmosphere between them turned cold.

"What exactly are you and Orochimaru after?"

Jiraiya dropped the act and asked outright.

"People with ability should rise, and those without it should step aside. At the very least, a hero's child should be able to eat his fill. That's about it."

Uchiha Gin's answer hit Jiraiya right where it hurt.

If they couldn't even feed the child of the hero who saved the village, what was the point of any of it?

Jiraiya couldn't understand it either. Why couldn't Naruto even be guaranteed enough to eat? This wasn't about money! It was about their mindset, about the Will of Fire going wrong!

"Wouldn't things be better if we worked together?"

Jiraiya asked cautiously.

He wanted to know whether there was still any room for reconciliation between them.

"There's no place for them on the ship in this new era. The rotten ones deserve to be cast aside!"

Uchiha Gin refused without mercy.

Those old geezers thought they could get on his ship?

He'd scatter their ashes to the wind!

"I understand."

After saying that, Jiraiya fell silent.

He'd thought this was about colluding for mutual benefit, but now it seemed to be a complete difference in their ideas and values. If it had come to that, a coup was entirely possible.

This was getting tricky. Did he really have to become Hokage?

After resting for a while, Sasuke got up and went fishing with Naruto. The two adults stood nearby without saying a word, simply watching the two children earnestly feeling around in the stream. For a moment, the scene looked quite peaceful.

"Are you sure this letter was sent back by Danzo?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had finished reading the letter in his hands, but he still hadn't come back to himself.

He questioned the Anbu who had delivered it.

"That's right. Root confirmed it was Shimura Danzo himself!"

The Anbu member knelt on the ground and answered.

Hiruzen was already eighty percent certain. After all, many of the decryption methods were no longer in use. He was the only one who still knew them; they were the secret codes he and Danzo had used back then.

"Uchiha Madara is willing to join forces with Konoha against the Uchiha Clan. In return, Konoha must recognize Amegakure's neutrality and not attack it for ten years. Uchiha Gin's Mangekyō Sharingan will also belong to Uchiha Madara!"

That was the general meaning Hiruzen had deciphered from the letter Danzo sent back.

Uchiha Madara was going to fight the Uchiha Clan?

If the letter hadn't come from Danzo, he really wouldn't have believed it. Danzo never joked about matters concerning the Uchiha!

Chapter 64: Mystic Code? Transforming Armor! You Still Have to Rely on Snake Auntie! [Part 1 and 2 Combined]

The next day, Jiraiya brought Naruto along, hoping to ambush Sasuke and Uchiha Gin again. But Uchiha Gin simply took Sasuke somewhere else. He had no intention of continuing to build a good relationship with the old man and the kid.

Rather than placing his hopes in other people, it was better to improve his own strength.

Naruto, however, was disappointed. At the same time, he began training in earnest, believing that once he became stronger, other people would acknowledge him.

Jiraiya also started getting busy. Like Uchiha Gin, he used a Shadow Clone to train Naruto in the morning, while his real self was kept busy by Sarutobi Hiruzen. Hiruzen planned to have Jiraiya take Shimura Danzo's place first and become the new Hokage Assistant.

After all, Jiraiya and Orochimaru weren't young anymore. They'd both experienced two Ninja World Wars and earned tremendous merit for Konoha. One could say that after Sarutobi Hiruzen, the five people with the highest reputations in the village were the Sannin, Hatake Sakumo, and Minato Namikaze. Apart from Hatake Sakumo, the other four belonged to the Hokage faction.

However, Hiruzen didn't tell Jiraiya about Danzo's invitation to team up. He only had Jiraiya handle some miscellaneous work and meet with a few of Konoha's high-ranking officials, letting everyone understand what he meant.

"This child's talent really is incredible."

Meanwhile, at Orochimaru's base, Orochimaru watched Yakushi Kabuto complete the basic experiment he'd assigned and looked pleased.

He'd taken an interest in the boy as soon as he discovered Yakushi Kabuto. He hadn't expected Kabuto's potential to be even greater than he'd thought. Still, Orochimaru felt he was a little inferior to Uchiha Itachi—and Itachi was three years younger than Kabuto.

"In an environment like Konoha, many talented researchers go to waste. The system for training ninja is far too backward, too. There's been almost no progress since the Second established the Ninja Academy. These are all things we need to work hard to change."

Uchiha Gin remarked with a sigh.

Orochimaru deeply agreed. There was no shortage of geniuses among civilians; what they lacked was opportunity. He and Jiraiya were proof of that.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen them as his students because they'd demonstrated exceptional talent. It wasn't as if just anyone could become the Hokage's student.

When Minato had chosen Obito, an unremarkable child among the Uchiha, it had also been because the Hokage faction wanted to build another branch of its influence within the Uchiha. Kagami Uchiha had once been one of them, and Shisui could be considered half a member as well.

The higher-ups had all kinds of plans, but none of them had ever thought to seek out talented civilians and give them proper training. Everything was about maintaining control of power and protecting their own interests.

"So, does Jiraiya's arrival put pressure on you?"

Uchiha Gin teased him.

"If you mean in terms of strength, I don't feel any pressure. But when it comes to competing for the position of Hokage, he's certainly a rival who can make me feel pressured."

"You and I both think things through calmly. But someone like Jiraiya can easily get carried away and make decisions without considering them carefully—for example, for the sake of his comrades or for Konoha. People like that seem to be more respected in Konoha, and are even considered to embody the Will of Fire."

Orochimaru answered seriously.

He really did feel pressure when competing with Jiraiya for the position of Hokage.

That blind confidence, those mindless choices—he couldn't understand them.

"Don't let people like that drag you down to their level. They're just getting carried away and gambling on luck. Someone like Jiraiya makes a great friend, but as a leader, there's no doubt that someone who can make the best decisions is more suitable."

"For instance, the village was founded by the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, but what truly made Konoha better was the more levelheaded Second. The Second is the one you should learn from."

Seeing that Orochimaru was confused, Uchiha Gin immediately cut in and explained what was going on.

People like Jiraiya and Naruto relied on the protagonist's halo. They were just gambling on luck.

Although the Second had been the harshest toward the Uchiha, Konoha had been at its best under his leadership. There'd been fewer internal conflicts, the Ninja Academy had given civilians a chance, and the Anbu had protected the village from outside threats.

"Heh, looks like I was overthinking it."

"Gin, you really are more suited to becoming Hokage than I am."

The confusion in Orochimaru's eyes vanished, and he couldn't help praising Uchiha Gin.

Gin was even more levelheaded than he was, had more ideas, believed in technology, and was willing to give civilians a chance. It was Konoha's higher-ups who refused.

"You know me. The position of Hokage can't hold me back. It would only waste my time. Surpassing the God of Shinobi is what I want to do."

Uchiha Gin shrugged. He truly had no interest in being a village head.

Orochimaru had said it twice already. He nodded and didn't say any more, preparing to keep refining his plans.

At the same time, Uchiha Gin had given him a new goal today. There were descendants of the Uzumaki Clan in Kusagakure, a red-haired mother and daughter. He'd already arranged for his subordinates outside Konoha to take care of it.

Danzo wasn't the only one with a research lab outside Konoha. Orochimaru had one too, and he'd even prepared a fallback retreat. He also had a store of Eight-Tails chakra outside the village. He'd been responsible for the previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's death; Orochimaru was no innocent man.

"The Sage of Six Paths. That's your goal, right?"

Orochimaru asked outright.

The First Hokage and Uchiha Madara were both reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' sons. Uchiha Gin knew so much that he couldn't possibly just want to become someone like Uchiha Madara. He must have a more powerful goal in mind, so Orochimaru guessed it was the Sage of Six Paths, who had created Ninjū.

"Mm. That's one of my goals."

Uchiha Gin left out the words "one of."

But Orochimaru could tell he wasn't being entirely honest, which surprised him. He could sense that Uchiha Gin was certainly devoted to power, but wasn't the Sage of Six Paths' power enough to satisfy him?

"We've already made a name for ourselves. Just as we'd expected, the Third Hokage brought Jiraiya back to compete with you. Now we just need to show everyone what we're worth."

"The Scientific Ninja Tool project will start making real money soon, and your Blue Pills will bring in a steady income too. We'll be able to start the next phase before long."

Uchiha Gin said.

Finding suitable research talent was the real goal of Uchiha Gin and Orochimaru. Becoming Hokage was just a bonus. It was only because everything was so troublesome without the authority of the Hokage.

"I can hardly wait."

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile.

Uchiha Gin thought the only thing that made Orochimaru unsuitable to be Hokage was that smile. It wasn't sunny enough and seemed too sinister; at first glance, he looked like a bad guy.

Half a month passed. The Ninja Cats delivered all the gemstones Uchiha Gin had bought.

It happened to be the weekend, so he gave Sasuke the day off and asked Fugaku for two days' leave. No Shadow Clone would be going over; Uchiha Gin was about to make his own Mystic Code.

He usually slacked off anyway, but this time he'd officially let Fugaku know he had something to do for the next two days. Fugaku even asked if he needed help. Uchiha Gin only told him to find a way to make more money.

"Defense barrier, soundproofing barrier, and trap barrier—all activated."

"This house is my workshop. My concentration and mana recovery will both increase here."

"Materials are ready."

Inside his Alchemy Room, Uchiha Gin spread the blueprint across the wall and neatly arranged the materials around a three-meter-long table.

He wanted to succeed on the first try. He didn't want to fail. He'd spent nearly all the money he'd just gotten and had even borrowed some from Fugaku in advance, and he'd only barely managed to scrape enough together.

Uchiha Gin activated his Sharingan and took out three gemstones filled with mana, checking his condition.