Minato's Talent

Hokage Building.

Namikaze Minato led Uchiha Izumiya, Uzumaki Kushina, Yuhi Kurenai, and a reluctant Sato Hideaka up to the Hokage Building and into the office.

Kicking the door open, Uzumaki Kushina immediately stepped forward and addressed the Third Hokage: "Lord Third, it's one thing for Uchiha Izumiya and his lot to bully people in class, but now they're bullying old ladies on the street! It's a disgrace to the ninja name. You must punish them properly..."

The Third Hokage looked at the fuming Uzumaki Kushina with a blank expression and asked: "Who has upset our Kushina this time? What did Uchiha Izumiya do...?"

"Lord Third, while the Military Police Force was performing its duties, Uzumaki Kushina obstructed us and even turned around to blame us. I ask that you make a ruling on this matter!"

Uchiha Izumiya did not back down. Konoha had established these rules, and he was merely an executor, strictly enforcing the law according to Konoha's regulations and the protocols of the Military Police Force. None of this was his fault.

"Does Konoha's code say you're allowed to knock over an old lady? Logically speaking, hurting someone on the street is a far greater offense than an old lady setting up an illegal stall!"

"Furthermore, I often eat wonton noodles at her stall and know her situation: her husband and son were both Konoha ninja who died on the battlefield during the Second Great Ninja War. Their names are carved on the Memorial Stone. The grandmother's grandson is only twelve years old. Aside from the pension from Konoha, the family relies entirely on that wonton stall to survive. Are you trying to force them to their deaths??"

Uzumaki Kushina's face turned bright red as she shouted at Uchiha Izumiya, clearly disgusted by his actions.

"Mar... martyrs, so what? Does being a martyr grant someone special privileges under Konoha's laws and systems? Just because she's a martyr's family, should the Military Police Force stop in its tracks and fail to perform its official duties??"

Uchiha Izumiya was startled back half a step by the aggressive Kushina. Seemingly ashamed that a proud Uchiha had been forced back by someone right in front of him, he grew angry and retorted loudly.

The Third Hokage was completely lost. He looked at Namikaze Minato, who was standing to the side without a word, and asked with a frown: "Minato, what is going on here? You explain it..."

"I am a party to this matter as well, so I ask that Yuhi Shinku-senpai's daughter, Kurenai, act as a third-party witness. It would be more appropriate for her to tell you."

Namikaze Minato brought Yuhi Kurenai before the Third Hokage, flashing her a sunny smile as if to bolster her courage, and then signaled for Kurenai to clarify the situation.

"Yes, it was them. They were the ones who knocked the grandmother down. I saw it, it was him."

Yuhi Kurenai pointed her index finger at Uchiha Izumiya, her face showing extreme determination. A child's worldview often only distinguishes between good and evil, not right and wrong; in her eyes, Uchiha Izumiya was clearly not a good person.

"What is this? What did I do wrong? Are you really going to let a seven-year-old brat act as a witness? I was clearly performing my duties according to the rules..."

Uchiha Izumiya hurriedly defended himself. He was clearly dissatisfied with Namikaze Minato using a child as a witness, as the testimony was obviously one-sided and lacked any objectivity.

Sato Hideaka rubbed his nose. He hadn't expected the little girl Yuhi Kurenai to speak up like that. After all, the other party was from Konoha's premier noble clan; even her father wouldn't have been so dismissive. Seeing the scene descend into awkwardness, he had no choice but to step forward and speak in a "childish" tone:

"The truth is, there was an old lady running a wonton noodle stall on the street. Although the foot traffic wasn't heavy, it did occupy part of the road. According to this older brother, it seems to have violated Konoha's relevant ordinances."

"During the enforcement, the grandmother tried to protect the cart her husband had made for her by hand, and when this older brother pulled her away, he accidentally pushed the old lady to the ground..."

"So it's Hideaka, oh... I see, so that's how it happened."

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head to look at the blonde Namikaze Minato. Seeing Minato give a barely perceptible nod, he took a deep drag from his pipe and said to Uchiha Izumiya: "I understand now. The old lady did indeed violate the regulations. You return the stall to her, and I will cover the compensation. What do you think?"

"This... this. Never mind. We'll just return her things. She didn't commit a major offense, and her stall isn't worth much. Why would you, Lord Third..." Uchiha Izumiya was taken aback.

Having the Third Hokage pay the compensation? Was he kidding??

"Compensation is mandatory, and you did well. If we let this old lady off today, more people will occupy the streets in the future, so we cannot set this precedent."

"The reason I am paying for this old lady is because her husband and son died on the battlefield. Perhaps they were the comrades behind us, blocking enemy kunai and ninjutsu for us. Konoha's stability is the result of the efforts of people like them; how could we mistreat their families!"

Hearing the Third Hokage's words, Uchiha Izumiya's expression grew even more troubled. The Third Hokage was paying the fine, the martyr's family had been knocked down and her goods confiscated, yet they were the ones receiving praise. But why did this praise feel so wrong, as if he were the villain in the story??

"Izumiya, you did a good job on this. But the old lady took a fall, and you bear some responsibility for that. Apologize to her, explain the situation, and tell her not to occupy the street again..."

Hearing this, Uchiha Izumiya seemed to heave a sigh of relief in his heart and went off in a daze to carry out the order...

Sato Hideaka was speechless. Although he hadn't wanted to get involved and had described the facts objectively and impartially without any embellishment, he hadn't expected Uchiha Izumiya's political acumen to be so poor. He had been played by the Third Hokage without even realizing it.

In this matter, the Uchiha Military Police Force had indeed acted according to the rules, but the result was hostility from the villagers. Then, after coming to the Third Hokage to complain, they were simply brushed off. Not only did they fail to get a legal solution, but they also had to go and apologize?

Truly, how pathetic!

Watching Uchiha Izumiya leave with his squad, Namikaze Minato glanced lightly at Sato Hideaka, stood before Sarutobi Hiruzen, and said solemnly: "Lord Third, I feel that we also bear some responsibility for this!"

"Our responsibility? Why would you say that, Minato?"

The Third Hokage's cloudy eyes brightened slightly as he looked at Namikaze Minato and asked curiously.

"This matter appears to be a conflict between a vendor and the Military Police Force, but in reality, it is a conflict between the villagers' right to public passage and the vendor's personal occupation, as well as a conflict between the villagers' daily needs and the lack of public facilities!"

"If it is the first type of conflict, we should provide guidance and warnings to these vendors. For the second, we need to standardize street vending by designating specific business locations, regulating stall sizes, safety, hygiene, and business types. Only then can we fundamentally alleviate the tension between the Military Police Force and these vendors."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the solemn Namikaze Minato and asked: "Is that so? Then, Minato, how long have you been thinking about this...?"

"Haha, not that long. I encountered a similar incident last month. Although I wanted to help, I felt there was a contradiction, so I thought about it for a few days. I didn't expect to run into a similar situation today, so I just shared my thoughts..."

Namikaze Minato rubbed the back of his head with his right hand, his eyes curving into a sunny smile that seemed to sweep away any gloom in one's heart.

"Since that is the case, Minato, I will leave this matter in your charge."

"Ah, am I capable of handling this?"

"Young people must always try to know if they are capable."

"..."

Hearing their conversation, Sato Hideaka felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly. He realized he had been used as a pawn, and the person using him was none other than the seemingly harmless, sunny-faced Namikaze Minato.

It wasn't just him; Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Izumiya, and Yuhi Kurenai had all been used as pawns by this guy. What should have been a minor, optional matter of the Military Police Force regulating street vendors had been pushed by this "calculating" individual all the way to the Third Hokage.

Clearly, this guy had been observing such matters for a long time and had already formed his own insights and solutions. Even after discovering the problem, he had waited until Uchiha Izumiya left to bring it up privately with the Third Hokage.

This way, he didn't cause the Third Hokage to lose face in front of others regarding an "administrative oversight," and most importantly, Namikaze Minato's proposal received the appointment and support of the Third Hokage.

The biggest winner in this whole affair was the seemingly harmless "Namikaze Minato" standing right there.

Truly, the way he played his hand—he was worthy of being a genius with the potential to be Hokage!