Kushina Uzumaki stared at Chiba in shock.
"So... all of this is what you figured out?"
"This isn't an analysis!"
"I'm just recounting history."
"So, what exactly did you come here for?"
"No, no, I don't think that matters anymore."
Kushina looked at Chiba as if she'd seen a ghost.
"If I hadn't known you were born five years ago, I'd have thought you were some old monster!"
"Don't you think that's a little inappropriate coming from you?"
"What's inappropriate about it?"
"Who says a five-year-old has to be innocent and naive?"
"Are children's words... always without restraint?"
"I doubt it!"
"I've... always been this way!"
That was right.
Chiba had always been like this.
Whether it was his abilities or his attitude.
He never bothered to hide much.
"Forget it..."
Kushina waved a hand and continued.
"That doesn't change why I came to you this time."
As she spoke, she held out a scroll.
The character "Seal" was inscribed on it!
"After you graduate... how would you like to become my pupil?"
???
Chiba looked up, puzzled.
That was quite a leap in logic.
"So you can look shocked after all?"
"Good. Looks like you really aren't some old monster."
"Is it because I saw the Nine-Tails inside you?"
Kushina shook her head.
"No. You suppressed him, too!"
Chiba was completely baffled.
Are you sure the Nine-Tails was suppressed, rather than startled by this unfamiliar power system?
Either way.
Any change involving the Nine-Tails inside him would naturally draw Kushina's attention.
"'Suppressed' might be an exaggeration, but whether you suppressed him or not, you got the Nine-Tails to notice you. So... I think you might have that kind of potential."
"What potential?"
"The potential to hold a Tailed Beast in check!"
Chiba paused, then waved the scroll in his hand.
"So, this scroll is..."
"A Sealing Jutsu."
"A Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan."
Chiba thought that was a rather far-fetched reason.
But faced with Kushina Uzumaki standing before him, he couldn't help but accept it.
"So you want me to serve Konoha and work for Sarutobi Hiruzen, too?"
"No. It's for the village, and for the Uchiha Clan—"
"Do you know? The election for Fourth Hokage is about to begin."
"And the one who'll get the position is definitely my man."
That man was named Namikaze Minato.
Kushina Uzumaki was always proud when she spoke of her man.
Chiba couldn't deny that.
The Fourth Hokage would undoubtedly be Namikaze Minato.
He was the only comfort left to Konoha, weakened as it was.
"He's always wanted to solve the Uchiha Clan's problems."
"Did you know?"
"He took a pupil from the Uchiha Clan."
"And I... choose to support him!"
So, did that mean she wanted to take an Uchiha as her pupil, too?
Chiba found the whole thing absurd.
And yet, it also made a certain amount of sense.
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Chapter 38
Namikaze Minato's Uchiha pupil was named Uchiha Obito.
In the world of Naruto, he could absolutely be called the big boss.
Before Uchiha Madara got his hands on him, Uchiha Obito was just an optimistic boy who often helped old ladies cross the street.
Though he was a dead-last, he still worked toward the pinnacle, just like the other Konoha Ninja.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that his dream was just a dream, and always would be.
The Uchiha Clan becoming Hokage was nearly impossible.
Reality wouldn't allow it.
In some ways, Obito and Naruto were very alike.
As children, they had similar personalities, similar optimism, and similar goals.
If Naruto was the protagonist on the side of light, then Obito was bound to be the protagonist on the side of darkness.
His life was a tragedy from beginning to end.
Chiba believed Kushina Uzumaki when she said that Namikaze Minato had taken an Uchiha pupil because he wanted to change the Uchiha Clan.
But whether he had that intention was one thing; whether he could—or even might—actually do it was another.
Chiba didn't know much about Namikaze Minato.
The reason was simple.
He'd spent too little time in politics.
He became Fourth Hokage after the Third Shinobi World War ended, then died the following year while sealing the Nine-Tails.
In that one year, he hadn't even had time to get a handle on the Hokage's office.
More importantly,
during the Fourth Hokage's tenure, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't stepped down as Third Hokage.
He'd used the pretext of assisting the Fourth Hokage to rule from behind the scenes. Anyone with eyes could see what that meant.
To understand a Hokage, you first had to understand what they'd accomplished while in office.
What they'd achieved offered a way to gain a deeper understanding of them.
Hatake Sakumo's suicide, the Sannin leaving the village, the successive destruction of the Senju and Uchiha Clans, the Fourth Hokage's early death...
Whether anyone wanted to admit it or not, these events had all taken place under the Third Hokage's rule.
And there were no similar examples to analyze for the Fourth Hokage.
"Your intentions are good, but... have you ever wondered why you think your man can change the Uchiha Clan's situation?"
At that, Kushina Uzumaki gave Chiba a strange look.
"Didn't I just tell you?"
"He's going to become Fourth Hokage."
"Or do you think someone else will be Fourth Hokage?"
"No. He'll definitely be Fourth Hokage!"
Chiba nodded in agreement.
"After all, the Jinchuriki became his wife. There couldn't be better proof than that."
"But does becoming Hokage mean he can change anything?"
"Of course!"
Kushina Uzumaki considered it obvious.
Chiba silently shook his head.
"You don't seem to have understood what I meant."
"To put it another way, why does the Uchiha Clan's situation need to change? Have the Uchiha done something wrong?"
"Hm?"
Kushina Uzumaki paused, then fell silent for a long while. She couldn't come up with an answer.
That was true.
The Uchiha were doing just fine.
As the Konoha Military Police Force, they kept the village's public order in excellent shape.
And right now, the Uchiha Clan was also one of the main forces fighting the Mist Ninja.
So why did anything need to change?
"So you haven't understood where the real conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha lies."
"The Uchiha have never been the ones looking for trouble."
"We just want to live our lives in peace."
"The conflict is centered on Konoha's High Command."
"To resolve it, you'd have to bring the blade down on Konoha's High Command!"
"Can you... do that?"
In an instant, Kushina Uzumaki's expression turned fierce.
She stared coldly at Chiba and spoke in an icy voice.