The Person Who Illuminates People's Hearts

Some of the ancestors' words can only be understood once you grasp the underlying logic.

For instance, the saying "do not judge a book by its cover" actually implies that in most cases, one must judge by appearances, and that failing to do so is merely a low-probability event.

With the flashy arrival of Konoha's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku and Orochimaru ended their vague, hollow conversation.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to the man before them.

Although they stood on different sides, Uchiha Kei had to admit that if success in this world required luck, then Minato Namikaze was the man naturally favored by it.

The young man before him possessed a bright appearance, a kindly smile, and god-like space-time ninjutsu. Such a dashing man, no matter where he went, was as distinct and outstanding as a firefly in the dark.

This was what they called charisma, perhaps.

Likewise, Minato was truly at the peak of his life: a newlywed who had married the daughter of the former Land of Whirlpools daimyo, a princess of the Uzumaki clan. Now, his career was flourishing, and being mentioned in the same breath as one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, was nothing short of successful.

And the confidence that success brought to a man only made his charm shine even more brilliantly.

"Lord Fugaku, Lord Orochimaru, you are both here!"

After the flash, Minato Namikaze spoke first. Though it was a simple greeting, coming from his lips, it felt like a ray of sunshine on a gentle summer day, making one feel at ease.

This sentence made Kei, who had already been relegated to a supporting role by Fugaku's entrance, even more marginalized.

Watching the words and actions of this man, Uchiha Kei could see with the back of his head the light glowing in the eyes of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi.

A future Hokage who respected the Uchiha—what could be more perfect than that?

What, you say he only politely greeted the Uchiha clan head?

That was already much better than what many others in Konoha did.

At the very least, Fugaku was satisfied.

Damn it!

Although this politeness was directed at only one person, even so, Uchiha Kei, who had not been treated with such courtesy, felt that the idea of one's values following one's aesthetics was terrifying.

He had clearly been ignored, yet he couldn't summon a shred of ill will toward the man before him. What kind of terrifying ninjutsu was this?

He didn't even have the slightest urge to argue back because of being ignored.

This wasn't right. Damn this hero complex; how could he be so certain of a man without even knowing his life story?

How was this any different from worshipping Li Yunlong without knowing his history?

It was historical nihilism.

Forget it, forget it; don't get all high and mighty here.

Sigh! If he was ignored, so be it. A real world wasn't like the harem fantasies people imagined, where whoever had the sharpest tongue won the harem struggle.

A hero was the same; he simply possessed the courage to be a noble person when the moment of glory arrived in his life. There was no need to impose morality upon him.

Facing a real Minato Namikaze, it would be good to see the methods of this commoner who had risen above the rest.

Therefore, in the real world, the verbal sparring of political struggle was merely a precursor to actual action; often, both the party who gained the upper hand and the one who suffered a loss achieved their respective goals.

Kei could believe that his meeting with Orochimaru was a coincidence, but he absolutely did not believe that Minato Namikaze's arrival was one.

Since he had a purpose, let's see what this invincible existence, described by everyone as flawless, was truly made of.

Let him be handsome; let's see what kind of ideas he had behind that handsomeness today.

Uchiha Kei reined in his presence, making himself as transparent as possible, wanting to see the man's true objective.

Although the high-ranking officials of the Hokage office treated this kind, handsome man like a hot-blooded fool to be manipulated, Kei never underestimated any opponent.

Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival; arrogance is.

No matter how much you look down on someone, if they have the qualifications to converse with you, it means you are actually quite similar. Just like those people you admire and look up to—you never have the opportunity to converse with them.

Could this be considered the dialectics of things?

Clearly, today, although Kei felt he had the qualifications to converse with Minato Namikaze, the man himself did not think so.

Perhaps in his eyes, Kei was the same as Uchiha Itachi—just a young, noble person of the Uchiha clan.

As for why Minato Namikaze held such a perception, that was not Kei's concern.

Right now, Kei just wanted to see how this brilliant rising star would perform in the political show prepared for him today.

Whether meeting Uchiha Fugaku in this setting was part of this carnival would depend on Minato's words and actions.

Thinking about it, this method seemed familiar, like playing house as a child: everyone isolates you but fawns over someone else. When the person being fawned over shows you a hint of friendliness, you immediately become a die-hard fan of this friendly person, starting the next round of isolating others and fawning over the friendly one.

He wondered if the scene before him was just such a game of house.

After calmly accepting the fact that he was merely an expendable person at the scene, Kei entered a state of invisibility.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru, who had been considering whether to give Minato Namikaze a hand for Jiraiya's sake, clearly discovered something more interesting.

The words of introduction he had been preparing for both sides turned into a casual greeting.

"Oh! It's Minato. Have you just come down from the battlefield?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" Though he spoke of the hardship, his behavior and demeanor were full of vigor.

At this moment, he was the protagonist of the village's carnival, and a large number of ninjas returning from the front lines began to gather around. Watching the actions of the man who had led them to victory, everyone felt as if they had been injected with a dose of adrenaline.

Everyone believed that by following such a figure, victory, though hard-won, was well within reach.

"You've worked hard on this trip!" Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly offered his compliments. Looking at the Uchiha clansmen returning from the battlefield, exhausted and worn, Fugaku's gratitude was spoken on their behalf.

"No, I haven't worked hard at all. It is the ninjas on the front lines who are truly suffering. I merely provided support to the best of my ability, but the situation at the front is grim. Lord Orochimaru, Lord Fugaku, the front lines need everyone's strength."

Seeing Fugaku speak, Minato Namikaze cut straight to the point, stating his request as if it were only natural, without the slightest reservation.

This made someone with a dark psyche like Qi feel extremely uncomfortable; he felt Minato's request was somewhat excessive.

You appear out of nowhere, exchange a single pleasantry, and then immediately make demands—how can you be so matter-of-fact about it?

Perhaps it was because his own heart was filled with ulterior motives. If it were him, he would certainly have beaten around the bush, arranged a trade of interests, and only then sought to achieve his goal.

Yet, Minato Namikaze actually felt this was only natural. Could this be the legendary selflessness he had heard of?

And that wasn't even the half of it; to everyone's surprise, Uchiha Fugaku was actually deeply moved by these words.