Shingen's Vacation / Becoming a Tutor Again

She was so nervous that she broke out in a sweat.

Since entering Leaf Village, she has met many important figures.

"No need to stand on ceremony." Uchiha Fugaku's smile grew even more benevolent. "Just call me Fugaku. If you can't get used to it right away, just call me Clan Head like Shingen."

"Clan... Clan Chief." Sakurako blushed, realizing Uchiha Fugaku's implication.

She stole a glance at Uchiha Shingen.

However, the Leaf Village's White Ghost seemed oblivious, instead clicking his tongue in amazement, as if... he was savoring his clan leader's smile.

He definitely wanted to laugh.

Sakurako was certain that this was Uchiha Shingen's current thought.

During her time at the guesthouse in Kirigakure, she had already become able to decipher Uchiha Shingen's emoticons.

But... their relationship is really good.

As the daughter of the Yuki Clan Chief, she couldn't be so casual with her father back then.

This is probably what it means for a strong person to handle things with ease.

Sakurako was envious, not of Uchiha Shingen's strength, but of his attitude towards life, something she longed for but didn't have.

"It's getting late, let's go," said Uchiha Fugaku, and then led the way.

If he didn't leave, he felt he was going to hit someone.

If reincarnation truly exists, then Uchiha Shingen must have been beaten up as a child in his previous life.

Uchiha Fugaku firmly believed this.

After leaving the clan's territory, there was still a distance to travel from the southern district to the northern district. Uchiha Fugaku thought it would be a good opportunity to chat and clarify their positions.

This matter will also need to be discussed with Minato.

"Shingen, during your time in Hidden Mist Village, there are a few things that will require your attention."

"What?"

"The first thing is that Leaf Village and Iwagakure have officially signed a contract. You need to take those two children with you and go to Iwagakure as Leaf Village's chief envoy to sign the contract."

"The village that lost is still so arrogant?" Uchiha Shingen asked knowingly.

"That's why we need you to go," Uchiha Fugaku said. "Don't be impatient. There's no better candidate than you. You can keep the Rock Ninja in check and get the contracts signed as soon as possible. Now that the Mizukage has come to Leaf Village in person, the rear is secure, but Cloud Village hasn't signed a contract yet. They might be waiting and seeing."

"The Two-Tails is still locked up, have they abandoned it?"

"Of course they do, so they've been playing the victim, saying their current situation isn't good and they need to postpone things, and they've even paid for the village to 'maintain' the Jinchūriki."

Uchiha Shingen chuckled.

Cloud Village is still Cloud Village; a leopard can't change its spots.

Oh no, I should apologize to the dog; it's a good friend.

"Then I think I understand."

"Yes, you're quite familiar with the village's situation. As for the terms of the treaty, Minato will delegate authority to you. You can handle it as you see fit. Just don't drag it out too long. Once we've dealt with Iwagakure, Cloud Village won't be able to delay any longer."

Uchiha Shingen nodded; of course, they couldn't delay any longer.

With Leaf Village allied with Hidden Mist Village and Sand Village, and also made peace with Iwagakure, Cloud Village, which was still only in a truce with Leaf Village, would become the target of everyone's attacks.

Ōnoki would certainly not mind kicking someone when they're down, and it's not impossible that Hidden Mist Village and Leaf Village, who need external resources, could join forces to launch another Cloud Village.

One against three at the same time? The Cloud Village doesn't have that ability.

Personally, Uchiha Shingen was quite happy that Cloud Village took this hit, because in the original timeline, Cloud Village was the one who kicked Leaf Village when it was down.

In the original timeline, Leaf Village was much weaker than it is now. It only had Sand Village as a nominal ally internationally, and it had lost the Fourth Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, White Fang, and Jinchūriki. Its grassroots fighting force was exhausted after the Nine-Tails' attack and the renewed war with Iwagakure, and it no longer had the strength to continue fighting against Cloud Ninja.

Continuing the war will only truly expose Leaf Village's weakness beneath its outward appearance of strength.

This was also Cloud Village's prediction, so they didn't hesitate to kick him when he was down.

This can be seen from the fact that the leader of the Cloud Village delegation was just a mere ninja leader.

In the Ninja World, the unspoken rule is that who is stronger and who is weaker depends on who represents both parties when signing the contract.

What is a mere ninja leader? In Kumogakure, Jonin, yet he dares to negotiate a contract with the Hokage.

On their very first night in Leaf Village, the ninja leader kidnapped Hinata Hyuga!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's approach was cowardly, as were the Hyuga Clan's higher-ups, but at the time, it was indeed the choice that best served the village's interests.

Being slow to react versus having planned it for a long time—being able to do that already shows a relatively quick reaction.

As a result, Leaf Village once again lost Hizashi Hyuga, an elite Jonin, while Cloud Village only lost a ninja leader. All the bloodshed and sacrifices Leaf Village had suffered since the Third Shinobi World War had benefited Cloud Village, and Leaf Village's cowardice highlighted Cloud Village's strength.

Although many things could no longer happen, Uchiha Shingen's animosity towards Cloud Village would not diminish because of this.

Hidden Leaf Village also holds the legacy of Uchiha Shingen's efforts.

"Don't worry, clan leader, I'll make Cloud Village behave himself."

Chapter Six: Shingen's Holiday

As soon as the group arrived at the Minato residence, they could hear laughter and cheerful chatter coming from inside.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that the house is poorly soundproofed; it's just that Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shingen have exceptionally good hearing.

With a "thump-thump," the door opened, but the first thing to dart out was a tiny little kid.

Three-year-old Naruto Uzumaki is already very energetic.

The little guy rushed out with a howl and grabbed Uchiha Shingen's left leg with a smack.

Uchiha Shingen was puzzled as he was about to enter.

No, are he really that close to Naruto Uzumaki?

Then, he saw Uchiha Sasuke skipping and hopping out. When he saw Uchiha Shingen and Naruto Uzumaki clinging to his legs and climbing up, Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up, as if he had turned on some strange switch.

Another smack.

The two little ones, each holding one leg, suddenly looked at each other and began to emit dynamic light waves.

Uchiha Shingen's face darkened.

He picked up Ashura and Indra cubs, one in each hand, and went inside with Uchiha Fugaku.

"Oh! Fugaku, Shingen, come help!" Minato was clearing the table; it was clear a grand feast was about to be served.

Uchiha Shingen first released Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke, and the two little ones immediately ran to Uchiha Mikoto, who was grinning, and asked for a hug.

Uchiha Shingen peered into the room.

"Lord Hokage, where is Karin?"

"Oh, that child? She's very sensible; she's helping Kushina in the kitchen."

Minato said happily.

Seeing that he was still messing with the mess on the table, Sakurako, who was following behind Uchiha Shingen, quickly went to help.

"Don't be so polite, Sakurako. You and Haku are guests," Minato said with a smile, then turned to Uchiha Shingen and said, "Shingen, your new girlfriend is very pretty."

Sakurako's face flushed red, while Uchiha Shingen's eyes widened.

This Hokage seems to have a bad memory.

Did you approve the talent recruitment application yourself?

He couldn't voice his complaint because Uzumaki Kushina interrupted him with her loud voice.

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!" The Hokage's wife came out of the kitchen carrying a large bowl of stew and announced that dinner was served.

As usual, after a pleasant but troublesome meal and drinks, the women and children played at home, while the three men cleaned up the pots and pans and went out for a walk.

"Shingen, Fugaku told you everything, right?" Namikaze Minato asked first.

"Ah, the clan leader has already said so." Uchiha Shingen nodded, but he had a slight objection. He felt he had been running around too much lately. "I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Since it's so troublesome, let's not talk about it. If we don't talk about it, we won't be troubled anymore," Namikaze Minato said seriously.

"I'm not bothered at all, I'll just say it anyway." Uchiha Shingen forcefully retorted to his superior, "I think we should find someone else. We can't keep blaming me. I just got back from Hidden Mist Village."

"You captured Deidara and Kurotsuchi, so they are quite familiar with you. Besides, it was the Third's suggestion. He said that if we wanted the Third Tsuchikage to stop using tricks, we needed someone who Susanoo."

"Wouldn't that backfire? The Third Tsuchikage was Uchiha Madara back then."

"So, who does Shingen think is suitable?" Namikaze Minato asked.

"Of course it is..." Uchiha Shingen was about to say the name, but suddenly stopped.

Because he realized, after thinking it through in his mind, that this person really had to be from the Uchiha Clan.

As the only current Third Kage, Ōnoki is someone that ordinary people simply cannot control.

Taking a forceful approach is inappropriate.

On the Hokage Building side, apart from Namikaze Minato, the only remaining person was Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The once prosperous Hokage now has only these two Kage Level masters remaining in the village.

White Fang is dead, and the Legendary Sannin have disbanded; none of them remain in the village.

Unbeknownst to many, the Uchiha Clan's level of experts had already gained the upper hand over the Hokage Building on the surface.

It seemed that Uchiha Shingen knew why Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku's relationship had become increasingly close over the past two years.

While personal relationships certainly played a part, this was probably the main reason as well.

"How about it, Shingen?" Namikaze Minato asked with a smile.

"Alright, I'll go then." Uchiha Shingen sighed, but he also began to reflect on his actions.

He felt that the atmosphere within the Uchiha Clan was becoming somewhat arrogant.

The Uchiha Clan ninjas' initial joy at suddenly becoming "popular Uchiha Clan" has begun to turn into taking it for granted, and Uchiha Shingen himself is no exception.

Uchiha Shingen felt this was not a good thing and that he needed to talk to Uchiha Fugaku about it later.

"Don't worry, they'll all be classified as S-rank missions." Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and said to Uchiha Shingen, "Also, if we can resolve the issues between Iwagakure and Cloud Village in one fell swoop this time, Fugaku and I have discussed it, and we've decided to have the Aburame Clan join the Police Force as well. The Jonin of the Uchiha Clan will be assigned to the Jonin Council on a voluntary basis."

"Oh?" Uchiha Shingen was surprised and glanced at Uchiha Fugaku, who nodded at him.

"Lord Hokage, that's quite a generous gesture."

"No, it's been so long, it's time to do this," Namikaze Minato said earnestly. "I hope everyone can join hands and stop holding grudges just because of different surnames."

"Of course, nobody wants to be alienated from their hometown." Uchiha Shingen agreed with Namikaze Minato's idea.

The internal conflicts within Hidden Leaf Village have eased considerably in recent years, thanks in large part to Namikaze Minato's governing philosophy.

It wasn't just the Uchiha Clan that improved relations with the Hokage Building; the Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, and Inuzuka Clan clans also saw their relations improve significantly, moving from being marginalized figures to becoming more actively involved in village affairs.

This reminded Uchiha Shingen of Ao's Byakugan.

"Lord Hokage, the Fourth Mizukage's attendants this time..."

"The Mizukage has shown great courage and has won the favor of the Hyuga Clan. Perhaps it will be necessary to include some conditions in the final agreement that are more favorable to Hidden Mist Village."

"Will they form an alliance?" Uchiha Shingen asked.

"It's still uncertain. If Leaf Village allies with Hidden Mist Village, it might affect their relationship with Sand Village, after all..."

Namikaze Minato didn't finish speaking, but Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shingen both understood.

Leaf Village is currently using the alliance to drain Sand Village's resources, which is a very important channel for recovery.

If Hidden Mist Village cannot demonstrate sufficient value, Leaf Village will most likely not form an alliance with Hidden Mist Village.

"When should I go to Iwagakure?"

"There's no rush. We should wait until the village and Hidden Mist Village have reached a conclusion."

After some calculations, Uchiha Shingen figured he should be able to have a vacation of about a month.

"I will prepare well."

Chapter Seven: Becoming a Tutor Once Again