I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 8

Uchiha Shingen nodded, then led Pantaia toward the Hokage Building.

Along the way, every Leaf ninja they passed couldn't help staring at Pantaia's head.

Perhaps they were shocked that a rogue ninja could appear so openly in the Hidden Leaf Village, or perhaps they were considering whether to chop off that head and trade it for money on the black market.

But regardless, Uchiha Shingen's presence kept them from approaching.

The goods might have been good, but they already had an owner.

There were plenty of missions these days; they didn't need this one badly enough to offend a colleague from their own village.

Before long, the two arrived at the Hokage Building.

They couldn't jump around here. Anyone who did would immediately end up fighting the ANBU guarding the building.

So after verifying their identities, the two obediently took the stairs.

Come to think of it, ever since his second rebirth, Uchiha Shingen hadn't set foot in the Hokage's office.

Led by an ANBU ninja, the two reached the top floor, went around the circular corridor, and finally arrived outside the Hokage's office.

The ninja stationed outside the office gave them both a glance.

His scrutinizing gaze lingered on Pantaia for a few extra seconds.

"Is Shingen here? Let him in."

The ANBU ninja opened the office door and invited the two inside.

Upon entering, Uchiha Shingen first looked around. It was still the same as before.

As the workplace of the leader of the ninja world's foremost village, it was rather ordinary, both in size and decoration.

The desk was quite messy, too.

Namikaze Minato sat leisurely on the sofa meant for receiving guests, sipping tea.

He looked quite content with his eyes narrowed, but his cool image lasted less than three seconds before the tea scalded him.

"Shingen, come try some tea," he said, sticking out his tongue.

"Lord Hokage, this is a letter for you from Lord Feudal Lord." Uchiha Shingen handed over the letter, then sat down on the sofa.

After all, the Hokage had told him to sit.

Namikaze Minato did not make small talk at first. Instead, he carefully read the entire letter.

"I see." Setting the letter aside, Namikaze Minato turned his gaze toward Pantaia, who stood nearby. "I understand your circumstances, and I have discussed them with the Third. It should not be a major problem. However, you will still need to undergo the necessary review by the ANBU. This is a required procedure, and I hope you do not mind."

"I have no objections." Pantaia's expression eased considerably.

Namikaze Minato's attitude gave her confidence in the Leaf's attitude toward her.

As for the review, if Minato had said she could start working without one, she would have immediately begun planning her escape route.

"At the same time, personnel from the Interrogation Department and Intelligence Division will contact you first. Rest assured, as long as you sincerely wish to join the Leaf, it will not take long. We will also find a way to bring your family into the village, though that will not be something we can accomplish immediately. Publicly, we will create the appearance that you were killed by Shingen. That will require your cooperation as well."

Uchiha Shingen quietly poured himself a cup of tea.

Why did this taste so familiar?

After trying it, he was certain it was the special supply reserved for the clan elders.

He remembered that Namikaze Minato's wife and Uchiha Fugaku's wife were close friends.

He just couldn't remember what Minato's wife was called. He only knew that the mother of this new Asura was from the Uzumaki Clan.

The Uzumaki really had terrible luck. They had lived right beside the Land of Fire, yet they had still been wiped out.

As distant relatives of the Senju of the Forest, they possessed the same Yang Release talent. Since sealing techniques were a branch of space-time ninjutsu, anything remotely impressive had to be at least A-rank. Ordinary ninja clans would never dare make that their main development path.

The fact that the Fourth Hokage before him had taken that filthy-rich bastard's Flying Thunder God Technique to an even higher level was largely thanks to the Uzumaki little princess at home.

Lost in his memories, Uchiha Shingen couldn't help smiling like an indulgent aunt.

Those days of sponging off that filthy-rich bastard had truly been endlessly happy.

Seventeen years since he had bid that filthy-rich bastard farewell. He missed him!

"Shingen, you smile a lot like Teacher Jiraiya..."

Namikaze Minato Takes Action

His memories interrupted, Uchiha Shingen looked up.

Namikaze Minato was looking at him while waving the letter in his hand.

"It seems you got along very well with Lord Feudal Lord. I rarely see him praise someone like this. You've made me see you in a new light."

"Lord Hokage, we merely showed each other some courtesy," Uchiha Shingen said.

That wasn't the important part at all. He didn't want to hear this right now.

"Mm. Based on the actual circumstances of your encounter, we discussed it and decided to raise the mission fee to eight hundred thousand ryo. Shingen-kun, your share will be seven hundred and twelve thousand ryo. Considering the additional merit you earned this time, there is no need to wait for Lord Feudal Lord to pay the remaining balance. You may collect the money first before returning."

Nice, this was exactly what he wanted to hear!

Uchiha Shingen shot up from the sofa, though he did not forget the formalities in his words.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage, and the village for nurturing me!"

Pantaia's eyes were filled with envy.

Earlier, taking advantage of her position, she had casually accepted the mission to assassinate the Takadai Daimyo.

If she had not run into Uchiha Shingen, she would have been counting money in the Raikage Building by now.

Namikaze Minato, on the other hand, was a little bewildered.

But when he recalled Uchiha Shingen's identity, he understood.

The Uchiha Clan did not receive many missions over the course of a year.

Before becoming Hokage, even during peacetime, Minato could take on several S-rank missions and over a dozen A-rank missions every year. Though he could not compare to the Konoha White Fang, earning thirty or forty million ryo a year had been quite reliable.

Of course, a jonin's expenses were not small, especially when they also had to develop ninjutsu. Thirty or forty million ryo sounded like a lot at first, but it was only so-so.

The same went for Uchiha Shingen. Without his clan's financial support, he simply could not afford to cultivate Yang Release.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Shingen. I still have something to discuss with you."

Seeing Uchiha Shingen turn to leave, Namikaze Minato hurriedly called out to stop him.

"Ah? Lord Hokage, I still need to return to the clan and let them know I'm safe. You know how old folks are."

"Your uncle and aunt probably don't count as old folks yet." Rising to pull Uchiha Shingen back onto the sofa, Namikaze Minato first turned to Pantaia. "Pantaia, you've worked hard. The ANBU outside will take you to the Intelligence Division."

"Understood, Lord Hokage." Pantaia tactfully took her leave.

Once the door closed again, Namikaze Minato sat back down across from Uchiha Shingen and refilled his tea.

The two silently drank their tea, neither saying a word.

Uchiha Shingen was genuinely drinking tea, while Namikaze Minato observed the young man before him as he drank.

The Uchiha Clan had not left Minato with a particularly good impression, though it was not exactly bad either. If he had to name an issue, it was simply that among present-day Konoha, the Uchiha Clan was one of the groups least integrated into the village.

One of the groups, not the only one. The organizational structure of ninja clans itself meant they possessed strong independence.

In this era of one country, one village, the old alliance structure of ninja clans from the founding days of the ninja villages no longer existed. Over the past several decades, countless ninja clans had either faded away or fallen apart. Only eight ninja clans still truly remained in Konoha, and among them, the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan possessed the strongest combat power due to their bloodline-inherited dojutsu.

The Uchiha were strong because of a small number of elites, while the Hyuga Clan was strong because of its broad overall average.

Within the Uchiha Clan, only a small number of people could possess the Sharingan, whereas within the Hyuga Clan, only an extremely small number were unable to awaken the Byakugan.

Yet the tide of the times could not be stopped. As relics of a past era, ninja clans as a whole remained in decline.

The fundamental conflict between the Uchiha and the Hokage Building was not their dark history, but the clash between their core beliefs.

The Hokage Building said that the village was one big family. Everyone had an obligation to protect their smaller family, and the smaller family should also actively contribute to the prosperity of the greater family.

The Uchiha would say, "No one from my family is Hokage, so what does it have to do with me?"

That killed the conversation outright.

Of course, Namikaze Minato knew things were not that simple. He had some understanding of those old grievances as well.

Whether it was Obito or Shisui, both young men made him feel that there was still hope.

For the sake of the village, he could certainly become an asura, but the Uchiha were also comrades of the village. He would never give up on them lightly.

Uchiha Obito had left Minato with the impression of someone simple, hot-blooded, and adorably reckless.

Uchiha Shisui had left Minato with the impression of someone emotionally sensitive, with great love in his heart.

Both were people who treasured their comrades dearly.

But when it came to Uchiha Shingen, the Hokage Building had always been uncertain.

According to the information the ANBU had gathered over the years, Uchiha Shingen was extremely strong. Judging by the mastery of Water Release he had displayed on the Hidden Mist battlefield, unless the Second Hokage returned from the dead, no one in Konoha could compare with him.

The difference between him and Uchiha Shisui was that Shisui grew more energized the more people there were, while Shingen became less willing to put in effort when there were many people around.

Such a young and powerful Uchiha not only had not publicized himself until everyone knew his name, but was also somewhat low-key. That was very unlike an Uchiha.

Though Minato did not know whether the obsession with money he displayed was genuine, he hoped it was.

Assigning him more missions was no problem at all. Minato was more than willing.

The Third Hokage had also said that as long as he was someone like Uchiha Obito or Uchiha Shisui, he had no objections to assigning him more missions.

Strictly speaking, the Third Hokage's issue was with the older generation of the Uchiha Clan. He had always held great expectations for the younger generation.

Namikaze Minato felt that it was time to formally make contact with Uchiha Shingen.

He set down his teacup and began carefully choosing his words.

Across from him, Uchiha Shingen looked over with an expression that said, "Bro, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Namikaze Minato felt slightly offended.

He was the Hokage! Wasn't he more important than mission rewards?

"Shingen, I know your secret." Namikaze Minato's gaze sharpened. "You're actually very strong, aren't you?"

"Lord Hokage, I don't really understand." Uchiha Shingen frowned. "Haven't I always been strong? How is that a secret?"

Namikaze Minato: "..."

Good grief—he took back what he'd said. Shingen was Uchiha to the core!

"Shisui earned a title on the battlefield, but you didn't. Have you ever thought about why?"

"Maybe the ones I ran into were just dumber. They didn't even know how to run, so I had no choice but to kill them."

It wasn't that they hadn't run. They simply had nowhere to run.

Thinking of how those Mist shinobi had actually been killed by Water Release, Namikaze Minato couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for them, even though they were enemies.

What a pathetic way to die.

"Speaking of which, Shingen, your Water Release techniques are very similar to the Second Hokage's!"

"Lord Hokage, you know how much the Second Hokage liked using Water Release. His techniques had already been copied more or less before the village was founded. It's just that our clan isn't really into that sort of thing."

You're quite into it yourself.

Though the jab continued endlessly in his mind, Namikaze Minato decided to skirt around the subject and get to the point.

"Shingen~"

"Lord Hokage, why don't you just ask directly?"

"All right. What I really want to ask is, how do you view the village and the clan?"

The Clan Head Was Also Taking Action

Namikaze Minato asked with great seriousness.

Uchiha Shingen answered with equal seriousness.

"It's a relationship between rights and obligations," he said. "Enjoying rights and fulfilling obligations should naturally be equal."

Honestly, when it came to the mess of debts between the Hokage Building and the Uchiha, neither side had any right to criticize the other.