What Did Gekko Hayate Do Wrong?

Walking through the streets of Konoha, Shinji Uchiha warmly greeted the villagers from time to time, seeming very approachable.

"Shinji-senpai? Is that really you, Shinji-senpai?!"

"Shinji-senpai? Is that really you, Shinji-senpai?!"

A girl's clear voice rang out, full of delighted surprise, though she seemed to be holding herself back.

Shinji turned his head and paused, stunned.

Who was she?

She looked familiar... Where had he seen her before?

The girl wore a purple ninja outfit. She was tall and slender, with smooth upper arms left bare and an elegant Tachi strapped to her back.

Her long hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall, and her makeup was just right. She had the air of a mature woman, yet looked so gentle and delicate that she made him want to protect her...

Purple hair...

The sense of déjà vu was strong.

For a moment, Shinji suddenly understood. Memories of his long-dead former life came rushing back.

"Could you be... Uzuki Yugao?"

The girl was watching Shinji nervously.

When Shinji Uchiha said her name, her eyes lit up.

She bit her lower lip and nodded hard.

"Yes! Shinji-senpai remembers me!"

"Do you know me?"

"Huh?"

Uzuki Yugao froze.

Her left leg stopped mid-step, and she gave an awkward smile.

"I... I was one year below you at the Academy..."

Shinji scratched his head.

"I graduated before I turned seven. I didn't even remember all my classmates' names. If that came across as rude, I'm really sorry."

"No! It's fine!"

Uzuki Yugao raised both hands and waved them in front of her chest, her expression a little stiff. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm headed to a meeting at the Hokage Building."

Uzuki Yugao's expression stiffened further. Even her words came out in a stammer.

"Then... you'd better go. Bye!"

Shinji watched Uzuki Yugao flee like a startled rabbit.

Shinji looked baffled.

He really didn't know her. His only memory of her came from his former life: her romance with Gekko Hayate.

But...

Something didn't add up.

Uzuki Yugao was one year below me?

Wasn't Gekko Hayate in Kakashi's year? Am I remembering wrong?

"...A five-year gap?"

Shinji wore the expression of an old man staring at his phone on the subway. "Well, would you look at that. The star of Shippuden went after a younger girl?"

"New challenge triggered: Give Uzuki Yugao a happy ending. Option one: secretly kill Gekko Hayate. Option two: save Gekko Hayate."

"?"

Shinji froze.

Would killing Gekko Hayate count as giving Uzuki Yugao a happy ending?

What did Gekko Hayate do wrong?!

I may not be well-read, but don't try to fool me!

He didn't dwell on it.

Shinji put the pointless little encounter out of his mind and continued toward the Hokage Building.

Before long, he reached the building with its walls painted entirely red. It was practically a Konoha landmark, though it looked like an upside-down toilet plunger...

"Unsurprisingly ghastly taste."

Shinji Uchiha shook his head. "It looks ugly no matter how many times I see it. Wait! The Konoha Military Police Force building is ugly too! Rebuild it! I have to make Shisui rebuild it!"

But...

His priority now was making the old fossils in the village understand one thing: a new Uchiha had emerged!

They would no longer be able to push the clan around as they pleased!

With his left hand resting on his sword hilt, Shinji stepped onto the stairs.

He was just about to head up.

An ANBU Ninja came to meet him, sporting that same head of silver hair. "Uchiha Clan Head, please come with me."

"Lord Hokage and the others are waiting for you in the conference room."

"Kakashi, it's been a long time."

Shinji greeted him with awkward enthusiasm, then asked curiously, "Oh? The others? Who else is there? The heads of the major ninja clans?"

Kakashi gave him a dead-eyed look.

They did share a little history as comrades in battle... technically. They had only crossed paths during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, when their squads had separate missions. They had barely spoken or interacted at all.

But...

Do you really have to keep needling a fellow soldier like this?

"You'll find out when you get there."

"Well, Kakashi, you're as cold as ever."

Kakashi: "..."

Am I the cold one, or do you just have no idea how to deal with people?!

Neither spoke again on the way.

Still, Kakashi considerately opened the conference room door for Shinji. "Please."

"Thanks."

Shinji was unfailingly polite.

But the moment the door opened, he raised a hand and fanned the air in front of his face. The reek of burning tobacco was thick enough to make him nauseous.

He looked inside.

Whoa!

This looked less like a high-level meeting of village leaders and more like a meeting of some Hung Hing branch.

Smoke hung everywhere.

It was like a misty fairyland.

The people's faces were nearly lost in it.

Even so...

Shinji could tell who was inside without activating his Sharingan.

Hmm... The Hyuga Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, the Hokage Advisors, and the heads of a few obscure little clans.

And—Shimura Danzō!

"Everyone—"

Shinji had barely begun his greeting when a loud bang cut him off.

Mitokado Homura slammed a hand on the table and stood, pointing at Shinji as he roared, "Shinji Uchiha! What exactly is the Uchiha Clan trying to do? Do you have any regard for the village at all?"

"?"

A huge question mark practically appeared over Shinji's head.

Well, would you look at that!

They've got you playing the bad guy today, old man?

Is Shimura Danzō dead?

Mitokado kept going, his aged face stern and full of bitter disappointment. "The village has nothing to say about your clan changing its Clan Head. We all respect that! But the Konoha Military Police Force is a village institution, and you Uchiha handed its leadership around among yourselves!"

"What are you trying to do? Set up your own little kingdom?!"

Shinji Uchiha had not even stepped into the room yet. "Don't strain yourself, sir. You're absolutely right. Please, go on. I'm listening."

"What kind of attitude is that? Are you really planning to lead the Uchiha in betraying Konoha?!"

The moment those words fell, the Clan Heads on either side of the long table stiffened.

Before coming here, they had reached an agreement with the Hokage's faction to present a united front and collectively oppose the Uchiha's unilateral actions last night.

They also intended to find a way to force Shinji Uchiha to step down.

It wasn't that they had anything against Shinji Uchiha personally.

They were simply worried.

There was a reason Clan Heads were usually middle-aged or elderly: they were steady, dependable, and experienced.

They knew better than to let their own emotions and personal actions drag their entire clans along with them. That was how a large clan survived and endured.

But making a seventeen-year-old boy Clan Head?

He was at the age when passions ran hottest!

A youngster like that probably hadn't even settled into his own character. If one day he got carried away and led his whole clan into some disastrous mess...

How would anyone clean it up?

During the Warring States Period, there had been a man like that named Madara Uchiha. Shinji Uchiha was even younger—and an even more extreme case!

Still,

Advisor Mitokado seemed to have delivered their agreed-upon message far too aggressively.

They wanted to restrain and placate the Uchiha, not go to war with them...

Especially when that hot-blooded young man, formidable in battle, was standing right in the doorway like a one-man barricade!

It wasn't that they were afraid. It would just be a great deal of trouble.

"Homura, that's enough. Let's all sit down and talk."

Utatane Koharu read the room. Seeing the uneasy expressions on Shinji Uchiha and the Clan Heads, she hurriedly stepped in as peacemaker. She tugged Mitokado's sleeve and pulled him back into his chair.

"Hmph!"

Mitokado Homura, ever the actor, made sure to give one last snort and finish his performance.

"All right, let's not get too worked up. Shinji, have a seat and hear me out first." Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke. Danzo, meanwhile, sat with his eyes closed as though resting.

"Yes, Third Hokage."

Shinji casually pulled up a chair beside Hyuga Hiashi and sat down.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said quietly, "Advisor Mitokado's words were rather harsh just now, and I apologize for that. But... we are all uneasy, and we want to know what happened within the Uchiha Clan last night. Could you tell us the truth, so everyone can rest easy?"

Shinji smiled. "Third Hokage, it's plain to see. Last night, I became head of the Uchiha Clan. It's that simple. There's no need for anyone to worry. Konoha is still Konoha, and the sun still rises as usual."

"I see..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "A change in Clan Head can be a good thing. You're young and capable, and I'm sure you'll lead your clan to prosperity. But the Konoha Military Police Force is a Konoha department. How can the Uchiha Clan decide its leader internally and hand the position over as it pleases? Shinji, I'm not trying to nitpick, but that doesn't seem to follow the rules, does it?"

Shinji Uchiha still wore a mild smile. "Third Hokage, forgive me for being frank, but I can't agree with you."