He had used this approach on Shisui.
And Jin Uchiha used the very same approach on Minato Namikaze.
The thing was, it worked.
Minato Namikaze's mouth went dry. For a long while, he could not get a single word out.
His mind was a complete muddle.
"This..."
"I can't argue with you."
"But I still feel like something's wrong."
"How could something like that be possible?"
He muttered under his breath.
The things Jin had thrown at him hit someone who had his heart set on becoming Hokage even harder than Jin had expected.
But Jin merely shrugged, his voice betraying no particular emotion.
"Honestly, none of that really matters."
"I've said all this for one reason—the Uchiha under my leadership only want to protect themselves."
"As for being some scheming opportunist, I have no interest in that."
Minato Namikaze nodded.
Whether he believed those words was another matter, but since Jin had made his position clear, "self-preservation" was at least a reasonable explanation.
Still, after a long silence, he could not help asking.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Minato lifted his teacup and took a sip, his smile a little bitter. "I'm just a Jonin. I can't help the Uchiha."
"There's no need to try to win me over, is there?"
He knew that much about himself.
He and Jin were not particularly close. Frankly, he had come here to get a clear answer.
Put bluntly, he wanted to know whether they would be enemies or friends going forward.
Instead, Jin had unloaded one revelation after another.
It left him feeling rather flattered. Jin was clearly treating him like a friend he could confide in.
He had never believed in free lunches. This man had to have an agenda of his own.
He wanted to know what that