Minato Namikaze

Konoha Shopping Street.

"Uchiha Jin is here!"

When the vendors saw Uchiha Jin walking toward them, they all lowered their heads, afraid to meet his eyes.

Yesterday, someone had reported the owner of the Bun Shop for using substandard pork.

Ordinarily, a situation like this would only require paying compensation to the customers.

But Uchiha Jin had insisted on following village law and arresting the owner for fifteen days of detention.

Cutting costs to make money was very common among vendors.

Quite a few of the vendors present did the same thing.

Although they did not use substandard ingredients, they used scraps bought on the cheap.

They were terrified that members of the Konoha Military Police Force Troops would discover this and arrest them...

In truth, they were worrying too much.

Uchiha Jin had arrested the Bun Shop owner because his buns had nearly killed someone.

That was not something that could be resolved with compensation alone.

The man needed to be locked up and taught a lesson, and the Bun Shop needed to be shut down.

Of course, Uchiha Jin did not care what the villagers thought of him, either.

Their mouths were their own. They could say whatever they wanted.

As long as they were not stupid enough to say it to his face.

He had no reason to waste his time arguing with Konoha's troublemakers.

They were all a bunch of brainless fools.

As for the negative rumors circulating recently, Uchiha Jin knew who was behind them without even thinking.

If something bad happened in the village, but no one could find the culprit...

Then it had to be Konoha's king of scapegoats, the future Fifth-point-five Hokage, Shimura Danzō.

His refusal to join Root had most likely left that scheming old bastard nursing a grudge, prompting him to smear and ruin the Uchiha Clan's reputation this way.

The man had surely done plenty of similar things before.

This was how the Uchiha Clan's reputation and public standing had gradually been ruined.

Although he did not know whether Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered any of it, the Hokage definitely knew about it and tacitly approved.

Deliberately watching other senior officials smear their fellow villagers like this...

Was that not a sin in itself?

Ultimately, the Konoha High Command all belonged to the same camp. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō were simply playing good cop and bad cop.

Only fools like Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi, brainwashed by the Will of Fire from childhood...

Would believe that the clan and the high command could coexist peacefully.

Peaceful coexistence required fairness, or a willingness on one side to give ground.

Otherwise, conflict was only a matter of time.

"How foolish."

Uchiha Jin gazed at the distant Hokage Rock and murmured softly.

Uchiha Xuan and Uchiha Xi exchanged glances, unsure whom their captain was referring to.

"Jin?"

Just then, a gentle male voice came from nearby. The sound alone felt like a warm spring breeze.

A blond man wearing a Jonin vest was waving at Uchiha Jin.

His clothes were covered in dust, and his clear blue eyes gave his features a gentle, refined look.

Seeing Jin turn toward him, he gave a bright, unclouded smile, his eyes curving slightly as he spoke in a clear, gentle voice.

"Long time no see."

The blond man was none other than the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

"It's been a while, Minato."

Uchiha Jin gave him a slight nod.

He and Minato had met during the Third Shinobi World War, though they had not had much contact.

Mostly, Minato Namikaze had been moving around the battlefield providing support, so they had only chatted during breaks.

After the war ended, he had not seen him again.

"Well... you've joined the Konoha Military Police Force Troops?" Minato Namikaze's smile remained. "I thought you'd join the Anbu."

Although he had been busy carrying out missions away from the village lately, from what he knew of the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely have tried to recruit Jin.

Now it seemed Jin had most likely refused.

Despite Uchiha Jin's usual cold demeanor, he had saved many comrades on the battlefield.

When Minato Namikaze had arrived to provide support back then, he had seen Jin facing dozens of Kumogakure ninja alone to cover the retreat of his wounded comrades.

That incident had been the start of his favorable impression of this young Uchiha.

"I prefer maintaining order in the village to life in the Anbu."

"Then keep up the good work. We can talk again when we have time."

Minato Namikaze gave a sunny smile. "I need to report back to Lord Hokage."

With that, he waved and headed toward the Hokage Building.

Uchiha Jin watched the blond man's retreating figure, only withdrawing his gaze once he disappeared from view.

If Minato Namikaze didn't die...

Would the Uchiha Clan's situation in the village be any better?

After all, Minato was not wary of the Uchiha Clan the way Hiruzen Sarutobi was. A Hokage without any prejudice was exactly what the clan needed most.

Only then could the clan members feel respected and treated as equals.

The Nine-Tails' Rampage would happen in roughly two years.

At that time, Obito Uchiha would take advantage of Kushina Uzumaki giving birth to release the Nine-Tails.

Minato Namikaze would die using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails.

It seemed he needed to start building a good relationship with Minato Namikaze now.

As long as he could earn Minato's trust, he could be present when the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki gave birth.

Then he could stop Obito Uchiha.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki giving birth was an absolute village secret.

There was no way they would let anyone else know.

Honestly, Obito Uchiha's Kamui was far too insidious. Under normal circumstances, there was no way to counter it.

What he needed to do was not defeat Obito, but stop him from releasing the Nine-Tails.

He would see whether he could get Shisui to help when the time came.

Ideally, if Minato Namikaze survived, the clan and the village should be able to coexist peacefully.

As for whether he could succeed, he had no way of knowing.

"What a hassle."

Uchiha Jin sighed softly.

Sometimes, knowing the ending yet finding it so hard to change was truly frustrating.

If Minato Namikaze still died in the end...

That would mean there was no changing the big picture, and I'd have no choice but to take Mother and my little sister and flee.

Otherwise, even I might end up being killed off by the plot.

Uchiha Xuan and Uchiha Xi wore odd expressions. They felt their captain was acting strangely today.

They both guessed that the villagers' nasty remarks must have affected him.

After all, words could be devastating.

A powerful ninja in the village had once committed suicide because he could not bear the villagers' slander.

Afraid that Jin might do something drastic, they briefly exchanged looks before Uchiha Xi spoke first.

"Captain, you don't have to care what other people say. Those people believe every rumor they hear. You don't need to pay attention to them."

Uchiha Jin looked at her earnest expression and froze for a moment.

"Mm."

Although his teammates might have misunderstood, he could not be bothered to explain.

Being cared about like this felt rather nice.

If possible, he really did want to change the clan's fate.

After all, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, he naturally did not want to see it wiped out.

"Someone's dead! Uchiha officers, someone's dead!"

Just then, a young man hurried up to them in a panic and explained the situation.

While bathing by the river today, he had discovered a woman's corpse!

Frightened, he had immediately set off for the Konoha Military Police Force Troops to report it, only to spot Uchiha Jin's squad on the way.

"Lead the way."

The three followed the young man to the place where he had discovered the body.