Uchiha Fugaku: Did you provoke him?

Outside the Hokage Building.

"Jin, who do you think has a chance of becoming the Fourth?"

Orochimaru was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he walked beside Jin and asked him.

He found Uchiha Jin's comments on whether Danzo could become Hokage quite interesting.

He wanted to hear his opinion.

"Why?"

Uchiha Jin turned to look at Orochimaru.

"Do you want to become Hokage?"

At his words, a gleam passed through Orochimaru's eyes, and he instinctively licked his lips.

"Hokage... perhaps."

Once, he had possessed a normal disposition, and his talent had far surpassed that of his peers. He had wanted to prove himself and protect the village.

He had set his sights on becoming Hokage.

But the wars that followed had gradually changed his thinking.

Orochimaru had witnessed too many deaths and had begun to obsess over immortality, human experimentation, and the mysteries of life.

Now, he believed that the Hokage's "protection" addressed the symptoms rather than the cause. Peace could never last, and his mindset was gradually becoming twisted.

Of course, becoming the Fourth Hokage would be nice, too.

Then he could use the Hokage's authority to openly research forbidden techniques.

"Then I think you have a pretty good chance."

Uchiha Jin spoke honestly. "If no incidents blow up along the way, the Third will probably favor you more."

Orochimaru met the black-haired boy's eyes. Under the gaze of those black pupils, he suddenly felt prickles down his back, as though the little secrets he kept hidden had been discovered.

Fortunately, that feeling soon disappeared, and his tense body unwittingly relaxed.

"Heh, I hope you're right."

Orochimaru replied with a smile, his voice slightly hoarse.

This Uchiha brat was interesting. He could actually make him feel fear.

"Then who else do you think has a chance of becoming Hokage besides me?"

"Rather than asking me, you should ask the Third."

Just thinking of Hiruzen Sarutobi siding with his own people made Uchiha Jin angry.

Had circumstances allowed it, he would have killed Danzo first and reported it afterward.

But the Anbu had shown up then.

What a pity.

It seemed he would not be able to kill that old Shimura dog anytime soon.

Watching Jin's dark expression, Orochimaru's lips curled slightly upward.

"Teacher Sarutobi is getting old. The village needs a new leader, or the current state of affairs will never change."

Of course, he knew about the village leadership's suppression and exclusion of the Uchiha Clan.

Changing that situation would require replacing the Hokage with someone who would not exclude the Uchiha Clan.

Honestly, he rather liked this boy Jin.

If he became Hokage, he would not mind recruiting him.

However, judging by his attitude toward Root today, he would most likely refuse his offer.

Geniuses often had rather peculiar temperaments.

"Jin, feel free to come over for tea when you have time, provided I'm home."

Orochimaru finished with a smile, and they parted at the intersection.

Uchiha Jin watched him leave, then withdrew his gaze and returned to the clan compound.

Compared with Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru's personality put him at too much of a disadvantage.

If Minato was a little sun, then he was a cold, venomous snake.

A personality like that made it difficult to gain the support of villagers and shinobi.

After all, from the ninja clans' perspective, they naturally preferred someone with Minato's personality to become Hokage.

Rather than Orochimaru...

In other words, even without his experiments being discovered...

He would still struggle to beat Minato Namikaze.

The clan head's residence, Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Itachi opened the courtyard gate. Seeing Uchiha Jin standing outside, surprise flashed through his calm eyes.

Itachi was very close to Shisui, and Shisui got along well with Itachi.

The two had known each other before.

The only thing Shisui and Itachi did not understand was why Jin treated Itachi so poorly.

Especially whenever the village and the Will of Fire came up, he made no attempt to hide the disgust in his eyes and would even release traces of killing intent.

After that incident, Shisui never brought Itachi along when he spent time with Jin again.

Although both belonged to the Uchiha Clan, they had not seen each other in a long time.

"Where's your biological dad?"

Uchiha Jin looked down at Uchiha Itachi, his voice carrying an inexplicable hint of mockery.

Uchiha Itachi tilted his head in confusion.

He genuinely did not understand why Jin called his father his biological dad.

"At home."

As he spoke, he stepped aside and invited Jin into the courtyard.

"Who's here?"

Uchiha Mikoto came into the courtyard. She froze briefly at the sight of the visitor, then smiled.

"Oh, it's Jin."

Uchiha Jin smiled and nodded. "Sorry to intrude. I have something to discuss with the clan head."

"He's in the study. I'll take you there."

Uchiha Mikoto warmly led the way. After a moment's hesitation, Uchiha Itachi followed.

He really wanted to know what Jin was going to say to his father.

Inside the study.

Uchiha Fugaku was reading. When he saw his wife push open the door, with Uchiha Jin behind her, he raised an eyebrow.

"Jin, did you need something?"

Come to think of it, this seemed to be the boy's first visit to his home.

"Yes."

Uchiha Jin nodded.

"Take your time. I'll leave you to it."

Uchiha Mikoto turned to leave and saw her son at the door.

She smiled without saying anything.

He might only have been five, but he had never given them cause to worry.

Uchiha Fugaku also noticed Itachi at the door and spoke sternly, his expression serious.

"Come in."

Uchiha Itachi obediently entered the study.

The three knelt on cushions, and Itachi took it upon himself to pour tea into the other two's cups.

Uchiha Jin glanced at the black tea in his cup, with no intention of drinking it, then looked at Uchiha Fugaku and said,

"Shimura Danzō tried to assassinate me on my way home from work..."

He told him everything in exhaustive detail, without concealing Hiruzen Sarutobi's deliberate favoritism.

"Bastard!"

Uchiha Fugaku slammed his hand on the table in anger.

"Does the village really think we Uchiha are pushovers?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions clearly showed that he had no regard for the Uchiha Clan.

Even after all this, he still wanted to protect Shimura Danzō.

He had gone too far!

Tomorrow, he had to go to the Hokage's Office and demand justice. They absolutely could not swallow this grievance in silence.

Constant concessions would only encourage the other side to go even further.

Uchiha Itachi, however, frowned at what he heard.

In his view, Shimura Danzō had indeed been in the wrong first, but Lord Hokage had already said he would deal with the matter seriously.

If his father went to the office to make trouble again...

The village leadership would feel that the clan showed them no respect at all, and the clan's situation in the village would only grow worse.

Some matters needed to be considered from a long-term perspective.

"Oh, why the deep frown?"

Uchiha Jin noticed his expression and immediately began mocking him.

"Thinking about the village's bigger picture, I see."

"Clan head, you really have raised a fine son, one who can view the relationship between the clan and the village impartially and rationally."

Uchiha Itachi: "???"

Are you all right?

I know you don't like me, but I haven't done anything, have I?

This was not the sort of matter he could have a say in anyway.

What's gotten into this guy now?

Why does he have to come snapping at me like a mad dog every time he sees me?

"Too bad you're on the wrong side. Just like Shisui, you don't even know your own surname."

Uchiha Jin stood and clapped his hands, unable to resist muttering before he left.

"No wonder you two get along."

Uchiha Fugaku watched him leave, then looked at his son after a moment of silence.

"Did you provoke him?"

Uchiha Itachi: "..."