My benefactor, it's you!

Uchiha Fugaku brought the Hokage's decision on the punishment to the elders.

"The Third Hokage really doesn't take us seriously!"

The Second Elder of the Hawk Faction had a fiery temper. After reading the contents, he slammed his palm on the table in anger.

The Fourth Elder was likewise so furious that his beard bristled and his eyes bulged.

By contrast, the Elder and Third Elder of the Pro-Peace Faction seemed much calmer.

"The Hokage has already punished Shimura Danzō by stripping him of his position as Hokage Advisor. There's no need for you to keep harping on this."

Although Shimura Danzō had tried to assassinate Uchiha Jin, hadn't that arrogant brat come out unscathed?

According to the intelligence Shisui had provided, Jin had even killed four Root members and verbally humiliated Shimura Danzō.

All in all, the clan hadn't lost out.

Sometimes, taking a step back was better for everyone.

In the Pro-Peace Faction's view, if the Hawk Faction seized on this incident to make trouble, the only result would be Hiruzen Sarutobi flying into a humiliated rage and resenting the Uchiha Clan.

After all, his nephew's family had only recently died.

And Uchiha Jin had single-handedly caused that incident. The Third Hokage had already been very magnanimous by not making things difficult for him over it.

They couldn't push their luck. That would only backfire.

"I think the Elder is right."

The Fifth Elder and Sixth Elder of the Pro-Peace Faction nodded in agreement.

"The Third Hokage is getting old. He'll retire in a few years. There's no need for us to offend him at a time like this."

Uchiha Fugaku sat at the head of the table, listening to the clan elders argue.

He, too, thought the Elder had a point.

They couldn't really sentence Shimura Danzō to death as Uchiha Jin had suggested, could they?

The man wasn't some nobody.

He was Konoha's Hokage Advisor!

That brat Jin was a lunatic who had no regard whatsoever for the village leadership.

The Hawk Faction hated the village leadership because of its suppression and distrust of the clan, and thus had no regard for the Hokage or his advisors.

Uchiha Jin, on the other hand, simply had no regard for anyone.

Judging by how he acted in the Konoha Military Police Force Troops, all he cared about was upholding his own sense of justice!

Honestly, if Orochimaru hadn't arrived in time with the Anbu back then...

Uchiha Fugaku had feared that Jin really would slaughter Shimura Danzō...

Even extreme members of the Uchiha Clan would feel inferior after seeing Jin, thinking they weren't extreme enough.

"You lot!"

The Second Elder looked at his old friends, who had formed a united front, then at the Clan Leader, whose head was lowered in thought. Finally, he waved his hand, stood up, and left.

"Do whatever you want."

Seeing this, the Fourth Elder also stood up and left.

Uchiha Jin knew nothing about the clan meeting.

At that moment, he was at home, guiding Uchiha Izumi's training.

Fat Cat lay on the table, eyes narrowed as he watched the siblings in the courtyard.

There was nothing quite like watching the little terror suffer after a meal.

Especially when he saw Izumi's bedraggled state, delight filled his entire feline being.

Ever since Uchiha Jin had joined the Konoha Military Police Force Troops, he had rarely taken Fat Cat along. Usually, Uchiha Izumi brought him to the Ninja Academy to experience the dull, tedious life of a student.

He truly hadn't expected that even a cat like him would have to go to school.

The worst part was that he couldn't resist at all. He spent all day being held and kneaded.

He was a proud lord of cats, yet he was bullied by a little girl all day. If other cats saw him, how was he supposed to show his face, meow?

"Jin, I can't go on. Can we stop here for today?"

She was only a five-year-old girl. How could she possibly be a match for her Elite Jonin brother?

It was called daily training, but there was nothing to experience at all.

She was either getting beaten up or waiting to get beaten up...

"Izumi, don't slack off."

Uchiha Jin gently shook his head as he watched Uchiha Izumi panting, pain written across her face.

His little sister's talent wasn't particularly good.

If she didn't train even harder, she would struggle to attain a Jonin's strength in her lifetime.

Unless some intense emotional stimulus awakened her Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Otherwise, she would most likely never advance beyond Chunin.

Faced with this situation, she could only train harder.

But training was painful, and not everyone could persevere.

In a sense, perseverance was a talent, too.

Uchiha Jin actually doted on his little sister. He really couldn't bring himself to be hard on Izumi during training, and every time she begged for mercy, his heart softened.

"Jin, I'm really tired. Let me go back and rest, pleeease..."

Uchiha Izumi blinked her big eyes and pouted, wheedling pitifully, a hint of grievance in her moist eyes.

She looked utterly adorable.

He felt as though his heart was about to melt.

How could anything this cute exist in the world?

Seeing her like this, Uchiha Jin really couldn't bring himself to scold her. In the end, he could only watch as Uchiha Izumi skipped over, picked Fat Cat up from the table, and returned to her room.

"Were you laughing at me just now?!"

Then Fat Cat's miserable cries rang out from the room.

Only when Uchiha Kazuna's voice rang out did the girl and cat inside quiet down.

Uchiha Jin sighed helplessly and murmured, "Looks like I'll have to find her a teacher."

Since he couldn't bear to be strict with his little sister, he would find a teacher who could.

The image of a back clad in a green jumpsuit involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

That afternoon, pedestrians stopped to watch on both sides of the stone-paved Konoha Shopping Street.

A bowl-cut boy dressed in a green jumpsuit was walking on his hands down the street, his legs pointing straight upward. Thick bags of Iron Sand weights were strapped to his calves, his muscles taut.

As he walked, he craned his head and roared, his white teeth gleaming and hot tears sliding down his cheeks, utterly unconcerned by the strange looks around him.

There used to be two figures in green jumpsuits like this, one big and one small. After the Third Shinobi World War ended, only one remained.

"Five hundred laps walking on my hands! If I can't finish, I'll do another two thousand one-finger push-ups!

Burn, my youth!"

Just then, the onlookers seemed to have spotted some terrifying beast. Instinctively lowering their heads, they hurried away.

The villagers suddenly parted of their own accord, opening a broad path through the crowded street.

At the end of the street, a solitary, aloof figure approached at an unhurried pace.

Uchiha Jin walked through the sunlight with a cold, haughty expression, a fat black cat draped over his shoulder.

The cold arrogance unique to the Uchiha Clan spread around him.

The villagers watching nearby didn't even dare breathe loudly, afraid they might be arrested for making too much noise.

This was the Uchiha Clan's living god of death.

If he hadn't arrested eighty villagers and ninja lately, he had arrested at least fifty.

They noticed Uchiha Jin's gaze settle on the boy in the green jumpsuit, who was shouting while standing on his hands.

They all thought the boy was done for.

After all, as far as they remembered, no one targeted by Uchiha Jin ever came to a good end.

Might Guy, who was diligently training, noticed that someone had blocked the sunlight in front of him.

Puzzled, he looked up and saw Uchiha Jin's pale, handsome, stern face.

Might Guy's eyes lit up, and he spoke with some excitement.

"My benefactor, it's you!"

P.S. Dear readers who've made it this far, don't forget to add this to your bookshelf and tap to request updates. Don't save up chapters, sob, sob...