Chapter 465: Be Gentler Next Time
Kenta's attitude left Kei feeling oddly confused.
But when Kei glanced down at the bite mark on his hand, he immediately lost the confidence to speak loudly.
What had happened last night left him with a strange mix of emotions—half nostalgia, half regret.
And if he was being honest… the regret weighed a little more.
He subtly pulled his sleeve down, covering the mark so no one else could see it.
Unfortunately, he still caught Kakashi giving him a discreet, probing glance.
That instantly gave him a headache.
What was wrong with these people?
"And what's with you?" Kei turned toward Kakashi. "Why do I feel like all of you are acting… weird today?"
"N-no, nothing!" Kakashi shrank back a little, clearly startled.
But after a moment, curiosity got the better of him.
"…You didn't go home last night, did you?"
"…Huh?"
Kei froze for a second, then his expression darkened.
"How do you know that?"
"Yesterday, I went to your place to celebrate your birthday," Kakashi said cautiously. "Not just me—Rin, Guy… basically everyone went."
He swallowed before continuing.
"But you weren't there. Your mother said you'd gone out… and might not come back."
"…And?"
"…You were with Ayaka-senpai."
Kei rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
What was this mess?
Had his mother really just sold him out like that?
Thinking back to how he'd casually teased Ayaka the night before—only for that exact moment to be overheard—he couldn't help but feel this whole situation had spiraled completely out of control.
And now that he thought about it, he hadn't even seen Ryoko or Keisuke that morning.
Where had they gone?
He had spent a long time spacing out by the river before returning home, then rushed straight into treating his wound—without asking Iori anything.
Now it seemed like a serious miscalculation.
Who knew what those two had told Kakashi and the others?
Whatever it was, it definitely sounded… misleading.
With a sigh, Kei spoke.
"It's a misunderstanding—"
"I know, I know," Kenta suddenly leaned in, cutting him off. "All misunderstandings. Totally."
"…Like when we went to that place?" Kakashi muttered under his breath.
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt a chill.
Kei's gaze turned dangerous.
Worse still, both Minato and Shikaku had already turned to look at them.
Kakashi instantly shut up.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Every word—especially that last line—had been heard loud and clear.
If the three of them had been talking about anything else, Minato and Shikaku wouldn't have cared.
But this?
This was different.
"'That place'?" Minato asked, sounding troubled. "Was it Jiraiya-sensei who took you there?"
"…Yes," Kei sighed. "He brought us along, but we didn't do anything inappropriate. As for him…"
"Jiraiya-sensei…" Minato let out a soft sigh. "His situation is… special."
He paused, then added:
"You're adults now, so I won't say much. But you should exercise restraint. There are three ninja taboos… especially you, Kei. I heard about last night. Don't do anything you'll regret."
"…"
Kei fell silent.
The speed at which rumors spread was far worse than he had imagined.
If Kakashi wasn't exaggerating, then this had started circulating since yesterday evening.
And in less than twenty-four hours, even Minato knew.
How was he supposed to deal with that?
Rumors might "stop with the wise," but in this case, no one seemed interested in verifying the truth.
When it came to someone in a high position, people were always eager to gossip—either out of schadenfreude or sheer curiosity.
Kei couldn't help but recall a certain episode of Black Mirror he'd seen before transmigrating.
That prime minister…
Public pressure, media frenzy—
And in the end, complete humiliation.
Compared to that, Kei's situation wasn't nearly as bad.
Still, gossip like this spread fast—and stuck.
He could only hope that Jiraiya would keep his mouth shut for once.
Otherwise, rumors like "Head of the Military Police frequents pleasure districts" would be everywhere—and his social death would be complete.
He wasn't Jiraiya.
He actually cared about his reputation.
Kei glanced at Kakashi and Kenta, then took a deep breath.
At least he hadn't done anything truly reckless that night.
And more importantly…
He hadn't been alone.
If I go down, I'm dragging all of you with me…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
And if this really gets out of hand…
Konoha Prison will always have a place for you, Jiraiya.
Detaining Jiraiya wouldn't be a small matter.
But Kei was certain Minato wouldn't stop him if it came to that.
After all, offending three department heads at once?
That was practically asking for it.
And Kei wasn't exactly known for being forgiving.
"Let's drop what happened last night," Kei said calmly, fingers interlocked before his face. "Especially in a meeting like this."
"We have more important matters to discuss."
"Agreed," Minato nodded immediately.
But his gaze soon drifted to Kei's wrist.
"…Your hand. Next time—be gentler."
"…"
Kei silently lowered his hand, leaned back, and crossed his arms.
"…The Kumogakure issue is basically resolved," he said flatly. "We'll return the Fourth Raikage and Dodai. As for how much we extract in return—that's up to you, Captain Minato, and Head Shikaku."
"Right," Shikaku nodded. "We've already drafted a preliminary plan."
"Our main focus will be on ninjutsu and secret techniques. That expands Konoha's arsenal and provides more options for our shinobi."
"As for other resources, we'll negotiate based on both sides' needs."
That made perfect sense.
For Konoha right now, techniques and secret arts were far more valuable than material supplies.
Weapons, medicine—those weren't in short supply.
But ninjutsu?
That was a different story.
Konoha's ongoing jōnin reform still had unresolved issues.
Namely—the opposing clans had yet to hand over their techniques.
Minato had given them time.
But that "grace period" had become nothing more than an excuse to stall.
Everyone knew what they were waiting for.
The Third Hokage.
Still unconscious… but slowly recovering.
It was almost tragic.
The opposition had numbers—but their successors?
One fled the village due to hemophobia.
Another became a rogue ninja.
The last… wasn't even fully aligned with them.
And those in power, wary of favoritism, rarely promoted their own clan elites too aggressively.
Hereditary succession had never been particularly popular in Konoha.
Even the Senju Clan had only produced two Hokage.
By the time of the Third, things had changed.
He wasn't Senju—and to secure his political base, he couldn't allow such patterns to continue.
Instead, he chose a different path:
Promoting individuals who shared his ideals.
A reasonable choice—whether born of compromise or self-interest.
But even within his faction…
There had been anomalies.
And the person he had chosen as a successor?
Already influenced—long ago—by Uchiha Kei.
Leading to a fundamental divergence.
In truth…
He had still had a chance to fix things.
However, Uchiha Kei knew how events were meant to unfold—so he had never given the Third Hokage any chance at all.
"Kei, do you have something in mind?" Minato asked with curiosity. He understood Kei better than most. "You've got ideas about the negotiations too? That would be great."
"No," Kei shook his head. "I have no interest in getting directly involved in that."
He lifted his gaze, looking at Minato with a calm seriousness.
"But when it comes to preparing for the future… I do have some thoughts."
"Preparing for the future?" Minato paused, then his expression gradually turned serious. "You mean… what comes after the jōnin reform?"
"Exactly." Kei nodded. "This reform still carries uncertainties, sure—but within a reasonable framework, I believe it's already irreversible."
He leaned slightly forward.
"So the real question is—what comes next? What will your strategic direction be after this? Isn't it time to start thinking about that?"
His words were blunt, but accurate.
Yes, uncertainties remained.
But as long as everything stayed within controllable bounds, Kei was confident that the reform could not be undone.
Unless someone had the nerve to completely break the rules and overturn the system through extreme means.
And if that ever happened…
Kei wouldn't even need to act.
Minato himself would deal with it.
In that case, wasn't it only natural to start planning ahead?
Minato fell into thought.
He didn't yet know what Kei intended to propose—but experience told him one thing:
If Kei was bringing it up, it wouldn't be trivial.
In the four years since they had met, worked together, and built trust, Minato had witnessed everything—
Kei's rise.
His terrifying strength.
His ruthlessness… even his cruelty.
And yet—
Despite how unsettling Kei's methods could be, the results were undeniable.
More often than not, Kei accomplished exactly what Minato himself wished he could achieve.
Even if Minato couldn't always accept the methods, he couldn't deny the effectiveness.
And he knew—
If he had been the one to act, the chances of failure would have been far too high.
Minato wasn't afraid of failure.
But he would never willingly take a gamble with an eighty percent chance of losing.
Working with Kei had taught him something crucial:
When the moment demands it, you must be ruthless.
A leader who seeks to secure benefits for their people must, inevitably, sacrifice the interests of those who are not their own.
Beside him, Shikaku Nara also grew attentive.
After that previous exchange with Kei, he already understood what kind of person this young man was.
Any proposal Kei made would influence Konoha's future.
It deserved careful listening—and even more careful consideration.
"Captain Minato, I've always understood your vision," Kei said evenly. "And I've always been willing to support it."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Konoha has already completed much of its groundwork. All that's left is to let it grow."
"But if we want to expand our influence—and, to some extent, spread your ideals…"
A faint, deliberate smile appeared on his lips.
"Then it's time we took the next step."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"The smaller nations around us… would make excellent testing grounds."