Uchiha Kin stormed off, cursing under his breath.
Among those present, only Shimura Danzo, who was suppressing his laughter, didn't look displeased. After all, no one's expression would remain pleasant after being berated so harshly. Danzo had remained silent throughout, so Kin's verbal assault hadn't targeted him.
None of them had expected Uchiha Kin to dare speak to them in such a manner. Ordinary ninjas would treat them with utmost respect. As for the matter of pressuring Kin to share his developed jutsu, they couldn't even bring themselves to mention it now. Given Kin's current attitude, they knew he'd only hurl even worse insults if they tried.
"Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous! Does he even consider himself a Konoha shinobi?!" Mitokado Homura fumed.
Since when did Konoha shinobi behave like this?
As for Tsunade—well, that was a different matter entirely.
Utatane Koharu's face was dark, and she remained silent, but her mind was already plotting how to deal with Uchiha Kin.
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself.
"Fugaku."
A figure materialized in the office.
Uchiha Fugaku, clad in ANBU attire, stood before them. He had been hiding here the entire time, yet Kin hadn't detected his presence at all.
Hiruzem finally spoke, his tone resigned. "Is there any way your clan can persuade Uchiha Kin to contribute some of his jutsu to strengthen the village?"
They were truly at a loss. Kin showed no intention of cooperating.
Fugaku hesitated before replying, "I'm afraid even the Uchiha clan holds no sway over him."
To Kin, there was no difference between Hokaku and Hiruzen—both would be met with equal scorn.
"I see."
Hiruzen massaged his temples. If there was any silver lining to this mess, it was that Uchiha Kin and the Uchiha clan were clearly not on good terms.
"Geniuses naturally have their pride," Danzo remarked coldly, as if he hadn't been among those trying to pressure Kin earlier.
The others' expressions soured further. While Kin's strained relationship with the Uchiha was good news, it also made it even harder to extract anything from him.
They couldn't exactly force him to defect, could they?
Kin didn't seem particularly loyal to the village in the first place.
Capturing him, however, posed its own problems.
The impact of the Foundation Internal Art developed by the Uchiha was simply too significant.
If not for the Second Hokage's policies, they wouldn't be in such a bind.
Jutsu had to be credited to their creators—what a ridiculous rule.
Perhaps they could consult the White Fang.
"Hokage-sama," Fugaku said after a pause, "I can try to convince Uchiha Kin to hand over his techniques."
Hiruzen studied Fugaku with a thoughtful gaze.
The Uchiha were a clan that revered strength. Perhaps Fugaku could indeed succeed.
"Then give it a try."
Even if Fugaku failed, it would only drive Kin further away from the Uchiha clan. That, in itself, would ease Hiruzen's concerns about the Uchiha growing too powerful.
Fugaku didn't grasp the deeper implications. He simply wanted to lighten the Hokage's burden.
Hiruzen's widespread admiration wasn't solely due to his charisma—his contributions to the village were substantial. Though he couldn't compare to the Second Hokage, which had earned him some resentment, his dedication to Konoha was no less.
His handling of the Uchiha, however, remained an indelible stain on his legacy.
Yet even so, many within the Uchiha clan still revered him.
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku vanished in a puff of smoke.
After leaving the Hokage's office, Kin returned to his usual training ground.
There, he found Kushina and Minato engaged in a taijutsu spar. Without using her monstrous strength, Kushina was being steadily overpowered by Minato.
Kin rubbed his chin.
"So why is it that whenever she spars with me, she never holds back her strength?"
Did Kushina have some kind of grudge against him?!
Noticing Kin's arrival, the two immediately stopped.
"What did the Hokage say?" Minato asked, concerned.
"Just a bunch of old fools looking to get insulted. Nothing important."
Kin shrugged.
"..." Both Minato and Kushina fell silent.
Most people wouldn't dare speak of the Hokage that way.
Then again, Uchiha Kin was exceptional in every sense—including his audacity.
"Kin, he's still the Hokage," Minato said, scratching his head.
"Strip away the title, and he's just another old relic," Kin retorted dismissively.
To him, the position of Hokage held no sanctity—it was merely the role of a village head.
Did the daimyo fear the title itself? No. They feared the power the hidden villages wielded.
During the Warring States period, had the daimyo and nobles truly supported the formation of villages?
Of course not. It was only because Hashirama Senju was utterly terrifying—and Madara Uchiha was a man who openly advocated for the elimination of the nobility—that they had no choice but to comply.
And while the villages' power had never waned, the daimyo's own strength had stagnated.
Minato and Kushina found Kin's perspective jarring. It was as if he had torn away the glamorous veneer of their dreams.
The group lapsed into silence.
"Enough of this pointless talk," Kin said, brushing it off. He couldn't care less about the Hokage and the elders' opinions. If they pushed him too far, he'd simply walk away.
The trio resumed their training.
In these times, no Konoha shinobi could afford to idle. Everyone was pushing themselves to the limit, desperate to survive the coming battles.
They trained well into the night.
Only then did Uchiha Kin finally head home.
His progress had slowed recently.
The limiting factor was his own physical age. His body hadn't yet matured, creating a bottleneck in his growth.
Once he reached adulthood, with sufficient chakra reserves, he would naturally ascend to the ranks of the era's strongest shinobi.
Then, he could overturn the board entirely.
For now, his physical development constrained his speed and strength. Pushing too hard risked stunting his growth.
He couldn't afford to remain short as an adult—that would be embarrassing.
The priority now was increasing his chakra reserves. To enhance his techniques, aside from relentless training, sheer quantity was also a necessity.
As Kin pondered his future path, a faint disturbance made him look up.
Perched atop a telephone pole, silhouetted against the bright moon, was a figure with gleaming Sharingan eyes.
If not for the familiar, detestable face, Kin might have thought he'd time-traveled to the night of the Uchiha massacre.
"Uchiha Fugaku."
"Uchiha Kin."
Fugaku gazed down at him imperiously.
"You should not have disrespected the Hokage."
Kin eyed Fugaku's ANBU uniform.
"What's this? Since when did you become Hiruzen's dog? Did your master send you here to bark at me after I insulted him?"
Some people were simply grating by their very presence. The mutual disdain between Kin and Fugaku was palpable.
"It seems you need to be taught a lesson," Fugaku said coldly.
"To learn your place."
The tomoe in his Sharingan began to spin rapidly.
...
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(End of Chapter)