Uchiha Jin let out a soft sigh.
Those higher-ups led by Hiruzen Sarutobi really don't do anything human. They don't just target the Uchiha Clan—they treat every single person in Konoha the same way.
If you're even slightly more capable, unless you kneel and become their dog, you're their next target.
Kakashi was later assigned to the surveillance squad watching Uzumaki Naruto only after he'd been their dog for a long, long time.
However—
just as Uchiha Jin was lost in thought, Kakashi cut in: "Hokage-sama, it's your move!"
"Oh, got it." Uchiha Jin nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto, right?"
"I have no designs on him. Even though he's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, to our Uchiha—especially one who's awakened the Mangekyo—he's really not that big a threat."
"On the contrary, if we'd actually snatched Naruto back then, Hiruzen and company would've gone completely berserk, and that wasn't the best time for an all-out war."
"As for Naruto's safety, you two don't need to worry."
I can't say too much, but what I can tell you is that Naruto's background is downright terrifying."
He's not just Minato Namikaze's son, not merely the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—he has an even more dreadful backer."
"Anyone can die—except him."
"The one being who could kill Naruto is still just a snot-nosed kid right now!"
Uchiha Jin's face was full of disdain.
He truly wasn't worried about Naruto's safety. Though the original story never spelled it out, the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra could only ever die by each other's hand.
And this time—
because Black Zetsu schemed against Uchiha Madara, it was practically the most special reincarnation cycle ever. Would the Six Paths Sage really let those two come to harm?
Don't give me that garbage about the Sage not knowing Black Zetsu's plan. The entire Pure Land is his turf. If the reincarnation of Indra, Madara, still hasn't returned to the Pure Land, and the Sage doesn't know—ha!
Jin simply refused to believe it.
He'd rather be overthinking it than gamble on that possibility.
Conversely—
if Hiruzen or Danzo actually managed to kill Naruto, and the Six Paths Sage did nothing, Uchiha Jin would set off firecrackers to celebrate.
Considering all this, he grew even less inclined to interfere with Naruto.
He had no ties with the kid anyway. Once Jin finished his own plans, Naruto could naturally return to New Konoha; if the boy died in the meantime, that would suit Jin just fine.
Tsunade: "…"
Kakashi: "…"
After hearing Jin's words, both of them were utterly dumbfounded.
Background?
That little kid Naruto—apart from being Minato's son and the Nine-Tails' container—actually had something more?
How come they'd never heard of it?
"Jin, you…" Tsunade hesitated, trying to speak.
But before she could finish, Jin cut her off: "Don't ask. Can't say."
Immediately after,
he looked at the two of them, expression turning grave.
"Just remember what I've told you."
"The water in this world runs deep; the Five Great Ninja Villages are nothing. The future will be chaos."
"All I can say is—work hard!"
"Raise your strength as much as possible. On the battlefields to come, Jonin will be mere cannon fodder, Kage-level at best small fry; only above-Kage can barely count as strong."
"Without reaching Six-Paths level, you're still just a slightly beefier ant."
Uchiha Jin's tone was dead serious.
Why had he stayed so cautious all these years? Simple—this world was too dangerous.
As a transmigrator without a cheat system, his current Mangekyo was far from enough. Maybe once he awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan he'd finally have the right to swagger around the Ninja World.
Knowing too much truly wasn't a blessing.
Precisely because he knew too much while his own strength lagged, he could only scheme step by step, ever so carefully.
Give him a system and he'd be flying high right now—who'd bother with all this political maneuvering?
But no such luck.
On the other side, Kakashi and Tsunade were stunned and bewildered.
They'd heard Jin's power rankings before—Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Kage, above-Kage, Six-Paths—but they'd treated it as a joke, since the strongest in the Ninja World were Jonin, and "Kage" was only a title.
And now?
They could feel Jin wasn't joking, yet the idea that future Jonin would be mere cannon fodder and Kage could barely join a war filled them with dread.
"Hokage-sama."
Are you absolutely certain you're not joking right now?"
Kakashi couldn't help asking, doubt flickering in his eyes.
To that,
Jin merely nodded and said gravely: "Pick up the Hatake Clan Sword Technique you abandoned, and push your Sharingan as far as it can go."
He had no interest in Obito's eye.
Since Kakashi was one of his own, sharpening Kakashi into a blade was enough.
He wasn't some lone-wolf operator; with an entire Village at his back, making his subordinates stronger was the point—when the time came to deal with Obito, Kakashi would be a trump card.
"All right, I get it."
Kakashi nodded.
His tone turned serious. Over the past two years, after reconciling with his formerly suicidal father, he'd resumed training in the Hatake Clan Sword Technique.
Before, he'd merely didn't want to disgrace his father's blade; under Jin's advice, he'd climbed out of his slump and taken up the sword again.
But at this moment,
a sense of urgency surged within him.
After drawing a deep breath, he spoke again.
"By the way, Hokage-sama."
Since I'm here today, I'll report as well."
Despite the Anbu's efforts over the past two years to track down special bloodlines across the Ninja World, the results were… underwhelming.
The Ketsuryugan Clan is down to twelve survivors. When we breached the Land of Lightning's seal, Miyashiro Flame had already started slaughtering his own clan; even with our intervention we only saved that many.
Among them is Chen's young daughter. With that bond in place, we may be able to recruit him later.
As for the Uzumaki, following your orders we located Karin and her mother."
But her mother was too badly injured and died on the way back to the Village."
We can't find any other Uzumaki. Maybe Hiruzen went too far back then, and the clan no longer trusts Konoha—so they've all gone into hiding."
If the Uzumaki dye their hair, tracking them becomes nearly impossible."
Oh, one more thing!"
While our Anbu were collecting bloodlines, we ran into another group doing the same. They weren't Cloud Ninja from the Land of Lightning; we haven't identified them yet."
Other than that, nothing gained."
Maybe a handful of descendants from exterminated bloodline clans are still out there, but odds are they're all hiding."
Finding them is just too hard!