When Yuki Seisui heard the name, he suddenly had the urge to run.
Uchiha Setsuna. The same Uchiha radical who tried to assassinate the Second Hokage and ended up imprisoned.
Not just any radical, he was the leader of the faction. The Uchiha Clan's Grand Elder.
And now, he'd somehow gotten involved with this man's granddaughter.
Yuki Seisui could already imagine ten thousand ways he might die.
Seeing the uneasiness on the blond kid's face, Uchiha Setsuna nodded in satisfaction.
Good, he thought. At least I managed to scare him a little.
Although pleased, Setsuna kept his face stern. "Come in," he said simply before turning around and walking into the house, not caring whether Seisui followed or not.
"Don't worry," Uchiha Haru whispered, noticing the tense atmosphere between the two. "My grandpa's always like this… but he's actually a really nice person."
Seisui twitched at her words. Nice? Sure, so nice he tried to assassinate the Second Hokage. So nice he led the radical Uchiha faction.
If he hadn't died during the massacre, he would've been first on the hit list.
That thought made Seisui nervous again. Meeting Uchiha Setsuna… what if the Third Hokage gets the wrong idea?
That old man is my only protection right now.
As they stepped into the house, Seisui realized how spacious the courtyard was. Training equipment was neatly arranged throughout, not a speck of dust on them.
Clearly, Haru even trains at night.
What a try-hard.
She already worked hard enough in public, and yet she was secretly pushing herself even more behind the scenes. That kind of dedication was hard to match.
It's people like her that set the standard for overachievers.
Thankfully, I'm a template ninja, Seisui consoled himself. The thought brought him some peace of mind.
By the time they entered the house, Uchiha Setsuna was already seated at the table, with several dishes laid out.
This wasn't just a casual dinner, it was an actual, no-nonsense meal.
"You're Yuki Seisui, right?" Setsuna asked, cutting straight to the point.
"Yes, sir." Seisui straightened his back, sitting as if he were facing a high-ranking official. "I am Yuki Seisui."
Setsuna gave a slight nod. The boy was clearly nervous but remained respectful and composed, something the old man found admirable.
Most Uchiha kids were trembling wrecks in front of him. So much for being born into one of the great clans.
They didn't act like proud heirs of a noble bloodline at all.
Throughout the entire meal, Setsuna said nothing.
Naturally, Seisui didn't speak either, quietly eating from his bowl.
As for the food itself, Haru kept piling it into his bowl, ignoring the fact that her grandpa was sitting right there.
Luckily, Setsuna didn't seem to mind. He didn't even glance at them, letting the meal pass in peace.
Once the servant had cleared the dishes, Setsuna wiped his mouth and finally spoke:
"You're a good one. I'll leave Haru in your hands."
Seisui froze, stunned by the sudden declaration.
Haru's face instantly flushed bright red, she hadn't expected her grandfather to say something like that either.
"Three hundred thousand ryo per month, right?" Setsuna continued, ignoring their reactions. "Someone will deliver that amount to you monthly."
Ah, so it was about training and cultivation support.
Seisui let out a quiet sigh of relief. For a moment, he'd thought the old man was trying to marry off his granddaughter.
Haru bowed her head slightly, also relieved, but in her heart, a strange, faint disappointment lingered.
"Understood," Seisui said, nodding. He didn't really have much of a choice.
Still, 300,000 ryo a month… that was pretty sweet.
He had always harbored a dream: to change the very foundations of the shinobi system. But to begin such a transformation, he needed resources, a lot of them.
This rotten Shinobi World needed a serious wake-up call.
A man needed a purpose to live for. In his previous life, Seisui had been an orphan. In this life, he had tasted familial love, only to lose it by the age of three.
That loss had hit him hard. It was then he resolved to reshape this broken world.
Becoming Hokage? Sure, that was part of it, but it was never the end goal.
His dream wasn't just about being the Hokage.
It was about unification.
And for that, money was essential.
By the time Seisui left the Uchiha compound, the sky had darkened. The sun hadn't completely set, casting fiery clouds across the horizon.
Just outside the gates, he saw Minato standing alone, waiting. Seisui quickly approached.
"Minato, what are you doing here?"
"I heard from Shikaku and the others that tensions have been rising between the village and the Uchiha."
Minato scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile. "I saw you went to their compound and got a little worried. So I waited out here."
Seisui was touched. He placed a hand on Minato's shoulder, and the two walked side by side.
"What could possibly happen inside the village?"
"And besides, even if something did, what could you do on your own? Don't do this again."
"It's fine," Minato replied with a shake of his head. "Say… why does the village have conflicts with the Uchiha anyway?"
"We're all part of the same village, aren't we?"
Minato was genuinely confused, but he knew Seisui had insight, so he asked directly, "Do you know?"
Seisui smiled faintly and sighed. "Why do you think this question matters?"
"Huh?" Minato blinked. "Does it need a reason?"
Seeing him momentarily stunned, Seisui draped his arm over Minato's shoulder again, speaking as they walked:
"This problem's been buried since the founding of Konoha."
"And it has everything to do with the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai."
"Their kekkei genkai?" Minato frowned, thinking it over. "You mean Haru's eyes?"
"Exactly."
"It's called the Sharingan. A powerful ability."
"In fact, there's a saying in the shinobi world: 'If you ever face an Uchiha one-on-one… run!'"
"Hiss…" Minato inhaled sharply. He didn't know what the Sharingan could do, but for it to inspire that kind of fear, it had to be terrifying.
Even so, he still didn't understand. "But what does that have to do with the conflict?"
Seisui shook his head. "I read about it in a book once."
"The Uchiha are known as a clan of love. Their Sharingan awakens through deep emotional trauma, through gaining love, and then losing it."
"But you know what strong emotional shifts can do to someone, right?"
He tapped his temple, and Minato immediately got the message.
"When that happens, they become obsessive. Stubborn. Once they set their minds on something, there's no turning back."
"I see…" Minato murmured, stunned. "Seisui, you sure know a lot."
"It's all in the library," Seisui said with a shrug.
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