Summer, Konoha Year 47.
A full decade had gone by since the end of the Second Shinobi World War.
During those ten years, each of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had focused on rebuilding from the devastation left behind.
Now, however, they had begun stirring once more.
Time truly was the world’s greatest healer.
No matter how devastating the Second Shinobi World War had been, ten years of relative peace had been enough for people to forget the pain it had inflicted.
Across the shinobi world, dissatisfaction with the outcome of the previous war continued to grow.
The victors believed they had been too lenient in their demands, while the defeated saw the treaties imposed upon them as crushing burdens that had to be overturned.
The veterans who had survived the war had now risen to positions of power.
They hoped to use what remained of their lives to secure lasting peace and greater room for their villages to prosper.
Meanwhile, the younger generation longed to distinguish themselves on the battlefield and become heroes admired by all.
Under such sentiments, every hidden village seemed full of vitality.
This trend was beyond the will of any single individual.
Whether a village wanted war or not, once one village began taking action, the others had no choice but to respond.
Ironically, the earliest signs of this rivalry appeared almost comical.
After the Third Hokage came to be hailed as the strongest Hokage, every village began proclaiming the existence of its own “strongest Kage in history.” The Hidden Cloud boasted the invincible A-B Combo.
The Hidden Sand praised its strongest Kazekage.
The Hidden Stone glorified the exceptionally formidable Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki the Fence-sitter .
And so on.
It became difficult to tell exactly who these so-called “strongest” leaders were being compared against.
Still, one thing was clear: every shinobi had absolute confidence in their own village.
As a result, the profession built upon the ideals of secrecy and endurance gradually stopped practicing either once overwhelming power entered the picture.
Small-scale conflicts erupted one after another.
Curiously, every village showed remarkable restraint, keeping these clashes within what each Kage considered an acceptable limit.
None of them viewed these confrontations as wars of extermination.
They were merely demonstrations of strength.
Everyone understood the difference.
Conflicts determined superiority.
Wars determined life and death.
But if neither side intended to fight to the bitter end, how could a decisive victor ever emerge?
Bloodshed became inevitable.
Still, individual sacrifices meant little when weighed against a village’s overall interests.
What truly mattered was that these conflicts gave birth to new heroes.
At this very moment, Konoha was filled with cheers.
The villagers celebrated as though it were a festival, immersed in jubilant excitement.
Today was the day their hero returned home.
They had “spontaneously” gathered to welcome him back.
That hero was Minato Namikaze—a shinobi of civilian origin, Konoha’s pride, the legendary Yellow Flash of Konoha.
A village as large as Konoha naturally contained all kinds of people.
Although Minato had already secured his place in the shinobi world, there were still ordinary villagers who didn’t recognize him.
Some had heard his name but never seen his face.
Others had never even heard of him.
That was hardly unusual.
Years later, even one of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya—would return to the village only to find that most civilians didn’t recognize him either.
But today was different.
Whether you had known Minato before or not, from this day onward every resident of Konoha would know exactly who he was.
Throughout the crowd, people enthusiastically recounted Minato’s glorious achievements to anyone unfamiliar with him.
Soon, everyone had heard the stories.
They heard that he had recently repelled the Hidden Cloud’s elite duo—A and Killer B, the future Fourth Raikage and the perfect jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails.
That feat alone added another brilliant chapter to Minato’s already extraordinary record.
They heard that he was also one of the strongest candidates to become the Fourth Hokage.
Everyone knew A would one day inherit the title of Raikage.
If Konoha’s future Hokage was stronger than the Hidden Cloud’s future Raikage…
Didn’t that mean Konoha was stronger than Kumogakure?
They also heard that every major hidden village acknowledged the terror of the Yellow Flash.
If shinobi encountered him during a mission, they were permitted to abandon the mission immediately and retreat.
Very few people had ever inspired such a standing order.
Moreover, Minato himself had risen from the ranks of civilian-born shinobi.
That alone filled countless ordinary villagers with pride.
It almost felt as though Minato’s achievements belonged to them as well.
If someone of humble origins could become a legend…
Perhaps they could too.
In short— Today, everyone was Team Minato.
Of course, how many cheers came from genuine admiration and how many simply came from people looking for an excuse to enjoy a festival was impossible to know.
Regardless, it felt as though an invisible hand was guiding the emotions of the entire village, pushing Minato’s reputation to unprecedented heights.
But joy and sorrow never coexist equally.
There is always one place that stands apart from the rest of the world.
Standing atop the roof of a house on the remote outskirts of the Uchiha Compound, Uchiha Kei silently observed everything before him.
It wasn’t that he disliked Minato.
On the contrary, he was genuinely happy to finally witness someone whose reputation had become legendary.
But life was rarely so simple.
Even after transmigrating into the world of a manga and losing everything from his previous life, one truth remained unchanged— A person was never truly free.
The entire Uchiha Clan had become isolated from the rest of Konoha.
As one of the elders of an Uchiha branch family, Kei was only in his teens, yet he represented over two hundred clan members.
Every smile.
Every glance.
Every gesture.
Could be interpreted far beyond its intended meaning.
How could he casually reveal his true emotions?
Once you no longer lived solely for yourself—once you bore responsibility for the people who followed you—every word and action demanded caution.
That was why the young man standing here had matured so quickly.
Kei was not the clan head.
The head of the Uchiha Clan remained Uchiha Fugaku, father of Itachi Uchiha.
Excluding Kei’s own branch, the clan still numbered over eight hundred members.
Aside from oddballs like Obito Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, who had actually joined the village-wide celebration, nearly every other Uchiha wore expressions as though they’d swallowed something rotten.
After all, the Uchiha’s authority came from the Konoha Military Police Force.
Its duty was to maintain public order.
Gatherings on this scale clearly posed security concerns.
According to regulations, any such assembly had to be reported to the Military Police in advance.
Anyone with common sense understood this celebration hadn’t been organized overnight.
It had obviously been planned beforehand.
Yet the Military Police had received no notification whatsoever.
In fact, they only realized something was happening after crowds suddenly flooded the streets that very day.
Not that this was the first time.
Years ago, the village had welcomed Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, in exactly the same manner.
That incident had caused considerable friction between the Uchiha and Hatake clans.
Then again, the Uchiha had never gotten along particularly well with any clan in Konoha.
Not even the Senju.
So what?
The greatest clan in the shinobi world should carry itself with dignity.
Why stoop to the level of insects?
What truly disgusted the Uchiha wasn’t the celebration itself.
It was Konoha’s leadership.
The two Hokage Advisors each delivered contradictory orders.
One demanded that the Military Police maintain public order or face disciplinary action.
The other ordered them not to interfere with the villagers’ “spontaneous gathering” and not to go against public opinion.
That was blatant harassment.
The Uchiha certainly had their share of madmen.
But madness did not equal stupidity.
The Hokage Advisors weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they were targeting the Uchiha anymore.
That attitude was what truly revolted the clan.
At present, the entire Uchiha Clan numbered just over one thousand members, including Kei’s branch.
Only two people had actually participated in the festivities.
One of them was the “idiot” named Shisui, who was already earning fame as Shisui of the Body Flicker.
The only people capable of maintaining perfectly expressionless faces were Clan Head Fugaku…
…and Elder Kei.
The difference was that Fugaku remained calm because he placed the clan’s hopes in the future.
He believed that as long as they endured until the Third Hokage stepped down and built good relationships with whoever became the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha would eventually be fully accepted by Konoha.
Whether it was Minato…
Orochimaru…
Or Jiraiya…
All of them were people Fugaku sought to befriend.
Tsunade was the exception.
Though she seemed the most legitimate successor to the Hokage position, she was, paradoxically, the least likely.
Fugaku didn’t know the exact reason.
He simply found it suspicious that her younger brother bore the Senju surname while she did not.
There had to be secrets hidden within the great clans.
Besides, a clan whose heir had died and whose remaining members had effectively disappeared from the village wasn’t worth investing political capital in.
Ironically, despite his fierce appearance, Fugaku was a complete dove at heart.
Compromise had become second nature to him.
Fortunately, he possessed remarkable skill in balancing opposing factions.
Otherwise, had the Uchiha realized his true personality earlier, many of them would never have supported his rise to leadership.
Unfortunately…
His face and voice were incredibly deceptive.
Even while saying nothing, he looked intimidating.
Once he opened his mouth, it sounded as though he would rather die than yield.
Given the historical circumstances, the Uchiha desperately needed exactly that kind of seemingly hardline leader.
After Madara Uchiha’s defection and the Hokage’s subsequent suppression of the clan, years of accumulated resentment finally exploded into civil war within the Uchiha.
That conflict gave birth to the clan’s two forbidden techniques— Izanagi and Izanami.
Yet both the hardliners and moderates suffered catastrophic losses.
To the outside world, the Uchiha were no longer Konoha’s foremost noble clan.
The Hyūga Clan had taken that title.
This conflict became known in Uchiha history as the War of Izanagi and Izanami, also called the Conflict of Yomi and Naraku.
The Uchiha, of course, never acknowledged such rankings.
“The greatest clan in Konoha?” Wrong.
They were the greatest clan in the entire shinobi world.
Longing to restore their former glory, the Uchiha desperately needed a powerful leader.
Thus, the naturally intimidating Fugaku rose to become clan head.
Every Uchiha believed that under his leadership, the clan’s prestige would once again resound throughout the shinobi world.
They were prepared to die for that dream.
Instead…
The man who looked toughest always chose compromise.
For the clan’s survival, Fugaku was willing to negotiate almost anything.
This was nothing like what the clan had expected.
Fortunately, his talent for compromise consistently brought tangible benefits while easing tensions with Konoha.
Otherwise, the clan might have rebelled long ago.
As a result, Fugaku’s position became increasingly secure.
He sincerely believed that one day the Uchiha would fully rejoin Konoha’s great family.
All they needed was the Third Hokage’s retirement and a Fourth Hokage supported by the Uchiha.
Then, injustice against the clan would finally end.
Fugaku never doubted it.
After all…
“I’m still young.” “Surely I can outlive an old man like the Third Hokage.” “Time is fair.” “The advantage is mine.” Kei, surprisingly, felt grateful for such a clan leader.
Grateful for Fugaku’s indecisiveness.
Grateful for his habit of passing responsibility around.
Otherwise, Kei himself would never have risen through the clan so smoothly.
Had Fugaku been even slightly more decisive…
Kei’s ambitions would have ended before they ever began.
Thinking of that, Kei’s carefully maintained poker face finally broke.
He chuckled.
The laugh was soft.
But it immediately attracted hostile looks from the surrounding Uchiha.
Everyone else was seething over Konoha’s injustice.
Why was an Uchiha elder smiling?
Was that smile his own opinion…
Or did it represent his entire branch family?
Dozens of suspicious gazes fell upon him.
Kei, however, remained unconcerned.
Over the years, he had learned many things.
One advantage of holding authority was that capable subordinates often solved problems before they became troublesome.
Standing beside him was the leader of his personal faction, the Iga Group— Uchiha Gen.
She understood exactly how to help her master.
“Lord Kei,” she asked with a smile, “did something pleasant happen?
You seem unusually happy.” To outsiders, it sounded like casual conversation between a trusted subordinate and her superior.
In reality…
She had just handed him the perfect opportunity to explain himself before the clan.
Humans were social creatures, after all.
Kei smiled even wider.
“Gen…
tell me.” “Do you think Kumogakure is holding a grand celebration right now as well?” “Welcoming their own heroes—A and Killer B?” “I wonder…” “Do they have unfortunate people like the Uchiha watching from the sidelines too?” The conversation wasn’t loud.
But shinobi possessed hearing far beyond that of ordinary people.
Those who overheard quickly spread the words.
After a brief silence…
The entire Uchiha Clan erupted into laughter.
The ANBU secretly monitoring the compound were completely baffled.
Meanwhile…
Kei quietly disappeared into the crowd.
“I’m still too weak…” “I’m still forced to worry about what the clan thinks.” “That’s hardly the life of someone destined for greatness.” “Looks like it’s time to draw another batch…” “I need to strengthen my own people.”