I have a bunch of relatives who want to become Hokage.

Like Uchiha Shingen, without the financial support of his clan, he wouldn't have been able to train in Yang Release at all.

"Don't rush, Shingen, I still have something to talk to you about."

Seeing that Uchiha Shingen was about to turn and leave, Namikaze Minato quickly called out to him to stop.

"Ah? Lord Hokage, I still need to go back to my clan to let them know I'm safe. You know how it is with elders."

“Your aunt and uncle can hardly be considered old anymore.” Minato Namikaze stood up and pulled Shingen Uchiha back to sit on the sofa. He then turned to Pantai, “Pantya, thank you for your hard work. The ANBU at the door will take you to the intelligence unit.”

"I understand, Lord Hokage." Pantaya wisely took his leave and disappeared.

After the door closed again, Minato Namikaze sat down opposite Shingen Uchiha and poured him another cup of tea.

The two of them silently drank their tea, neither of them speaking.

Uchiha Shingen was genuinely drinking tea, while Namikaze Minato was observing the young man in front of him while drinking his tea.

The Uchiha clan didn't leave a very good impression on Minato Namikaze, but it wasn't bad either. If there was anything wrong with it, it was that the Uchiha clan was one of the least integrated clans in Konoha at present.

It was that batch, not that one; the ninja clan's organizational structure itself indicates a high degree of independence.

In this era of one country and one village, the ninja clan alliance that existed when the various ninja villages were first established no longer exists. Over the past few decades, a large number of ninja clans have either disappeared or disintegrated. Today, only eight ninja clans still exist in Konoha. Among them, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans are the most powerful, relying on their inherited eye techniques.

The Uchiha clan's strength lies in a small elite group, while the Hyuga clan's strength lies in the average person.

Within the Uchiha clan, only a select few possess the Sharingan, while within the Hyuga clan, an extremely small minority are unable to awaken the Byakugan.

However, the tide of time could not be stopped, and as a product of the previous era, the overall decline of the ninja clan remained the mainstream trend.

The fundamental conflict between the Uchiha clan and the Hokage Building lies not in their dark past, but in the clash of their fundamental beliefs.

The Hokage Building says that the village is a big family, and everyone has the obligation to protect their own family. Each family should also actively contribute to the prosperity of the whole.

The Uchiha would say, "My family doesn't have a Hokage, so it's none of my business."

That completely killed the conversation.

Of course, Minato Namikaze knew that things weren't that simple, and he was aware of those grudges and grievances.

Whether it was Obito or Shisui, these two young men made him feel that there was still hope.

He might become a demon for the sake of the village, but the Uchiha are also his comrades in the village, and he would never give them up easily.

Obito Uchiha gave Minato Namikaze the impression of being simple, passionate, and adorably reckless.

Uchiha Shisui impressed Namikaze Minato with his delicate emotions and great love.

They are all people who cherish their companions very much.

However, the Hokage Building never really knew what to do with Uchiha Shingen.

According to information gathered by the Anbu, Uchiha Shingen was very strong. Based on his Water Release skills displayed on the Kirigakure battlefield, unless the Second Hokage were resurrected, no one in Konoha could compare to him.

The difference between him and Uchiha Shisui is that Uchiha Shisui gets more energetic when there are more people around, while he doesn't put in as much effort when there are many people around.

Such a young and powerful Uchiha, instead of making himself known to everyone, he is also a bit cowardly, which is very unlike Uchiha.

Although he didn't know if this guy's apparent obsession with money was genuine, Minato Namikaze hoped it was.

It's just a matter of taking on more tasks; it's not a problem at all, and I'm more than willing to do so.

The Third Hokage also stated that as long as someone is like Obito Uchiha or Shisui Uchiha, he would have no objection to being assigned more tasks.

Strictly speaking, it was the older members of the Uchiha clan who had reservations about the Third Hokage; he always held high expectations for the new generation.

Minato Namikaze felt it was time to make formal contact with Shingen Uchiha.

He put down his teacup and began to carefully consider his words.

Uchiha Shingen, who was on the other side, also looked over, with a "What are you up to, bro?" expression on his face.

Minato Namikaze felt offended.

He's the Hokage! Isn't that more important than the mission reward?

"Shingen, I know your secret." Minato Namikaze's eyes flashed. "You're actually very strong, aren't you?"

"Lord Hokage, I don't quite understand." Uchiha Shingen frowned. "Haven't I always been strong? How did it become a secret?"

Minato Namikaze: "..."

Goodness, I take back my previous opinion, he's very much an Uchiha!

"Shisui earned a reputation on the battlefield, but you didn't. Have you ever thought about why?"

"Maybe I just encountered some really stupid ones; they didn't even try to run away, so I had no choice but to kill them."

It's not that they don't want to run, it's that they simply have nowhere to run.

Thinking that those Mist Ninja were actually killed by Water Release techniques, even though they were enemies, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but feel some sympathy.

What a pathetic death.

"Speaking of which, Shingen, your Water Release technique is very similar to that of the Second Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage, as you know, the Second Hokage loved Water Release so much that it was almost entirely copied before the village was even founded. It's just that our family isn't really into it."

You seem to really enjoy this kind of thing.

Despite his inner turmoil, Minato Namikaze decided to skip the topic and get down to business.

"Shingen-na~"

"Lord Hokage, why don't you just ask directly?"

"Okay, what I really wanted to ask is, what are your views on the village and your family?"

Chapter Fifteen: The Clan Chief is Also Taking Action

Minato Namikaze asked a very serious question.

Uchiha Shingen answered very seriously.

“It’s about the relationship between rights and obligations,” he said. “Enjoying rights and fulfilling obligations should be equal.”

To be fair, neither side should criticize the other for this messy affair between the Hokage Building and the Uchiha clan.

It is a fact that the Hokage Building suppressed the Uchiha clan.

However, the Uchiha clan often only considered the interests of their clan, and when they contributed to the village, they were not very tactful, demanding a return for their efforts.

Legally speaking, the Hokage is the direct superior of the police department, yet he has been repeatedly put in an awkward position.

Which organization's top leader would like a subordinate department like this?

"Is it equal..." Minato Namikaze felt that this answer was acceptable.

It probably won't work with the older generation.

It's not that the third generation would disagree with this principle, but rather that there's a complete lack of basic trust among the older generation.

I can't believe it, and I won't believe it.

The thought of such a deep rift between fellow villagers gave Minato Namikaze a headache.

“Absolute fairness certainly doesn’t exist. The village is large and needs to take care of many people, especially when most people are making sacrifices.” Minato Namikaze tried to express his thoughts, or rather, the Hokage Building’s thoughts, in a more tactful way. “This is no longer a question of who is right and who is wrong, but a question of trade-offs.”

“That’s natural.” Uchiha Shingen nodded. “It’s really just a matter of trust.”

After carefully organizing his thoughts, he sincerely said to Minato Namikaze, "Lord Hokage, these days ninja clan politics are no longer popular. We're all from the same village, and we see each other all the time. Perhaps the older generation has different ideas from us, but as long as we're willing to put aside our prejudices, there's nothing we can't talk about."

In fact, the Hokage Building's actions over the years have not had a significant impact on the Uchiha clan's strength or development.

The healthy development of a ninja clan depends on its population, ninjutsu, and financial resources. The Hokage Building only restricts the power of the Uchiha clan, but the power of a police department is enough to support the normal development of the Uchiha clan.

Therefore, in Uchiha Shingen's view, it's unrealistic to say that the Hokage Building considered the Uchiha as enemies.

They still only regarded the Uchiha as a subordinate department with excessive self-interest, an unstable factor within the organization. In essence, the Uchiha were not much different from other ninja clans in the eyes of the Hokage Building.

In fact, none of the ninja clans in Konoha were able to enter the decision-making level of Konoha. Only the Nara clan was slightly closer because they were generally smart.

Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi reigned for decades, the Sarutobi clan only benefited economically.

However, the few ninja clans in Konoha that have survived to this day all have their own ways of making money, and none of them are short of money.

"Trust... I think I can understand your thoughts now." Minato Namikaze believed that Shingen Uchiha was telling the truth. To be honest, he could sense the arrogance that was common among the Uchiha clan in Shingen Uchiha.

Or rather, Shingen Uchiha's pride had surpassed the limitations of the Uchiha clan.

I am powerful because I am powerful, not because my family is powerful.

Although Uchiha Shingen didn't say it that way, Namikaze Minato believed that's what he thought.

“But then you won’t have an easy time either.” Minato Namikaze couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about what might happen next.

Uchiha Shingen looked on, completely bewildered.

"Shingen, I'm really looking forward to your future performance." Minato Namikaze picked up his teacup again and took a sip. "Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Please give my regards to your aunt and uncle."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Although he couldn't figure out what the Hokage was up to, Uchiha Shingen had long wanted to leave.

He quickly got up and left.

The first thing I did after leaving was rush to the mission hall and collect the mission reward.

One interesting incident occurred when the young girl responsible for verifying and distributing the mission funds was utterly astonished by Uchiha Shingen's money-counting skills, which were far superior to hers.

After all, Uchiha Shingen was a very solid Jonin with excellent manual skills and the Sharingan, making him extremely efficient at counting money.

As he walked out of the Hokage Building, Uchiha Shingen had already clearly planned how to spend his income of over 700,000 ryo.

The fact that a ninja clan is wealthy does not mean that the individuals within that clan are financially well-off. The higher the ninja's rank, the higher the cost of training. Although Uchiha Shingen trained diligently, he was not an ascetic and spent money like water.

Definitely a spendthrift.

Although he is currently on a mission, his income from the police department has been cut off due to his temporary departure from the department.

So, although his overall income has increased, his expenses are still tight because his Yang Dun has reached a critical moment.

There was no other way but to endure it; he would not drink tea until he broke through the Yang Dun barrier.

Most importantly, he needs to find a way to get an S-level mission. The upper limit for an A-level mission is one million taels, while an S-level mission starts at one million taels or more and has no upper limit.

Aside from being hired by a country to participate in wars, the main content of S-rank missions is to assassinate important figures from other countries and escort classified documents. Under normal circumstances, due to the less-than-harmonious relationship between the Hokage Building and the Uchiha clan, it is really difficult for Uchiha ninjas to receive S-rank missions.