Minato Namikaze left to attend to his own matters.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kei reported in to the Hidden Leaf Police Department that afternoon.
The Police Department had been established by the inherently evil Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It was staffed exclusively by the Uchiha clan, tasked with maintaining order in the village. In effect, this powerful and highly important institution had become the Uchiha clan's private domain.
Of course, Tobirama wasn't so kind—granting the Uchiha such authority came with strings attached. The entire clan was placed under constant surveillance, making every move they made highly visible.
Additionally, the Uchiha's main fighting strength was confined within the village, making it nearly impossible for them to earn military merit through outside missions or battles. This lack of opportunities severely limited their influence in Konoha's upper ranks.
Still, despite Tobirama's obvious ill intentions, for someone like Uchiha Kei—a bottom-rung, weak Uchiha—the Police Department was the perfect place.
Especially because of his lack of skill and his habit of doing things his own way, the clan hadn't even planned to assign him to patrol duty. Instead, they shoved him into a backend logistics position—an idle post.
Honestly, the pay wasn't that different from those out in the field.
What's more, the workload was minimal. Even if he skipped work, someone else would cover for him. Whether he was there or not didn't really matter.
Take today for example. Kei didn't show up in the morning, but when he arrived in the afternoon and claimed he had "trained too hard last night and overslept," no one batted an eye. His superior didn't even press for details.
To the proud Uchiha, this kind of treatment screamed humiliation. Any other clan member would've stormed out in frustration, bowed their head to the elders, or maybe awakened or evolved their Sharingan in anger.
This was textbook psychological bullying against a regular Uchiha. Even someone like Obito Uchiha would've snapped under such treatment.
But for Uchiha Kei?
Was this supposed to be a problem?
Bullying? The ultimate insult? Please—wasn't this just the clan's way of expressing infinite love for him?
Any modern-day corporate drone would see this and cry out—"Please bully me too! Otherwise I can't take this paycheck in good conscience."
Kei's current job, by pre-transmigration standards, was a dream: Two hours of work a day in a relaxed department, the rest of the time free to slack off. No responsibilities. Colleagues were cold but never hostile. Base salary? Two hundred grand annually, plus bonuses and benefits.
Seriously, how was this bullying? This was a clan of surrogate parents showering him with quiet love!
Truly, the Uchiha—the Clan of Love—loved deeply and generously!
Honestly, if it were possible, Kei wouldn't mind doing this job for life—and the clan really could support him for life.
Sadly, this beautiful life wouldn't last.
After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha would keep the Police Department, but life would become harder with each passing year.
All the high pay and idle work would vanish. Eventually, the village leadership and a certain mole named "Weasel" would join forces to wipe them out.
Sure, the original story made it clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage—was against the massacre. The real monsters were "Danzo the Scapegoat" and the "Weasel."
But...
Your stance determines your worth. Your allegiance decides your role.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Kei—unlike the Weasel who never studied political theory—understood perfectly well that his natural place was with his fellow Uchiha. His enemies were Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Konoha leadership. They were mortal enemies.
Whether or not Hiruzen had any shady conspiracies didn't matter. What mattered was that he inherited Tobirama's ideology of suppressing and controlling the Uchiha, without having Tobirama's power or finesse. The resulting clash was inevitable.
Even if Hiruzen was a good man—sentimental and politically naive—it didn't matter. To the Uchiha, only a dead Hiruzen was a good Hiruzen.
Of course, understanding this changed nothing. Kei knew this world bowed only to strength. Without power, his thoughts remained just that—thoughts. They wouldn't change a thing.
Besides, even before the Nine-Tails' Rampage, Hiruzen—though past his prime—was still immensely powerful. He could take on a horde of three-tomoe Sharingan Uchiha single-handedly.
Don't be fooled by all the fan theories belittling him. Though not as strong as Hashirama or Tobirama, Hiruzen stood a tier above other Kage.
He was a classic all-rounder—solid in every area, with no weaknesses. A true jack-of-all-trades.
And he'd inherited many of Tobirama's anti-Uchiha tactics. These techniques made even the Mangekyō Sharingan largely ineffective against him. You needed the Mangekyō to even stand a chance.
But did the Uchiha have any Mangekyō users before the Rampage?
Sure, the anime gave us a filler arc where Fugaku Uchiha had one—but in the manga, he only had a regular three-tomoe Sharingan. And Kei had no idea whether this world followed anime canon or manga canon.
So if the Uchiha tried anything before the Rampage? It would've been suicide.
After the Rampage, Hiruzen's strength declined, but by then the Uchiha had lost all influence, and had a traitor within. Their situation was hopeless.
Which was why Kei always dreamed of becoming an "Uchiha runner."
After living in this world for so many years, he had long seen through the illusion. The Uchiha were doomed. He was a mediocre man with no talent. Running was his only path to survival.
At least, that was how it used to be.
Now\...
Kei looked at the system interface: 1285/5000.
That number—1285—was the total Emotional Value Minato Namikaze had contributed. And that was just from a little over an hour of gameplay. The game wasn't even finished yet, and he had already drained Minato dry.
"As expected of Minato. Next time I make a new game, you'll be the first to try it! My exclusive beta tester!"
Muttering to himself, Kei sat at his desk. While he pondered who to target next, he continued idly processing today's work.
No doubt about it: The stronger the person, the more Emotional Value they could offer. And in Year 46 of the Hidden Leaf calendar, the best targets were Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Legendary Sannin.
Then came the elite jōnin—Danzo the Scapegoat and the other two members of Konoha's "Four Elders."
What? Danzo and those two aren't Kage-level?
Yeah—no, they really aren't.
Even at their peak, those two old men were just elite jōnin. By the time of the Nine-Tails' Rampage, they had dropped to regular jōnin. During the Nine-Tails fight, they were relegated to support roles and got smashed in just a few hits. The manga even gave them panel-time just to show them beaten to a pulp. Classic background extras.
As for Danzo—maybe he was Kage-level once. But after losing an arm and an eye, and before implanting Hashirama cells and Sharingan, he was probably weaker than even those two washed-up elders.
That was canon. Kei knew it. And that was the situation in the village now.
Whether or not Konoha had any hidden masters was none of Kei's concern.
Right now, all that mattered...
Was picking the next 'target.'
For maximum gain, it made sense to go straight for the strongest—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But given their opposing positions, how could Kei possibly approach him?
Even if Hiruzen agreed to try the game and let his guard down, the aftermath would be a nightmare.
The village leadership would find out. Danzo would definitely come sniffing around. Kei would never know peace again.
So yeah—forget that.
The Sannin? Too high-profile. One of them wasn't even in the village.
So he had to look elsewhere.
Come to think of it, the Uchiha clan might not be a bad place to start. There were plenty of powerful shinobi among them.
Maybe it was time to look inward for the next "victim."