Meetings were a bad habit, but it seemed Hiruzen simply couldn't quit them.With that thought in mind, Mitsuki and Tsunade walked out of the Hokage's office. After deciding on the two most important issues, Mitsuki had assumed things would be wrapped up.But no—Hiruzen still had a pile of other trivial proposals that all had to be voted on one by one.
So, during the latter half of the meeting, Mitsuki became nothing more than a soulless voting machine.
"Expansion of Konoha Hospital?""Approve!"
"Additional classes at the Ninja Academy?""Approve!"
"Barrier techniques to be placed around the Konoha bathhouse?""Approv—"
Mitsuki paused. Under Hiruzen's intense gaze, he finally raised his hand.
"Disapprove."
…
By the time the meeting ended in the afternoon, Mitsuki and Tsunade were finally able to return to the Senju compound.
A few days later, early in the morning—At Konoha's village gate, Minato and his team were fully prepared for departure.Mitsuki's own deployment date was still a little further off, so today he came with Rin to see Minato's team off.
As Mitsuki had expected, after becoming Tsunade's apprentice, Rin had far too much to learn and had already been incorporated into the medical-nin corps, so she would not be joining Minato on the frontlines against the Hidden Cloud.
"Mitsuki, Kakashi, Obito— I've got something for you."
Mitsuki reached into his pouch and pulled out two specially crafted kunai. Hooking his fingers through the rings at the end, he displayed them for Kakashi and Obito.
"These are marked with my Flying Thunder God formula. Take them."
At this point, Mitsuki had grasped the basics of the Flying Thunder God.Though not as proficient as Minato, with Shukaku's chakra assisting him, Mitsuki could teleport objects larger and across farther distances than Minato himself.
Both Kakashi and Obito reached out to take the kunai.Kakashi raised his toward the sun, studying it carefully. It looked nearly identical to Minato's marked kunai—the only difference was the formula inscribed upon it.
"So the formula changes depending on the user of Flying Thunder God…" Kakashi murmured in thought.
Obito, on the other hand, weighed the weapon in his hand, examined the inscription, and couldn't resist muttering:
"The kunai's fine, but Mitsuki, your formula is kinda…"
"My formula is what?" (▼皿▼#)
"N-no, nothing." Obito swallowed hard and stopped himself just in time, silenced by Mitsuki's dangerous glare.
At that, Minato himself had to step in, looking a little uncomfortable.
"Actually, Obito, that formula was something Mitsuki and I worked out together. If you really reflect on it, you'll see the special meaning behind it."
He pulled out two kunai of his own—one of them being Mitsuki's specially marked blade, a gift he had received when Mitsuki came to him to learn Flying Thunder God.
On each kunai, large characters were carved:
"The Blade of Shinobi Love"
"Justice Descends from the Heavens"
Hearing Minato's words, Obito looked again at the formula.Uh… he tried, he really did. But he still couldn't see the special meaning. Couldn't they have just used a normal symbol?
…
After seeing Minato's squad off, Mitsuki prepared for his own mission the very next day—leading reinforcements to the Hidden Mist frontlines.
What stood out was that among the shinobi assigned, the head of the Uchiha clan himself— Fugaku—was part of the force.He had fought on the Mist frontlines the previous year, but had unexpectedly returned midway.
With Tsunade, Rin, and others sending him off, Mitsuki set out toward the Kiri—the place he had long wished to see for himself.
Marching down the forest paths beneath the towering trees of the Land of Fire, Fugaku suddenly drew closer to start a conversation.
"Jōnin Mitsuki, I heard there was once a member of the Uchiha clan in your squad."
Mitsuki had no idea what Fugaku was getting at, nor did he really care. He replied casually:
"Yeah."
Fugaku waited several seconds, but when Mitsuki didn't elaborate, he had no choice but to speak again.
"What impression do you have of the Uchiha clan?"
Seeing that the man was intent on striking up conversation, Mitsuki gave in. After all, the road was long and there wasn't much else to do.
"I only know two Uchiha personally, and their personalities are total opposites. So if you're asking for my impression of the whole clan, I honestly couldn't say."
Fugaku nodded slightly. He hadn't approached the rising hero of Konoha without purpose. As clan head, he thought daily about the Uchiha's future. And in the end, his conclusion was clear: find a powerful ally.
Fugaku's sharp mind had deduced that Hiruzen was highly likely to appoint Minato as the Fourth Hokage.
If the Uchiha clan could gain Minato's trust, then for at least the next few decades under his rule, they would enjoy stability. In that time, Fugaku could slowly reform his clan, integrating them more deeply into Konoha.
He had even gone so far as to petition the Third Hokage, asking for an Uchiha to be placed in Minato's squad. Hiruzen, hoping for the clan to truly integrate, had agreed.Fugaku's original pick was Ruri, but to his surprise, the Third had chosen Obito instead.
But now, it seemed fate favored the Uchiha after all.Even though Ruri hadn't joined Minato's squad, she had become Mitsuki's teammate instead.
From Fugaku's perspective, Mitsuki— residing in the Senju compound with Tsunade's acknowledgment — was already marked as part of the Hokage's circle. And given how Hiruzen constantly invoked Mitsuki's deeds in speeches about the Will of Fire, it was obvious the Hokage valued him highly.
Coupled with Mitsuki's overwhelming talent, Fugaku believed it was very possible he would become the Fifth Hokage one day.
And judging from Mitsuki's earlier response, he didn't seem to share the common prejudice against the Uchiha that most Konoha citizens held.
Normally, civilian-born shinobi bore resentment toward clan shinobi, especially the Uchiha. But Fugaku quickly guessed this was thanks to Ruri's influence — she had reshaped Mitsuki's perspective.
Realizing this, Fugaku felt a weight lift off his shoulders, the corners of his lips twitching upward. With Obito and Ruri as his aces, he could build ties to both the future Fourth and Fifth Hokage.Given enough time, he was confident he could gradually transform his clan. With such cards in hand, how could the Uchiha possibly lose?
Mitsuki, having had his curiosity stirred, noticed Fugaku suddenly falling silent. Finding the road too dull, he prodded further:
"Clan Head Fugaku, you seem to care a lot about how others view the Uchiha."
Fugaku stiffened slightly, thinking to himself: Not 'others'—I only care about how you and Minato see us.
But of course, he couldn't say that aloud.
"Haha, am I that obvious? Well, our Uchiha aren't the best at communication. We're often misunderstood."