Inside the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, still in his prime, exhaled a slow stream of smoke while scanning the latest border reports from the Land of Fire.
"Hiruzen, I don't get it. Why stick that deadweight in Class A? That's a waste of a perfectly good instructor."
Mito Kado turned to him with open puzzlement. Beside him, Koharu gave Hiruzen the same doubtful stare, as if wondering if the Hokage had finally lost it.
An Uchiha who couldn't use ninjutsu—news like that traveled fast in Konoha.The clan famous for producing nothing but geniuses had, for the first time in history, spat out a failure. A spectacular one.
And Hiruzen hadn't just tolerated it. He'd personally ordered Uchiha Jinzō placed in Class A.
"Uchiha and the village need a line of communication," Hiruzen said, setting the report aside and speaking in that low, steady voice of his. "And maybe… that boy is the chance we've been waiting for."
A harmless Uchiha—now that was the perfect bridge.
If he couldn't fight, he couldn't threaten anyone. Hiruzen wanted to unite the village, and that included the Uchiha. Even if Jinzō was a walking embarrassment, he was still useful.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Mito muttered. Koharu's look wasn't much more optimistic.
The Uchiha were notoriously proud, and Tobirama's policies hadn't exactly helped. Whether fault or design, the result was the same: distrust on both sides.
"Where's Danzō?" Mito asked, frowning. Normally, the man was the first to appear whenever the Uchiha were mentioned.
"He doesn't care," Hiruzen replied bluntly. "The boy's no threat, and Danzō doesn't waste his time on lost causes."
No Sharingan. No ninjutsu. To Danzō, Uchiha Jinzō wasn't even worth noticing.
The air shifted as a masked ANBU dropped to one knee.
"Lord Hokage. Uchiha Jinzō has made contact with the Jinchūriki."
Every face in the room hardened. The memory of Madara Uchiha unleashing the Nine-Tails was still raw, still bleeding. Any Uchiha near the Kyūbi was a spark in a powder keg.
"Don't worry about it," Hiruzen said calmly, as if the threat of another Madara was nothing at all.
A Uchiha who couldn't weave a single hand sign? Please.
The ANBU bowed and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"I hope you're right, Hiruzen," Koharu said softly, watching him with weary eyes. "Backing this boy… letting him get near the Nine-Tails… the clan might see it as an insult."
But Hiruzen didn't answer. He turned to the window instead, gaze falling over Konoha. The village wasn't as lively as it had once been. Not compared to the days of the Second Hokage.
"…Konoha."
By a quiet creek outside the village.
Jinzō had dragged Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki here under the excuse of "training."His eyes flicked to the treeline—yep, a few watchers hiding in the distance—but he pretended not to notice. He'd chosen the creek for exactly this reason: too open for anyone to eavesdrop properly.
"So, uh… is it really okay to learn Uchiha ninjutsu?" Minato asked nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Feels kinda like stealing…"
The boy was all tangled up in morals and guilt. Classic Minato.
"Relax. It's not clan jutsu. It's something I inherited from my parents," Jinzō said smoothly. If he told them he made it, they'd bolt on the spot.
Minato tilted his head.
"But… senior, everyone says you can't even use ninjutsu."
Kushina's ears perked up at that, sharp as ever.
Jinzō sighed theatrically, tilting his face to the sky like a tragic hero. Inside, his brain was working double-time.
"It's complicated. The technique has… conditions. If you don't meet them, you can't cast it. That's why I've been stuck. But I'm this close to breaking through."
Then he smirked.
"If you're worried your talent isn't enough, forget it."
"Who're you calling talentless?!" Kushina snapped instantly, fire in her eyes. "I'll blow past you in no time!"
"Wait—Kushina, hold on—" Minato grabbed her arm, looking back at Jinzō, flustered. "What does this jutsu even do, exactly?"
Jinzō's grin widened.
"You've already seen part of it."
Minato's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Strength… speed… reflexes. All above genin level."
"Not just that," Jinzō said, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial murmur. "It strengthens the body. Extends your lifespan. And once you break through—you get one hundred percent control over your chakra."
Both of them froze.
"A hundred percent chakra control?!" Minato whispered."Wait—did you just say it makes you prettier?!" Kushina yelped.
Jinzō, stone-faced:
"Of course."
He pulled a small notebook from his pocket and handed it over. Minato and Kushina bent their heads together, scanning page after page of diagrams and instructions.
"…This looks like a sealing technique," Kushina murmured, more serious now.
The Uzumaki blood in her helped her parse it more easily than Minato could.
"But… these three seals are connected."
"Exactly," Jinzō said. "That's the breakthrough point. Fuse them, and every step gives a qualitative leap."
Minato frowned, cautious.
"Senior, teaching us this so easily… what's your goal?"
Smart boy. Jinzō respected that.
But really? He just needed guinea pigs to help him crack this ridiculous restriction his "cheat" had saddled him with. He couldn't exactly tell them that, though.
So he raised a finger, pretending at gravitas.
"Minato Namikaze. I believe in your future. In exchange for this, promise me one thing. Just one. Something that won't ever violate your principles."
Minato blinked. Was this… a ninja pact? This kind of thing didn't happen in real life, right? But if that was all—
"…Alright. As long as it doesn't cross my bottom line, I'll do one thing for you."
Jinzō stuck out his hand.
"Deal."
Minato shook it.
"Deal."
Both boys laughed, though only one of them laughed freely.Jinzō's chest burned with something close to triumph.
Finally—after being caged so long—the hope of a breakthrough had appeared.