"She's really defeg to Konoha?" the head of the guards asked quietly.

  "Better opportuhere than being hunted by her own vilge," Masashi replied. Aer intelligence for us.

  After his brief exge with the head of the guards, Kumika came out. Masashi saw her and led her away.

  A while ter, after the daimyō and his family were ready, the group resumed their journey.

  "What is that…?" someone suddenly called out.

  Uhe deep blue sky, a ke surrounded by sparkling ice peaks stretched out ahead. The wide river el had transformed into a long wall of id snow.

  "Father, look! The entire river..." the daimyō's son excimed.

  "What jutsu is this?"

  The daimyō and his son were watg and occasionally gng at Masashi, who spped his forehead—he'd fotten about this.

  He stepped forward, unsealed the river path, and redirected the ke water bato it. Afterward, he rebuilt an ice bridge to repce the wooden one he'd previously destroyed with his ice release.

  As the voy crossed the bridge, people couldn't help but reach out and touch it, shivering from the chill.

  "Please move quickly," Masashi said, sing the surroundings. "The bridge is stable, but we shouldn't stay."

  "But this is remarkable! How did you—" a guard started.

  "It's just chakra manipution. Nothing special in our world," Masashi cut in, urging them to cross quickly.

  The mission was finally nearing pletion. It had been over half a month already, and they'd made excellent time thanks to Masashi clearing the way with his jutsu. It ractically a highway he'd created.

  Several days ter, they finally reached the mission's destination.

  Onside the residehe daimyō effitly pleted a personal letter to the Hokage, ha to Masashi, and assured him that as soon as the extra amount for the mission was firmed by Konoha, he'd promptly pay the bance.

  "Your service has been exempry," the daimyō noted. "The journey was remarkably swift."

  "Speed and efficy are Konoha's hallmarks, Daimyō-sama," Masashi replied. And good pay is mine.

  As an ally of the Land of Fire, the Land of Hot Water used the same currency system, making the transa seamless.

  Before departing, he pulled Kumika aside. "Remember, until we reach Konoha, you're my prisoner. Act accly."

  "I know how to py my part. I y, after all," Kumika responded dryly.

  "Good. Just don't py it too well."

  After expressing his thanks, Masashi begaurn journey with Kumika. The way back to Konoha was swift; in just a few days, they could already see the west gate of Konoha in the distance.

  "It's rger than I expected," Kumika observed, her eyes sing the walls.

  "Konoha prioritizes infrastructure. Unlike Kumo's militant focus," Masashi replied.

  Regarding Kumika's identity, the Konoha shinobi at a supply point had already sent word back to the vilge. Otherwise, they would have been intercepted by the ANBU as soon as they ehe forest surrounding Konoha.

  Business was bustling as ever in Konoha. People came a, and a line had already formed at the west gate. Being a w-abiding shinobi, Masashi obediently waited his turn… or not. This wasn't a formal mission. Some rules are meant to be circumvented.

  He grabbed Kumika, and they leapt from tree to tree right to the gate, nding directly in front of a iering arrivals.

  "Uchiha-san, there's a lihe in started.

  "Special circumstances. You've been briefed," Masashi said, already moving past.

  The in looked up and noticed Kumika's headband, sshed through with a scratch, marking her as a rogue shinobi from Kumo. He wasn't surprised; he'd already been informed about her and even seen her photo.

  uzzled him was, why bother with the headband?

  Masashi was summoned directly to the Hokage's office, so he nodded his thanks and took Kumika with him.

  On their way to the Hokage building, they passed by Konoha shinobi who couldn't help but g Kumika. Perhaps they were surprised a rogue shinobi could appear so openly in the vilge, or perhaps they wondered if they could trade her head on the bck market.

  However, with Masashi there, no one approached her. Business was good, and offending a fellow shinobi over one bounty was unnecessary.

  Upon reag the Hokage building, they stopped jumping; the ANBU would fight anyone boung around here. They verified their identities and took the stairs up.

  Better to follow protocol here, at least.

  Since his reination, he hadn't been to the Hokage's office. Guided by an ANBU shinobi, they walked along the circur corridor to the office at the top floor. The guards at the dave them a once-over, their scrutinizing gaze staying on Kumika for a few seds.

  "Masashi's here? Let him in," came the voice from within.

  The ANBU opehe door, ushering them in. Inside, Masashi gnced around. The office was as he remembered it. For the leader of the foremost vilge, the pce was surprisingly modest in size and decor, with a cluttered desk to boot.

  Minato was lounging on a couch, sipping tea. His rexed expression quickly turned into a grimace as he burned his tongue.

  "Masashi, have some tea," he said, stig his to.

  "Hokage-sama, here is the letter from the daimyō." Masashi handed over the letter and then took a seat on the couch, as the Hokage had invited him to do.

  Minato set aside the pleasantries ahe letter carefully.

  "I see."

  Pg the letter dowuro Kumika, who stood nearby. "I've reviewed your situation and discussed it with the Third Hokage. There shouldn't be any issues, but we still require you to undergo a review by the ANBU. This is standard protocol, so I hope you uand."

  "I uand, Hokage-sama," Kumika replied, visibly relieved.

  Minato's attitude gave her fiden Konoha. As for the sing, if he had waived it altogether, she'd have immediately started pnning her escape.

  "The Interrogation and Intelligence Divisions will meet with you initially. As long as you're sincerely joining Konoha, the process will be quick. We'll also work on relog your family to the vilge, but that will take some time."

  "For now, we'll create the appearahat Masashi killed you in battle, so we'll need your cooperation in this regard."

  Meanwhile, Masashi was busy p himself a cup of tea. The fvor seemed awfully familiar. One sip again firmed it was one of the special blends enjoyed by the elders.

  He recalled that Minato's and Fugaku's wives were close friends. But he couldn't remember her name, only that this new Asura's mother was a member of the Uzumaki .

  Refleg on the past, he smiled with a hint of nostalgia. Those days moog off the rich had been pure joy. He was feeling wistful for those times.

  "Masashi, you're smiling like Jiraiya-sensei right now…"

  Interrupted from his memories, Masashi looked up.

  Minato was holding a letter and watg him with that calg look he reserved for plex political situations.

  "It seems that you and the daimyō have beeing along quite well. He rarely praises anyone like this. I'm truly impressed."

  Let's get to the real point—the payment. "Hokage-sama, it's just a matter of respeg each other," Masashi replied ral.

  This wasn't the point he wao focus on; he didn't want to hear this right now.

  "Based on the circumstances you entered, we discussed and decided to raise the missioo 800,000 ryō. Masashi, you'll receive 712,000 ryō. sidering your extra tributions this time, you don't have to wait for the daimyō to settle the remaining bance—you take the money right away."

  hat's what I wao hear.

  Masashi sprang up from the sofa but didn't fet to follow formalities.

  "Thank you, Hokage-sama, and thank you to the vilge for nurturing me."

  Kumika, standing to the side, looked on with envy. So this is how Konoha operates... different from Kumo's direess.

  She had taken on the mission of assassinating a promi leader using her position. If she hadn't run into Masashi, she would probably be ting money in the Raikage's office by now.

  Minato, oher hand, looked a little perplexed. The young Uchiha's enthusiasm for money was either refreshingly ho or suspiciously ve.

  But recalling Masashi's background, he uood.

  The Uchiha didn't receive many missions throughout the year.

  When he wasn't yet the Hokage, even iime, he would get a few S-rank and a dozen A-rank missions each year. While it didn't pare to the legendary White Fang, earning 30 to 40 million ryō a year was a steady oute.

  Of course, a jonin's expenses were siderable, especially with ninjutsu development. Thirty to forty million ryō sounded like a lot, but it went fast.

  It was the same for Masashi. Without the 's financial support, he wouldn't have been able to train in the Yang Release teique.

  "Don't rush, Masashi. I still have something to discuss with you."

  Seeing that the Uchiha was about to leave, Minato quickly called out to him.

  "Huh? Hokage-sama, I still o go back to the to report my safe return. You know how the elders are."

  "Your uncle and aunt wouldn't t as elders just yet." Rising, Minato pulled Masashi bato the sofa and then addressed the kunoichi, "Kumika, thank you for your work. The ANBU at the entrance will escort you to the Intelligence Division."

  "Uood, Hokage-sama." Knowing her cue, she tactfully took her leave, casting o curious g the room.

  After the door closed, Minato sat back down across from Masashi and refilled his tea. They quietly drank tea, her of them speaking.

  Masashi genuinely sipped his tea, while Minato sipped his as he observed the young man before him.

  His impression of the Uchiha wasn't the best, but it wasirely ive either. If there roblem, it was that the Uchiha had one of the lowest iion levels in the vilge.

  It wasn't just them, though. The way ninja s fun ily promotes strong independence.

  In this era of oion, one vilge, the coalition-style setup of ninja s that existed when the vilges were first established has long since vanished. Over the decades, many ninja s have either vanished or dissolved.

  Today, o ninja s actually persist in Konoha, with the Uchiha and the Hyūga wielding the stro power thanks to their bloodline-ied ocur teiques.

  The Uchiha 's power came from a few exceptional members, while the Hyūga derived its strength from sistently powerful members.

  In the Uchiha , only a select few awakehe Sharingan, while nearly all Hyūga members had the Byakugan.

  However, the tide of time ot be stopped. As a product of the previous era, ninja s as a whole were deing.

  The fual flict between the Uchiha and the Hokage's office didn't stem from any past dark history; rather, it's rooted in a differen perspectives.

  The Hokage's office viewed the vilge as a rge family where everyone should tribute to the well-being of the whole. In trast, the Uchiha would say, "The Hokage was not a family member, so it wasn't their ."

  That immediately shuts down the versation.

  Of course, Minato k wasn't as simple as that; he was aware of the grudges aments that ran deeper than mere politics.

  People like Obito and Shisui gave him hope for the future.

  While he was willing to bee cold for the sake of the vilge, the Uchiha were still rades, and he would never abandon them lightly.

  Obito struck Minato as simple, passionate, and endearingly reckless. Shisui seemed delicate and full of passion. Both were individuals who cherished their rades.

  But the Hokage's office was never quite sure about Masashi. A puzzle ed in power and ed again in careful indifference.

  Based on the information the ANBU had collected, Masashi was incredibly strong. With the Water Release teiques he demonstrated on the Kiri battlefield, uhe Sed Hokage was resurrected, no one in Konoha could rival him in that art.

  The differeween him and Shisui was that while Shisui thrived in crowded settings, Masashi seemed to hold back when there were many people around.

  A young, exceptionally talented Uchiha who didn't broadcast his achievements and was a bit elusive—this was very un-Uchiha-like.

  He hoped Masashi's apparent fooney was genuine. Giving him more missions would be no issue at all.

  The Third Hokage had also expressed that if Masashi were like Obito or Shisui, he'd have no obje to giving him additional missions.

  Strictly speaking, the Third Hokage's y with the 's elders; he always had high hopes for the younger geion.

  Minato felt it was time to have a formal versation with Masashi. He put down his tea and carefully sidered his words.

  Masashi looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "What exactly are y to do?" So we're pying this game now.

  Minato felt somewhat affronted.

  He was the Hokage. Didn't that mean more than mission pay?

  "Masashi, you're very strong, aren't you," Minato said, his gaze sharp.

  "I don't quite uand," Masashi frowned. "Haven't I always been strong?"

  "…"

  Good grief, he took back his earlier judgment. Masashi was very much a typical Uchiha.

  "Shisui earned a name for himself otlefield, but you haven't. Do you know why?"

  "Maybe it's just that I've entered weaker oppos. Sihey didn't run, I had no choice but to finish them."

  It wasn't that they didn't run; they simply had o run.

  Minato thought of the Kiri ninjas, who were defeated by Masashi. Even though they were the enemy, he felt a bit sorry for them.

  What a dismal way to go.

  "Speaking of which, Masashi, your Water Release resemble those of the Sed Hokage!"

  "Hokage-sama, as you know, the Sed Hokage was so fond of using Water Release that his teiques were widely copied even before Konoha was founded. It's just that our isn't that ied in that style."

  But you clearly are. Minato held back his mental entary and decided to get to the point.

  "Masashi—"

  "Hokage-sama, could you be more direct?"

  "Alright, I want to ask—what are your views on the vilge and your ?"