"You..."
Kakashi, after a quick glance at the contents of the book, hurriedly stuffed it into his ninja bag like a startled rabbit. He glanced around nervously, as if afraid someone would discover the inappropriate material he was holding.
"How about it? More exciting than the one you were just reading, right!" Toshiro teased, winking cheekily at Kakashi's cautious demeanor.
"How can you show such a thing to minors so casually?"
"Oh! I didn't expect you to have such a sense of morality, Kakashi. If you don't like it, you can give it back to me. You know, I went through a lot of trouble to get that book!" Toshiro replied, feeling relieved to see some of the melancholy lifted from Kakashi.
The reason Toshiro gave Kakashi Jiraiya's new "Icha Icha Paradise" was to distract him from the sorrow of losing his friends. He couldn't stand to see the young man so despondent.
"Hmph! No need. To defeat the enemy, you must first gather enough intelligence!" Kakashi retorted, refusing to return the book and covering his discomfort with a thin veil of logic.
"Hahaha! That's right. Reading those other books is just wasting your youth. This one is much more worthwhile..." Toshiro said, waving goodbye to the future Konoha legend. "Remember to thank me properly!"
...
At the Uchiha compound, in the office of the Konoha Warden, the newly appointed Toshiro Uchiha was familiarizing himself with his territory. The prison, located within the Uchiha residence, was not well-regarded by the clan. Many believed it was a tool used by the Second Hokage to humiliate the Uchiha clan, and as a result, they avoided it whenever possible.
"There are a total of 1,027 prisoners, including 213 serious criminals. The rest are ordinary offenders detained for various periods," reported a young Uchiha, no more than twenty years old, holding a document detailing the specifics of Konoha Prison. Her voice was clear and crisp.
Wearing a navy blue high-collar coat in the Uchiha style, she had long hair that flowed down her back, a well-proportioned figure, and a striking appearance. However, a hint of sadness in her eyes added a melancholic air to her demeanor. Her past experiences only made her more pitiable. She was Hana Uchiha, Toshiro's new subordinate and assistant.
Her husband had died in the war, leaving her with a child less than a year old.
"What is that smell?" Toshiro asked, sniffing the air as Hana approached.
"Excuse me!" Hana replied, a bit flustered by his sudden question.
A soft apology reached his ears. Hana's face turned bright red. She looked at Toshiro, her expression full of embarrassment.
"Uh, I was too abrupt!" Toshiro realized his mistake and quickly changed the subject. "How many of these prisoners are ninjas with chakra?"
"There are less than two hundred, to be exact, one hundred and eighty-three," Hana replied, relieved that Toshiro didn't press the issue further. However, she noticed that he had likely deduced the source of the smell, making her blush even more.
"Only one hundred and eighty-three? Are their backgrounds clear?" Toshiro continued, ignoring Hana's discomfort.
"Fifty-five of them are death row inmates captured by the police force for accidental killings. Twenty-eight are spies from other villages, also caught by us, interrogated by the interrogation department, and then imprisoned here. The remaining ninjas committed lesser crimes and are serving sentences ranging from months to years."
Hana reported these statistics with ease, knowing Toshiro was getting familiar with the data.
"It seems that you know this place very well," Toshiro remarked.
"You're too kind!" Hana responded modestly. As an ordinary Uchiha with Chuunin-level strength, she kept a respectful distance from Toshiro while discreetly observing him. She had heard of his prowess, especially his activation of the three tomoe Sharingan, but was curious why he had come to the prison.
"For now, everything will remain as usual," Toshiro decided, turning over the documents in his hand.
"Should I summon the clan members who are off duty?" Hana asked before leaving.
"No need. They have just finished the night shift. Let them rest. Inform them when you hand over your shift."
"Yes," Hana replied and left Toshiro's office.
Alone, Toshiro pondered the state of the prison. The war had drawn many young and able-bodied men to the frontlines, leaving behind the elderly, weak, and injured to manage the prison. Uchiha Hana, still breastfeeding but burdened with family responsibilities after her husband's death, was an example of this. She left her young child in the care of more elder clansmen to work in the prison and secure her child's future.
In the prison, many had similar stories—lost limbs, impaired vision, or hearing. These situations were common among the clan members stationed there, showcasing the Uchiha clan's efforts to support their own.
The same considerations applied to those serving in the police force. However, the requirements for serving in the police force were more stringent, and not all clan members received the same level of support.
**The Next Morning**
The mist that shrouded Konoha Village had already receded. The sun shone through the clouds, casting its light down and illuminating the once dull and serious gray and dark rock faces, making them bright and vivid.
The treetops, roofs, chimneys, and roads throughout the village seemed to be covered in a layer of orange, giving the whole village a warm and pleasant atmosphere.
"I always thought that you were the successor of the Will of Fire," the Sandaime Hokage said. "Minato, from today on, I entrust you with the future of Konoha and the future of the ninja world."
Passing the hat to Namikaze Minato, the Sandaime Hokage felt assured of his choice. Minato was the best candidate to take over as the Fourth Hokage.
"I would give my life for this village!" Minato responded solemnly, accepting the hat that represented the Hokage's identity. "I will definitely not let down the Third Hokage and everyone's trust!"
Toshiro, mingling with the jounin team, watched Minato put the Hokage hat on his head and wave to the ninjas below the Hokage building. When Minato turned around, revealing the Yondaime Hokage sign on his back, Toshiro couldn't help but smirk.
Only Minato could do something so embarrassing, displaying his title so prominently. It was like having a second-rate name tag. How could he go out like that without feeling self-conscious?
But these were not Toshiro's main concerns. At this point, Minato probably had no real power and had to rely on his disciple Kakashi and the slowly forming Guard platoon to exert influence. With Hiruzen watching his every move, Minato was undoubtedly under immense pressure.
It would be better to wait until Minato had truly overcome the Nine-Tails crisis. Toshiro wondered if his intervention would have any impact at all.
As he pondered these thoughts, Toshiro headed toward his current base, Konoha Prison.
"Hana, how is the preparation of the place I asked you to set up?" Toshiro asked Hana, who had also attended Minato's inauguration ceremony.
"We've cleared out a relatively secluded room in the prison, but I'm not sure what you plan to use it for," Hana replied, curious about her boss's intentions. Despite her curiosity, she had followed his orders diligently.
"Some instruments will arrive in the next few days. Special personnel will come to install them. Please keep an eye on things."
With White Zetsu's cell tissue in his hands, Toshiro had plans to integrate these into his own body, and the secluded room in the prison would be crucial for this purpose.
However, he was somewhat hesitant about transplanting white zetsu cells. Although Obito, who had undergone the transplant, didn't develop the face of the First Hokage, caution was still necessary. What if it did grow out, and during a conversation, someone pointed out an extra face on his body? That would be more than a bit embarrassing.
'Should I collaborate with Orochimaru?' he wondered. He wasn't very skilled in biological experiments. Before his rebirth, he was a coder adept at typing codes, but biological experiments were another matter. Even in this life, despite his strengthened learning in this area, he still lacked confidence.
But his lack of expertise didn't have to be an issue. Orochimaru was a scientific research genius. However, the fact that Orochimaru would defect from Konoha in a few years made him hesitant. Getting too involved with Orochimaru could lead to trouble.
He also had his own problem of awakening the Magekyo Sharingan, and it was time to start preparing for its use. At his current age, having unlocked his Sharingan, he shouldn't suffer as Itachi did from the strain of the Mangekyō. While the original story didn't specify why Itachi became ill, Toshiro had a good idea.
Take Kakashi, for example. As an elite jounin with strong physical fitness, capable of using the Eight Gates, he still ended up hospitalized for weeks after using Obito's Kamui. This was partly due to not having Uchiha blood and not being able to adapt to Obito's eye, and partly because the strain of using the eye was severe.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Toshiro had a bloodline advantage, but he still faced the strain of using a pair of Mangekyō eyes. Without good physical power, he might not be able to withstand it. Itachi, who unlocked his Mangekyō at 13, was in poor health by the time he was 22, partly due to the strain of the Mangekyō.
"By the way, Hana, I heard someone say that the patriarch's wife is pregnant?" Toshiro asked, catching his assistant off guard.
"Yes! But why is the warden so interested in this?" Hana responded, eyeing her boss warily. Did he have some special hobbies?
"Nothing; I just thought of something."
There seemed to be a baby boom in Konoha recently. Not only Mikoto, but also Mei and his aunt had given birth to children. Mei had a boy, and his uncle had a daughter. These children would be in the same class as future Neji and Tenten.
As for Uzumaki Kushina, since she was pregnant, asking for her advice was out of the question. If the Nine-Tails broke out, he would become the most likely suspect.