Jin and Minato discussed their experiences with the Foundation Training. It was mostly Jin talking and Minato listening. He explained the details of chakra accumulation, combat enhancement, and the gradual physical strengthening. Jin shared his own insights, while Minato listened intently, analyzing every detail. Kushina also listened carefully. She'd struggled to complete the first stage, the Nine-Tails' chakra constantly interfering. She hadn't yet fully mastered the beast. The fact that the Foundation Training helped stabilize the seal, however, made her even more interested in the technique.
Jin had gone to great lengths to teach them. If either of them succeeded in advancing, he would also advance. Moreover, teaching the deduced technique to others had benefits beyond just leveling up. Their cultivation experiences would somehow be integrated into his own understanding, becoming part of the foundational knowledge for future deductions. He'd only discovered this after Minato and Kushina had started practicing.
The first stage wasn't complex, and they soon covered all the relevant details. Jin bid them farewell, his heart filled with hope for the future. "See you tomorrow."
Minato waved goodbye with a smile. Kushina, however, turned her head, pouting. She glared at Minato, fuming. She felt like her minion was being stolen away by that annoying Uchiha.
"Tsundere girl, gentle boy… tsk tsk." Jin watched them walk away, stroking his chin. It was a classic pairing, except the emotionally stunted one was the girl. "A novel twist, I suppose." He also wanted a tsundere blonde and a gentle raven-haired beauty. He'd just have to make sure they never met.
He turned towards the Uchiha compound, a cool breeze brushing against his face as the sky darkened.
The Uchiha compound was still situated in a prime location within Konoha. Though it had been relocated slightly after the attempted coup during the Second Hokage's era, it remained in a prosperous area. Its later relocation to the village outskirts would be a consequence of the Nine-Tails attack. After all, those Sharingan glaring down from atop the Nine-Tails… that was a stain on the Uchiha name that couldn't be easily explained away.
As he entered the compound, he was stopped.
"That's him, Yashiro-aniki!" Hiru pointed at Jin, his voice filled with resentment. Not only had he failed to bully Jin, but he'd also allowed Jin to sleep through an entire class, resulting in a zero for Jin's evaluation. These three brats were looking for trouble. Bringing an adult Jonin to a children's squabble… were they trying to get him killed?
And they'd chosen the wrong Jonin.
"Yashiro-aniki, they're bullying me!" Jin instantly switched to a pitiful expression, tears welling up in his eyes. Anyone would think he was a poor, defenseless child.
Anyone except Yashiro.
"Kin, you've used this trick too many times. Try something new, okay?" Yashiro said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. At least put some effort into it. Jin pulled this stunt five or six times a year. He wasn't the easily fooled Yashiro of the past.
"Hmph." Jin pouted.
"Yashiro-aniki, he's hmphing at you!" Hiru shrieked, practically jumping up and down like a dog desperate for a bone. He'd thought Yashiro wouldn't help them deal with Jin, but now… there was hope!
"Hiru," Yashiro said, patting the boy's head, "Uchiha don't bully the weak. It's not right." Unfortunately for Hiru, Yashiro was a gentle soul.
"Alright, alright, Yashiro-ojisan, just go. We kids can handle this ourselves." Jin waved him off impatiently.
Yashiro sighed. Yashiro-aniki when he was needed, Yashiro-ojisan when he wasn't. This kid was so pragmatic.
"Show me some respect."
"Are you leaving or not?" Jin bared his teeth in a mock threat.
Yashiro was in a difficult position. If he interfered, Jin would complain to his wife. He'd done it often enough in the past, though that was before Yashiro got married. He was a Jonin; he shouldn't be afraid of an Academy student.
"Fine, fine, I'm going, I'm going." He'd just gotten married; he couldn't let this little troublemaker ruin things. He'd been dragged into this mess anyway. "An Uchiha's honor must be reclaimed by an Uchiha." He wasn't worried about Jin. Despite his inability to use ninjutsu, his taijutsu was quite good. He'd seen Jin sparring with wild animals in the forest. The kid worked hard, but his talent…
"Don't go too far," Yashiro warned, before finally leaving.
"Don't worry, Yashiro-aniki, we won't go too far," Hiru and his friends said with a sneer. This wasn't the Academy; they didn't have to fight one-on-one.
After seeing Jin's fight with Tame, they weren't confident in a solo confrontation. They weren't stupid, so they'd tried to find someone to back them up. Since no one had volunteered, they would just have to gang up on him.
"He was talking to me." Jin's voice suddenly whispered in Hiru's ear. He stood behind him, hand raised in a chopping motion. When did he…?
"Whack!" Jin's hand struck, and Hiru crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"You bastard!" Mu charged, pulling out a kunai.
Jin sidestepped, dodging Mu's attack and driving his knee into his stomach. Mu collapsed, joining Hiru in dreamland.
Jin turned his gaze to Tame, who also held a kunai. Seeing Jin looking at him, Tame dropped his kunai and lay down on the ground, surrendering. An Uchiha knew when to pick his battles.
"Smart." Jin clapped his hands.
Yashiro, not yet out of earshot, looked back. The fight was over. Too bad taijutsu alone wouldn't make a strong ninja. Jin would have a hard time in the future.
Jin ignored their thoughts, stepping over the unconscious trio and heading home.
…
Back at his house, Jin prepared dinner, spending hours recreating dishes from his previous life. The culinary options in the Naruto world were limited and repetitive. He was tired of the same old things. Most ninjas lived on instant ramen, but Jin, hailing from a land of culinary delights, refused to subject himself to such a diet.
"If my immortal cultivation doesn't work out, I'll just retire and open a restaurant. I'm sure to make a killing." His ultimate goal with the Foundation Training was to transition to immortal cultivation. This world had natural chakra, and the sages in the summoning realms lived for millennia. Theoretically, with the power of chakra, immortal cultivation was possible. Not to mention the being sealed on the moon, immortal and undying. Even its defeat was a sealing, not a true death.
"Immortal cultivation has great potential."
He carried the dishes to the living room, anticipating a delicious meal. But the sight of a dark-haired young man waiting for him wiped the smile off his face. He placed the dishes on the table and sat down opposite the newcomer.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Chief Fugaku?"
Uchiha Fugaku, the current clan head's only son, and the man who would lead the Uchiha to ruin. But Jin, a marginalized member of the clan due to his lack of talent, shouldn't have attracted this young lord's attention. Though his parents had been respected within the clan, they were gone, and only a few still showed him kindness. The clan head's family wasn't among them.
"You've been seen with Uzumaki Kushina recently." Fugaku's voice was low and serious.
"So what? What does that have to do with the clan?" Jin knew the real reason for Fugaku's visit. It was Kushina, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
Tailed beasts were strategic weapons, attracting the attention of many, including the Uchiha. Hashirama's decision to distribute the tailed beasts for the sake of peace wasn't inherently wrong, but the problem was that they lacked true destructive power. Every village had the means to counter a tailed beast. They were a threat, but not a terrifying one. Their deterrent effect was limited. Nuclear weapons, on the other hand… if every village had nukes, who would dare to attack?
Fugaku frowned at Jin's nonchalance. "Stay away from her." The Uchiha couldn't afford to arouse the village's suspicion. Jin might not know about Kushina being the jinchuriki, but the higher-ups certainly did.
The playful smirk vanished from Jin's face. He picked up his chopsticks, tapping them together. "Who I associate with is none of your business. You're overstepping your bounds."
Fugaku's brow furrowed. He disliked Jin, this talentless Uchiha who seemed oblivious to the weight of his clan name. "This is an order."
"An order?" Jin's lips curled into a humorless smile. He slammed his chopsticks on the table. "You think highly of yourself, Chief Fugaku. Don't mistake a courtesy title for actual authority. Order me? What gives you the right?"
Just as Fugaku disliked Jin, Jin held little respect for Fugaku. Indecisive and lacking in foresight, Fugaku would bear half the responsibility for the Uchiha's downfall. The other half would fall on his son. Without that family, the Uchiha might have survived another fifty years.
"You…!" Fugaku slammed his hands on the table, rattling the dishes, his face darkening.
Jin continued his taunts, unfazed. "Trying to assert your authority on a failure like me? You're truly bringing honor to the Uchiha."
"I…!" Fugaku struggled to contain his anger. He'd had little interaction with Jin. He wasn't good with words; how could he argue with Jin? He couldn't win a verbal sparring match, and a physical one would be humiliating.
"I won't keep you for dinner, Chief. I didn't set an extra place." Jin glanced at him dismissively, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.
"Hmph." Fugaku stormed out, fuming.
Jin picked up a peanut from his plate. "Trying to control me? You won't even be able to do that when you're clan head!"