Minato Namikaze left to handle his own affairs. In the afternoon, Uchiha Kai reported to the Konoha Police Force.
The Konoha Police Force was founded by the inherently evil Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and has always been staffed by members of the Uchiha clan.
It is responsible for maintaining law and order in the village, and it effectively became a stronghold for the Uchiha clan, an organization with immense power and influence within Konoha.
The 'evil' Tobirama Senju wasn't as kind-hearted as he may have seemed. While the Uchiha clan gained tremendous power, they were also under constant surveillance from the entire village, which made their actions highly visible.
Moreover, the main strength of the Uchiha clan was confined to Konoha itself, leaving them with little opportunity to earn merits and fame through external missions or battles, making it difficult for them to gain a position within the higher ranks of the village.
But, despite the ill intentions of those in power, for someone like Uchiha Kai—who was weak and low-ranking within the Uchiha clan—the Konoha Police Force was a good place.
Especially due to his lack of strength and tendency to make decisions on his own, the Uchiha clan had no plans to assign him as a patrolling officer.
Instead, they relegated him to a clerical position within the logistics department, where he could essentially slack off.
The pay wasn't much different from that of field officers, though.
Moreover, the work was minimal, and even if he didn't show up, someone else would take over his tasks. The work proceeded as usual, with or without him.
For example, today, Uchiha Kai didn't come to work in the morning. It didn't matter; when he showed up in the afternoon, he simply claimed, "I overtrained last night and was too exhausted, so I slept through the morning," and that was enough to cover for him. His superior didn't even question the details.
To the proud Uchihas, this was clearly clan bullying. If it had been another Uchiha in his position, they would have left the Police Force in frustration and anger, possibly bowing to the clan, or they might have even exploded—perhaps activating their Sharingan or increasing its tomoe.
No doubt, this would be considered psychological abuse for any normal Uchiha. Even someone like Uchiha Obito, who was considered abnormal, wouldn't tolerate this for long.
But… did this really matter to Uchiha Kai?
What clan bullying, what ultimate insult? Wasn't this just an expression of the clan's endless love for him?
Any office worker on Earth would look at this job and say, "Either you manually bully me, or this salary just doesn't feel right."
Well, for Uchiha Kai's current job, if you compare it to his life before his reincarnation, it would be like working in a laid-back department where you finish a day's work in just two hours, then spend the rest of the time slacking off.
There's no need to shoulder blame or take responsibility, and though his colleagues are distant, they don't actively try to make his life miserable.
Plus, the base salary is 20,000 ryo, with bonuses and other perks during holidays—this is literally a heavenly job.
Damn it, this isn't bullying at all! It's simply a group of foster fathers and mothers showing their deep love for him!
As expected of the Uchiha clan, truly boundless love!
Honestly, if he could, Uchiha Kai wouldn't mind working here for the rest of his life. In fact, the Uchiha clan could easily support him for a lifetime.
Unfortunately, this beautiful life will come to an end in a few years.
After the Nine-Tails Incident, while the Uchiha clan still retained its position in the Konoha Police Force, things were on a downhill slope.
Eventually, all the high benefits and leisure time would disappear, and they would even be wiped out by the combined efforts of Konoha's higher-ups and the Uchiha's own traitor, Uchiha Itachi Itachi.
Though the original story makes it clear that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, opposed the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, the ones who committed the heinous acts were the Konoha Council and Uchiha Itachi.
But…
Your position determines your perspective, and your stance shapes your values.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, unlike Uchiha Itachi, who had never studied political philosophy, Uchiha Kai knew very well that he was inherently aligned with the Uchiha clan, while the Konoha higher-ups, led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, were enemies to be defeated at all costs.
No matter whether the classic conspiracy theories about the Third Hokage hold any truth, or what Sarutobi Hiruzen really thought, once they inherited the ideals of suppressing and controlling the Uchiha from the inherently evil Senju Tobirama, but lacked the power and cunning of the Senju, their conflicts became irreconcilable.
Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen were truly a good person, just nostalgic and politically naive, making it seem like a conspiracy, it didn't matter to the Uchiha clan. To them, only the late Senju Tobirama was the true "good Hokage."
Of course, understanding all of this doesn't help much. Uchiha Kai knows that in this world, strength is what speaks, and without enough power, his thoughts are merely thoughts—having no real impact on reality.
Moreover, before the Nine-Tails incident, although Sarutobi Hiruzen had passed his prime, he was still at the peak of his abilities. In terms of strength, he could easily take on a large group of three-tomoe Uchiha on his own.
Even though various conspiracy theories have degraded Hiruzen's reputation, as Hokage, his true strength, while not matching the First or Second Hokage, was still on a different level compared to other Kage.
He was a classic all-rounder, the type of "six-sided warrior" who might not have been the absolute best in any one area, but was exceptionally strong in all aspects, with no clear weaknesses. He was the ultimate jack-of-all-trades who could handle nearly any situation.
Moreover, within the Second Hokage's legacy, there were many methods specifically designed to counter the Uchiha clan, all of which were inherited by the Third Hokage.
In an actual battle, even a three-tomoe Sharingan would likely be useless against him; only the Mangekyō Sharingan would be effective.
But, did the Uchiha have Mangekyō Sharingan before the Nine-Tails incident?
In the original anime, Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, was shown with Mangekyō Sharingan, but in the manga, he only had the standard three-tomoe Sharingan. Whether this world followed the anime or manga timeline was something Uchiha Kai couldn't know.
So, before the Nine-Tails incident, if the Uchiha had tried to stage any kind of rebellion, it would have been classic suicidal behavior.
After the Nine-Tails incident, while the Third Hokage's strength continued to decline, by that point the Uchiha had already lost all their power and influence.
Internally, there were even traitors who brought about their own destruction. The situation had become so dire that there was no hope for a comeback.
That's why Uchiha Kai was obsessed with becoming Uchiha Rogue.
Having lived in the ninja world for so many years, he had seen through the harsh reality: the Uchiha had no hope, and he himself, with limited talent and weak abilities, was an ordinary person with no great future. The only hope for survival was to run away.
Of course, this was all in the past.
As for the present...
Looking at the system panel displaying the numbers 1285/5000, Uchiha Kai couldn't help but look forward to completing the task.
The 1285 represented all the emotional value provided by Minato Namikaze, his dear friend.
Just from a little over an hour of gameplay, Minato had contributed all the emotional value he could provide for the game, even though it was only halfway through.
"No wonder it's Minato. When I make a new game, you'll be the first to try it out. You'll be my personal beta player!"
Muttering to himself, Uchiha Kai sat in his seat, deep in thought as he considered who to approach next for his game, all while handling his work for the day.
Without a doubt, based on the premise that stronger individuals provide more emotional energy, at this point in Konoha's 46th year, he should be looking for top-tier shinobi like Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Legendary Sannins, all of whom are considered Kage-level figures.
Next in line would be the various elite Jonin, including Danzo Shimura and the other two members of Konoha Council.
What? Danzo and the other two aren't Kage-level?
Sorry, but no, they're really not.
The other two members of Konoha Council were elite Jonin at their peak, but after that, their strength rapidly declined.
By the time of the Nine-Tails incident, they were only at the level of regular Jonin, assigned to support during the battle.
They were quickly injured, with the manga even featuring close-up shots of their injuries—classic filler roles for side characters.
As for Danzo Shimura, he might have reached Kage-level at one point, but after losing an arm and an eye, his strength drastically dropped.
It's likely that, even before he received Hashirama's cells and the Sharingan transplant, he wouldn't have been able to defeat those two weaklings from Konoha Council.
These are the power levels based on the original storyline, and they reflect the current strength that Uchiha Kai knows about the village.
As for whether there are hidden experts in the village, that's not something he needs to worry about.
At the moment, Uchiha Kai's focus is solely on finding his next "victim."
From an efficiency standpoint, it would be most ideal to directly challenge the current strongest in Konoha—Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
However, given their positions, how could Uchiha Kai possibly approach him?
Not to mention whether the Third Hokage would trust him, a Uchiha, to use the Sharingan without resistance, even if he did agree to play the game, the subsequent issues would be a huge problem.
For one, the higher-ups in Konoha would definitely find out. And with Danzo's personality, there's a 1000% chance he would target Kai, making his life a living hell.
So, the Third Hokage route is immediately discarded.
As for the Legendary Sannins, they're all too influential and some aren't even in Konoha right now, making them unsuitable as well.
That leaves him with no choice but to approach other options.
Speaking of which, the Uchiha clan seems like a decent choice—there are plenty of strong shinobi within. Perhaps it's time to try an internal solution?
**********
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