Inside the Hokage Tower.
The middle-aged Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a long puff of smoke, a hand holding the latest intelligence reports from the borders of the Land of Fire.
"Hiruzen, I don't get it. Why put such a useless kid in Class A? It's a complete waste of teaching resources."
Homura Mitokado's face was filled with confusion, and Koharu Utatane also cast a questioning glance at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The news that an Uchiha who couldn't even use ninjutsu had emerged had already spread throughout Konoha.
After all, a clan famous for producing geniuses now had a complete deadweight — it naturally drew a lot of attention.
But what the two of them couldn't understand wasn't that Uchiha Gin was placed in Class A — it was that Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally ordered it.
Since it involved the Uchiha, they felt obligated to come and question him.
After all, in some ways, the Uchiha clan was seen as a potential threat to the village's stability.
"The Uchiha and the village need a bridge to communicate." Hiruzen placed the documents down, his tone heavy. "Maybe... he could be our chance to open dialogue with the Uchiha."
The key was: he posed no threat.
An Uchiha without any power was the perfect bridge to connect the village and the Uchiha clan.
Although Hiruzen would later make many poor decisions and crave merit too much, right now he genuinely wanted to unite the village — and the Uchiha were a part of it too, weren't they?
"Hopefully..." Homura and Koharu, however, didn't seem very optimistic.
After all, the proud Uchiha had always refused deep ties with the village. Part of it was the system left behind by their teacher, Tobirama Senju, and part of it was... well, the subtle discrimination they had faced.
Of course, in their minds, the fault never lay with them.
"Where's Danzo?" Homura looked around curiously.
Normally, whenever it came to the Uchiha, Danzo would rush over immediately. But today, he was nowhere to be seen.
Danzo had inherited their teacher's deep distrust toward the Uchiha more completely than anyone.
"He thinks the threat is too low," Hiruzen said meaningfully.
Uchiha Gin's lack of talent was of no significance to Danzo. Unable to use ninjutsu, hadn't even awakened the Sharingan — Danzo couldn't be bothered to care about him.
And as for building any bridge with the Uchiha... Danzo wasn't interested. In his eyes, it was impossible anyway.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the office.
An ANBU wearing a mask knelt respectfully on one knee and reported, "Hokage-sama, Uchiha Gin has made contact with the Jinchuriki."
Everyone's expression instantly became heavy.
They still vividly remembered the time when Madara Uchiha controlled the Nine-Tails to attack the village.
Any Uchiha getting close to the Nine-Tails immediately triggered their deepest alarm bells.
"No need to interfere," Hiruzen said calmly, as if he wasn't the least bit worried about a Madara-level threat.
What a joke.
An Uchiha who couldn't even cast ninjutsu — what kind of threat could he possibly be?
"Yes!"
The ANBU's figure disappeared into smoke.
"Hiruzen, I hope you're making the right choice," Koharu said quietly, her gaze deep.
Even allowing an Uchiha to get close to the Nine-Tails without intervention... it showed how determined Hiruzen was to support Uchiha Gin.
But whether the Uchiha clan would accept it — or see it as an insult — was another matter.
The chance of insult was pretty high.
Unfortunately, they were not the Hokage.
"You are the Hokage, after all."
"Let's hope so."
Hiruzen turned his head toward the window, letting his gaze sweep over the village of Konoha.
Compared to the bustling days of old, there was now a clear sense of desolation.
Compared to the Second Hokage's time, the village had definitely fallen into a slump.
"The village, huh..."
...
Uchiha Gin brought Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to an open area near a small creek.
His gaze casually swept over the distant trees. His sharp senses had already detected several hidden figures in the woods.
He pretended not to notice. After all, they wouldn't expect him to have such keen senses.
He had chosen this place carefully: the surroundings were open, the creek was shallow and clear — there was almost no way for anyone to hide without being exposed.
Unless someone could use Earth Release to meld into the terrain, but very few ninja from the Moonlight Clan (specialized in such techniques) would be assigned to monitor a Jinchuriki.
His main goal here was to keep their conversation private.
"Umm... is it really okay for us to learn Uchiha ninjutsu?" Minato asked nervously.
When Gin said he was going to teach them ninjutsu, Minato, coming from a civilian background, had followed eagerly — after all, he didn't have much besides the academy's basic transformation, clone, and substitution techniques.
Hearing there was more to learn had made him excited.
But now that they were here, he hesitated. Was it even moral to learn Uchiha techniques like this?
A swirl of excitement and guilt tangled in his heart.
"Relax. It's not Uchiha clan ninjutsu. It's something I inherited from my parents," Gin reassured him.
If he said he created it himself, he might scare them off.
"But, senpai... I heard you can't even use ninjutsu?" Minato asked cautiously, confused. Gin's reputation was well-known.
Kushina also pricked up her ears curiously.
"Well, that's complicated," Gin sighed dramatically, staring up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, rapidly thinking up an excuse.
Soon, he came up with one.
"The technique I inherited isn't too demanding to learn, but if you don't meet certain conditions, you can't activate any ninjutsu at all."
"That's why I'm stuck... but I'm close to a breakthrough. I'll be able to use ninjutsu soon."
"If you're afraid your talent's too low, you can just back out now."
He smiled lightly, instantly riling up Kushina.
"Who are you calling low-talent! Bring it on, I'll surpass you in no time!"
"Wait, Kushina!" Minato hurriedly held back the fiery redhead and apologized awkwardly to Gin.
"Senpai, what exactly does this technique do?"
Minato, though confident, still had concerns. What if it really left him unable to use ninjutsu?
Ninjas survived on ninjutsu. Without it, they were like a tiger without fangs.
Gin chuckled: "You've already seen part of its effect."
Minato thought for a moment.
"Strength, speed, reaction time... all seemed a bit above normal Genin standards."
In their earlier match, Gin had clearly been going easy on him. He could feel it — the way Gin dodged his attacks was simply impossible for him to counter.
"Not only that — it also preserves youth, extends lifespan, and if you fully master it, you gain perfect chakra control."
Both Minato and Kushina's eyes widened.
Minato: "Perfect chakra control?!"
Kushina: "Preserve youth?!"
The more Gin talked, the more unbelievable it sounded. Could a ninjutsu really do that?
Gin, prepared for this, pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and handed it to Minato.
"Take a look first."
The two of them flipped through it carefully, page by page, reading the explanations and diagrams of the human body.
There were deep insights into chakra control. Minato found it difficult to fully understand.
But Kushina let out a soft sound of surprise.
"This is sealing jutsu!"
"Uh-huh~."
"Sealing jutsu can be used like this?"
Compared to Minato, Kushina had inherited many remnants of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques — she actually found it easier to understand.
And by mentally calculating, she realized that — even if the beauty and longevity part was uncertain — the rest was indeed achievable.
"But... why are there three connected seals in this technique?"
"That's the breakthrough point," Gin explained. "It's essentially a fusion of three sealing techniques. Every time you complete one, you undergo a massive advancement."
Minato couldn't help but ask: "Kushina, is it really possible to achieve what's written here?"
Even though he couldn't fully grasp it, the instructions were incredibly detailed — almost like a foolproof guide.
"In theory, yes," Kushina answered after studying Gin for a moment.
"If you follow everything exactly, it should work. But the difficulty ramps up — the second seal is ten times harder than the first, and the third is ten times harder than the second."
Minato held the notebook tightly.
For a civilian-born ninja like him, nothing was more precious than new techniques.
Especially one so miraculous.
Though his excitement grew, he also became more cautious. He looked seriously at Gin.
"Senpai, you're teaching us this so freely. What do you want in return?"
Though Minato wished everyone in the village loved each other like family, he was too practical to believe that someone would hand over such valuable knowledge without a reason.
He glanced at Kushina, standing protectively in front of her.
But Gin didn't seem to notice — he just smiled thoughtfully.
Honestly, he just wanted someone to practice this technique so he could finally break through the restrictions binding him.
But he couldn't say that aloud. Some people might just take the knowledge and leave.
He preferred someone dependable like Minato.
So, he lifted one finger.
"Minato Namikaze, I believe in your future. All I ask is — when the time comes, as long as it doesn't violate your principles, you owe me one favor."
Minato fell into deep thought.
The offer sounded... logical. Or at least, as logical as anything ever did in the ninja world.
This kind of deal hadn't exactly happened before... had it?
He couldn't recall.
Still, if it really was just one favor, within his moral limits—
"I agree. As long as it doesn't go against my beliefs, I'll do one thing for you in the future."
Gin reached out his hand.
"Deal."
Minato also extended his hand.
"Deal."
They both smiled brightly — though Minato felt a slight weight settle on his heart.
Meanwhile, Gin was practically bursting with joy inside.
At last — hope to break through the chakra foundation training that had trapped him for so long—
Hope had appeared.