Konoha: The Thirty-Year-Old Uchiha Has No Energy Left

Chapter 1: The Unchanging One (False)

Chapter 1: The Unchanging Man (Fake)

Year 27 of the Konoha Era

"Another peaceful day."

On the streets of Konoha, a man with a head of natural black curls was strolling along leisurely under the eaves of the street-side shops, walking with the kind of arrogant, swaggering gait typical of a spirited youth.

The man was very handsome, but his entire temperament was perfectly ruined by the pair of dead fish eyes on his face, making him look incredibly punchable.

Although the man carried the air of an unreliable, unemployed loafer, the surrounding crowd did not avoid him. An old man sunning himself asked with a grin

"Gin, are you off to do a mission?"

"Nope, just wandering around. Giving myself a day off today."

The curly-haired man, known as Gin, stopped in his tracks and answered nonchalantly.

After speaking, as if remembering something, he rummaged for a long time inside the high-collared robe he was wearing, pulled out a stick-shaped object, tossed it to the old man, and shoved one into his own mouth as well.

The old man looked at the lollipop tossed his way with black lines on his forehead and said

"We’re at an age where we can’t really eat this kind of stuff anymore."

"Is that so? I remember you used to love them quite a bit, didn't you?"

Gin looked at the old man with his eyes slanted, a strange emotion flashing through his lifeless dead fish eyes.

"Yeah, that was back then."

Although the old man didn't eat it, he still tucked the lollipop away and said with a beaming smile

"I can save it for my grandson. He turns one month old tomorrow, so I’ll invite you to the full-month celebration."

"Why is there another banquet? How can a Genin's salary afford this kind of lifestyle? Fine, looks like I have to go catch some cats again."

Gin scratched his bird's nest of curly hair and said with annoyance.

"Hehe, make sure to come."

"By the way, have you named your grandson yet? Why don't I help you name him? It’ll definitely be easy to raise. How about 'Goudan'?"

The old man looked speechlessly at the man who was acting a bit crazy.

"It's already been decided. His name is Minato."

Gin, who had been rambling on about naming the child, froze upon hearing the name. In a daze, something flashed through his mind.

"What's wrong? Is it not a good name?"

Suddenly recalling the dazzling blonde hair the old man had in his youth, Gin felt relieved.

"It's nothing, just some dead memories attacking me."

Having said that, Gin looked up, gazed at the two distinct rock carvings on the distant mountain, and sighed.

"I feel like your grandson has a unique bone structure. He might be the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths. He has the makings of a Hokage; he will surely achieve great things in the future."

The old man was puzzled by this.

"But you haven't even seen him yet!"

"I observed the stars at night."

The old man blinked and looked up at the scorching midsummer sun.

"Well, those stars are certainly blinding."

When he turned his head again, the man beside him had already vanished without a trace.

"Tsk, how many times has it been? Still leaving without saying goodbye."

The old man shook his head and turned to tend to his shop.

Elsewhere, the man was still wandering aimlessly, his dead fish eyes seemingly uninterested in anything.

"Gin-sama, the clan meeting is about to start. Why are you still wandering around here?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind. A young man with black hair knelt behind Gin and spoke to him respectfully.

"The clan head isn't even home, so what kind of clan meeting is it? To listen to those so-called elders talk nonsense? I’d rather wander around than spend my time doing that."

The man known as Uchiha Gin picked his ear indifferently, as if he held such important events in contempt.

The man who came to deliver the message seemed to have expected this answer. He looked hesitant, his eyes filled with seven parts fear and three parts confusion, and he carefully organized his words before saying fearfully

"Please don't make it difficult for me. I'm only responsible for notifying you; whether you go or not is your freedom. But the Great Elder said you must remember that you are still an Uchiha."

With that, he flashed away and disappeared.

"How incredibly boring. They really think that just because that annoying white-haired guy is gone, they can start acting up? This muddy water of Konoha isn't something you straight-laced people can wade through. Why fight for a Hokage position that even a dog wouldn't want? Isn't it better to just slack off with me?"

Watching the direction the man had left in, Uchiha Gin rolled his dead fish eyes.

Inside the Hokage's office beneath the Hokage Rock, smoke swirled. A figure was hunched over, processing documents piled higher than a person, when suddenly someone pushed the door open.

"Hiruzen, I have received reliable intelligence that the Uchiha clan is holding a secret meeting again today. I have already received a secret report on the general content. It is time to act!"

A handsome man in his thirties with an X-shaped scar on his chin slammed a document down in front of the person processing paperwork.

The person being disturbed looked up, staring at his close friend speechlessly, and casually tossed the document into the trash can beside him.

"You!!!"

Young Danzo's tiger eyes widened, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.

"Danzo, don't put all your focus on the Uchiha clan right now. The village has finally entered a period of peace, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt. At a time like this, there cannot be any major problems within the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage who had recently been entrusted with the position during a crisis, smoked his pipe and tried to soothe his close friend.

"They are a clan born of evil; we must never let our guard down against them."

Shimura Danzo said fiercely, but inside, he was overjoyed.

*Hehe, finally caught you red-handed!*

"Shh."

Hearing the term "born of evil," Sarutobi Hiruzen looked around vigilantly and shushed him, signaling him not to say any more.

Shimura Danzo, having been reminded, seemed to realize what he had said, his expression becoming slightly unnatural, but he still retorted stubbornly

"You're the Hokage now, are you still afraid of..."

"Afraid of what?"

Just as the two were conversing, a lazy voice interjected.

"Afraid of that curly-haired dead fish-eyed bi... ahhhhhhh!"

Shimura Danzo, interrupted mid-sentence, followed the question and looked back, only to discover in horror that a figure had been standing behind him the whole time.

"Big what?"

"Big... big... big handsome guy."

As if thinking of something terrifying, Shimura Danzo replied, stuttering with a flushed face.

"Oh my, isn't this little Tuan-tuan? Long time no see."

Upon hearing the answer, Uchiha Gin familiarly placed his hand on Shimura Danzo's shoulder and said with a smile.

"What have you been busy with lately? Still tinkering with that 'Root' thing of yours? Are you still hiring? I'm a bit short on cash lately."

Watching the panicked expression on Shimura Danzo's face, Uchiha Gin patted his shoulder with satisfaction.

"Just kidding!"

"Little Monkey, I'm here to pick up a few D-rank missions. The little guy from the Namikaze family is already a grandfather; he invited me to the full-month celebration, so I need to make some money."

Uchiha Gin turned his head and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was sitting at his desk.

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen wore an "as expected" expression, skillfully pulling several mission sheets from the drawer beside him and handing them to Uchiha Gin.

"I've already prepared them for you. But are you sure you don't want to take on some higher-difficulty missions? Your strength shouldn't..."

"What shouldn't? I'm just a Genin, the No. 1 Genin personally sealed by Hashirama. Don't you guys know what my strength is?"

Having received the missions, Uchiha Gin happily flipped through them.

"These are all pretty good. I'll be going now. You two best friends have fun."

Watching Uchiha Gin leave, Shimura Danzo finally let out a long sigh of relief and said with a heavy expression

"How is he still like this?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting in his chair, also relaxed, a trace of fear from the depths of his heart in his eyes as he put on a solemn expression.

"He still looks like he's thirty. It's been so many years; ever since you and I can remember, he seems to have been like this, right?"

"Yeah, he has never changed."

"Could it be that the jutsu is really that miraculous?"

Both fell into deep thought. After all, there were only a few people who knew that jutsu, and they had no way to verify the answer.

Brain storage area here~

Chapter 1 is a prologue; the main story starts from Chapter 2!

Important things said three times~

(End of chapter)