Who Should Be the Next "Victim"?

Namikaze Minato had left to take care of his own business, and Kai headed to report at the Konoha Police Force in the afternoon.

The Konoha Police Force, originally established by the "inherently evil" Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was primarily staffed by the Uchiha clan and was responsible for maintaining law and order in the village. In essence, this powerful and important department had become the Uchiha clan's personal domain.

Of course, Tobirama Senju wasn't so kind-hearted; along with granting the Uchiha considerable power, he also made them the target of constant surveillance from Konoha's leadership. Everything the Uchiha did was closely watched, making their every move highly visible.

Moreover, most of the Uchiha's combat power was confined within Konoha, limiting their opportunities to earn merit through missions or battle. This effectively prevented them from gaining any real political influence within the village's leadership.

Still, despite Tobirama's ulterior motives, for someone like Kai—an average, underpowered Uchiha—the Konoha Police Force was a great place to be.

Due to his lack of strength and tendency to act independently, the Uchiha clan didn't even assign him to patrol duty. Instead, they placed him in a cushy administrative role in the logistics department—a job where he could essentially slack off.

And yet, his salary was almost the same as those on active duty!

The workload was light, and even if Kai didn't show up, someone else would fill in for him. In other words, whether he was there or not made little difference.

For example, when Kai didn't show up for work that morning, he easily brushed it off with a simple excuse: "I overtrained last night and was too exhausted to wake up this morning." His supervisor didn't question him at all.

In the eyes of the proud Uchiha, this was undoubtedly a form of internal bullying or silent punishment. Any other Uchiha would have either left the Police Force in frustration or resentment, or sought redemption through unlocking the Sharingan or enhancing their powers.

For a normal Uchiha, this would be seen as a kind of mental abuse, perhaps even unbearable for someone like Obito Uchiha.

But...

Did Kai care about this?

Bullying? Insults? To him, wasn't this just the clan showering him with love?

From the perspective of any average salaryman on Earth, they would say, "Why don't you go ahead and bully me some more? Otherwise, I'll feel guilty for taking this paycheck."

Kai's job was the equivalent of a cushy role where all the work could be finished in two hours, the rest of the day spent idling, with no responsibilities or risks. His coworkers might be cold, but no one actively caused him trouble. And all for a base salary of two million yen, plus holiday bonuses and other perks.

Damn, this wasn't bullying—this was a profound act of love from his coworkers!

No wonder the Uchiha were known as the "clan of love." Their love truly knew no bounds!

To be honest, if Kai could continue this job for life, he wouldn't mind at all. And the Uchiha clan certainly had the resources to support him indefinitely.

Sadly, this comfortable life would come to an end in just a few years.

After the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha might retain control of the Police Force, but things would only get worse for them. Their privileges would gradually diminish, and eventually, they'd be annihilated in a conspiracy involving both Konoha's leadership and Itachi Uchiha.

While the original story emphasized that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, opposed the annihilation of the Uchiha, and the more sinister deeds were carried out by Danzo and Itachi...

Well...

Kai knew that when push came to shove, the Uchiha and Konoha's leadership were natural enemies. As an Uchiha, unlike Itachi, who ignored politics, Kai was acutely aware that he and Konoha's leadership were locked in an unavoidable conflict.

It didn't matter whether the classic conspiracy theories about the Third Hokage were true or not. What mattered was that once Konoha's leadership inherited Tobirama's distrust of the Uchiha but lacked his strength and finesse, conflict became inevitable.

Even if Hiruzen was genuinely a good person, his sentimental nature and political incompetence meant that, from the Uchiha's perspective, only a dead Third Hokage was a good Hokage.

Of course, realizing this didn't change anything. Kai knew that in this world, strength spoke louder than words. Without enough power, his thoughts were just that—thoughts, with no real impact on reality.

Moreover, even before the Nine-Tails incident, Hiruzen was still strong enough to take on multiple Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan.

Don't let the conspiracy theories fool you—while Hiruzen wasn't as powerful as the First or Second Hokage, he was still a cut above most other Kage-level fighters.

He was a classic all-rounder, excelling in all areas without any major weaknesses. A versatile warrior capable of handling almost any situation.

And, thanks to the Second Hokage's legacy, Hiruzen had access to several methods specifically designed to counter the Uchiha. Against a fully powered Hiruzen, even the three-tomoe Sharingan would struggle to be effective—only the Mangekyo Sharingan would stand a chance.

But did the Uchiha possess the Mangekyo before the Nine-Tails incident?

In the anime, Fugaku Uchiha was portrayed as having the Mangekyo, but in the original manga, he only had the standard three-tomoe Sharingan. Kai had no way of knowing whether his current world followed the anime or the manga.

So, any rebellious plans before the Nine-Tails incident would be nothing short of suicidal for the Uchiha.

After the incident, while Hiruzen's strength had diminished, the Uchiha had already lost their political power and influence, and their ranks had been infiltrated by a traitor set on wiping them out.

That's why Kai had long since decided that his best option was to flee from Konoha.

After years of living in the Shinobi world, Kai had come to see the truth of the situation: the Uchiha had no hope, and as someone of average talent and strength, his only chance of survival lay in escaping.

Of course, that was how he had felt in the past. But now...

Looking at the system panel displaying "1285/5000" points, Kai couldn't help but look forward to completing his task. The "1285" represented the total emotional value Minato had provided. In just over an hour of gameplay, Minato had already given the maximum emotional value he could for this game.

"Minato, you're amazing. When I make a new game, you'll definitely be the first to test it. You're my go-to playtester!"

Muttering to himself, Kai sat at his desk, contemplating who to rope in as his next playtester while also attending to his duties.

Without a doubt, the most efficient way to gather emotional points would be to target the strongest individuals in Konoha. At this point in time—Konoha Year 46—that meant people like the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Sannin, all Kage-level powerhouses.

Next in line would be the elite Jonin, including figures like Danzo and the other two members of the Konoha "Elders" (F4).

Wait, what? Danzo and the others aren't Kage-level?

Yeah, they really aren't.

The other two elders were once elite Jonin at their peak, but by the time of the Nine-Tails incident, they had declined to the level of ordinary Jonin, playing supporting roles in the battle against the Nine-Tails and being severely injured after a few hits. They were basically background characters in the manga.

As for Danzo, while he might have been Kage-level in his prime, losing an arm and an eye had weakened him considerably. Until he started augmenting himself with Hashirama's cells and Sharingan, he likely wasn't even as strong as the other two elders.

This was the reality of the situation in Konoha, as outlined in the original work and understood by Kai.

As for whether there were any hidden powerhouses in the village—that wasn't something he needed to worry about.

Right now, Kai only needed to worry about finding his next "victim."

For maximum efficiency, targeting the strongest player—Hiruzen—would make the most sense.

But given their respective positions, there was no way Kai would approach him.

Even assuming Hiruzen agreed to trust Kai and allow him to use the Sharingan without resistance, the aftermath would be problematic.

Not to mention other issues, Danzo would undoubtedly take an interest, and Kai's life would become a nightmare.

So, the Third Hokage was out of the question.

The Sannin were another option, but each one was in their own world, and some weren't even in Konoha, making them unsuitable targets.

That left other options.

On second thought, perhaps targeting the Uchiha clan wasn't such a bad idea. There were plenty of powerful individuals within the clan—maybe it was time to try some "internal testing."