Second Special Achievement: Watching from the Power Pole?

"Bloodline limits?" Jiraiya furrowed his brow slightly. He hadn't considered that possibility—especially since he was already planning to leave the village.

On the one hand, Uzumaki Kushina had safely given birth, and that brought Jiraiya real relief. If he hadn't returned when he did, if he'd stayed out gathering intel as usual, that masked Uchiha could very well have harmed Kushina. Knowing Minato, if Kushina had died, he wouldn't have been able to bear the loss.

Then Naruto would've become an orphan, and if Kurama had been released, the damage to Konoha would've been catastrophic. Fortunately, Jiraiya had been there. He'd sensed something was wrong with that Uchiha and managed to intervene.

The threat had been real.

On the other hand, Jiraiya still intended to hunt down Orochimaru and demand answers. The attacker's cloak and gear had stirred old memories—things Jiraiya couldn't ignore. His expression was already heavy with concern.

So with both these matters pushing him, Jiraiya had made up his mind to leave Konoha again—both to confront Orochimaru, and to resume his research "fieldwork."

Today's visit had been meant as a casual goodbye to his promising little bro—and to pass along a way to stay in touch. If Nara Kazuki's strength reached a certain level, Jiraiya even planned to introduce him to Senjutsu training.

He just hadn't expected Kazuki's ideas to be so… creatively distracting. Their "discussion" turned into a brainstorm session of ridiculous scope. Jiraiya had to laugh.

"Yeah, I read something about it," Kazuki said, keeping his tone vague. "During the war, Kumo shinobi reportedly suffered heavy losses against the Byakugan."

Total nonsense, of course.

But this was common knowledge—Konoha's Byakugan had always been a coveted treasure among the other villages. Right now, only that one guy in Kirigakure had managed to steal a Byakugan. He'd stayed high on Konoha's most-wanted list ever since.

"Can't be the Hyūga. All the main family members are adults," said Minato Namikaze, waving dismissively.

Kazuki blinked.

Wait—Hinata hadn't even been born yet?

That was awkward.

The timeline in Naruto always felt like a jigsaw puzzle. Kazuki never cared much about parsing exact years while watching the anime—just that Hinata got kidnapped after Naruto was born and both of Naruto's parents had already died. That's why he assumed the Kumo delegation had come for the Byakugan.

Guess not.

Realizing Hinata wasn't born yet made things... messier.

"As for the Uchiha..." Minato paused, his voice heavier.

He was clearly hesitant.

On the night of the attack, the masked man had wielded a Sharingan. There was no doubt about it. That eye, that unique dōjutsu—they were unmistakable. Even the Third Hokage had confirmed it.

Afterward, Shimura Danzō led Root in surrounding the Uchiha compound, supposedly to prevent anyone from leaving. Fugaku Uchiha had claimed they'd just wanted to help.

But no one could fake that eye.

Even Minato, who'd held no previous bias toward the Uchiha, now felt a seed of doubt.

"They're probably not involved," Kazuki quickly said, seeing Minato's hesitation. "But it's hard to be sure. The Sharingan is too notorious."

Kazuki could feel the tension in the village shifting since that night.

Obito's face might've been hidden, but the Sharingan and Susanoo had painted a damning picture. Worse still? Obito really was an Uchiha.

Kazuki figured that when Danzō later launched the Uchiha Massacre, it probably had the Third Hokage's silent approval. And that approval might've stemmed from Biwako's death.

After all, how could Hiruzen, once mentored by Tobirama, not harbor resentment when his wife died at the hands of an Uchiha?

Kazuki saw it clearly now.

Ever since he started altering the canon, the story had been changing. The general direction still aligned with the original, but the future of Konoha had shifted.

Naruto would grow up with parents. Minato remained as the Fourth Hokage.

And the main pressure point of Konoha's politics had shifted: now it centered around the Uchiha clan.

The truth was, it wasn't hard to blame the Uchiha. Unless they could somehow produce evidence of a rogue Sharingan wielder, they'd remain under suspicion. Even if they did prove it, it likely wouldn't change anything.

Obito was Uchiha.

That was a dead end.

Konoha's future stability now depended on how the village handled the Uchiha.

And Kazuki knew: the clan was already divided between hawks and doves. Thanks to Minato's more moderate stance, the doves currently held power. But if Minato began to mistrust them…

Things could slide straight toward canon again.

Pushed hard enough, it was only natural for some "evil" Uchiha kids to lose it.

[Special Achievement Unlocked]

Kazuki blinked.

The achievement had previously been locked—he couldn't even view it. But now it was open.

[Redemption or Surveillance Perch?]

Guide the Uchiha Clan through the crisis and achieve peaceful coexistence with Konoha.

Reward: 1 Recall Point

Or...

Participate in the massacre and complete the Uchiha Annihilation achievement.

Become the man squatting on the village power pole, gazing down at all.

Reward: 1 Recall Point

The system prompt appeared before Kazuki's eyes.

He stared, stunned.

This was... interesting.

It even gave him a choice.

Either help the Uchiha survive—or help destroy them.

The second option was definitely easier. He could just let things unfold and join in when the time came. He wouldn't even have to go solo—Itachi and Root would handle most of it.

"...That's possible. I'll have someone monitor the situation." Minato spoke again, snapping Kazuki out of his thoughts.

Kazuki had missed what came before that line—but the last part was enough.

"I volunteer!" he said, eyes gleaming.

If these people tried anything funny, Kazuki would have the perfect excuse to rack up some kills.