After taking a short rest, Hiko retrieved a quest scroll and temporarily appended a new family mission for the Uchiha Clan.
The task systems across the Five Great Ninja Villages followed a similar structure.
In Konoha, most of the village's official missions were posted directly through the Hokage's administrative office, with external requests and commissions first undergoing a review by the Hokage before being passed to the Mission Assignment Desk for ninja squads to take on.
However, in the case of urgent or high-priority missions, the Hokage's Office could directly assign a team for execution.
Beyond standard missions, there also existed a special category—missions designated for individual ninja clans.
These were the so-called family missions.
The great clans of Konoha, such as Uchiha, Hyuga, and the Ino–Shika–Cho alliance, enjoyed privileges and advantages that ordinary civilian shinobi could not access. In return, these clans were obligated to take on special responsibilities.
Family missions were a crucial part of that balance.
Without such designated responsibilities, many influential and affluent clans might avoid taking on risky or time-consuming tasks altogether, choosing instead to pursue more lucrative or self-serving endeavors.
The Nara, for example, often withdrew from missions after the Chūnin Exams to focus on the clan's internal affairs. The same could be said for the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.
In recent years, both the Uchiha and Hyuga had increasingly turned their focus toward running businesses and managing internal clan affairs. As a result, their members often declined joining standard shinobi squads or withdrew after passing Chūnin-level tests.
Uchiha shinobi, at least, remained moderately active. But in contrast, the Hyuga, unless under direct order or dire circumstances, rarely left the village—some hadn't accepted missions outside the village in nearly a decade.
With the new mission approved, the scroll had already been sent from the ANBU division directly to the Konoha Police Department.
Was this going to involve interference in the internal reform of the Police Department?
Unaware that he had already been selected for an assignment, Hiko was still mulling over the internal clan politics regarding whether he should involve himself in the ongoing efforts to restructure the Police Department.
Since Fugaku had first proposed reforming the department, little progress had been made. Worse yet, the proposal had stirred unrest among the hardline elders within the clan council.
They feared Fugaku—beneath his calm and diplomatic demeanor—might use the reforms as a pretext to strip them of power.
Though often viewed as indecisive, when necessary, Fugaku could exhibit a shocking degree of resolve and cruelty.
Just then, Hiko's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the lounge door.
"Uchihahiko, please report to the Minister's Office. The Minister is waiting."
It was the secretary from the department office.
"I'll be there shortly."
Without lingering, Hiko rose, adjusted his attire, and turned to Izumi:
"I'll head to the minister's office. You organize the documents and clock out afterward. Go home and spend some time with your mother. Tell her I said hello—I'll visit her soon."
"Really?" Izumi's eyes lit up.
Her mother had been hoping for a visit for weeks. Izumi had mentioned it several times, but Hiko's schedule had kept him away.
Hiko simply gave her a reassuring hand gesture behind his back and exited the lounge without another word, striding toward the Minister's Office.
"Minister, you called for me?"
Upon arrival, before Hiko could take a seat, Fugaku tossed a scroll toward him.
"???"
Hiko instinctively caught the scroll and opened it. Upon skimming its contents, his eyebrows rose.
"A designated family mission? But I thought all of this month's clan assignments were already fulfilled."
Though the village could impose additional missions on clans, there were limitations in place. Typically, once a set quota was completed, the clan would have a temporary reprieve from further obligations.
Yet here was a sudden additional assignment—something that always set off warning bells in Hiko's mind.
Such tasks usually hinted at political maneuvering or hidden agendas.
"It's a special assignment," Fugaku said. "Hokage-sama personally designated it. You're to lead a team to assist another in completing the objective. The reward tier classifies it as A-rank."
Hiko's interest sharpened.
He opened the scroll and reviewed the mission details again, more thoroughly this time. After a moment, he sighed and muttered to himself.
So that's the reason.
Jiraiya had taken the lead role in the assignment. That fact alone told Hiko that this was no routine mission.
If Jiraiya was involved, it either meant the task was dangerously volatile or entailed extreme difficulty.
Still, the assignment came directly from the Hokage. That made it non-negotiable.
"Bring Itachi with you," Fugaku added quietly. "He needs to see more of the world in order to mature."
Ah, so that's the real reason.
If you wanted your son to get real-world experience under my supervision, you could've just said that, Hiko thought irritably.
Still, he said aloud, "Alright, I'll bring him."
Tossing the scroll casually in the air before catching it again, Hiko turned and left the minister's office.
He'd need time to prepare—especially if the mission turned out to be as dangerous as he suspected.
These unpredictable assignments with hidden stakes were the ones he detested most.
They left too much room for manipulation—or for falling into traps laid by others.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office…
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, his eyes red and strained from hours of document review. When he heard the door open, he already knew who was coming.
Sure enough, the two elder advisors—Homura and Koharu—had arrived to protest the mission.
"Hiruzen, entrusting a critical mission like locating Tsunade to someone from the Uchiha clan is unwise."
"Jiraiya is perfectly capable of handling this himself," Koharu added. "Assigning Uchihahiko to accompany him only complicates things."
The elder advisors were no fools. They understood Jiraiya's real goal—bridging the rift between the Uchiha Clan and the village leadership.
But they feared the risk. Uchiha had become increasingly bold and confrontational, especially Hiko.
"Uchihahiko has been far too active recently," Homura said gravely.
"Too active," Koharu echoed.
But Sarutobi merely smiled.
"You two only ever look at the surface. It's true that Uchiha has been more assertive lately, but I don't believe that's a bad thing."
"What do you mean?"
The advisors were confused. Their long-standing objective had been to limit the Uchiha's influence—not encourage it.
"Recently, the Uchiha have placed increasing pressure on the Shimura clan," Homura muttered. "Members of that family are avoiding public appearances altogether. This is not acceptable."
"They can use this approach against other clans as well. It must be stopped before it escalates."
Their concerns were personal as much as political. Behind each of them stood their own clans—clans that had participated in the systemic suppression of Uchiha.
If Hiko or others turned their sights in that direction, it would be disastrous.
"The Shimura clan is only being targeted because Danzo's actions made things worse," Sarutobi replied coldly. "He provoked them unnecessarily. I've spent countless sleepless nights putting out fires caused by his manipulations."
Danzo's behind-the-scenes provocations might have gone unnoticed in ordinary times, but during a tense period like this, they were explosive.
"And now, because of him, the Shimura clan must bear the consequences."
The two advisors fell silent. There wasn't much they could say in Danzo's defense.
"And Jiraiya didn't select Hiko at random," Sarutobi continued. "He chose him because he understands the stakes. Hiko is currently the most influential and visible member of the Uchiha. If there's any hope of building a bridge, it starts with him."
"…It's a futile effort," Koharu muttered, though her tone lacked conviction.
Still, they relented.
The rift between Uchiha and Konoha had reached a boiling point. Something had to give—but it couldn't be the village, not while Konoha was still stabilizing from recent upheavals.
"…What about the Shimura clan?" Koharu asked after a long pause.
Danzo had already approached her for help, but even she couldn't act effectively—the Third Hokage had already refused Danzo's petitions.
Uchiha had targeted Shimura, and they weren't relenting.
"I'll remind Fugaku," Sarutobi said, but his tone made clear he was tired of dealing with this petty infighting.
If the Uchiha made too much noise, he'd step in. But so far, the Police Department had stayed within the bounds of propriety. The actions against the Shimura clan were calculated, not reckless.
Let the Shimura enjoy their discomfort for now.
They had brought it upon themselves.
All the elders could do now was hope that Uchiha's wrath would soon run its course—before it turned toward them.