After leaving Yamanaka Inoichi's flower shop, Uchiha Douhuan returned to the Uchiha clan's district.
Instead of going straight home, Douhuan headed to Uchiha Fugaku's residence.
Fugaku was somewhat surprised by Douhuan's late-night visit, but still invited him inside.
Uchiha Mikoto served them tea before leaving the living room.
Fugaku looked at the young man who had forcefully taken the position of clan head from him. He harbored no resentment regarding Douhuan's seizure of power. To be honest, previously he had been more than eager for someone else to take over the Uchiha clan's messy situation. Furthermore, after taking office, Douhuan had consolidated the clan's morale in the shortest possible time and suppressed the voices calling for armed rebellion within the clan. The capability displayed during this process forced even him to inwardly praise a job well done.
"Douhuan, the Military Police Force has already posted the notices for recruiting civilian shinobi according to your instructions. However, the village's civilian shinobi are probably still hesitant at the moment, so very few shinobi came to sign up today, and those who did were just newly graduated genin," Fugaku said.
"Genin are already enough for dealing with petty thieves and managing market stalls," Douhuan replied. "Besides, with the ninjutsu provided by the clan, we don't have to worry about nobody coming."
"It's good that you have a plan. However, Douhuan, I calculated it today: if we follow the standards you set yesterday, the clan's funds will last at most three months before we're forced to sell off our ancestral assets," Fugaku said.
"I said money is not something we need to worry about. I've already secured the funds, and someone should be delivering them to us in a few days," Douhuan said after taking a sip of tea.
"Then why did you come here tonight..." Fugaku asked, somewhat puzzled. Surely Douhuan hadn't come over this late just to cadge a cup of tea.
"I'm here for Itachi's sake," Douhuan said.
"Itachi, huh?" Fugaku sighed upon hearing this. "I've already heard about what happened at the Shimura clan's doorstep today. Sending him to the Anbu back then was too hasty of me."
"It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that Elder Fugaku sent him to the Anbu back then," Douhuan said. "However, it was truly hasty of you to let him go to the battlefield at such an early age."
"Is that what you think?" Fugaku looked at Douhuan and pressed his lips together.
"Itachi has been precocious since childhood, and you let him come into contact with the dark side of this world far too early. The boy loves to think, but when his knowledge cannot support the height of his contemplation, it can only result in disaster," Douhuan said. "I once heard a wise man say: 'Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.' That's precisely what this means."
"Ultimately, it was my parenting that went wrong," Fugaku let out a long sigh, then turned to look at the tightly closed door. "Since you're here, come on out."
The courtyard door of the living room was pulled open, and Uchiha Itachi walked in, still wearing his Anbu mission attire.
"Father, Clan Head." Itachi bowed to the two of them in turn.
"There's no need to be so formal when we're off duty," Douhuan waved a hand.
"Big Brother Douhuan," Itachi nodded and said.
"You heard everything your Douhuan brother just said, didn't you?" Fugaku spoke up at this moment.
Itachi lowered his head in silence.
Seeing this, Fugaku could only sigh. As a father, he was indeed not very good at communicating with his children. Itachi's worldview was already set; mere words would no longer have any effect.
"Big Brother Douhuan, there is something I would like to ask you for guidance on," Itachi broke the silence on his own initiative.
"Go ahead."
"If one day the clan and the village must resort to arms against each other, what will you do?" Itachi raised his head, looking straight into Douhuan's eyes as he asked.
"With me here, that day will never come," Douhuan said.
"What if things really reach that point?" Itachi pressed further.
"Itachi, stand down," Fugaku lowered his voice and rebuked angrily.
Douhuan smiled indifferently. "The village sent a nine-year-old me to the battlefield, and it was the clan's bloodline that gave me the ability to survive."
"If that day truly comes, I will do everything in my power to stop you!" Itachi stared at Douhuan and declared.
"Uchiha Itachi, you are too insolent!" Although he had long guessed that Itachi's stance was completely detached from the clan's side, Fugaku never expected him to be so direct. Even with Fugaku's temperament, he couldn't help flying into a rage at this moment.
"It's fine," Douhuan signaled for Fugaku not to be impatient, then looked at Itachi with a smile.
"Itachi, you are a genius within the clan. I believe that in the future you will possess eyes identical to mine, but you cannot stop the grand trend of the times. Of course, you may not understand what the grand trend is; when you finally understand it, you won't be agonizing over this kind of question anymore."
Douhuan smiled, stood up, and said to Fugaku, "Elder Fugaku, I won't disturb you any longer. Please continue to give your best effort regarding the matters of the Military Police Force."
With that, Douhuan rose to take his leave.
It was already the early hours of the morning when Douhuan returned to his small cabin.
The new clan head's residence prepared by the clan was already under preparation, but for this period, Douhuan would still have to live in this little nest for a while longer.
Douhuan lit a lamp and began to meticulously maintain his shinobi saber.
Logically speaking, as a jounin—even though his assignment was in the Military Police Force and he didn't take on many missions from the village—Douhuan shouldn't have been living in a tiny apartment of less than thirty square meters. Yet this chakra saber, named Swift Thunder, was the sole reason for all this; all of Douhuan's savings over the years had been poured into it.
"Since you've arrived, show yourself," Douhuan suddenly raised his head while wiping the blade and called out in a clear voice.
No one answered.
"Whether you'll die from this single slash of mine, I don't know, but you'd better pay for the damages to my house," Douhuan smiled slightly, faint sparks of electricity beginning to manifest across the surface of the chakra saber in his hand.
A figure dropped from the rafters. The newcomer had a head of spiky white hair, with a face mask and a forehead protector pulled askew to cover his left eye. It was Kakashi, who had just crossed paths with Douhuan that very morning.
"So it's Kakashi-senpai. I thought you'd come looking for me after a while longer," Douhuan smiled, sheathing his blade. "Take a seat."
Douhuan motioned for Kakashi to sit at the opposite end of the low table, then arranged a set of tea utensils and put on water to boil.