Ryoichi stuck close behind Uchiha Madara.
He didn't dare let Uchiha Madara stay alone.
What if he suddenly lost it and decided to Destroy Konoha? That wasn't impossible.
After the two returned to the clan grounds, Ryoichi looked back at Konoha's peaceful, harmonious atmosphere and couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Another peaceful day.
You people could sit down and eat dinner in peace because This Old One deserved enormous credit.
This achievement, this hardship—even compared to the current Hokage, he was no less deserving.
Looking at Uchiha Madara's hunched back ahead of him, Ryoichi smacked his lips and jogged after him.
He couldn't go around boasting about something as creditworthy as this. It was rather stifling.
He'd find a chance to let the Great Elder and the others know. "Why are there so many children here?"
Seeing the road ahead blocked by a group of children, Madara turned to Ryoichi beside him, his brows slightly furrowed.
"This?"
Ryoichi looked at the children jumping around in front of them, clearly accustomed to the sight.
"They're all clan children.
Uchiha Asuka was a clan teacher for a while. He was generous, had loads of delicious food, and knew how to tell stories, so these kids started treating him as their big brother. Every few days, they'd gather up and come running over here."
Hearing that, Uchiha Madara calmly watched the carefree children, shifted a few steps to the right, and walked past them.
Flowers in a mirror, the moon reflected in water—that was all they were.
Unless the problem could be resolved at its root, true peace would never come.
Evening.
As Madara lay in his chair and recalled what had happened that afternoon, his temples still throbbed faintly.
It seemed he'd found the culprit behind it all.
*!!It seemed This Old One