Family Gathering

Mimi and Chiri got busy.

Mimi mainly directed Chiri as she worked, fetching water and boiling silkworm cocoons.

There was an underground river dug out by insects that supplied the water, but lighting a fire underground was impractical.

That is, unless they wanted to pass out from oxygen deprivation.

So they used swarms of Kiyanchū to surround the basin and heat the silkworm cocoons.

Before long, a delicate fragrance began to waft through the air.

After all that work, Chiri was sweating as she sniffed with her little nose.

It smells so good.

"What do we do next?" Chiri asked.

"It's very simple." As she spoke, Mimi picked up a thin wooden stick and stirred the basin a few times. The softened silk naturally wound around the stick, and Mimi then wrapped the silk around a homemade miniature silk-reeling machine.

Hand-cranked, wooden, and extremely crude.

This process was called silk reeling.

Chiri watched, finding it all very novel.

"That's all there is to it." As she spoke, Mimi turned the handle. The roller spun rapidly, drawing out the silk thread.

"How amazing..."

"Your turn." Mimi moved aside, allowing Chiri to try.

"Wow..." Chiri turned the handle and said, "This is pretty fun."

"As long as you're happy." As she spoke, Mimi began boiling the next batch.

There weren't enough basins, so they had to take turns using them.

Chiri stood there cranking for a while, her eyes fixed on the snow-white silk thread.

"What can this be used for?"

"It has quite a few uses, mainly making clothes." Mimi said, "You won't have to spend money buying them. You can make them yourself."

"Really? You know how to make clothes? That's amazing!" Chiri turned the handle, her eyes growing even more expectant.

"I don't." How could she possibly know how to make clothes? Just knowing how to reel silk was already impressive enough.

"Huh?" Chiri wondered how they were supposed to make clothes, then.

"Yumi does." Mimi said.

Yumi was a deft and capable woman. When Mimi was little, the small shoes, socks, and clothes she wore had all been handmade by Yumi.

Including the clothes she was wearing now.

"Oh." Chiri continued reeling the silk and asked, "Will these clothes be pretty?"

"No, because they haven't been dyed." Mimi said, "They'll be very comfortable to wear, though. Bio-protein silk can completely serve as a second layer of skin and has certain health benefits."

"That sounds really amazing." Chiri said.

"It's not that amazing." Mimi shook her head. "The expensive premium goods in stores have similar functions. They're also biological silk—in other words, natural fibers."

"Then wouldn't it be better to just buy them?" Chiri asked curiously.

"It's a little complicated to explain. It's better if I just show you."

Mimi drew her sword, walked over to Chiri, pulled out a section of silk, and slashed down at it.

It didn't break.

Chiri stared in shock, her little mouth falling slightly open.

"You're strong. You try cutting it."

Mimi handed Chiri the sword. Chiri took it and brought it down.

It still didn't break.

"Is this steel wire?" Chiri said in shock. "How can it not break?"

"Its scientific name is Bio-Steel. It's five to six times stronger than steel, has excellent Chakra conductivity, and its defining traits are softness and lightness."

"Then doesn't that mean..." Chiri cried out in surprise. "If you make clothes out of it, wouldn't you be wearing armor?"

But you have a Gundam.

After glancing at Chiri, Mimi said, "That's correct, but it's vulnerable to fire, although it can be made into a fireproof coating."

"That's amazing!" Chiri said. "This must be very expensive, right?"

"That depends on my mood." Mimi replied, "Stop chatting and get to work!"

"Oh..." Chiri answered and continued turning the handle.

"Don't worry about it breaking. Put in as much strength as you have and hurry up." Mimi said.

"Okay!" Chiri began turning it with all her might.

The silk-reeling machine whirred loudly without pause.

Time passed unnoticed, and before they knew it, evening had arrived.

When they stopped work, Chiri still felt reluctant to leave.

Afterward, Chiri and Mimi each carried a basin of boiled silkworm cocoons and ate their fill.

The sweet, fragrant scent of grass and wood lingered on their tongues.

Most of it went into Insect Sister's stomach.

The three of them went home together, agreeing to continue the next day when they parted ways.

As she walked, Chiri was in high spirits. Today had been an especially happy day.

Making ninja tools was very interesting, and she was looking forward to the new clothes she would wear in the future.

Mimi had said she would give her a beautiful ninja outfit.

Chiri took a grasshopper made of straw from her clothing pocket and held it in her hand. Humming a song, she ran home cheerfully.

Until her good mood abruptly ended in an instant.

After two muffled bangs, a kunai came flying through the air.

Chiri didn't dodge, because it wasn't aimed at her vitals.

The kunai grazed the hair by Chiri's ear before forcefully embedding itself in the gate at the entrance to her home.

Chiri didn't turn around. Her eyes instantly turned blood-red.

The Two Tomoe Pattern slowly revolved in her eyes.

What excellent kunai technique.

It had grazed the target precisely without injuring it in the slightest.

It was at the level she had possessed a year ago.

Moreover, it had the style of the Uchiha.

Uchiha Shuriken Technique.

Chiri raised her head and slowly looked ahead. A ninja stood on the roof of a residence, looking down at Chiri beneath the moonlight.

"I thought you'd been scared witless. Looks like you've got some skill after all. You actually managed to find my position."

Since the kunai had been thrown from behind her, an ordinary ninja would have turned around instantly.

This was his usual surprise-attack tactic.

It had never failed him.

The Two Tomoe Pattern in Chiri's eyes rotated and vanished. She said nothing.

"Uchiha Chiri, you've kept me waiting." The newcomer spoke arrogantly. "Tonight at nine, Naka Shrine. Clan Gathering. Don't be late."

Chiri didn't like this man. She stared at him expressionlessly, with no desire to speak.

"Are you mute?" The Uchiha ninja laughed. "The Uchiha are becoming more and more degenerate. Even a little brat like you can attend a Clan Gathering now. It's irritating."

"Forget it. I've delivered the message. Don't be willful and fail to show up. You'll die horribly."

With that, the ninja vanished from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.

Chiri silently walked forward and raised her hand to pull the kunai from the gate.

A Clan Gathering...

I have a feeling something bad is going to happen.

After entering the house, Chiri tidied up briefly, carefully stored away the straw grasshopper, and set off for Naka Shrine.

Along the way, she occasionally saw adults from her clan.

Chiri silently lowered her head as she walked among them.

After arriving at the shrine, she found a seat near the corner and sat down.

As the appointed time drew closer, people gradually arrived one after another.

There were many people, a dense sea of heads. Every one of them was an elite of the clan.

When an old man entered the hall, solemn silence descended over the gathering.

The main topic began.

"As is customary, if there is anything to discuss, speak freely, everyone."

"Clan Head! Let's go! We can't stay in this village any longer!"

An Uchiha stood up and spoke with an agitated expression.

The instant she heard that, Chiri's pupils suddenly contracted.

Leave? Where could they go?

No!

"You bastard! Run away? You want us to flee with our tails between our legs? Cowardly fools! Konoha is our Konoha! It's the Konoha built by the Uchiha! Why should we run? What right do we have to run?!"

In the hall, the old man glanced at the two men, lowered his eyes, and remained indifferent and noncommittal.

"You're the bastard! People will die! Do you understand? People will die!!!"

"You coward!! If you want to leave, then take your wife and children and go! Don't bear the Uchiha name! Don't awaken your eyes! Don't become a ninja! You bastard!"

Listening to the two adults argue fiercely, Chiri silently clenched the hem of her clothes in the corner.

She didn't quite understand her clansmen's anger, but tonight had left her deeply shaken.