Ever since Gen left, this family finally had a "man" who could hold things together again.
Noticing the strange look in his mother's eyes, Kosuke hurriedly rose from the cushion and fled back to his room as though escaping, slamming the door shut behind him.
After Kosuke fled the living room, Mina, who had been whining just moments earlier, instantly opened her eyes, a completely different light gleaming within them.
"What do you think of Izuna?"
Watching Mina sit up straight, Aoba suddenly asked.
"Uh... Mother, you..."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Aoba kept laughing until a blush returned to Mina's face, then finally reined in her amusement.
"You heard what your little brother said just now, didn't you?"
Mina nodded heavily. Thinking of how the young but cunning Kosuke had always defended her, a dazzling smile instantly bloomed across her face.
"From now on, whether it concerns matters inside or outside the home, if your little brother has a different opinion, we need to agree with it and carry it out."
Hearing the seriousness in her mother's voice, Mina wiped the smile from her face. A tomoe flashed through her eyes as she nodded heavily.
At that moment, Kosuke, hiding in his room, pretended to search for something, trying to conceal the unease brought on by the strange look in his mother's eyes.
He did not know that during the time he had returned to his room, the center of this family had quietly shifted onto his shoulders.
Early the next morning.
After Aoba accompanied her two children through breakfast, she headed to the Logistics Department.
She explained her situation to squad captain Uchiha Natsuno and submitted her resignation.
Natsuno looked at the faint white haze clouding Aoba's right eye, and a wave of sorrow rose in his heart.
Had the once-renowned Uchiha Aoba of the intelligence world truly fallen to this point?
Without trying to persuade her otherwise, Natsuno immediately approved her request.
Just as Aoba was about to turn and leave, Natsuno could not help asking, "Senior Aoba, what are your plans for the future?"
Aoba paused. Her hazy right eye turned toward him, confusion flashing through it. A moment later, she answered softly, "The future? I want to try the Medical Unit. Even if I'm about to lose my sight completely, I can still contribute some of my strength to the clan."
"My goodness, as expected of Senior Aoba. Senior, let me walk you there."
Hearing Aoba's answer, Natsuno was instantly filled with admiration.
Aoba did not refuse the squad captain's kind offer, and the two walked side by side onto the street.
At that point, Aoba stopped and politely declined.
She calculated that it was still early, so she would first try her luck at the Medical Unit.
Whether things went smoothly or not, she would still have time to return home and make lunch for little Kosuke and Mina.
Three weeks later.
The atmosphere in the Council Hall was grave.
At that moment, Uchiha Tajima had gathered with the clan's six great elders.
"Clan Head, more than three years have passed, and the Senju Clan has become active again. This time, they seem to be planning to join forces with the Uzumaki Clan."
"Join forces with the Uzumaki Clan?"
First Elder Jihuo, who had a fiery temper, immediately turned grim and let out a cold snort.
"So what if they join forces? Our Uchiha Clan crushed the Senju Clan once, and we can crush them a second time!"
"That's right! So what if they join forces with the Uzumaki? If they dare interfere in matters between our two clans, we'll swallow them whole this time!"
Third Elder angrily echoed him, his voice reverberating through the hall.
"Silence!"
Suddenly, a stern rebuke filled with overwhelming authority exploded like thunder.
The hall, which had been as noisy as a group chatting beneath a village tree, instantly fell silent.
Tajima's sharp gaze slowly swept across the six elders.
The moment his gaze touched them, the elders felt as though they had passed through mountains of blades and seas of fire. Cold sweat quickly soaked their backs.
The Clan Head had grown stronger again. The pressure he unconsciously radiated was enough to make all of us tremble.
"Fifth Elder, has the Intelligence Division under your command obtained any news on the Uzumaki Clan?"
"Clan Head, after discovering that Senju spies had gone to the Uzumaki Clan, I immediately sent people to monitor them. At the same time, I ordered that any Uzumaki clansmen encountered outside be captured at once and brought back to the clan."
Hearing Fifth Elder's arrangements, Tajima nodded in satisfaction.
Then his gaze shifted to Uchiha Akiha, Sixth Elder, seated at the end.
"Sixth Elder, once war begins, there absolutely cannot be any delay in logistical supplies. Understood?"
"Understood! Clan Head, the clan warehouses are always stocked with supplies for a major war."
Tajima swept his eyes over everyone once more and said gravely, "Elders, if there is nothing else, return and prepare for the coming war."
"Clan Head, according to a report from a Logistics Department squad captain, Uchiha Aoba resigned from her logistics post three weeks ago."
"Hm?!" Tajima's piercing gaze fell upon Sixth Elder Uchiha Akiha once again, his voice icy. "Do you know the reason?!"
Feeling Clan Head Tajima's terrifying pressure, Akiha secretly rejoiced that he had taken the initiative to report it.
If he had waited for the Clan Head to discover it himself, he would not merely be enduring this oppressive aura.
"According to squad captain Uchiha Natsuno's response, it was because Aoba's Sharingan is about to go blind."
"Blindness..."
Hearing Fifth Elder's answer, the oppressive aura surrounding Tajima receded like the tide and vanished in the blink of an eye.
He could not help recalling the once-stubborn Aoba. The old Clan Head's dying instructions echoed in his ears, and for a moment, it felt as though he had returned to the night the old Clan Head passed away.
"Tajima, I devoted my entire life to the clan." The old Clan Head coughed violently several times. "Ji also shed his blood on the battlefield. Now, our family has only one daughter left..." His voice gradually choked up. "But I feel deeply guilty, guilty that I could not properly accompany her or give her beautiful memories. Perhaps only her deceased brothers left her with some happy memories... Cough, cough, cough..."
"Clan Head, rest for a while first. You can continue later."
The young Tajima hurriedly reached out, wanting to ease the bad breath trapped in the Clan Head's chest, but the Clan Head suddenly seized his hand.
Feeling the Clan Head's dim gaze, Tajima's entire body unconsciously tensed slightly.
"Tajima, if I do not say it now, I truly will not have another chance."
Watching the Clan Head gasp for breath, Tajima's expression softened. He slowly withdrew his hand and placed it back on his lap.
Seeing this, a comforting smile appeared on the Clan Head's face.
"After I leave, the position of Clan Head will be inherited by you, Uchiha Tajima. They will assist you."
Noticing Tajima's astonished gaze, he did not pause, instead continuing with difficulty, "Tajima, from now on, my daughter—Uchiha Aoba—will be entrusted to your care. I do not... do not ask... you... Cough, cough... I only ask that when she makes mistakes, you can forgive and guide her. I... I... I..."
He never spoke his final words, and then he stopped breathing.
Before you continue