Living Together? Haneori's Plan (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Finally back."

In Konoha, within the Uchiha clan compound, Haori sat in his home and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as he had anticipated, returning with Jiraiya's unit had indeed helped him avoid quite a few complications.

Although Konoha's security checks were strict, seeing that it was Jiraiya leading the team meant that many procedures were fast-tracked.

Moreover, Haori possessed a certain level of reputation in Konoha; the incident of blowing up the bridge had brought him a great deal of hidden wealth.

"It seems you are quite popular in this village."

Just as Haori was reflecting on his good luck in running into Jiraiya halfway, the voice of Uchiha Hikari rang out from behind him.

"And hearing them call you a hero, it seems you've accomplished quite a lot."

"Yeah, one has to adapt to their environment, otherwise it's hard to survive."

Haori turned his head to glance at Hikari and shrugged his shoulders.

The girl once known as Nameless had changed her name, though her expression had been very subtle when she first heard the name 'Uchiha Hikari'.

It was clear she seemed to like the name, yet she had acted as if she were accepting it quite reluctantly in the end.

Furthermore, she seemed somewhat antisocial.

When they were returning, Haori had been chatting and laughing with the accompanying ninja, as if he were brothers with everyone.

But she had kept her head down, following behind Haori the entire time without saying a single word, which made Haori somewhat curious.

"Do you not like interacting with others?"

"Now is not the time to discuss such things; you should talk about your specific ideas."

A flicker of emotion appeared in Hikari's eyes, but she quickly calmed down and said in a cold voice.

"How to destroy this clan ultimately requires a plan. Since you won't let me act directly, I assume you must have some ideas."

My ideas aren't on the same wavelength as yours.

Haori complained inwardly, though he knew what needed to be said.

In truth, he did have a plan; regardless of whether his strength was sufficient, he had already made preparations.

"That's right, I do have some ideas."

Haori nodded, his hands forming seals to quickly set up a soundproof barrier before he continued.

"Actually, my goal is very simple. After all, a ship usually starts leaking from the top."

"Doesn't a ship start leaking from the bottom?"

Before Haori could finish, he was directly interrupted by Hikari.

"Also, speak more directly."

Uncultured.

Haori complained inwardly, then said helplessly.

"The upper echelons of the clan are not a monolith. Once we deal with those at the top, the ship that is the Uchiha clan will be close to sinking."

"Then wouldn't it be better if I just acted directly?" Hikari asked, looking at Haori with a strange expression.

"I already said they aren't a monolith, so why not make their internal conflicts even more intense?"

Haori sighed helplessly; he really didn't want to have to explain such things so transparently.

"When we act later, everyone will think it was internal strife. That way, we can be safer and have time to prepare for other things."

"Is that so?"

Hikari thought for a moment, then simply nodded.

"Then how long do we have to wait before we start?"

"Instead of being in a rush to start, I think you should familiarize yourself with the current environment first."

Haori sighed and spoke helplessly.

"Only by understanding the current environment will you be able to see more clearly what you should do, or better understand why I am doing this."

Hikari didn't speak, only nodding gently.

She knew very little about everything in this current era; learning about it might make it easier for her to fulfill the thoughts in her heart.

"Also, I'm sorry that my living conditions aren't great; I'm afraid you'll have to settle for less."

Seeing that Hikari had taken his words to heart, Haori breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"After all, I'm considered an orphan within the clan, so..."

"It's fine, it's much better than where I was before. At least you aren't locked in a cave surrounded by seals."

Hikari didn't mind. Although Haori's home was indeed small, containing only a bookshelf, a wardrobe, and a bed.

However, it also had an independent bathroom and a simple place to cook, and it was kept spotlessly clean.

One could say that while it was small, it had everything one needed, and it was far better than the place where Hikari had once been imprisoned.

"That's good, feel free to settle in here."

Haori nodded, then stood up and flashed a smile.

"Rest assured, no one will ever force you to do anything you don't want to do again."

Upon hearing Haori's words, Hikari fell silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. After all, we share the same goal, don't we?"

Haori smiled nonchalantly, then turned and walked toward the door.

"Get some rest. I need to go make a report. If you're hungry, there are ingredients in the house; feel free to cook something for yourself."

Although he really didn't want to, he did need to report his situation to Uchiha Setsuna.

Especially since he had stood that old man up and hadn't gone to find Uchiha Shisui at all; these things still needed to be handled somehow.

"Mm." Hikari nodded lightly, not saying much else.

Seeing this, Haori turned and walked out.

But after closing the door, he suddenly looked back at his house, and a strange question crossed his mind.

"Wait, does this count as living together?"

He thought it over, but couldn't seem to find an answer, and then he realized an even more important problem.

"Damn it, I forgot to buy an extra bed."

"Is that so? It seems I can't really blame you for that."

In Uchiha Setsuna's private courtyard, Haori and the old man sat opposite each other by the pond.

After listening to Haori's account, it took a long time for the old man to speak slowly.

"The village is holding a large-scale funeral for the memorial, but I didn't expect Jiraiya to have returned as well. What a surprise."

"It was indeed a surprise. I was even looking forward to seeing the level of that genius."

Haori spoke in a calm voice. If he weren't worried about alerting the enemy and affecting his subsequent plans, he would have really liked to have Uchiha Hikari just finish this old man off.

He spent all day acting profound, spouting nonsense about the glory of the Uchiha, yet when it came to treason, he acted as if he were afraid others wouldn't know about it.

In the end, the clan didn't even manage to stir up a ripple before they were wiped out completely.

"Forget it. Although it's a pity, there will always be another chance."

Uchiha Setsuna took a sip of tea, then spoke with an expressionless face.

"By the way, what do you think the result will be when Namikaze Minato visits our clan leader this time?"

Haori had already learned of Namikaze Minato's return on the way back with Jiraiya.

And he knew that he couldn't use the 'Chunin' topic to dodge the question this time.

He had intentionally ignored Kakashi's Sharingan at the time, originally intending to shift the blame onto Uchiha Fugaku, but now it seemed that this point could be utilized.

"I think our clan leader might not return the Sharingan."

Haori's emotions were very calm, as if he were talking about something unrelated.

"After all, Namikaze Minato is Jiraiya's disciple."

"Are you saying the clan leader will abandon our glory and compromise?"

Uchiha Setsuna looked at Haori with slight curiosity, seemingly not surprised that he could say such a thing.

"Elder, I have no right to criticize, and this is merely my conjecture."

Haori shook his head immediately; he would never admit to such a thing.

"But I think as a member of the Uchiha, no one would want their power to be obtained by an outsider.

Even if doing so might improve our environment, or even allow the clan leader to try and strive for the position of Hokage in the future.

But, to obtain it through such means..."

Having said that, Haori stopped decisively.

He knew his limits, and some topics were even kept deliberately vague.

After all, his words carried little weight, and there was no benefit in saying too much.

But seeing the frown on Uchiha Setsuna's face, Haori knew his goal had perhaps been achieved.

For a moment, the two fell into silence once again.

"I understand. You may go back now."

After a long while, Uchiha Setsuna finally spoke.

"Also, prepare yourself to attend the funeral with us tomorrow."

"Yes, Elder." Haori nodded, then stood up.

"By the way, isn't Kakashi your friend?"

Just as Haori was about to leave, Uchiha Setsuna spoke again.

"Kakashi is my friend."

Haori paused, then said with a serious expression.

"But I am an Uchiha."