Fugaku Can't Tell Me What to Do

At her words, Mikoto Uchiha's cheeks flushed even redder, and she couldn't help smacking Genkawa Uchiha again.

This time, she hit him on the head with a little force behind it, producing a crisp smack.

Yet Genkawa Uchiha still grinned as if he felt no pain at all.

"Eat your food."

Seeing him like that, Mikoto Uchiha snapped at him irritably.

Genkawa Uchiha merely smiled it off and began enjoying the breakfast she had brought.

Breakfast was lavish, because Mikoto Uchiha knew how much he could eat.

"What made you come over here today?" Genkawa Uchiha asked.

Speaking of his relationship with Mikoto Uchiha, they were actually closer than he was with Fugaku Uchiha.

To be precise, among the entire Uchiha Clan, the person Genkawa Uchiha was closest to was Mikoto Uchiha.

She had been close friends with his mother in this life, and the two had shared a close relationship.

So after Genkawa Uchiha's parents died, Mikoto Uchiha took the initiative to care for him for quite some time, only stopping when he was nearly ten.

If not for Mikoto Uchiha, Genkawa Uchiha might very well have made up his mind to become a rogue ninja.

After all, the Uchiha Clan visibly had no future. It was already a ship about to sink, and Genkawa Uchiha naturally had no intention of sinking with it.

Moreover, his mindset back then had been unusual. He had been even colder than he was now, even viewing everyone else in this world as NPCs. With his cheat ability, his mentality had become somewhat unhinged.

Fortunately, Mikoto Uchiha was a very gentle woman. She gave him the feeling of a Yamato Nadeshiko, someone deeply soothing to be around, and she had gradually turned his mindset around.

Unfortunately, the age gap between them was too great. Before Genkawa Uchiha was even ten, Mikoto Uchiha had already gotten married, so those thoughts of his had no choice but to be abandoned.

It wasn't like a pony could pull a big cart.

Of course, it wasn't impossible either.

Genkawa Uchiha felt that even if he had not come of age, he could still count as a fine steed.

"Can't I come here?" Mikoto Uchiha asked in return.

Genkawa Uchiha smiled and said bluntly, "So much happened last night. Fugaku must be extremely busy today, and you have two sons to look after..."

He did not say the rest aloud, but the meaning was obvious enough.

Mikoto Uchiha's expression stiffened at his words, and her smile gradually faded, leaving her looking somewhat dejected.

After a moment of silence, she finally asked, "Are you blaming me?"

Genkawa Uchiha did not stop eating. He merely replied, "Not at all. You had your own difficulties, and I was too young back then. Naturally, I can't blame you."

There was no ambiguity between him and Mikoto Uchiha. What he had said earlier had merely been a joke.

It was simply that, as Genkawa Uchiha grew up and Mikoto Uchiha married, their relationship had gradually become more distant.

Genkawa Uchiha had done that deliberately. He did not want to leave himself with any weaknesses, not even emotional ones.

Because he did not want anyone to be able to threaten him.

No one understood how deep the waters of the Ninja World ran better than he did.

Genkawa Uchiha was grateful for the care Mikoto Uchiha had shown him as a child, so he would not stand by and watch her fall into danger in the future.

But that was about it.

No one else was included in that.

Thus, Genkawa Uchiha deliberately maintained their current relationship: neither distant nor close, hovering somewhere in between.

Mikoto Uchiha seemed to recall something. Her eyes reddened slightly, and only after gently pressing her lips together did she say, "I'm sorry, Genkawa. I should have cared more about you back then."

Genkawa Uchiha's smile remained unchanged. "You're overthinking it, Sister Mikoto. I never blamed you. Besides, you had no obligation to take care of me back then. Honestly, I'm very grateful that you did it out of friendship with my mother."

That was not a lie.

Mikoto Uchiha's marriage to Fugaku Uchiha had merely been an alliance between two factions within the Uchiha Clan.

Mikoto Uchiha's faction belonged to the moderates of the Uchiha, so naturally, they had wanted to influence Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, and thereby influence the entire Uchiha Clan.

As a result, Mikoto Uchiha had never been able to decide her own marriage.

There was nothing much to say about that. Such things were common among ninja clans.

However, judging by things now, even after she married Fugaku Uchiha, the moderates had not influenced the Uchiha Clan much.

Because within the current Uchiha Clan, the hardliners still made up the majority.

"Alright, Sister Mikoto. Let's talk about why you came here today."

Genkawa Uchiha changed the subject.

Mikoto Uchiha gently wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at him seriously.

"Genkawa, don't blame Fugaku, alright?"

Genkawa Uchiha paused mid-motion, looking surprised.

"Why would I blame that guy Fugaku?"

Mikoto Uchiha's hands, resting on the table, tightened slightly as though she were struggling with something.

"He promised the Third Hokage that he would not pursue the matter of Shimura Danzō possessing Sharingan."

Genkawa Uchiha smiled instead.

"Is that so? Then did he get anything from the Third Hokage?"

Mikoto Uchiha fell silent, seemingly unsure how to answer.

Seeing that, Genkawa Uchiha understood.

Just as expected of Fugaku Uchiha. Even under these circumstances, he could still endure it. What a turtle.

"So he agreed in my name?"

Mikoto Uchiha fell silent again.

Genkawa Uchiha put down his chopsticks, poured himself a cup of sake, and drank it. Ignoring the surprise in her eyes, he said, "I don't care about the Sharingan. They aren't my eyes anyway. I'm not the Clan Head, so he can handle it however he wants, as long as he can convince the other clansmen."

"But..."

Genkawa Uchiha stared at Mikoto Uchiha and said evenly, "If he thinks he can make me stop pursuing Shimura Danzō as well, then he is going to be disappointed."

Seeing that Mikoto Uchiha seemed to have something to say, Genkawa Uchiha smiled again.

"Sister Mikoto, this is between Shimura Danzō and me. It has nothing to do with the clan. That guy Fugaku can't tell me what to do."

Mikoto Uchiha naturally understood Genkawa Uchiha's personality. Once he said something, he meant it. Since he had spoken those words, there was no way he would change his mind.

Not even Fugaku Uchiha could change that.

The two had argued over certain matters before, but every time, Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, had been the one to yield.

As always, Genkawa Uchiha was too special within the Uchiha Clan—so special that even Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, had no good way to deal with him.

"Thank you for the breakfast, Sister Mikoto. It tastes as good as ever."

Clearly, Genkawa Uchiha did not intend to continue the topic.

Besides, he had no desire to say much more to Mikoto Uchiha right now. He wanted to get to practicing ninjutsu as soon as possible. This was something he had looked forward to for more than a decade, so it was naturally more important.

But in Mikoto Uchiha's eyes, Genkawa Uchiha's attitude had turned cold.

The person she had regarded as a younger brother was now actively distancing himself from her.

For some reason, her heart ached. Mikoto Uchiha lowered her head, her hair falling forward to conceal most of her face, and her voice became muffled.

"I understand. I'm sorry. I won't disturb you again in the future."

Genkawa Uchiha asked in surprise, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Mikoto Uchiha was stunned as well. "You... don't you not want to see me anymore?"

"When did I ever say that?"

"Then..."

Genkawa Uchiha wore a strange expression. "After all these years, haven't you realized it, Sister Mikoto? You two are husband and wife, but to me, you are you, and he is he."

As he spoke, he smiled again. "I just meant that I've finished breakfast. That's all."

"Really?"

Hope filled Mikoto Uchiha's eyes.

Genkawa Uchiha nodded.

"Would I lie to you? But Sister Mikoto, the next time you come, could you change clothes? That fishnet outfit and short skirt you wore when you were a ninja were pretty nice. They felt great."

Mikoto Uchiha's cheeks inexplicably reddened.

When she had been younger, she had been quite bold, and naturally dressed far more daringly than she did now.

But at her age, with her status, if she wore something like that again...

She did not even dare imagine what kind of scene that would be.

It was far too embarrassing.