"Wasn't I just stopping by to check on how our Great Elder's been doing lately?"
"But it looks like I might've interrupted you while you were thinking about something nice."
Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's teasing, Uchiha Setsuna grumbled inwardly, So you know you interrupted me while I was thinking about something nice?
Of course, Uchiha Setsuna would never say that out loud.
Uchiha Setsuna knew that Uchiha Fugaku was asking about his progress, but he didn't want to reveal anything yet, so he changed the subject and asked in return,
"What would the clan head like to know about?"
"Is it the herb procurement or the renovation of the Senju Clan Compound?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku smiled and replied,
"I'm not concerned about either. I'm more interested in you and Granny Cat..."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't finish what he was saying. Instead, he raised an eyebrow to indicate that Setsuna should know what he meant.
Uchiha Setsuna knew he couldn't dodge the question, so he said,
"We've only just made a little progress."
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help feeling surprised. He hadn't expected his Great Elder to be so decisive when it came to romance!
It seemed that if the clan hadn't gotten in the way back then, Setsuna and Granny Cat would probably have been together long ago, wouldn't they?
But it still wasn't too late.
At least they'd managed to catch up now.
Uchiha Fugaku continued asking,
"Great Elder, how far have you gotten with that little bit of progress?"
Uchiha Setsuna: "..."
In the end, Uchiha Fugaku still couldn't get the full story of how things were progressing between Uchiha Setsuna and Granny Cat.
But since he was already there, Uchiha Fugaku took the opportunity to hear a brief update on the herb purchases and the Senju Clan Compound renovations. He also instructed the Great Elder to have Uchiha Fujino prepare the Body Nourishing Powder before leaving.
He hadn't expected the new herbs to arrive so quickly. Once the Body Nourishing Powder was ready, it would be time to begin his Uchiha Genius Cultivation Plan.
As soon as the thought crossed Uchiha Fugaku's mind, the system issued another mission.
The mission's content made Uchiha Fugaku pause in surprise.
"Host's thoughts detected. System mission issued: Strongest Clan."
"System Mission: Strongest Clan"
"Final objective: Lead the Uchiha Clan to become the strongest clan, surpassing all other races."
"First-stage objective: Double the Uchiha Clan's total strength."
"Second-stage objective: Double the Uchiha Clan's total strength again."
"Third-stage objective: Locked."
(Current Uchiha Clan strength: 1 Super Kage, 1 Kage Level, 36 Jonin, 76 Chunin, 145 Genin, 256 civilians.)
(Family strength calculation: Available once the host reaches Six Paths Level or above. Six Paths Level combat strength: +50,000; Super Kage combat strength: +10,000; Kage Level combat strength: +1,000; Jonin combat strength: +100; Chunin combat strength: +10; Genin combat strength: +1.)
(Uchiha Clan strength: 15,505)
(Note: Family strength calculations are not equivalent to a clan's actual overall combat power. They only account for basic strength and population. For example, the Sarutobi Clan currently has thousands of ninja, giving it a total strength comparable to the Uchiha Clan.)
Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku more or less understood all the details of the mission.
He agreed with the system's calculations.
Even the note that the Sarutobi Clan's strength was comparable to the Uchiha Clan's made sense to him.
Although the Sarutobi Clan's average strength wasn't very high, they made up for it with their numbers, especially during the decades when the Third was in power.
Anyone in the clan with a talent for being a ninja had basically become one.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to mobilize several thousand Sarutobi Clan ninja during the Fourth World War.
And if Fugaku weren't there to support them, the Uchiha Clan might really have struggled to defeat the Sarutobi Clan.
After the system issued the mission, Uchiha Fugaku became even more invested in developing the clan.
After all, reaching the second stage would earn him ten Myriad Realms draws.
And the reward from the first-stage draw might even boost his own strength. He was a member of the clan too—and its head, no less.
Now that he had this mission, it was time to hurry up and develop a Senjutsu unique to the Uchiha Clan.
When the time came, he'd create three versions: one exclusive version for himself, a complex version, and a Common Version.
After all, he had to take their different levels of talent into account.
One version would be exclusively for him, the complex version would be reserved for talented clan members, and the Common Version would be given to ordinary clan members to practice.
One Senjutsu might be enough to raise the whole clan's strength by a level. They could become a clan of full-fledged sages and complete the first stage of the Strongest Clan mission outright.
Who knew? They might even be able to complete the second stage of the Strongest Clan mission at the same time.
With that thought, Uchiha Fugaku hurried home and resumed reading the Qi Refining Technique.
At the same time, he secretly swore to himself that by tomorrow—by tomorrow night at the latest—he would enter Enlightenment Mode and begin creating Senjutsu.
With no one else disturbing him today, Uchiha Itachi finished his training, bought a serving of dango, and spent some time with Izumi Uchiha.
Then he picked up his younger brother, Sasuke, and brought him home.
As soon as he entered the living room, he spotted his father reading intently.
Uchiha Itachi had noticed his father reading a lot lately, and a bold idea came to mind.
Should I sneak a peek at what Dad's reading?
Could it be that Icha Icha Paradise my former Anbu teammates were talking about?
If it is, I can tell Mom. Then I'll be avenging the dango he stole from me!
With that thought, Uchiha Itachi quietly said to his younger brother, Sasuke,
"Sasuke, go play over there for a bit. Your big brother will play ninja games with you in a little while, okay?"
As soon as Sasuke heard that, he was about to shout out his agreement.
But Uchiha Itachi quickly covered his mouth and gestured for him to stay quiet.
Sasuke didn't know what Uchiha Itachi was up to, but he obediently went to wait off to the side.
Then Uchiha Itachi quietly walked over.
Uchiha Fugaku was so absorbed in reading the Qi Refining Technique that Uchiha Itachi didn't disturb him at all.
Standing behind Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi looked at the book his father was reading and couldn't help feeling confused.
What kind of book was this?
Why couldn't he understand a single thing?
Could it be an encrypted edition of that so-called Icha Icha Paradise?
After all, ninja intelligence was encrypted too, and without the right method, no one could understand it.
Just as Uchiha Itachi was thinking this,
Uchiha Fugaku felt uneasy at the presence of someone standing behind him and slowly came out of his focused state.
Then Uchiha Fugaku glanced behind him and couldn't help jumping in fright.
Before you continue