Nami's Thoughts

Land of Fire, Hokage Office Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, handling official duties.

"Third Hokage, we have located the Uchiha Clan."

With a whoosh, a silver-haired figure wearing a mask appeared, bowing and reporting.

"Oh? Where did they flee to?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the document in his hand and glanced at Kakashi.

Kakashi removed his mask and said in a deep voice, "My summoning beast, Pakkun, detected their scent in the coastal area on the border of the Land of Fire."

"The closest country to that location is the Land of Waves."

"It's also possible they didn't go to the Land of Waves and instead crossed the ocean to escape to other islands."

"Hmph!" Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted lightly and lit his pipe.

"Kakashi, no matter what, you must find their whereabouts."

"We absolutely cannot allow the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan to fall into the hands of other countries."

"At all costs, eliminate them all."

"Yes, Third Hokage." Kakashi bowed and agreed, then suggested again, "However, we are not yet certain of the specific location of the Uchiha Clan members, and the dispatched personnel may need to be dispersed for searching."

"Moreover, the Uchiha all possess the Sharingan, and their reconnaissance capabilities are much stronger than ordinary people. I'm afraid this matter cannot be rushed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and waved his hand, "I understand. Go find Danzo for help and have him mobilize Root members to participate in this search mission. We must resolve this matter as soon as possible."

Land of Waves.

Night had already fallen. In this country surrounded by the sea, the starry sky at night was exceptionally dazzling and beautiful.

Inside Gato's mansion, the Uchiha Clan members, after an afternoon of rest, had gradually adapted to the environment here.

This large mansion could accommodate about 200 people without feeling crowded. In fact, there were rooms left over even after each family was assigned one.

Mingyou was currently sitting alone by the pond, thinking about countermeasures against the pursuers.

As a series of light footsteps sounded, Uchiha Nami walked over from the courtyard, arriving behind Mingyou.

"Brother Mingyou, what are you doing?"

"Nami, have a seat." Mingyou pointed to the railing beside him, signaling Nami to sit down.

Nami obediently sat next to Mingyou, looked up at the starry sky, and exclaimed, "The night here is so beautiful. I've never seen such beautiful stars in Konoha before."

Mingyou smiled and nodded, "Of course. Although Konoha is like spring all year round, its climate is still very different from here."

"In the entire ninja continent, the only place where you can see this kind of starry sky is probably the Land of Waves, surrounded by the sea."

Nami's little face was full of doubt as she turned to look at Mingyou and asked, "Brother Mingyou, you know so much. Why is it that only here can you see such beautiful stars?"

Mingyou smiled awkwardly. This knowledge came from the physics he learned in his previous life, and Mingyou didn't know how to explain it for a moment.

"This... it probably depends on many different factors such as air quality, weather conditions, and light pollution."

"Huh?" Nami was even more puzzled and didn't understand what Mingyou was saying at all.

"Brother Mingyou, why are you sitting here alone?"

Mingyou shook his head helplessly. Is this little girl a 'Blue Cat Curious 3000 Whys'? Why does she have so many questions...

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about the Uchiha's situation."

"The people of Konoha see us as a thorn in their side and won't let us go so easily."

"Moreover, Konoha has many talented people, and there must be many skilled trackers."

"We will definitely leave clues along the way. I'm afraid there will be another fierce battle soon."

Nami frowned and pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Brother Mingyou, listening to you, it seems like things are really serious."

"I think you can suggest to the Clan Head that the members who originally belonged to the Security Force go to various borders of the Land of Waves tonight to serve as guards."

"Also, I see that old man named Tazuna has a very high reputation in this country, right?"

"You can have him mobilize all the people in the Land of Waves. Anyone who encounters outsiders, no matter who they are, must be vigilant."

"And have them send signals to the Security Force in time."

"As for what to use to locate this signal, it must be something that others cannot discover, but the Security Force can clearly know that there are outsiders invading, um... anyway..."

Nami's little mouth kept talking. Looking at her serious expression, she was indeed thinking about this issue very seriously.

Mingyou was shocked to hear this. This little girl is so young, but her mind is so meticulous.

Just hearing Mingyou say that people from Konoha would come to track them, she had already thought of the next countermeasure.

This greatly surprised Mingyou.

"Nami, have you ever studied military or espionage-related knowledge before?"

Nami looked puzzled and turned to look at Mingyou, asking, "No, why do you ask?"

"It's nothing, I just think you're too smart." Mingyou smiled awkwardly, it seems he was really overthinking it.

"Really? My grandpa used to praise me like that all the time, hee hee." Nami, pleased with Mingyou's affirmation, flashed a satisfied smile.

She grabbed Mingyou's hand and pulled him toward the courtyard. "Mingyou-nii, let's go! There's no time to lose; we need to explain the importance of this matter to the clan head and the others as soon as possible."

"Okay, sure."

Mingyou nodded slightly, his face flushing slightly without him realizing it.

In his thirteen years, it was the first time Mingyou had held a girl's hand, and he hadn't expected to be forced into it.

Girls were such strange creatures; she had been shy when she saw him during the day.

Only a day had passed, and she dared to come and chat with him so freely, and even hold his hand so openly.

"Indeed? Mingyou, what you said makes a lot of sense; this matter can't be delayed any longer."

Fugaku listened to Mingyou and Nami's explanation and immediately agreed.

He gathered the clan members to explain the situation and arranged for the original members of the guard unit to begin taking shifts, heading to the Land of Waves border to carry out reconnaissance missions.

Of the remaining 200-plus members of the Uchiha Clan, most were elderly, young children, and women, without any combat capabilities.

After screening and calculation, there were a total of 96 people who could truly take on the reconnaissance mission.

Relying on these 96 people alone to completely cover the Land of Waves border with reconnaissance was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Each shift could only deploy 48 people; it was impossible to have them working 24 hours a day.

So this was only a temporary measure; starting tomorrow, Tazuna and his workers had to be arranged to start building watchtowers.