Nami's Thoughts

Land of Fire, Hokage Administration Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, handling official business.

"Third Hokage, there is news of the Uchiha Clan."

With a swish, a silver-haired figure wearing a mask appeared and reported with cupped hands and a bow.

"Oh? Where did they flee to?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi set down the document in his hand and raised his eyes to look at Kakashi.

Kakashi removed his mask and said in a deep voice, "My summoned beast, Pakkun, detected their scent along the coastal region at the border of the Land of Fire."

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

"It is also possible that they did not go to the Land of Waves and instead crossed the sea to flee to another island."

"Hmph!" Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted softly, lit his pipe, and began to smoke.

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

"Under no circumstances can the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan fall into the hands of another country."

"Spare no expense in killing every last one of them."

"Yes, Third Hokage." Kakashi bowed with cupped hands, then added, "However, we still do not know the Uchiha Clan's exact location. The personnel we send out may need to search separately."

"Moreover, the Uchiha all possess the Sharingan, and their reconnaissance abilities are far greater than ordinary people's. I am afraid this matter cannot be rushed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and waved his hand. "I understand. Go ask Danzo for help and have him mobilize the Root members to participate in this search mission. This matter must be resolved as quickly as possible."

Land of Waves.

Night had long since fallen. In this country surrounded by sea on all sides, the starry sky was especially dazzling and beautiful.

Inside Gato's estate, the Uchiha Clan members had gradually adapted to their surroundings after an afternoon of rest.

This massive estate did not feel crowded even with more than two hundred people living in it. In fact, there were still rooms left over after every family had been assigned one.

Mingyou sat alone by the edge of the pond, considering how to deal with their pursuers.

As a series of soft footsteps sounded, Uchiha Nami walked over from the courtyard and stopped behind Mingyou.

"Brother Mingyou, what are you doing?"

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

Nami obediently sat beside Mingyou, looked up at the stars filling the sky, and sighed. "The night here is so beautiful. I never saw stars this pretty back in Konoha."

Mingyou smiled and nodded. "Of course. Although Konoha has spring-like weather all year round, its climate is still very different from this place."

"On the entire ninja continent, this kind of starry sky can probably only be found in the Land of Waves, which is surrounded by sea on all sides."

Nami's little face filled with confusion as she turned to Mingyou and asked, "Brother Mingyou, you know so much. Why can only this place have such beautiful stars?"

Mingyou smiled awkwardly. This knowledge came from the physics he had learned in his previous life, and he did not know how to explain it for the moment.

"Well... it probably depends on many different factors, such as air quality, weather conditions, and the level of light pollution."

"Huh?" Nami became even more confused and did not understand a word of what Mingyou had said.

"Brother Mingyou, why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

Mingyou shook his head helplessly. Was this little girl some kind of Blue Cat with three thousand questions? Why did she have so many questions?

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about the Uchiha Clan's situation going forward."

"The people of Konoha see us as thorns in their sides. They will not let us off so easily."

"Moreover, Konoha has no shortage of talented people. There must be quite a few experts at tracking."

"We definitely left traces along the way. I'm afraid it will not be long before another fierce battle breaks out."

Nami frowned and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Brother Mingyou, now that you put it that way, the situation really does seem serious."

"I think you should suggest to the clan head that the members who originally belonged to the Military Police Force head to the various borders of the Land of Waves tonight and take up guard duty."

"Also, isn't that old man named Tazuna highly respected in this country?"

"You can have him mobilize everyone in the Land of Waves. Whenever they encounter outsiders, no matter who they are, they must remain vigilant."

"And have them promptly send signals to the Military Police Force members."

"As for how to identify this signal, it has to be something others cannot detect, while the Military Police Force members can clearly tell that outsiders have invaded. Um... anyway..."

Nami continued talking without pause. Judging from her serious expression, she was genuinely giving the matter careful thought.

Mingyou was deeply startled. This little girl was so young, yet her mind was already this meticulous.

Just from hearing Mingyou say that Konoha's people would come after them, she had already devised their next response strategy.

This greatly surprised Mingyou.

"Nami, have you studied things like military strategy or espionage before?"

Nami looked puzzled as she turned to Mingyou. "No. Why do you ask?"

"N-No reason. I just think you're incredibly smart." Mingyou smiled awkwardly. It seemed he had been overthinking things.

"Really? My grandfather used to praise me like that all the time too. Hehe." Receiving Mingyou's approval, Nami revealed a satisfied smile.

She grabbed Mingyou's hand and pulled him toward the courtyard. "Brother Mingyou, let's go. There's no time to waste. We need to tell the clan head and the others how important this is as soon as possible."

"Mm, okay."

Mingyou nodded lightly, his face turning a little red despite himself.

In thirteen years, this was the first time Mingyou had ever held a girl's hand. He had not expected to be forced into it, either.

Girls really were strange creatures. When she had seen him during the day, she had still looked shy.

Yet after only one day, she had dared to come talk with him so freely—and even hold his hand so openly...

"Is that so? Mingyou, what you said makes a lot of sense. This matter cannot be delayed any longer."

After hearing Mingyou and Nami's explanation, Fugaku immediately agreed.

He gathered the clan members and explained the situation, then arranged for the former Military Police Force personnel to take turns standing watch and carry out reconnaissance missions at the borders of the Land of Waves.

Of the more than two hundred remaining Uchiha Clan members, over half were elderly people, children, women, and other noncombatants.

After screening and calculation, only ninety-six people were truly capable of undertaking reconnaissance duties.

Relying on just these ninety-six people to completely cover the borders of the Land of Waves with reconnaissance was undoubtedly a fool's dream.

Only forty-eight people could be assigned to each shift. They could not possibly be made to work twenty-four hours a day.

So this was only a temporary measure. Starting tomorrow, they had to arrange for Tazuna and his workers to begin building watchtowers.