Itachi's Departure

The next day, when Tazuna heard about building watchtowers, he agreed without a second thought.

He was initially quite afraid of Mingyou. Killing so many people so casually, despite his young age, he didn't seem like a good person at all.

It wasn't until Mingyou actually helped to get rid of Gato yesterday that the old man opened his heart and truly accepted the Uchiha Clan.

Gato had been a malignant tumor for the people of the Land of Waves for many years. Now that Mingyou had solved the problem, life would only get better.

Therefore, when Mingyou proposed building watchtowers, Tazuna immediately mobilized nearly half of the country's workforce.

Construction on the watchtowers began.

According to the plan agreed upon last night, a watchtower over a hundred meters high would be built every three hundred meters.

This way, only one lookout would need to be stationed at the top of each watchtower, and they could also provide mutual support.

The entire territory of the Land of Waves could not be fully covered for the time being.

Those high mountains and cliffs would not be considered for watchtower construction for now, as manpower was currently in short supply.

The materials used to build the watchtowers were only the simplest wood.

With the skills of Tazuna and his workers, the structures built wouldn't be too bad.

The second matter discussed with Tazuna was the establishment of a ninja academy in the Land of Waves.

Relying solely on the Uchiha ninjas was not enough.

They had to start with the younger generation of the Land of Waves.

Children as young as 5 and as old as 15 could join the Uchiha ninja school and begin learning about ninjutsu.

With the Uchiha Clan's years of accumulated knowledge, establishing a ninja school class would be more than enough.

Of course, becoming a ninja was not that simple.

It wasn't something that could be achieved in just ten days or half a month, or even a year or two.

Konoha's ninja school required five or six years to graduate, followed by guidance from Jonin.

This showed how complex the knowledge involved was.

But the ninja school class established by the Uchiha had to be a crash course.

It would focus specifically on knowledge related to combat and ninjutsu, conducting a series of courses.

"Is that so? Lord Mingyou, I'm just an old man and don't understand these things too well, but I will make sure people cooperate with you as much as possible."

Tazuna laughed heartily. He was genuinely happy about Mingyou's proposal.

Because it was clear that this would benefit the backward Land of Waves.

How could he not actively cooperate?

Mingyou nodded, "Mr. Tazuna, there is one more thing I must explain to you."

"Our Uchiha are actually a clan that fled from Konoha, but from our actions, I believe you can see that we are not bad people."

"But Konoha's ninjas will definitely pursue us vigorously. At that time, war will be unavoidable in the Land of Waves."

"So I hope you can move all the villagers along the coast bordering the Land of Fire to the back half of the coast."

"Although this may seem abrupt, it is for your safety."

Tazuna smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lord Mingyou. Although the Land of Waves is an island nation, it has a fairly large area."

"It's not difficult to move the villagers to the back half to live."

After explaining these matters, Tazuna bowed and left to arrange the construction of the watchtowers and the relocation of the villagers.

Mingyou also turned and walked towards Gato's mansion.

The Uchiha Clan had just established itself in the Land of Waves, and there were many important matters to discuss. No one had any time to spare.

"Father, I... I want to tell you something."

In the mansion's living room, Itachi interrupted Fugaku and the others' conversation, calmly scanning the crowd.

Elder Soki frowned, waving his hand impatiently, "Itachi, everyone is busy right now. If it's not important, tell the clan leader later."

Ever since Soki learned that Itachi harbored thoughts of betraying the Uchiha, he had never been fond of him.

Moreover, when they were trapped in the cave in a life-or-death situation, Itachi's first thought was not to start a war with Konoha.

For the peace of the ninja world? It was simply ridiculous. Anyway, he couldn't understand Itachi's great love ideology.

And this matter had now become a thorn in Soki's heart.

Whenever he saw Itachi, he felt annoyed and bothered.

"No, this matter is very important. I must say it in front of all of you."

Itachi shook his head slightly, still choosing to stop the others from continuing their discussion.

Fugaku nodded, "What is it, Itachi? Just say it."

Itachi pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I'm going to leave here, leave the Land of Waves."

"What!!"

As soon as these words left Itachi's mouth, the more than 20 Uchiha elders in the hall were shocked, somewhat unable to understand what he meant.

Elder Soki was the most agitated, his eyes filled with anger: "Itachi, could it be that you want to betray the Uchiha again, return to Konoha, and reveal the Uchiha's location?"

Fugaku pulled Soki back, his expression also somewhat unsightly as he asked, "Itachi, what is the reason? You must explain things clearly."

Itachi's gaze swept over the Uchiha members present, his expression calm as he said, "Everyone can rest assured, I will not return to Konoha. Now, like you, I am also being hunted by Konoha."

"The reason I choose to leave here is because I am now in a state of estrangement from everyone in the Uchiha."

"From the day we fled to the Land of Waves, I have already noticed that the way you look at me always carries a kind of vigilance."

"I know this is because I once agreed to the Third Hokage's conditions, and the fact that I took action against the Uchiha has made you feel disheartened."

"Therefore, I also intend to leave this place and venture into the ninja world, to carefully consider whether my actions were correct."

"I see," Fugaku nodded, feeling a trace of guilt towards his son, Itachi.

If he hadn't arranged for him to join Anbu, Itachi wouldn't have imperceptibly fallen into the awkward position of a double agent.

"Itachi, I respect your decision. If you want to leave, I am willing to support you."

At this moment, Mingyou happened to walk in from outside, hearing the general gist of the conversation in the hall.

Mingyou walked up to Itachi, quietly gazing into his eyes: "Itachi, now is the most difficult time for the Uchiha. Do you really want to choose to leave?"