"What Can Be Done About It?"

In the days that followed, Naoki began his recovery in this seaside cottage.

Every day, Aikawa Yumi would come by once or twice to deliver meals—sometimes fish soup with rice balls, sometimes pickled vegetables with rice balls, and occasionally fresh seafood. What never changed, however, was her unrestrained behavior.

Although Naoki was the one benefiting from these encounters, he had to ask himself: was he the protagonist of some harem novel? Did every woman he met just lose all composure?

Impossible!

He felt certain this woman had some ulterior motive...

After a period of recuperation, having regained seventy or eighty percent of his strength, he decided it was time to have a showdown with Aikawa Yumi.

At dawn, Aikawa Yumi pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Naoki standing by the window, she smiled. "Why are you up so early today? Come and eat."

As she spoke, she placed the food container on the wooden table and walked toward Naoki.

As usual, she draped her arm over his shoulder and reached out to touch his face.

Before she could make contact, her hand was clamped firmly by Naoki.

"Oh? Is my little brother finally unable to resist making a move on his big sister?" Far from retreating, Aikawa Yumi leaned in closer, her smiling eyes inches from his. "I'd like to see what you can actually do to me."

Naoki released her hand and took a half-step back, creating distance.

"Yumi, I will keep your care during this time in my heart." His tone turned serious. "But I really must go. There are people waiting for me to return."

Aikawa Yumi arched an eyebrow, dropping her playful demeanor to look him up and down.

"Your wounds are healed?"

"How much?"

"Seventy or eighty percent?"

Aikawa Yumi's rapid-fire questions left Naoki stunned.

No wonder this woman has been teasing me; she was probing the state of my recovery all along... he thought, his suspicion deepening.

"Even if you were at one hundred percent, it wouldn't matter." She shook her head, plopped into a chair, and crossed her legs. "You were unconscious for over a month; your body is severely depleted. If you leave now and something happens on the road, wouldn't all my hard work go to waste?"

Naoki remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly.

"Then what do you want?"

"Stay for now and do some things for me."

"What things, and for how long?"

"You don't need to know what the tasks are, but as for the time..." Aikawa Yumi flashed a wicked grin. "Ten years should do."

From the moment he first saw Aikawa Yumi, he had been wary of this overly beautiful woman. As time passed, he found her even more inscrutable, and his vigilance had only grown.

Now that he had finally heard her terms, he felt a strange sense of relief.

"No." Naoki shook his head. "Ten years is too long. I can do three things for you, and once they are finished, I will leave."

Aikawa Yumi shook her head. "What I say does not change."

"In that case, forgive me for being rude..."

Naoki had no intention of dragging this out; there were many things in Konoha waiting for him...

Watching Naoki activate his Sharingan, Aikawa Yumi smiled faintly.

"Naoki... have you ever had a dream like this?"

With that, she suddenly performed a gesture that filled Naoki with terror...

Naoki's breathing grew heavy. He was reminded of that dream he dared not recall.

The eerie Buddha statue, the red bridal veil, and Sakurai Hideko's slashed throat...

A sea of blood flooded his vision once more. His tall frame swayed twice before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Has... has Naoki been found yet?" In Uchiha Yashiro's office, Sakurai Hideko asked.

After a long silence, Uchiha Yashiro spoke.

"I... will find him... I will find him..."

Tears welled up in her eyes. Sakurai Hideko bowed, her voice choked with sobs. "Thank you. If there is any news, please let me know."

With that, she hurried away.

Once Sakurai Hideko had left, Uchiha Yashiro let out a long sigh.

His wife had sacrificed herself on the battlefield long ago, and having no children of his own, he had come to view Naoki—entrusted to him by an old friend on his deathbed—as his own son. He never expected that the boy, who had been so determined to hone his skills on the battlefield, would lose his life in the southern territories. Even a man as accustomed to life and death as he was could not help but be moved.

He opened a drawer and took out a yellowed photograph.

The photo showed two young ninjas. The young man on the left with the brilliant smile was Naoki's father, the best friend he had ever had.

"Old friend, I didn't take good care of your son."

Uchiha Yashiro reached out and gently stroked the young face in the photo.

"Your son was outstanding," he whispered, as if confiding in his old friend. "More outstanding than any young man I have ever seen. He was smart, courageous, and dared to stand up and speak at critical moments... Fugaku thought highly of him, and many in the clan had begun to respect him. If he could have returned alive, the future of the Uchiha clan might have been truly different..."

He sat there until the sky gradually darkened, the light in the office growing dimmer and dimmer until it was finally swallowed by the darkness... until footsteps sounded outside the door.

Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Yashiro put the photo back, and just then, a rhythmic knocking came from outside the door.

Turning on the light, Uchiha Yashiro said, "Come in."

The person who entered said, "Sir, Lord Uchiha Fugaku requests your presence."

When Uchiha Yashiro arrived, he saw Uchiha Fugaku smoking in sullen silence, one cigarette after another.

Seeing Uchiha Yashiro walk in, Uchiha Fugaku gestured for him to sit down and said, "Today, that woman Utatane Koharu hinted to me that it is time to relocate our clan grounds to a new location..."

"Yashiro, we cannot keep stalling. What should we do?"

Uchiha Fugaku's "What is to be done?" left Uchiha Yashiro lost in thought.

Back then, Naoki had suggested agreeing to the Third Hokage's request to relocate the clan grounds, while shifting the problem of those Uchiha members whose homes were undamaged and unwilling to move onto the Third Hokage.

Later, Uchiha Fugaku had also put forward some additional demands, such as increasing Konoha's financial allocation to the Police Force, requesting that the Uchiha clan be given full authority over the relocation and protection of Naka Shrine and its surrounding areas, and stipulating that any non-Uchiha members entering the area around the shrine in the future must first obtain the consent of the Uchiha clan head. He also demanded that the Third Hokage publicly clarify the suspicions regarding the Nine-Tails Incident and hinted at the fact that the Uchiha clan had long lacked a voice in the village's major decision-making processes, among other things...

Regarding these demands, the Third Hokage had agreed to them all, with the sole exception of Uchiha Fugaku's hint about wanting to enter the decision-making circle. However, he had not explicitly refused, even hinting that he would begin making preparations.

In all honesty, Uchiha Yashiro also felt that both sides had exchanged sufficient benefits and the Third Hokage had been quite reasonable; it would be unjustifiable to continue refusing to relocate the clan grounds...

Uchiha Yashiro tapped his fingers unconsciously against the tabletop, remained silent for a long while, and finally looked up at Uchiha Fugaku.