Fugaku's Memories

Watching the clan members leave after being dismissed, Fugaku rubbed his brow and looked at his two sons, each held in one of Mikoto's arms.

"Itachi, Hane, if there's nothing else, go to sleep. It's getting late!"

Hane nodded, took Itachi's hand, and left their mother's embrace. Under Mikoto's reluctant gaze, they headed upstairs.

At the door to his room, Hane looked at the still well-behaved Itachi and turned to his younger brother. "Itachi, do you want to sleep with your brother tonight?"

Itachi thought for a moment, then nodded without hesitation. The two brothers had slept together since childhood, only getting separate rooms a little over a year ago.

That night, the brothers lay quietly in bed. Moonlight shone through the gap in the window, draping the room in a mysterious veil.

Neither of them felt sleepy.

One simply did not need much sleep, while the other was burdened with worries.

"Itachi, what dreams do you have for when you grow up?" Hane asked softly.

Itachi was silent for a while before answering, "Brother, I want the village to remain peaceful forever!"

Peace? As expected, such a heavy topic. Hane thought calmly.

"Itachi, if one day you had to choose between the clan and the village, what would you do?" Hane still asked the question whose answer he desperately wanted to know.

Itachi furrowed his tiny brows. "Brother, can't the village and the clan coexist peacefully?"

"I said if. I didn't say it would definitely happen," Hane replied helplessly.

"I'll stop both sides, Brother!" Itachi answered firmly.

Hane relaxed slightly. It seems the clan and the village still carry equal weight in Itachi's heart.

"Haha! What can a little brat like you do, talking such big words? Go to sleep. Peace isn't something children like us need to worry about. Graduate from the Ninja Academy first."

After saying that, Hane closed his eyes and fell asleep as soon as he said he would. Come to think of it, it had probably been over a year since he had truly slept.

"Itachi, I hope you have a good dream tonight!"

Though he wanted to argue with his brother's earlier words, Itachi held it back when he saw Hane close his eyes.

"Mm! Good night, Brother." With that, Itachi closed his eyes as well.

The next day, Hane woke as soon as dawn broke. Falling asleep again felt nowhere near as refreshing as meditating and cultivating, and his head felt a little groggy.

Cultivation really is the path to happiness, Hane thought to himself.

Glancing at Itachi, who was still sleeping peacefully beside him, Hane did not disturb him. He quietly went downstairs.

Hane saw that his mother was already busy in the kitchen. After greeting her good morning, he hurried toward the backyard.

By the time Mikoto heard the sound and turned around, he had already vanished.

"This child..." Mikoto shook her head helplessly.

When he arrived at a remote corner of the backyard, he saw four square plots of land that had been plowed out, with wooden fences beside them.

These plots held the precious medicinal herbs Hane had planted. Since awakening his four auxiliary professions, Hane had attached great importance to them.

Artifact refining and pill refining both required precious materials, so when Hane had been young, he had no way to improve his progress in those two areas through practice.

Formation Art and the Planting Art were different. For the former, he only needed to continually familiarize himself with various restrictions, then use Cinnabar and Yellow Talismans to set them up.

As for the latter, anything Hane planted could earn him some experience, which was why he had developed a love of farming from a young age.

It had to be said that, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku had a sufficiently large backyard. Aside from the training ground, there was still plenty of unused space behind the house.

The four plots together covered seven or eight mu, nearly all of them planted with flowers and grasses Hane had dug up from the wilderness over the years.

Of course, he had not dug up those flowers and grasses at random. Each possessed at least a slight medicinal property.

Using the Hundred Herbs Compendium provided by the Planting Art, Hane could clearly distinguish the functions and medicinal properties contained within every plant.

It was just that the medicinal properties of herbs in the Ninja World were far too weak. He needed to nurture them little by little with spiritual energy, strengthening their innate essence before they could possibly become materials for refining pills.

After entering the garden, Hane first checked whether the Spirit Gathering Array he had set up with talismans had been damaged by insects or ants. After inspecting it, he found that all the restrictions remained intact, and he could not help but sigh in relief. Setting up Formation Arts took quite a lot of time.

Moreover, the Spirit Gathering Array formed with talismans was quite fragile. Compared to spirit stones, it was especially easy for insects and ants to damage.

Among ordinary Formation Arts, he did not have one capable of repelling insects and ants or containing lethal intent.

Therefore, checking the integrity of the Formation Art every day had become routine. Looking at the vibrant, flourishing flowers and grasses, Hane's mood improved considerably. In a while, these plants should be ready for pill refining!

Though they would only be basic pills, they were still important life-saving trump cards for his current self, whose spiritual energy was limited.

Hane carefully loosened the soil around the various plants in his little field according to their individual habits. From time to time, he used the Little Cloud Rain Technique from Water Release to irrigate them and nourish their roots.

His every movement was filled with focus and seriousness, yet he did not know that Fugaku was silently standing by the window at that moment, quietly watching his every action.

"When did my son begin to have such a hobby?" Fugaku could not help sinking into thought.

"It must have been when he was a little over three years old. Fugaku still clearly remembered that after finishing work and returning home, his eldest son had held up a weed picked from the roadside and stretched out his arms, asking to be held. Then, while Fugaku laughed happily, the child had said in his babyish voice that he wanted to farm in the backyard."

"At the time, Fugaku had looked at his wife in confusion, only to find Mikoto wearing the same helpless expression.

His first instinct had been to refuse, but when he saw the pleading look in his son's eyes, he agreed without hesitation and even rubbed his beard against the child's little face.

It seemed that father and son had not been distant from the start. Whenever Fugaku picked Hane up as a child, he would grin from ear to ear.

It was only later, when Hane turned four and began ninja training, that their relationship gradually became distant.

Itachi trained diligently. Whatever Fugaku told him to do, he did. But Hane was mischievous. Aside from basic training, the little boy always seemed to have endless other things to do.

That lackadaisical attitude toward becoming a ninja was what had changed Fugaku.

Whenever Fugaku scolded Hane over it, Hane would argue back. Sometimes Fugaku could not even outtalk a four-year-old child. Hane always had so much crooked logic.

Back then, Fugaku had seemed both helpless and disappointed. He had wanted to act like a stern father and forcibly destroy all those improper pursuits, but whenever he thought of how heartbroken it might make the child, he could not bring himself to do it.

Gradually, father and son became silent with each other. Usually, Fugaku could only pretend to be a father who spoke little but possessed great authority.

Later, Itachi's performance became more and more outstanding, and Fugaku gradually came to terms with it. After all, who could guarantee that every child they had would be equally exceptional?

He simply let Hane pursue those improper hobbies as he pleased.

There had even been a moment when he thought it was a good thing that his eldest son lacked talent as a ninja. After all, being a ninja was far too oppressive and painful. If the little fellow had not stopped him from taking Itachi to the battlefield that day, Fugaku might still have been kept in the dark..."

"Fugaku! What are you thinking about?" Mikoto came up behind him at that moment, gently hugged him, and asked.

"Nothing. Mikoto, you've worked hard." Fugaku came back to his senses and held the hand Mikoto had placed around his waist.

"What have I worked hard over? Today's clan meeting must have put you in a difficult position again, right?" Mikoto replied understandingly.

"It can't be helped. The village is pushing too hard, so it's only natural for the clan members to be angry. If only the Fourth Hokage were still here!" Fugaku sighed with a frown.

"I wonder how Kushina's child is doing. He lost both parents so young. I wonder if he's living well now," Mikoto asked sadly.

"That was the child of her closest friend."

"Ah..." Fugaku did not directly answer his wife's question, merely letting out a deep sigh.

As the head of the Military Police Force, he naturally knew Naruto's situation. But what could he do? The village now guarded against the Uchiha Clan as if they were enemies.

"I hope Hane and Itachi can grow up soon. With their talents, they will surely be able to change the village's current situation."

After saying that, the couple quietly watched Hane continue working in the backyard, both wearing gratified expressions.

"It's time to call the children to eat!" After a long while, seeing that Hane was about to finish, Mikoto spoke softly.

Fugaku nodded and walked toward a patch of woods outside the house. He knew that Itachi was probably secretly training there at this time.