Toward evening, after saying goodbye to the Uchiha youngsters and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shiring Aburame returned to the Aburame compound through the gathering darkness, carrying a basket of fresh produce.
Inside the Clan Leader's Mansion, the current leader of the Aburame Clan-Shiring Aburame's father-sat at a table drinking tea with his head lowered. When he saw his son return, he merely nodded, filled a cup he had prepared in advance with hot tea, and beckoned Shiring to sit beside him.
Only after father and son had silently finished a full cup of hot tea did the Aburame clan leader ask what Shiring had been doing after school.
"What did the Uchiha want you to do?"
"Raise bees. When they harvest the honey next year, they'll give me half."
At that answer, the Aburame clan leader thought for a moment. With most of his face hidden beneath sunglasses and a hood, his expression was unreadable. He simply nodded again.
"That sounds good."
He took the basket Shiring Aburame had brought and carefully checked its contents, only to discover, to his surprise, that some of the food inside was unfamiliar to him.
Picking up a sweet potato, the Aburame clan leader studied this rather strange-looking food in puzzlement. Seeing his father's confusion, Shiring explained:
"That's a sweet potato. It's delicious."
The Aburame clan leader understood. This was undoubtedly a product of Wood Release.
Uchiha Shingetsu, that child of mixed Senju and Uchiha blood, possessed a special Wood Release entirely different from Hashirama Senju's. It was no exaggeration to say that her arrival had changed the balance of power in Konoha.
These days, every shinobi clan paid close attention to how relations between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan would develop.
Before this, although the two clans had nominally reconciled, anyone with eyes