"This is it..." The Great Elder smiled and took out a device, saying, "A lawn mower."
"..."
So, you called me here so mysteriously and made such a big deal out of it just to show me this lawn mower?
Uzumaki Jun stared speechlessly at the Great Elder. Had spending so many years in research made him playful?
A mischievous old man?
Before Jun could speak...
"Don't underestimate this lawn mower." The Great Elder blinked mysteriously. "It's different from the design you gave me."
"Of course it's different." Jun said irritably. One runs on chakra, the other on electricity. How could they be the same?
"Look here." The Great Elder directly turned on the lawn mower and smiled. "This is the result of months of sleepless research by our institute."
Jun was puzzled. The Great Elder never exaggerated. Could there really be something special about it?
He crouched down...
"This... this..." Jun pointed at the cutting blade below in disbelief. "You succeeded?"
"Yes." Seeing Jun's shocked expression, the Great Elder nodded with satisfaction. "After all this time, chakra compression..."
"Finally, we succeeded."
Uzushiogakure.
Police Station.
"Fugaku, it's time to get off work." Sosuke patted Uchiha Fugaku, who was still intently staring at the monitor with his Sharingan activated. "Though your dedication is admirable..."
"I heard you've been working late these past few days and coming in early in the morning?"
"That's really taxing on your mind."
"It's fine." Fugaku shook his head faintly. "I'm not tired."
Because of what happened in Konoha, he couldn't sleep at night. His mind would spiral into thoughts of revenge the moment he relaxed.
Only by focusing on work here could he calm his mind. Especially when people sincerely thanked him...
For some reason, it always eased his restless heart.
"Let's go!" Sosuke pulled Fugaku up with a smile. "It's already so late. Time to clock out. You can't hog the 'Officer of the Year' title forever—leave some room for others!" Then, he turned and shouted, "Someone, take over Fugaku's post!"
"Come with me to the commercial street to try some good food!"
"It'll help you relax."
Helpless, Fugaku let himself be dragged out by Sosuke. Though he could easily resist—Sosuke was nowhere near as strong as him—this feeling...
Wasn't bad.
In Konoha, no one had ever treated him like this. Everyone there feared the Uchiha...
"Alright, I'll walk by myself." Fugaku sighed. "No need to pull me."
Over this time, the Uchiha clan had fully integrated into Uzushiogakure. Even the kids had adapted to school life. According to Mikoto, a teacher very familiar with Uchiha training methods would start teaching them next semester. He was said to be extremely strict, so Fugaku expected many more parent-teacher meetings in the future...
Since it was vacation now, he hadn't been to the school lately.
And...
Because the Uchiha were living so well in Uzushiogakure, free of burdens, he...
Felt an urge to take revenge on Konoha.
"Haha." Sosuke let go of Fugaku and patted his shoulder. "Sorry, sorry."
"It's fine." Fugaku adjusted his uniform and said calmly, "Let's go."
"Is the production cost high?" Jun rubbed his chin as he examined the lawn mower. "Can chakra weapons be made too?"
If they could, why make a lawn mower?
A lightsaber would be much cooler!
"Here." The Great Elder pulled out a hilt from behind and pressed the bottom. "The weapon is also a success."
"It was inspired by the jutsu you developed, the Rasengan."
"By compressing chakra in a special way."
"At first, the imbalance in compression caused explosions, but we found a solution later." The Great Elder swung a blue lightsaber and smiled. "And succeeded."
"Machines are more precise than us. Once the method is set, errors are almost impossible."
"The cost is just a bit high—about ten times that of the gloves. The amount of gold dust needed is too much."
"Is this... Wind Release?" Jun frowned at the lightsaber. "What about other elements?"
"Basically, all of them work." The Great Elder turned off the lightsaber. "They just consume a lot of chakra."
"A lot?" Jun fell into deep thought. "Seems these can't be sold like the previous scientific ninja tools."
So...
"Make ten of each element, but each with a different design." Jun narrowed his eyes. "These scientific blades will be high-end products."
Give them grand, imposing names and have Zetsu spread rumors across the ninja world...
Legendary blades have appeared, only worthy of the strongest.
That way...
In the black market, a single blade could sell for billions, right?
"Kakuzu..." Jun sighed. "There's a huge deal waiting. Why aren't you back yet?"
"Achoo, achoo." Kakuzu rubbed his nose and muttered, "A cold?" Then, he looked at the Konoha-nin before him. "What does your commander want with me?"
The airship had already been delivered to Konoha.
Was there a problem?
But the deal was done. Kakuzu would never refund the money.
Sorry...
The Akatsuki doesn't support seven-day no-reason returns.
Just as Kakuzu thought Konoha was here for a refund and prepared to sneak away...
"Akatsuki."
A low voice spoke.
"Konoha means no harm. We just want to purchase a batch of weapons from you." Orochimaru stepped forward, licking his lips. "I believe you'd be happy to oblige."
A business deal?
Kakuzu's eyes lit up. He nodded with a smile. "Happy to, happy to. Of course, happy to."
"How many..."
"Does Konoha need?"
"This is the new Spicy Blood Stew-style ramen." Sosuke pushed the bowl handed by the owner toward Fugaku. "Try it. The flavor is great."
"..."
Fugaku looked at the ramen pushed toward him, stunned for a moment, then said faintly, "Thanks."
It seemed...
No one had ever treated him to ramen before.
A strange feeling rose in his heart.
He picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. Suddenly...
His eyes brightened.
The taste was really good!
"Good, right?" Sosuke took his own bowl and smiled. "If you're feeling down, eat something. It'll lift your mood."
"Uzushiogakure has plenty of delicious food, all unique to the ninja world."
But...
Fugaku didn't respond. He didn't know what to say.
He...
Couldn't let go.
Sosuke didn't mind. He knew the suffering the Uchiha had endured was no less than the Chinoike Clan's—perhaps even worse...
So after saying what he wanted, he lowered his head and ate.
As a colleague, aside from offering comfort, there was little else...
He could do.
Just then...
"Boss, the new Spicy Blood Stew is here."