When it came to being "bad at communication", Mitsuki couldn't help but nod — his former teammate, Ruri, was a textbook example of a quiet, emotionally reserved Uchiha.
"Clan Head Fugaku" Mitsuki asked casually, "you mentioned my former teammate earlier — the one from the Uchiha clan. Do you know her?"
"It's Ruri, right? I'm quite familiar with her father. I've seen her many times — a very polite girl."
That was a lie.
Fugaku did know of Ruri, but only in terms of her talent as a ninja. Beyond that, the only thing he knew was that her father — a skilled jonin with a fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan — was named Uchiha En. He hadn't seen the man on active duty in years, supposedly due to an injury that forced him into recovery.
Still, Fugaku wasn't about to admit, "Oh, I barely know them." Not when he was trying to build rapport with Mitsuki.
Mitsuki, of course, immediately saw through the lie. But he didn't care — because his next question was the important one.
"Then you must know what Ruri's been up to lately?"
That, Fugaku actually did know.
"Ruri? She applied to be stationed on the Kiri front last month. Things weren't nearly as tense back then, but she was eager to head to the battlefield, so I gave my approval."
Upon hearing that, Mitsuki nodded in realization. No wonder he hadn't seen Ruri around lately — the restless girl must've run off to the warfront on her own.
The more Mitsuki talked to Fugaku, the more he realized the clan head wasn't what he expected. Unlike most Uchihas, Fugaku wasn't arrogant or dismissive. In fact, he was polite, calm, and easy to converse with — surprisingly approachable for someone of his status.
It was no wonder the Third Hokage trusted him to lead the Uchiha toward integration with the rest of the village.
The two continued to chat idly along the road, making the journey far less dull.
The Kiri battlefield was located within the borders of the Land of Fire itself.
As such, Mitsuki's unit reached Konoha's main command camp for the Kiri front in less than a day.
Compared to the harsh conditions on the Suna front in the Land of Rivers, this place was far better. The entire area had originally been built not long after the founding of Konoha as a strategic defense post against Kirigakure's forces. Even in peacetime, patrol squads were regularly stationed here.
The camp had grown into a small fortress-like settlement — multiple-story wooden buildings lined the area, their weathered planks showing decades of age.
After assigning positions to their respective squads, Mitsuki and Fugaku headed together to the main command building. On the way, Fugaku enthusiastically pointed out various facilities and areas of the camp.
Back when Mitsuki had been a mere genin, he wouldn't have cared much for these details. But now, as the senior tactical advisor for the Kiri front, he needed to understand the ground he was operating on.
When they pushed open the door to the command room, several ninja were already busy sorting reports and dispatches. Mitsuki quickly noticed that most of them bore either the Uchiha fan crest or the Hyuga clan's flame-like emblem.
Before he could speak, a Hyuga ninja hurried over and whispered respectfully, "Fugaku-sama, Mitsuki-sama, Hizashi-sama is waiting for you inside."
Konoha's Kiri frontlines were largely managed by the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. Thus, the camp had always had two commanders — one from each clan. Fugaku represented the Uchiha; Hizashi, the Hyuga.
As the younger brother of the Hyuga clan head, Hiashi, Hizashi was the natural choice. Hiashi, being of the main family, could not risk his life on the front lines — the elders wouldn't allow it. Hizashi, on the other hand, had both the strength and freedom to command.
When Mitsuki and Fugaku entered the office, Hizashi immediately stood up with a smile.
"So, you must be the famed Konoha Gale, the man who ended the Suna front war. I've heard much about you."
Mitsuki blinked — his tone and demeanor were just like Hiashi's. So polite it almost felt staged.
"You flatter me" Mitsuki replied with a modest nod. "It was all thanks to Captain Minato and the others. I only did what I could."
Seeing the two getting along well, Fugaku decided to move straight to the main issue.
"Let's get down to business. Lately, Kirigakure's raids along the coast of the Land of Fire have become more frequent. How should we respond?"
Mitsuki thought for a moment before asking, "How have you been handling it so far?"
Fugaku and Hizashi exchanged glances before the latter answered,
"Up until now, our operations have been divided — Hyuga and Uchiha forces act separately."
Mitsuki frowned slightly. "Why? Wouldn't it make more sense to mix the two? Each clan's strengths could complement the other."
Fugaku sighed.
"That's how we started. But the results… weren't great. The coordination between Hyuga and Uchiha shinobi was far from ideal."
Ah. Mitsuki immediately understood.
Perhaps the amiable atmosphere between Fugaku and Hizashi had made him forget — in reality, the Uchiha and Hyuga weren't exactly best friends.
Ever since the Senju clan had renounced their name and fully integrated into the village, only two major bloodline clans remained in Konoha — the Uchiha and the Hyuga. And as the saying goes: "Two tigers cannot share one mountain."
Both clans prided themselves on their dōjutsu — Sharingan and Byakugan — and each wanted to be seen as Konoha's true noble bloodline. The rivalry between them ran deep.
Expecting them to cooperate seamlessly on the battlefield was… unrealistic.
Before Mitsuki's arrival, Fugaku and Hizashi had tried combining units — two Uchiha with two Hyuga to form mixed squads. But those mixed teams completed missions at barely half the success rate of pure Uchiha or pure Hyuga units.
Even after several trials and motivational talks about "the will of fire" and "unity for the village," nothing changed.
Unless the individuals naturally got along, cooperation simply didn't work — and such cases were too rare to affect the overall war effort.
From that point onward, Fugaku and Hizashi had given up on the idea altogether.
As the discussion continued, Mitsuki gradually stopped speaking.
After all, nearly every ninja stationed here belonged to either the Uchiha or Hyuga clans. There was no point in him interfering too deeply.