Konoha, Uchiha Clan Land.
In the snow-covered courtyard, an old man sat alone on the veranda, leisurely fishing with a rod.
Soon, footsteps could be heard on the veranda, and the old man slightly turned his head to see Uchiha Rika approaching.
"Life after retirement is truly relaxing, Elder Shikata."
Rika teased with a smile.
"At my age, I don't wish to spend my days scheming against others."
The Elder Shikata said.
"But it's strange, the Hyuga Family has become much more docile recently."
Rika rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
"Don't talk to an old man like me about such things."
"I just wanted to get your perspective. It might affect the Uchiha Race."
"Pointless questions. What brings you here?"
The Elder Shikata had no intention to pay attention to or learn about the actions of the higher-ups or those of the Hyuga Family.
Compared to that, he was more interested in knowing if the fish he would catch later would be tasty and if the maids at home could prepare them to his satisfaction.
"You know about Fugaku's child, right?"
Rika inquired.
"The child born with that girl named Mikoto? I remember the child was born in June this year."
The Elder Shikata recalled the matter carefully and remembered it.
In June of this year, Uchiha Fugaku's child was born in the hospital. This was something Elder Shikata knew.
"Yes, that child's name is Uchiha Itachi."
"Itachi, is it? That's a nice name. And what does that have to do with me?"
"Don't be so cold, Elder. Fugaku wants you to take his child as a disciple when he's grown up."
Rika said.
"...My energy is not what it used to be, and I've decided not to care about external matters. He's the Clan Leader of the Uchiha, and he can't even teach his own child?"
The Elder Shikata's eyes were cold.
He understood well what Fugaku meant.
He wanted to use him, an already retired old man, to add weight to the so-called Clan Leader position and intimidate the radical members of the clan.
Hoping for an old man like him to take his child as a disciple might also be a kind of test.
"I'm just conveying his message, no need to get mad at me, right?"
Rika scratched his head helplessly.
"Being a Clan Leader for only a few months, and he dares to test my limits... Rather than wasting energy on these pointless tricks, it would be better to focus energy on unifying the voices within the clan."
When he unified the voices of the radicals within the clan, it took him several years to forcibly establish enough prestige, not something that was achieved overnight.
Fugaku, as the Clan Leader for only six months, is in such a hurry to accomplish something beyond the previous generation. Elder Shikata understands this mindset of Fugaku's — the more he can't get something, the more he wants to prove to others that he possesses these powers. This immature stubbornness is not a good thing for a clan.
"Should I reply to him like this?"
"Tell him to perform well on the battlefield and stop thinking about random things."
The Elder Shikata's face was filled with a deep sense of disappointment, but he still gave this advice.
Although he didn't have high expectations for the Uchiha Race in the village, he didn't expect that in less than half a year, Fugaku couldn't withstand the pressure from the radicals and subtly asked him for help.
Wanting to be cold and unyielding to the clansmen but never could harden his heart; wanted to tolerate everything about the clansmen, yet always dissatisfied with the militant ideology of the radicals, not communicating with them, and rejecting them entirely.
He only hopes that through this war, Fugaku can mature and stop looking at the clan with such immature thinking.
However, Elder Shikata knows well that this is very difficult. The negative power of the Sharingan affects people's minds and personalities; a pessimist can only see the negative aspects. Fugaku is merely one of its victims.
"Got it. I will make it clear to him."
Rika nodded his head.
He was just a messenger, and seeing Elder Shikata in a bad mood, he took his leave.
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In the cold and clear winter wind, one can still feel the warm sunlight shining down from the sky.
Although the people of the Land of Demons live somewhat more affluently than before, they are still accustomed to storing a large amount of food at home to get through the cold winter.
In these times when labor hasn't been broadly liberated, the lifestyle of people, whether in war zones or in peaceful countries, can be described as austere. Of course, life for the people in war-torn countries is even more arduous.
Prior to the New Year festival, Hakushi, with nothing better to do, once again took people to explore the rural areas of the Land of Demons.
The main roads between towns in the Land of Demons have been completed with flattened road constructions. Even if these roads required cutting through forests and mountains, professional ninjas have made it possible. Roads leading to rural areas are also being methodically constructed. Some places are indeed remote and challenging to build, but considering developmental plans for the coming years, it remains a necessary endeavor.
Hakushi does not expect to change the lifestyle of this country's people all at once, and even with ninjas, who as individuals possess considerable productive capability, it is impossible to completely transform a country's lifestyle and standards within a year.
Otherwise, the Land of Wind could have long engaged in lake-making activities using Water Style Ninjutsu, and they wouldn't regard water sources as so crucial, needing to import from foreign countries every year at great expense.