When he got home, it was just around dusk.
In the morning, he'd met with Yagura to discuss some simple plans for the future, then had lunch together with this partner before seeing him off out of the Land of Demons.
After all, Yagura's status was sensitive—even though he came this time to the Land of Demons as an official envoy, if he stayed too long, it might arouse suspicions.
When dealing with the power of the Five Great Nations, Hakushi still acted cautiously, never daring to be careless.
He worked for almost half a day in the afternoon, though honestly, it wasn't even that long; by around three o'clock he'd already finished his tasks.
Three years ago when he'd first arrived in the Land of Demons, Hakushi had often been overwhelmed with all kinds of government work. But once everything got on track and his subordinates settled into their roles, with the work divided, his schedule had become much easier to manage.
In the two-story, detached villa, Raidenmaru lay in the yard's pet house, guarding the manifest. Amateru was busy with household chores, and the Water Dragon God had shrunk down to swim around comfortably in the pond.
With three shadow clones on guard at all times, Hakushi felt reasonably at ease about the house.
When he entered, Hakushi didn't see any sign of Ruri—only Ayane sitting in the living room, and Amateru busy with dinner in the kitchen.
"Welcome back, Hakushi-kun. You've been getting home pretty early lately."
Ayane, sitting on the sofa, spoke with a smile.
"That's because I can just leave things for my subordinates to handle. I have no desire to keep a bunch of useless underlings who just eat but don't work."
That was Hakushi's honest view.
Subordinates all have different abilities and strengths—nothing can change that—but having a sense of participation is a very important experience.
With participation comes a sense of belonging.
"By the way, isn't Ruri home?"
"Ruri went to Aunt Miyako's place. She said she's not coming back tonight. Asuka and Ichihime were brought along, too."
Ayane answered Hakushi's question.
The Asuka and Ichihime she mentioned were Hakushi and Ruri's children.
Following the idea of the son taking the mother's surname and the daughter taking the father's, their children's names were Uchiha Asuka and Chiba Ichihime.
Unlike Ichihime, who was a natural outlier, the eldest son Asuka was no different from any other ordinary Uchiha infant.
If Ichihime's freakish talent were considered normal, then the Uchiha bloodline would be truly terrifying.
Hakushi nodded understandingly and didn't press any further.
"So tonight, it's just the two of us. Hakushi-kun, you can bully me as much as you like."
Ayane's face revealed a mischievous, slightly suggestive smile, as if she were deliberately tempting Hakushi to do something bad.
With Ruri gone, Ayane couldn't suppress the restlessness in her heart—or her body.
"Let's talk about that tonight—right now my stomach's a bit empty."
Hakushi gave a wry smile. Another night of fulfilling marital 'duties'—he just hoped Ayane wouldn't tire him out too late.
"Amateru is already cooking. By the way, things have been pretty peaceful outside lately, haven't they? Konoha seems to be doing smoothly for once—I almost want to make a few more sparks there, let Konoha's new leaves burn even hotter."
Ayane kept a close eye on matters in Konoha.
First Hidden Sand withdrew from Konoha's battlefield, then Hidden Rock was forced to sign a truce. Now only Hidden Cloud remains locked in a standoff with Konoha.
Given Konoha's current momentum, even Hidden Cloud may not have any real advantage against them.
"Don't go stirring up trouble now. I have more important things for you to do. Konoha's wartime losses are already severe; even if they beat Hidden Cloud, in the coming years, they won't have the capacity to come after us."
Because Konoha would soon be caught up in an episode of intensely complicated political infighting. When they couldn't even handle their own people, they naturally couldn't pose any external threat.
From the intelligence Kakashi had sent back, Hakushi already knew that Root Leader Shimura Danzo had begun to stir things up in secret.
Coupled with the postwar issues between the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan, that would be enough to give the Third Hokage a major headache for quite a while.
"And what about the Land of Water?"
Ayane had no choice but to suppress her itching urge for action.
"I talked with Yagura this morning—he says he'll need a bit more time to prepare. All the Land of Demons needs to do now is follow the plan step by step. Before the official action, we should avoid making any unnecessary trouble."
Hakushi answered Ayane's question.
"If I remember right, the next step is against the Land of Wind, isn't it? Is there really any point in making a move on that country of all sand?"
Ayane didn't have a good impression of the Land of Wind. In her mind, the whole country was nothing but sand—a barren wasteland.
"I've already secretly sent people to investigate. There are some important resources there that the Land of Demons is desperately lacking. Still, before we make a move on the Land of Wind, we need to clear some obstacles on the way. I'll make all the arrangements soon."
Ayane believed Hakushi would handle it well; after all, this man had never disappointed her since childhood—except for one thing.
So, she didn't worry about it anymore.
Today was a rare moment for just the two of them, so Ayane stopped asking about departures and business that would spoil the mood.
After enjoying the sumptuous dinner prepared by Amateru, she accompanied Hakushi to read a while in the study. Then the two retired to the bedroom and immersed themselves in a wonderful, incomparable night together.