"One laugh across the sea, waves surge between two shores, dust and foam follow the tide, remembering only today, the heavens laugh, the world's tides rise and fall, who wins, who loses, only heaven knows..."
A tender, youthful voice, accompanied by the pleasant 'ding-dong' notes of a guzheng, echoed amidst a sea of vibrant, colorful flowers... The tune was excellent, the song was excellent, a composition and lyrics that seemed to have grasped the essence of 'the Great Dao is supremely simple'—they appeared to have 'played' music to an extreme, using the simplest, most rustic form to interpret the most carefree and exquisite emotions.
Yet, at this moment, Konoha and the Uchiha were on the eve of the most intense struggle for power and influence... like a powder keg, needing only the smallest spark to explode... Inoichi Yamanaka had been leaving early and returning late for days, sometimes even only coming home once every two or three days. Ino keenly sensed an unusual atmosphere—however, she hadn't imagined that the Uchiha Clan was preparing a coup d'état, and that the Hokage, fully aware of the coup, was mobilizing Konoha's forces to actively respond—with the Yamanaka Clan as the main force of surveillance.
Konoha's surveillance system began replacing ordinary sealing Ninja and sensory Ninja with members of the Yamanaka Clan!
The efficiency of the surveillance also shifted from 'ordinary' to 'wartime,' with the Yamanaka Ninja starting to work in continuous shifts, 24 hours a day, in six rotating teams.
This high-intensity surveillance and monitoring was so demanding that even Yamanaka Ninja could only sustain it for four hours at a time; any longer and they would suffer splitting headaches. Ordinary sealing Ninja and sensory Ninja were far less capable—not only could they not match the intensity of the surveillance, but even their monitoring duration was shorter; they could last at most two hours before needing to be replaced.
This was actually the reason why ordinary sealing Ninja and sensory Ninja were the mainstay during normal times—it was simply too extravagant and unsustainable to use the Yamanaka otherwise.
The Yamanaka Clan was also skilled in intelligence extraction and communication. To dedicate the entire clan's strength to this kind of'surveillance' all day... leaving aside the wastefulness itself, even if it was 'perfectly timed and appropriate,' the other clans of Konoha would not feel at ease!
There had to be someone who could replace the Yamanaka Clan—their efficiency could be far inferior, their skills could be far lacking, but they absolutely had to exist. This was a thought any person in power, any individual, would have.
Power!
Must not be entirely concentrated in the hands of one person.
The same goes for a clan.
That afternoon, the sun shone brightly, and the heat permeated even the sea of flowers. Ino wore a very 'baggy' blue T-shirt, with sleeves reaching her forearms and the hem down to her calves. Her hair was simply tied into an adult-style simple bun at the back of her head, with some playful strands sticking out slightly from one side, secured by a not-too-long jade hairpin.
Nana held an umbrella for her, while Kana held a book, opened to the middle, fanning Ino.
Ino's small hands danced 'ding-ding-dong-dong' on the guzheng, having just played a piece called 'East Wind Breaks' and switching to'Stealing Skill' when she heard Inoichi Yamanaka's voice.
"Ino!"
The music abruptly stopped. Ino quickly turned her head and called out, "Daddy." The whole little girl sprang up, bouncing a few steps into Inoichi Yamanaka's arms, rubbing her face against him vigorously... Inoichi Yamanaka laughed heartily, pretending to be cheerful: "Did you miss Daddy? Let Daddy see, where did you miss..."
Unexpectedly, Ino said, "Daddy, you smell awful... your beard is prickly!"
The smell on Inoichi Yamanaka's body was practically as if he had been soaked in garbage water. During this period, he had been so busy he had no time to bathe, no time to shave or change clothes. All unnecessary activities were cut wherever possible; he was practically marinated in his own odor.
"Uh..."
Inoichi Yamanaka was speechless.
He nodded to Nana and Kana and said to them, "You two leave for a while. I have some things to discuss with Ino."
"Yes, Clan Leader!"
After the two had gone some distance, Inoichi Yamanaka held Ino and strolled through the sea of flowers. After a while, Ino finally said, "Daddy, what do you want to ask me?" At such a busy time, with no time to even change clothes or shave, of course Daddy hadn't come home just to see her—everything had its priorities.
Inoichi Yamanaka laughed and deliberately rubbed his beard against Ino's face: "What? Can't Daddy come back specifically to see you?"
"Come on... it's not like you don't come home. It's just that when you come back, I'm already asleep—so I might miss Daddy, but Daddy doesn't necessarily miss me..."
Ino was very clear-headed about reality.
"But Daddy really hasn't been home for several days—and I really do miss my precious girl!" As a doting father, Inoichi Yamanaka's words contained not an ounce of falsehood. However, the reason he had returned was indeed because he had something to ask Ino—his daughter possessed a broader perspective and vision than he did, and she could always see problems from angles he hadn't considered. So, at this critical juncture, he needed his daughter's answer.
The word 'age' was a problem, but it was also the least of problems—once Ino demonstrated her relevant abilities, it ceased to be an issue.
As they walked, Inoichi Yamanaka described the tense, jittery atmosphere currently gripping the Village. The Uchiha Clan was actively preparing for a coup d'état, and the Village was conducting strict surveillance on the Uchiha Clan.
The Hokage had summoned the Ino-Shika-Cho team for meetings several times to discuss the Uchiha issue—how exactly to minimize the losses.
It had now reached the point where the 'coup' was a foregone conclusion; the question was how to handle the destruction resulting from suppressing the 'coup.'
"The Uchiha Clan has stockpiled a large number of explosive tags, soldier pills, Kunai, and shuriken, preparing a significant amount of war supplies. This time, a civil war within the Village seems unavoidable... Ino, Daddy wants to know your thoughts on this matter..."
Inoichi Yamanaka didn't mention the several meetings, nor did he reveal related content, partly because the meetings were confidential, and partly to avoid influencing Ino's judgment.
"Currently... who are the top experts among the Uchiha?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean those with extremely powerful strength, forces that can sway the battlefield and turn the tide of victory or defeat... If a person possesses extraordinary ambition, then they must possess extraordinary power—even if it's power they merely believe they have... So, what is it that supports the Uchiha Clan's birth of such ambition?"
It was like a bolt of lightning, suddenly splitting the gloomy dark clouds. The momentary brilliance allowed Inoichi Yamanaka to instantly see the root cause!
"The Mangekyo Sharingan!"
This was the Uchiha Clan's supreme ocular technique, also publicly acknowledged by the world as the most powerful Bloodline Limit in the entire Ninja World.
Inoichi Yamanaka suddenly understood everything... "That's right. They could swallow their pride before, relocating their clan to the edge of Konoha, yet now they suddenly become clamorous, harbor thoughts of a coup, and put them into action... Then the power supporting them can only be one thing—the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Or rather, it was:
Uchiha Shisui.
Shisui of the Body Flicker.
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