After leaving Yamanaka Inoichi's flower shop, Seiryu returned to the Uchiha clan compound.
But Seiryu didn't hurry home; instead, he headed to Uchiha Fugaku's residence.
Fugaku was a bit surprised by Seiryu's late-night visit but still invited him inside.
After Mikoto brought tea for the two of them, she left the living room.
Fugaku carefully observed this young man who had forcefully taken his position as clan head. To be honest, he wasn't dissatisfied with Seiryu's coup at all; in fact, he'd wished for someone to take over this mess. After Seiryu took charge, he quickly unified the clan and silenced the voices calling for armed rebellion. Even Fugaku had to admit, that was impressive.
"Seiryu, just as you instructed, the Police Force has posted the notice for recruiting civilian ninjas. But right now, most of the civilian ninjas in the village are still hesitant. Only a few have signed up today, and they're all just newly graduated genin," said Fugaku.
"For small-time thieves or keeping an eye on stalls, genin are more than enough," Seiryu replied. "Plus, with the clan's ninjutsu, we won't have trouble attracting people."
"As long as you know what you're doing. But, Seiryu, I've checked the numbers today. If we stick to the standards you set yesterday, the clan's funds will only last for three months. Otherwise, we'll have to start selling ancestral property," said Fugaku.
"I already said, don't worry about money. I've got it covered. In a few days, someone should deliver it to us," Seiryu said, sipping his tea.
"Then why are you here tonight…?" Fugaku was puzzled. Seiryu wouldn't come so late just for a cup of tea, would he?
"I'm here about Itachi," Seiryu said.
"Itachi, huh." Fugaku sighed. "I heard about what happened in front of the Shimura compound today. Sending him to the Anbu was too hasty on my part."
"Sending him to the Anbu back then wasn't a bad move," Seiryu replied. "But letting him see battle so soon—that was the real mistake."
"You really think so?" Fugaku looked at Seiryu, pressing his lips together.
"Itachi was a precocious child, but you exposed him to the world's darkness too soon. He thinks deeply, but when your knowledge doesn't support the depth of your thoughts, it leads to disaster," Seiryu said.
"In the end, it's a failure of my education." Fugaku sighed and looked toward the tightly closed door. "Since you're here, you might as well come out."
The garden door to the living room slid open and Itachi walked in, still wearing his Anbu uniform.
"Father. Clan Head." Itachi bowed to both men.
"You don't have to be so formal when you're off-duty," Seiryu said, waving his hand.
"Brother Seiryu," Itachi nodded.
"You heard what Seiryu just said, right?" Fugaku asked.
Itachi lowered his head in silence.
Seeing this, Fugaku could only sigh. As a father, he didn't know how to communicate with his son. Itachi's views were already set; words wouldn't change him now.
"Brother Seiryu, I have something I want to ask you," Itachi broke the silence.
"Go ahead."
"If one day our clan and the village have to fight, what would you do?" Itachi looked Seiryu in the eyes.
"As long as I'm here, that day will never come," Seiryu replied.
"But if it really does?" Itachi pressed.
"Itachi, that's enough!" Fugaku growled, lowering his voice.
Seiryu smiled calmly. "When I was nine, the village sent me to the battlefield. It was the clan's blood that gave me the ability to survive."
"If that day comes, I'll do everything I can to stop you!" Itachi stared at Seiryu.
"Itachi, you're being insolent." Fugaku had already guessed Itachi's allegiances were no longer with the clan, but he hadn't expected such direct words. Even Fugaku couldn't hold back his rage.
"No harm done," Seiryu gestured for Fugaku to calm down, then smiled at Itachi.
"Itachi, you're a genius of our clan. I believe you'll have eyes like mine in the future. But you can't stop the tide of history. Maybe you don't understand what that means now, but when you do, you won't be troubled by this question anymore."
Seiryu stood up with a smile and said to Fugaku, "Elder Fugaku, I won't keep you any longer. Please keep an eye on the Police Force's work."
With that, he took his leave.
...
By the time Seiryu returned to his little room, it was already past midnight.
The clan was preparing a new residence for the clan head, but for now, Seiryu still had to live in this small place.
He lit a lamp and began carefully maintaining his ninja blade.
Normally, as a jonin—even if his official post was with the Police Force—he shouldn't be living in a room smaller than 30 square meters. But the reason was the chakra blade named Swift Thunder—forged entirely out of chakra metal, and Seiryu had sunk all his savings into it.
"If you're here, come out and show yourself," Seiryu suddenly said, pausing in his blade maintenance.
No response.
"I don't know if you'd survive my sword, but you'd have to pay for my house," Seiryu smiled, as currents of electricity danced across the blade.
A figure dropped from the rafters—white hair, face mask, forehead protector slanted to cover the left eye. It was none other than Kakashi, whom Seiryu had briefly met that morning.
"So it's Kakashi. I thought you'd wait a while before coming to see me," Seiryu smiled, sheathing his blade. "Sit."
He gestured for Kakashi to sit opposite him at the table and set out a tea set, starting to boil water.