The Haruno residence, late afternoon.
Knock Knock Knock
"..."
Souji's shadow clone waited in front of Mebuki's house. Of course, he had used his Transformation jutsu to become a middle-aged woman.
"..."
'Isn't anyone home?'
"..."
'No, I've sensed two people in the house. It's probably Kizashi and Sakura.'
Knock Knock Knock
"One moment! How impatient." Someone said from inside the house.
"..."
Sakura opened the door and saw a middle-aged woman.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Hmph. Are you Mebu-chan's daughter?" the woman asked.
"Mebu-chan?" Sakura asked for confirmation.
"Haruno Mebuki, who else?" The woman replied impatiently.
"Ugh... yes, I'm her daughter, Haruno Sakura." Sakura said, holding back her annoyance.
"Hmph. Your mom will be staying at my house. I just wanted to say that." The woman said, then left and muttered, "She's very different from her mother. Her mother was much better."
Sakura heard that murmur.
Twitch
'Damn old woman, talking about people like that.' Sakura thought irritably.
"..."
'Ugh... and again, Mom didn't leave a food or money to me.'
"..."
Sakura entered the house.
"Dad, Mom said she's staying at a friend's house." She said to Kizashi, who had just arrived in the kitchen.
"Eh? Really?" Kizashi asked.
"Yes, and Mom didn't cook any food either." Sakura Continued, "Dad, I'm hungry."
"Then how about we going out to eat?"
Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "I want to!"
"All right, it's decided then." Kizashi said.
"If Mom were here, we couldn't do this." Sakura said.
Kizashi nodded. "Yes, you're right. Your mom would scold me for spending the money."
"That's also because you buy a lot of useless things."
"But we could going out, buy any food and anything every night, if your mom stayed at her friend's house more often, you know."
Sakura then fell silent and thought.
"..."
She nodded her head. "Dad has a point." She continued, "Wait, where do you get the money?"
Kizashi waved his hand. "You don't have to worry. I have plenty of money for now."
"Then, can I buy the things I want?" Sakura asked enthusiastically.
Kizashi nodded. "Of course."
"Yatta! Thank you, Dad!"
Kizashi nodded with satisfaction.
'As I thought, Dad is much better than Mom.' Sakura thought.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Souji's shadow clone had just returned from Mebuki's house when he went back to his own home. When he arrived, he was tasked with delivering the castella cake he had made to Mikoto. The shadow clone carried out the task.
As he walked through the Uchiha compound, the people there greeted him warmly.
Due to the incident that occurred in the Uchiha clan, reinforcements for Kakashi's team were reduced. Fortunately, there were still Uchiha ninja left to carry out the duties of the police force. Most of them were chunin and genin. Unfortunately, the jonin were killed by the masked man.
"..."
Besides being an Anbu, Itachi also became the captain of the police force and the leader of the Uchiha clan.
He was very busy. Fortunately, Kosuke helped, ease Itachi's burden with police force affairs.
'I don't know if Fugaku had Mangekyo.'
Souji gave Fugaku's eyes to Itachi, and Souji forgot to check if they had the Mangekyo Sharingan. After the funeral, Itachi asked to dispose of his father's body so that no one would try to dig up information about the incident.
He was truly a filial child. He even used Amaterasu on his own father.
Of course, Souji agreed to it. After being escorted by a police officer right in front of Mikoto's house, Souji's shadow clone knocked on her door. Before that, he thanked the ninja who had escorted him and given him the castella cake.
Knock Knock Knock
"..."
"Wait a moment..." A woman said from inside the house.
"..."
And then, Mikoto was surprised to see Souji standing there.
"Souji-kun?"
"Good evening, Mikoto-san." Souji's shadow clone greeted her.
"Ah, good evening to you too, Souji-kun."
"I want to give you this, Mikoto-san." Souji's Shadow Clone said while handing over a box of castella cake.
"What is this, Souji-kun?" Mikoto asked curiously.
"Just open it." Souji's shadow clone said.
Mikoto opened the box and saw neatly arranged pieces of cake.
"Ara? Souji-kun, you didn't need to bother making this for me." Mikoto said, remembering her words about wanting to taste Souji's homemade cake.
"That's not a problem. I hope you like it, Mikoto-san."
Mikoto nodded. "Souji-kun, would you like to come in?"
Souji's Shadow Clone shook his head. "I don't want to disturb you."
"Geez... Souji-kun, you're not disturbing me at all."
"If that's the case, then I'll force you." Mikoto said.
"Alright, alright, I give up."
Finally, Souji's shadow clone entered Mikoto's house, which felt very quiet.
'It feels like Naruto's apartment back then.' Souji's Shadow Clone thought to himself.
"Where's Sasuke, Mikoto-san?" Souji's Shadow Clone asked.
"He's in his room..." Mikoto answered softly.
"..."
"What about Itachi-san?"
"Itachi is living somewhere else now. Sometimes he stops by and stays here." Mikoto continued, "Also, you must know that Itachi is very busy now, right?"
Souji's shadow clone nodded his head. "Yes, Itachi-san is really busy. I worry that he doesn't get enough rest."
Mikoto sighed. "That child... He knows his own condition better. That's what he always tells me when I remind him."
"..."
"Please, sit down, Souji-kun."
Souji's Shadow Clone nodded and sat on an available cushion.
"..."
From his seat, he watched the day begin to darken.
"..."
Mikoto came and set down the tea and castella cake. "Please, Souji-kun."
"Thank you, Mikoto-san."
"..."
Mikoto sat down, and they began to chat.
She was so engrossed in chatting with Souji that she didn't realize it was almost dinner time.
"I'm sorry, Souji-kun."
"It's okay, Mikoto-san. I enjoy our time together."
"..."
Mikoto's cheeks blushed slightly upon hearing that. 'My husband was just buried this morning, and now? Am I happy with another man? And in my own house.'
"..."
"Souji-kun, come, have the dinner here."
"I'm sorry, Mikoto-san. I'd love to, but Naruto must be waiting for me."
"I see..." Mikoto said a little sadly.
"Don't worry, Mikoto-san. I'll have dinner with you next time."
Mikoto smiled when she heard that and nodded her head. "Alright, you promise?"
"I promise." Souji's shadow clone said.
"All right, I'll go home first, Mikoto-san."
"Hm... Be careful, Souji-kun."
Souji's Shadow clone then left, leaving Mikoto, who was still standing in front of the door, alone. She stared at Souji's back as it slowly disappeared.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Somewhere in the Land of Fire, at Konoha's main camp.
Hiruzen sighed as he read the letter from the village. He had only been gone for one day when Fugaku and the other Uchiha ninjas disappeared. What made Hiruzen even more worried was the mention of a masked man with a Sharingan in the letter.
The letter stated that they had seen a suspicious person and decided to follow him. According to the information that Fugaku gathered and conveyed in his final moments, the man's goal was to destroy Konoha. He was also responsible for the Kyubi incident.
"..."
Fortunately, his students, along with Itachi and Kosuke, managed to drive off the masked man. The letter described the man's troublesome abilities.
"..."
According to his students, the man seemed to be intentionally luring Fugaku and the others to kill them and eliminate variables that would interfere with his plan to destroy the village.
For Hiruzen, that made perfect sense, even Shikaku considered that possibility.
'It seems... I have to apologize to the Uchiha clan, after all of this problems.'
Even though he knew that Fugaku and the others were planning a coup, in their final moments, they still chose to protect the village.
'The Uchiha... are also part of Konoha.'
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
The other ninja villages had also received information about the incident with the Uchiha clan. Of course, the information was incomplete, but it was enough to convince them that they could defeat Konoha, except for Kusagakure. Their medical camp was attacked, and the two Uzumaki who had given them the courage to join the war disappeared. It was unclear whether they had died in the explosion. What was clear was that, they could no longer retreat.
They could have chosen to retreat because it would have been the safest step. If they retreated, Iwa's chances of winning would decrease, and they might lose. If that happened, Kusa would only need to apologize to Konoha and propose an alliance.
They thought, Hiruzen wouldn't refuse because they knew his weakness, his tendency to be swayed by their 'sincerity and guilt'.
And Iwa? They were on the losing side, so they wouldn't do anything that would put them at a further disadvantage. Moreover, if Iwa attacked, it would be a waste, and Kusa knew that. Iwa wouldn't gain anything from Kusa. That was the situation if Iwa lost.
But, what if... Iwa won?
They would gain land and money. With Konoha's current state, they were confident they could win, especially after receiving news about the tragic incident involving the Uchiha ninja.
Even if they lost those two Uzumaki bitches, they would still get more benefits, so they were already on delusion. Nothing could be better for Kusagakure.
"..."
Suna's situation, unlike Kusa's, didn't improve at all. For more than a week, they had been held in the Land of the River by ROOT forces. Rasa himself received a letter from Danzo. Danzo wanted to make a deal with Rasa. However, Rasa and the other Suna officials couldn't trust Danzo's words.
After all, we're talking about Danzo, the Darkness of Shinobi. With that nickname alone, they couldn't trust him. However, Rasa wanted to know what kind of deal Danzo wanted.
He was that desperate about their current situation. If they were late to move and lost the momentum, the other ninja villages would got the benefit, while Suna would suffer.
They're just wasting their time and energy. Even Rasa split his forces in two to attack Konoha and Iwa. He did that to distract Iwa, so Konoha wouldn't lose quickly.
"..."
'I just need to ask what deal he wants to make.' In the end, Rasa fell into despair and tried to contact Danzo without the other ninjas knowledge.
Kumo tried to restrain themselves from being too aggressive because their forces, led by Darui and B, had not yet arrived in the Land of Earth.
A didn't want to attack Konoha directly. He was waiting for Iwa and Konoha to run out of energy. And At that moment, he would attack Konoha and Iwa.
Kirigakure? They were still busy with their internal conflicts.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Hokage's Office, Night.
"So, You want to create the Konoha news?" Shikaku asked.
"Yes. We can create a village-owned company to earn income independently without relying on missions or begging the Daimyo."
"Ugh... We sent a proposal for financial assistance, not begging, Souji-sama."
Souji's shadow clone shook his head. "Well, it's the same thing."
Shikaku sighed. "But, as I said, the village doesn't have the funds to start a business right now."
"..."
"In that case, the Tendou clan will invest in the Konoha news."
Shikaku was surprised to hear that. "Isn't that a lot of money? Are you okay with that?"
"We don't need much money to start, just a few million Ryo." Souji's Shadow Clone said.
Shikaku wanted to invest too, but he was hesitant and needed to discuss it with the other elders. Shikaku envied Souji, who could use his or his clan's money easily and freely without having to think long, or ask for approval from the others.
"Aren't you going home, Shikaku-san?"
Shikaku sighed. "Do you want to finish these documents?"
Souji's Shadow clone shook his head. "No."
"I thought so." Shikaku continued, "This isn't just a document problem, it's also the situation on the front lines. With me managing the information from all of them, my team and I will be able to provide better strategies and guide them correctly."
"Or at least, that's how it is." Shikaku said.
"..."
"Isn't your wife okay with that?" Souji's Shadow Clone asked.
"Well, of course she's sometimes annoyed, but what can i do?"
Souji's Shadow Clone nodded. "Create new staff to take care of the documents that, don't need to be submitted to the Hokage. Don't worry, I'll pay them."
"Yes, Souji-sama." Shikaku responded happily and relieved because at least his burden was slightly reduced.
"..."
"..."