It was dinner time, and in the Uchiha Clan Land, Kamitsuki, Madara, and Kakka sat around the dining table, enjoying a truly modest meal.
Unlike the Senju, who preferred to eat together, the Uchiha, with their inherently proud and reserved nature, preferred to eat separately, and their dining utensils were extremely particular.
On the low table made of high-quality kaya wood, three luxurious and dazzling lacquered food boxes were placed, yet the food contained within these exquisite utensils was extremely meager.
Today's dinner for the Uchiha family consisted of a whole block of tofu drenched in sauce, large chunks of roughly cut boiled radish, side dishes of sticky natto and miso soup, and for the main course, a large bowl of rice with plums, the only meat being crispy fried fish.
Even though the chef's culinary skills were superb and the food was quite delicious, the thought that even the leader of the prestigious Uchiha Clan could only eat such poor fare made one want to weep for Konoha's financial situation.
Kakka knelt stiffly by the dining table, silently removing all bones from the fish in his food box, then placing the entire piece into Kamitsuki's bowl.
Kamitsuki, who had been fed, looked at the two pieces of fish in her own food box, then at Kakka's dinner, which contained no meat at all, and a feeling of infinite sorrow welled up in her heart.
She extended her chopsticks, divided the fish Kakka had given her into one large and one small portion, kept only the small piece for herself, and returned the larger portion of fish to Kakka's bowl.
"Father, thank you, but this is enough for me."
My daughter is an angel!
Kakka, who was deeply moved, shed tears of emotion in his heart; in his eyes, with a beautifying filter applied over 500 layers, Kamitsuki was gilded, and everything she did was the purest and most beautiful.
However, Kamitsuki quickly shattered Kakka's unrealistic fantasy herself.
Under the gaze of Kakka and Madara, Kamitsuki contentedly ate the crispy fish; the Uchiha Clan, skilled in Fire Release, were unexpectedly adept at cooking as well.
She used her chopsticks to pinch off a large piece of fish, savored it on her tongue, enjoying the sweetness of the fish meat and the crispiness of the fish skin.
After happily finishing the entire fish, she gave all the natto she disliked to Kakka's bowl.
At this sight, Kakka's mouth and eyes twitched simultaneously; being a parent meant having to eat your child's leftovers.
But a Ninja born in the Warring States Period knew the preciousness of food, and moreover, the current food was not so abundant that it could be wasted at will.
Kamitsuki's picky eating habit displeased him greatly, and he resolved that he must make her change this bad habit.
With a gentle cough, Kakka tried to exude the dignity of a father, but his authority was lacking, and his warmth was excessive, making him look completely like a doting father.
He picked up a large portion of natto with his chopsticks and tried to put it into Kamitsuki's bowl, but Kamitsuki, seeing this, quickly pushed her food box away, fearing that the hated natto would contaminate her rice.
"Kamitsuki, natto is very nutritious. Come on, try some."
A frustrated Kakka reluctantly lowered his posture, gently coaxing Kamitsuki, while his chopsticks persistently probed towards Kamitsuki's mouth, attempting to personally feed her the abominable natto.
"But natto is sticky and really disgusting!"
Kamitsuki's expression was visibly horrified; her training as a Ninja was utilized to the extreme, perfectly evading all of Kakka's attacks.
Uchiha Madara, watching from the side, curled his lips, deciding to include natto as a punishment for Kamitsuki failing her training.
His dignity as a father was challenged again and again, and veins bulged on Kakka's forehead.
At this moment, he no longer simply wanted to correct Kamitsuki's picky eating, but was fighting to uphold his dignity and Ninja Way!
"Kamitsuki, how can an Uchiha be a picky eater! Just eat a little, really, just a little!"
"No way, I'll definitely throw up if I eat that disgusting stuff!"
Staring in horror at the sticky, stringy, mysterious food on the chopsticks, Kamitsuki's face turned pale with fright.
The thought of that stuff, which smelled like an old man's feet, being put into her mouth made her stomach churn uncontrollably; just smelling it made her want to vomit.
Natto, it was truly evil! She absolutely would not eat that stuff!
Just as the father-daughter bond between Kamitsuki and Kakka was about to break over a chopstick full of natto, Uchiha Madara, who had been silently eating on the side, finally spoke.
He elegantly put down his chopsticks, placing them beside his clean, empty bowl.
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze quickly sweeping over the father and daughter chasing each other with their food boxes, a faint smile seemingly in his eyes.
"If she doesn't like to eat it, don't force her."
Kamitsuki triumphantly hugged her food box and sat down, while Kakka reluctantly put down his chopsticks.
He understood now; Kamitsuki's picky eating habit was entirely indulged by the Clan Leader.
Sitting back beside Kamitsuki, Uchiha Kakka was filled with emotion.
Before his beloved daughter was born, he had never had the experience of eating with Lord Madara.
Before that, let alone such private time, whether at clan meetings or on the battlefield, the only person who ever stood beside Lord Madara was always Lord Izuna alone.
Recalling Lord Izuna, Kakka's heart was filled with sorrow.
Izuna's death was not just a huge blow to Madara; in fact, his death was a devastating impact on clansmen like Kakka and the Uchiha Clan itself.
Madara was inherently proud and could be said to be completely ignorant of politics; clan matters were basically all managed by Izuna, and he was fully responsible for diplomatic affairs.
At that time, the skilled warrior Madara could fight to his heart's content on the battlefield, because he knew that his younger brother Izuna would always support the clan from behind, fully backing him.
But Izuna died before peace arrived, on the eve of Konoha's establishment.
His death meant that Uchiha Madara lost a sibling, the Uchiha Clan lost its brains, and the peace between the Senju and Uchiha became precarious.
Senju Tobirama, the true power holder and principal of the Senju and Konoha, was precisely a person full of hatred and prejudice against the Uchiha.
Under Hashirama's suppression, he could put these aside and coexist peacefully with the Uchiha, but how long could Senju Hashirama suppress him?
How could the Uchiha, having lost their brains, possibly contend with the brains of the Senju Clan?
Once Senju Tobirama became the Second Hokage, he would inevitably suppress the Uchiha with all his might.
How would they then survive in a Konoha filled with prejudice and hatred?
The future of the Uchiha, and even the future of Konoha as a whole, was not as beautiful as Madara and Hashirama had envisioned.
If Lord Izuna were still alive, how wonderful would that be? He would absolutely not allow such things to happen!
Kakka felt a splitting headache; like most Uchiha, he was not someone adept at scheming.
Conversely, young Kamitsuki had shown talent in this area.
Compared to a top-tier powerhouse, the current Uchiha Clan needed a proper smart person even if it was a child like Kamitsuki; her ideas could not be ignored.
"Kamitsuki, repeat what you told Lord Madara earlier today."
Kakka cautiously looked at Uchiha Madara, who was sitting on the side holding a hot cup of tea.
Only after realizing that Madara had no intention of stopping her did he feel relieved and let Kamitsuki continue.
Although it seemed quite ridiculous for two adults to listen to a five-year-old child's advice on the clan's survival, everything became reasonable when one considered that this was the Ninja World, where five-year-olds could go to the battlefield and seven-year-olds had Hokage-level thinking.
"How should I put it?"
Kamitsuki put down her bowl and chopsticks, closed her food box, and put it away.
She looked up, her tender face showing a precocious sharpness, and spoke solemnly:
"I think it's absolutely impossible for the Uchiha to preside over the Ninja Academy."
"Of course."
Uchiha Madara chuckled, it was unclear whether it was mockery or genuine pride for his dear friend.
"Hashirama wouldn't let go of such a good idea."
The thought of Hashirama, who had been elusive and cunning earlier that day, made cold sweat break out on Kamitsuki's forehead.
It was truly shocking and unexpected; who would have thought that Senju Hashirama would appear there!
"However, we can still participate.
This not only means sending our clan's children to school, but also having our Uchiha people serve as teachers."
Kamitsuki patted her face, trying her best to shake Senju Hashirama's face from her mind.
Kakka was the first to question, expressing his incomprehension.
He did not want the children of his clan to spend all day with those annoying Senju Clan members.
Especially Kamitsuki; the thought of her being surrounded by ill-intentioned Senju, especially a certain Senju member named Touka, made him wish he could draw his sword and kill every single person with the surname Senju immediately!
"Since we Uchiha cannot fully control it, it's better to just give up.
Anyway, for the past thousand years, our clan has always relied on clan schools to nurture talent."
Kamitsuki pursed her lips and gently shook her head, her deep, dark gaze sweeping over her father Kakka, completely refuting his words.
"Once the school is established, not only commoners and Senju, but all clans will eventually go.
Instead of resisting this, it's better to seize the initiative early."
Uchiha Kakka, struck down in one blow, widened his eyes in unwillingness, his mouth slightly agape, wanting to say something but unable to find a retort for a moment.
Kamitsuki, seeing this, quickly added another blow:
"The Ninja Academy will inevitably be one of Konoha's most important power structures in the future.
To integrate Uchiha influence into it, we can only act now."
"But…"
He understood the reasoning, but the mere thought of Senju Touka becoming a teacher and interacting with Kamitsuki filled Kakka with a sense of unwillingness.
"That's enough, Kakka."
Just then, Uchiha Madara, who had finally finished his tea, completely ended Kakka's dying struggle.
He put down his tea set and coldly glanced at Uchiha Kakka, who was frozen in place.
"This matter will be decided as Kamitsuki said."
Since even Lord Clan Leader had spoken, the matter of joining the Ninja Academy was truly settled.
Kakka's eyes were dazed, his hands weakly propped on the tatami mat.
However, before he could fully digest this bad news, Madara issued a terrifying command that was like losing a parent to Kakka.
"Kakka, after the Ninja Academy is established, you will be a teacher."