"Madam Mikota, you're back. The meal is ready. Let me serve it for you."
Seeing Uchiha Mikota return, Uchiha Kazuki put down Itachi and got up to serve Mikota; however, Mikota waved her hand and said, "I'll do it myself. You take care of Itachi first. By the way, how is Izumi?"
"Izumi is good, and Itachi is very well-behaved. Hardly any trouble for me."
Uchiha Kazuki said with a smile, then continued to look after Itachi while he ate.
After dinner, Uchiha Mikota spent some time bonding with Itachi. However, it wasn't long before Uchiha Fugaku called her into the room.
"Mikota, what did he talk to you about today?"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Mikota sighed internally but still replied, "Uchiha Yoichi asked me to gather the clan members' preferences because the Uchiha welfare system distributes money every month, and the clan members would surely want to spend it. He wants to help the clan members avoid the hassle of running around spending..."
After hearing today's events, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but frown.
He hadn't expected Uchiha Yoichi to pull such a move, which would certainly garner a lot of support from clan members.
Uchiha Fugaku even considered taking over these operations, but then he realized he had no free manpower at the moment, with the Security Team almost entering a combat patrol period, and he gave up on that idea after thinking for a while.
"Mikota, while doing this task, try to conceal Uchiha Yoichi's name, and emphasize your achievements. Your work will be credited to me as well."
He definitely didn't want Uchiha Yoichi to become the Clan Leader. Now, whenever he saw Uchiha Yoichi, Uchiha Fugaku would faintly recall the knife that almost cut his throat a year ago!
If it were anyone else, any clan member with exceptional ability, Uchiha Fugaku might consider relinquishing the Clan Leader position. But not Uchiha Yoichi, he wouldn't compromise or yield the position.
Faced with someone who once had the intent and almost succeeded in killing him, Uchiha Fugaku could not forgive or comprehend the other party.
However, upon hearing this, Uchiha Mikota was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly said, "Fugaku, isn't this claiming credit that doesn't belong to me....."
"Mikota, this isn't credit grabbing. It was originally a result of your discussions, and I absolutely won't allow Uchiha Yoichi to become the Clan Leader!"
Uchiha Fugaku's tone rose slightly, and his expression became stern.
The room suddenly fell silent, and it was only after a few minutes that Uchiha Fugaku spoke again: "Mikota, I hope you can understand me a bit. Uchiha Yoichi once tried to kill me, and his personality is simply unsuitable for being the Clan Leader. I'm asking for your help!"
"Fugaku, like this..."
"Please, Mikota, help me this time!"
Uchiha Mikota felt her breath pause, and after a while, she reluctantly said, "I—I'll do as you say, Fugaku."
"Thank you, Mikota!"
Seeing Mikota agree, Uchiha Fugaku's face finally showed a smile.
Afterward, the room suddenly fell into silence. Uchiha Mikota initially wanted to get up and do what Mr. Yoichi had instructed, but considering that gathering requirements is quite cumbersome and not something she could easily complete alone, she said:
"Fugaku, could you help me find two assistants? The upcoming tasks might get busy, and I'm a bit..."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku's face showed difficulty, and he said, "The Security Team is also busy over there.... Mikota, I'll try my best to find someone for you."
Uchiha Mikota originally wanted to suggest finding two ordinary clan members who could read and count, but seeing the look of difficulty on her husband's face made her suddenly hesitate.
"...I understand. I'll go check on Itachi..."
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In the afternoon, Uchiha Tokugawa brought back a ninja combat suit with a joyful expression.
"Lord Yoichi, this ninja suit is the finished product. Its layer structure follows the details in the information you provided, and the defensive power is beyond imagination. I couldn't manage to damage it!"
Uchiha Tokugawa was merely a Chunin, and his Chakra attribute was quite rare in the Uchiha clan—Earth Attribute. After the combat suit was made, he tried three Jutsu and couldn't destroy it.
Kunai, Shuriken, and Explosive Tags were all unable to damage this combat suit.
"Let's go find Elder Kenji and let him take a look as well. Lord Tokugawa, you've done well; you've made great contributions this time."
After replying, Uchiha Yoichi patted Uchiha Tokugawa's shoulder. Uchiha Tokugawa felt a bit embarrassed and humorously declined, saying, "It's all thanks to Lord Yoichi's information and the spider's contribution."
"By the way, my Summoned Beast has started breeding and isolated farming. The silk production next month will be enough to make seventeen combat suits."
The spider's silk contained Chakra; it was difficult to cut with Kunai alone. With special craftsmanship involving dozens of compressions and extraction of the essence, ten pounds of spider silk could make one combat suit.
Moreover, the weight is very light. The entire combat suit weighs less than 300 grams, yet the protective ability is tremendously strong.
Standing in hand, it's not even like holding a few Kunai.
The two went to Uchiha Kenji's house, rang the doorbell, and were welcomed in. After explaining their purpose, Uchiha Kenji brought Yoichi and Tokugawa to the garden courtyard.
The Uchiha Clan Land was still near the village center, and the clan territory was large. Someone of Uchiha Kenji's status and position had a significant courtyard for their residence.
However, Uchiha Yoichi's original house was small; it was only after bringing back Uzumaki Minami and Gates that he built a large house at the edge of the clan land with a sizable courtyard for training.
Uchiha Kenji immediately took out Kunai and Explosive Tags, intending to test the defensive power of the combat suit, but before he could act, Uchiha Tokugawa interrupted him.
"Second Elder, testing like this is inadequate in showcasing capabilities. You need to place a dummy inside to test the combat suit's energy absorption effect."
After speaking, Uchiha Tokugawa took from the storage scroll a dummy for testing and placed it inside the combat suit; it seems he had already done tests and was quite confident.
Uchiha Kenji first used Kunai and Shuriken, and with Tokugawa's encouragement, he directly infused Chakra into the Kunai, throwing it with full force.
Although Uchiha Kenji didn't have Wind Attribute Chakra, the force behind this throw was substantial.
But after striking the combat suit, the surface only dented slightly, and then the momentum of the Kunai waned, dropping directly to the ground.
"This defensive capability... is excellent."
Next, Uchiha Kenji took out two Explosive Tags and hurled them again.
Bang! Bang!
Two explosions; the intense flames consumed the combat suit, and only after several dozen seconds did the thick smoke gradually dissipate.
By this time, the dummy's head had been blown apart, but the combat suit remained intact, just a bit dirty.
Uchiha Tokugawa then remarked, "If one can react in time after encountering Explosive Tags and block with arms, the damage can be further minimized."
Afterward, he proceeded to remove the combat suit from the dummy; apart from the head being blown apart, the dummy's body had only minor cracks. If a ninja were to wear this combat suit and be hit by an Explosive Tag, they might only suffer bruises.
Seeing such defensive ability, Uchiha Kenji was somewhat startled.
"Father, what was the explosion just now?"
A few figures suddenly appeared in the garden courtyard; the speaker was Uchiha Masato, who had been patrolling near the clan land and pursued the sound after mistaking it for a spy from another Ninja Village.
"Ah, Masato, sorry, I was just conducting a test...."
Upon seeing Masato, Uchiha Kenji explained to him with a smile and then discussed the combat suit.
"Defense capability is this strong?"
After hearing this, Uchiha Masato's eyes widened; wearing it almost equates to having an additional life.
Seeing their gazes, Uchiha Yoichi laughed and said, "Senior Masato, no need to worry. With the current production capacity of the combat suit research factory, soon everyone on our side will have one."
By "our side," he naturally referred to the clan members supporting him in the Martial Arts Faction.