Chapter 91: A Man of Astonishing Initiative
"Ah~ Who told you to think that way?"
"Who told you to discuss this matter with other people?"
"Say something, will you?"
Many of the Jonin who had just returned from the clan meeting were now gathered outside the young clan head's house.
"The young clan head's willpower is truly admirable. He didn't even make a sound."
"When my mother used to beat me like that, my screams could be heard all the way down the street."
"This is the first time I've ever seen Lady Mikoto this angry."
"There was nothing else she could do. Itachi is digging up the clan's graves. He's free to have his own Will of Fire, and he's free to favor Konoha, but he can't go around digging up the graves of his own clansmen, right?"
"The young clan head has gone down the wrong path."
As he spoke, Asuka shook his head smugly.
"I still remember it vividly."
"Six months ago, Lady Mikoto took Itachi for a medical examination. Her eyes were practically shouting, 'My son is my pride and joy.'"
"How long has it been since then?"
"Her proud son has now struck a vicious blow against the very clan he belongs to."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone suddenly saw a figure appear on the wall of the clan head's residence.
That was fast.
Seeing Uchiha Mikoto appear, everyone blinked before turning around and leaving.
"Lady Mikoto!"
After greeting Uchiha Mikoto, Asuka also followed the crowd, intending to leave.
His greeting now was purely out of courtesy.
"Wait!"
A faint voice drifted into Asuka's ears.
He stopped, turned around, and asked,
"Lady Mikoto, is there something you need?"
Mikoto stared directly into Asuka's eyes.
"How could Itachi suddenly say something like that for no reason?"
Seeing the suspicion in her eyes, Asuka pretended to think for a moment before giving Mikoto a thumbs-up and praising her.
"The young clan head is intelligent, rational, and thoughtful. He's already capable of looking at problems from the Hokage's perspective."
"That shows his thinking isn't restricted by the Uchiha clan or even the village itself."
At this moment, Uchiha Mikoto took a step forward and looked up at Asuka coldly.
"Stay away from Itachi."
"If I find out that you're secretly manipulating him—"
She leaned forward slightly, her cold voice carrying an unmistakable threat.
"Even if it costs me my life, I'll kill you."
Looking into those deep, seemingly empty eyes that appeared to be covered with a layer of frost, Asuka knew she was probably serious.
Sigh.
Noticing her round belly pressing against him, and then feeling Sasuke kick him from inside her womb, Asuka took a step backward.
He turned his back to Mikoto and sighed.
"Lady Mikoto, I actually sympathize with you."
Mikoto stared at Asuka's back, her brows drawing tightly together.
"You sympathize with me?"
Asuka suddenly turned around with a brilliant smile.
"I wonder…"
"When Itachi grows up and learns that his mother once wanted to fight for his sake, will he be grateful to you?"
Uchiha Mikoto's body stiffened.
She gritted her teeth while staring at Asuka, who had suddenly turned his back on her again.
"You—"
Asuka waved his hand behind him with a smile.
"I'm leaving."
"Lady Mikoto, instead of risking your life fighting me, you should teach your child to be grateful."
"And your second son is pretty good too. He even knows when his mother is angry and helped you kick me."
Grateful?
As she pondered Asuka's incomprehensible words, Uchiha Mikoto's expression became even colder.
She merely suspected that Itachi might have been led astray.
A mother's intuition told her that this person, Asuka, was probably behind it all.
That afternoon.
While leading the newly recruited members of the Police Force around and familiarizing them with their duties, Asuka was also thinking about what the old man had told him.
Inviting all the clan heads to dinner wasn't easy.
First of all, he didn't have many clan heads he was close to—only one or two—and neither came from one of the major shinobi clans.
Secondly, Uchiha Fugaku's perpetually expressionless face would make it incredibly easy for dinner to become awkward.
He needed someone with high emotional intelligence who could liven up the atmosphere.
Hmm.
What should he do?
A gentle voice suddenly entered his ears.
Asuka's eyes flickered.
He looked up at the orange cat perched on his head and said,
"I was thinking today that I might get threatened by the clan head's wife."
"That's perfectly normal!"
The orange cat, Tiantian, lazily licked her tail.
"You've already been trying to convince her to divorce him. What did you expect if she threatened you a few times?"
"Hey, hey! She said she'd kill me!"
The fat cat lowered her tail, grabbed Asuka's hair with her claws, leaned down, and said ominously,
"Strike first."
"Find an opportunity and kill her."
The corner of Asuka's mouth twitched.
He waved toward the recruits behind him and whispered,
"Fatty, you need to understand a mother's determination to protect her child."
"Oh~"
The orange cat gave a dry "oh" and spoke lazily.
"As a powerful medical ninja, you must have plenty of mental drugs, right?"
"Give her something so she won't be so prone to murderous thoughts."
"I don't have any drugs that can alter the mind."
"But I do have some very fascinating ones."
"Then trick her into 'falling asleep' and make her submit."
Hearing the fat cat's vicious voice, Asuka raised his head.
His eyes swept across the sparse pedestrians around him before landing on a wooden sign nearby.
Had he arrived at the Nara Clan Pharmacy?
He leaned inside and saw Nara Yoshino sitting boredly in a chair, picking at her fingernails.
Asuka waved toward her.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Yoshino."
Hearing the familiar voice, Nara Yoshino looked up toward the street outside.
When she spotted Asuka standing outside with a member of the Uchiha clan, her previously bored expression instantly transformed into a merchant's fake smile.
"Oh my, it's Asuka!"
The orange cat jumped down from Asuka's head and ran into Nara Yoshino's arms.
With teary, sparkling eyes, she looked up at Yoshino and spoke in a gentle, adorable voice.
"Miss Yoshino, you look especially beautiful today."
"Really?"
Yoshino touched her cheek, then poked the orange cat on the nose and laughed.
"You certainly know how to flatter people."
"To thank Asuka, I'll give you a 0.1% discount on anything you buy today."
"Her influence really is tremendous."
"A discount of only 0.1%."
"All right, all right. Don't get hung up on the details."
Yoshino rubbed the cat's head and casually looked around the shop.
She pursed her lips and smiled.
"Besides, everything here is high quality. If I sell it too cheaply, I'll lose money."
Asuka walked around the shop, casually picked up two pieces of deer antler, placed them beside Nara Yoshino, and asked,
"Mrs. Yoshino, does Clan Head Shikaku have any free time recently?"
Nara Yoshino fiddled with the antlers and shook her head.
"Shikaku has been extremely busy lately."
"The Fourth Hokage has given him a lot of things to deal with."
"What do you need Shikamaru for?"
Asuka took several bills from his pocket and said regretfully,
"Nothing special."
"I just want to arrange a dinner between our clan head and Clan Head Shikaku."
Hearing this, Yoshino's hands stopped moving.
She quickly resumed what she was doing, but her tone became noticeably colder.
"Why haven't I heard Mikoto mention anything about this?"
Asuka sat down beside her and spoke earnestly.
"At today's clan meeting, I heard the elders discussing some things, and it made me worried about the clan's current situation."
"Normally, our clan head doesn't say much."
"So I'm planning to arrange a dinner and invite Clan Head Fugaku and several other clan heads."
"After they've had a few drinks, they'll probably talk more."
"Then we can have a proper discussion."
"The Uchiha really do love holding clan meetings!"
Yoshino puffed out her cheeks.
She placed the packaged antlers beside Asuka and continued walking.
"Shikaku doesn't have time lately. You can find someone else to help you."
Slap!
Seeing Asuka slam a stack of money onto the table, Nara Yoshino raised an eyebrow.
This kid wasn't planning to bribe her and get her to persuade Shikaku, was he?
Did she really look that greedy?
"Asuka, what does this mean?"
"I want to ask you a question, Mrs. Yoshino."
Asuka pushed the money toward Yoshino.
His eyes lingered on her belly for a moment before he continued,
"It is to help Shikamaru improve his constitution."
Yoshino pushed the money back.
Then she rested her chin in both hands and asked curiously,
"What do you want to ask?"
"How should I arrange meetings with the various clan heads?"
"Oh?"
Nara Yoshino thought for a moment.
Then she raised one finger toward Asuka and said softly,
"I'll help you one more time."
"After this, Ryoko won't owe you anything anymore."
Without waiting for Asuka to respond, she immediately explained the idea that had just occurred to her.
"The orphanage is short on funds recently."
"You can hold a charity dinner."
"Then use that as an excuse to invite the various clan heads."
"At the banquet, we can auction off our family's deer antlers."
"After deducting the cost of the antlers, all remaining proceeds will be donated to the orphanage."
After hearing her suggestion, Asuka fell silent for a moment.
He looked at Nara Yoshino's deep eyes with an expression of disgust.
"Using moral pressure to force the clan heads is one thing."
"But you actually intend to sell deer antlers at the auction?"
Hearing this, Yoshino put her hands on her hips and puffed out her belly, speaking righteously.
"If I don't sell deer antlers, what am I supposed to sell?"
"Fried chicken?"
"What's wrong with fried chicken?"
"Can't we sell fried chicken?"
"Can't you at least change the flavor?"
"Can't you sprinkle some chili powder on it?"
"Honey mustard sauce with chili powder is still honey mustard sauce."
That night.
Asuka lay on his bed with both hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
He muttered,
"It died before it even got started."
"I haven't even taken the first step."
"Go to sleep."
The orange cat lay beside him, scratching herself with one paw.
"Maybe you'll come up with an idea in your dreams."
"If I can't think of one while I'm awake, how could I possibly think of one in my dreams?"
Asuka suddenly realized that gathering all the clan heads in one place was an enormous challenge.
"By the way."
At that moment, the orange cat rubbed her eyes and looked at the increasingly dark surroundings.
She sounded somewhat irritated.
"Do I need to take more taurine?"
"Why is it so hard to see tonight?"
The moment she finished speaking, she felt Asuka's arm move away from her body.
"What happened?"
Asuka reached for the kunai beside his pillow.
He scanned the darkness around them, his brows tightly furrowed.
Genjutsu: Darkness Technique?
Could Uchiha Mikoto really be trying to kill him?
Clang!
The next moment, the sound of metal striking metal suddenly reached the orange cat's ears.
When she realized that she had completely lost her vision, her fur immediately stood on end.
She panicked.
"Asuka! Where are you?"
"Stay where you are!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At this moment,
the orange cat could hear nothing but the sounds of weapons colliding.
Yet whenever she looked toward the sounds, all she saw was darkness.
She had lost her sight.
An assassination?
Who was it?