The Uchiha Race's ninjas took great pride in founding the village alongside the Senju Clan.
But the conservatives within the clan have completely become lapdogs of the Will of Fire.
Although they hold the clan's honor, they have already been corroded by this weak love.
From the Warring States Era, they marched onto the battlefield, following behind Uchiha Madara through the bloody storm, and then founded Konoha with the Senju Clan.
Afterward, Uchiha Madara left Konoha and fought a life-and-death battle with Senju Hashirama at the Valley of the End.
As the loser, Uchiha Madara vanished, and Senju Hashirama emerged victorious, returning to Konoha but passed away a few years later.
Then, the First Ninja World War broke out, and the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama was killed in action, with his disciple Hiruzen Sarutobi succeeding as the Third Hokage.
All these events, Elder Shikora experienced firsthand.
He was an old man who witnessed the transition from the Warring States Era to the era of one nation, one village.
As an observer, he watched all these events unfold.
Thus, he was always pondering how to save the clan.
"As expected, you have been setting a plan for a long time."
Rika did not know the whole process of the plan, but she could guess some parts.
If Elder Shikora started plotting when Ruri was ambushed by Root initially... no, if he had begun even earlier, perhaps Root's actions were within his expectations.
Including the series of reactions and countermeasures from the higher-ups, and Ruri's psychological aversion to the higher-ups, were guided at that time.
She gradually became disappointed with the clan's 'ignorant' leaders, which led her to seek like-minded comrades within the clan due to her counter-rebellious mindset.
Little did she know, those so-called 'comrades' were all prepared in advance by Elder Shikora to rebuild another branch of the Uchiha Race.
Truly an old, cunning fellow. Rika sighed in her heart.
"But the biggest concern in all these plans is whether Ruri will harm the people around her to gain power. This is what worries me the most. Like Madara, I worry she will walk the same path. Fortunately, Ruri's choice didn't disappoint me in the end."
Everything can be arranged, but there was one thing Elder Shikora was most worried about and uncertain of.
That was Ruri's obsession with power -- whether her true nature would change in the face of power.
Once upon a time, Uchiha Madara's brother could not resist the temptation and turned on his friends ruthlessly.
A person who can abandon even their own family and friends can never feel the warmth of the human world, using a heart full of love to perceive everything in the world.
Nor will they protect their own clan members.
All they see in their eyes is darkness and prejudice, guided by extreme, biased emotions, and call it the truth and reality of the world.
They candidly accepted the clan's 'curse,' calling it the clan's inalterable destiny.
The arrogance is naturally taken for granted.
He used to be such a foolish mix of arrogance and ignorance, so he understands profoundly.
It is precisely because of this that he entrusted that part of the clan to Ruri to lead with peace of mind.
The charisma of a leader is not only determined by power but also by benevolence and tolerance towards those around them.
"But there is still one thing you didn't mention."
Rika suddenly said.
"What didn't I mention?"
Elder Shikora frowned, thinking he hadn't overlooked anything.
"You didn't tell me that that Medical Ninja named Chiba Hakushi would be such a formidable guy."
Here, Rika looked at Elder Shikora with a reproachful gaze.
To be honest, when he went to ambush Hakushi, he was really surprised.
He had initially planned to beat Hakushi half to death and delay with trivial talks until Ruri returned.
As a result... he was severely taught a lesson by his assassination target, Hakushi, and was later tormented with an Illusion Technique by Ruri for quite some time, and now looking back, he still feels a chill.
"If I told you beforehand, how could the act play out realistically?"
Elder Shikora smiled while drinking tea, so this was the matter.
"Did you know already?"
Rika's gaze became even more reproachful.
"Who knows. Also, have the lines from Sosuke and Miyoko been completely severed?"
Uchiha Sosuke and Uchiha Miyoko were Ruri's parents.
This time, by learning in advance of Hidden Sand's plan to attack Konoha and devising this plan, they played a significant role.
For this reason, all traces must be severed, and all evidence must be cleaned up thoroughly.
Even one in ten thousand chance must be eliminated.
"Not yet, I'm thinking if any issues arise with the Uchiha here in the future..."
"Since they have already left Konoha, the Uchiha there has nothing to do with here. Danzo's puppy nose is very sharp. When cutting grass, you must eliminate the roots; this applies to both combat and intelligence work."
Elder Shikora's tone was extremely resolute.
The sound of rain gradually diminished, water flowed down from the eaves.
"Alright, I will handle it later. From now on, they are no longer the Uchiha of Konoha. The resources on both sides will no longer be shared. Speaking of which, over the years, they have accumulated quite a bit of wealth there, as well as the connections Uchiha accumulated long ago, enough to rise in the Land of Demons."
Rika lamented softly.
"So, from now on, I can also enjoy my retirement in peace."
Elder Shikora sighed in relief.
"Retirement?"
Rika looked at Elder Shikora in surprise.
"What are you surprised about? I'm already at such an old age, I should have retired and not bothered with these trivial matters long ago."