"Ding-dong!"
The crisp sound of the doorbell rang out. Ren stepped back, quietly waiting. Soon, there was a response from inside.
"Please wait, Itachi, open the door."
"Yes!"
Itachi, wearing a black vest, scurried to the door and opened it, immediately meeting Ren's gaze.
"Huh?"
Itachi was stunned for a moment, then a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face as he said,
"Brother Ren, welcome."
"Ah, long time no see, Itachi."
Ren stepped forward and ruffled Itachi's hair. It felt as good as ever.
Feeling embarrassed, Itachi quickly stepped aside, looking at Ren with a hint of shyness as he said,
"Please come in, Brother Ren!"
"Mhm, help me with these."
Ren handed over the two gift boxes he was carrying. Just then, a figure appeared in the corridor not far away. Seeing the person, Ren quickly stopped and raised his hand to greet her.
"Aunt Mikoto, I apologize for disturbing you."
"It's Ren. Long time no see."
Mikoto also raised her hand, responding with a faint smile.
She was wearing homewear, her usually loose hair was tied up, and her belly was slightly protruding.
Ren smoothly took the slippers Itachi handed him and put them on. Then, he looked at Mikoto, who had approached, with some curiosity and said,
"Aunt Mikoto, how many months along are you?"
"Six months."
Before Mikoto could answer, Itachi had already come closer, looking at Ren and replying earnestly,
"Itachi cares a lot about his younger brother!"
This time, Ren didn't pat his head but patted his shoulder. Then, he turned his gaze to Mikoto and asked gently,
"Aunt Mikoto, is Uncle Fugaku home?"
"Yes, he's reading."
Mikoto nodded, then turned to Itachi beside her and bent down, saying,
"Itachi, thank you for running this errand."
"Yes, Mother."
Watching Itachi leave, Mikoto turned to Ren and smiled.
"Go inside and wait first, Ren."
"Alright, Aunt Mikoto."
Mikoto led Ren to the guest room and then headed to the kitchen. With guests visiting, she needed to prepare some refreshments.
Ren didn't have to wait long before Fugaku's figure appeared. Seeing him, Ren quickly stood up and bowed.
"Uncle Fugaku, I apologize for disturbing you."
"Alright, sit down."
After Fugaku sat down, he crossed his arms, a faint smile on his face, seemingly in a good mood.
"The commotion you caused a while ago was quite significant."
Fugaku looked at Ren, saying somewhat teasingly.
"Cough, cough, cough. Please don't tease me, Clan Head."
Ren rubbed his brow, a bitter smile on his face.
Actually, he had only acted on a whim back then and never expected that the incident of seizing the ninja sword scroll would make him famous throughout the Ninja World.
As the two chatted, Mikoto entered carrying a plate of pastries, followed by Itachi holding another tray with a teapot and several cups.
"Let's eat something before we talk."
After placing everything down, Mikoto stood up, looking at the two and speaking softly.
"Thank you, Aunt Mikoto, but you might need to prepare more."
The three of them were momentarily stunned, then Ren continued,
"I came with Shisui this time. When we were almost here, I asked him to invite Yūsuke Uncle over. He should be arriving soon."
No sooner had Ren finished speaking than a crisp doorbell sound rang from outside the house.
"Coming!"
Mikoto responded and was about to open the door, but Itachi stopped her.
"I'll go, Mother."
After saying that, Itachi quickly walked out of the guest room to open the door. Seeing this, Fugaku couldn't help but show a relieved smile on his face. Then, he and Ren stood up simultaneously, and the three of them walked out together.
As soon as they reached the corridor, Ren saw Shisui, whom he had just parted with, and Yusuke Uchiha, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Both of them were carrying some gift boxes and fruits.
After a brief exchange of greetings, they returned to the guest room. Mikoto, still pregnant, went to rest first, leaving only the few of them in the room.
At this moment, Shisui and Itachi sat at the end, Ren and Yusuke faced each other, and Fugaku sat at the head. All their gazes were focused on Ren.
"Speak, Ren. Why did you call me and the Great Elder here?"
Fugaku crossed his arms, looking at Ren and nodding.
"Of course, it's for a good thing."
Ren took out a scroll from his person and placed it on the table. Everyone's eyes instantly converged on it.
The scroll looked like an ordinary storage scroll on the surface, but its color and size were different from the scrolls they had seen.
"This is… a storage scroll?"
After observing for a moment, Yusuke said somewhat uncertainly.
"No. It's a Summoning Scroll."
Ren took a sip of tea, then, under their confused gazes, he slowly said,
"Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades."
"Eh?!"
Hearing this, everyone immediately reacted, their faces all showing expressions of astonishment.
Everyone present, even Shisui and Itachi, knew the value of this item; it couldn't be measured by money at all.
Although Fugaku and Yusuke were surprised, they had, after all, experienced many storms, so they quickly calmed down and turned their gaz gazes to Ren, waiting for him to continue speaking.
"To strengthen the Village's power."
Ren played with the scroll as he explained,
"I will select suitable candidates within the Village to form a new 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.' That's why I've come to bother you."
Hearing this, their eyes immediately lit up, and they instantly understood Ren's meaning.
Fugaku even lowered his hands, asking somewhat impatiently,
"Then the Uchiha Clan's quota is…"
These Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist certainly couldn't all be from the Uchiha Clan, but if they could secure even one more spot through their relationship with Ren, it would be good.
Ren held up two fingers and nodded slightly.
"Two Ninja Swords."
Although he was close to the Uchiha Clan, he couldn't give all of them to them; otherwise, other great clans such as Hyuga, Ino–Shika–Chō, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Sarutobi would be displeased.
The Uchiha Clan had just begun to show signs of integrating into Konoha over the past two years. If the allocation of these Ninja Swordsmen quotas were to be revealed, not only the Uchiha Clan but also Ren himself would be alienated by those clans, and that was not what Ren wanted to see.
"Two Ninja Swords, huh…"
Fugaku frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed his brows and nodded.
"Good!"
There were many clans in Konoha coveting these seven Ninja Swords. The Uchiha Clan getting two quotas was already a lot.
After all, there were too many wolves and too little meat; the remaining five Ninja Swords were simply not enough for those clans to divide. Thinking of this, Yusuke and Fugaku couldn't help but sigh.
Fortunately, they had befriended Ren back then; otherwise, whether they would even have a quota today was debatable.