"Why is it you?"
Aoi stared, utterly stunned and thoroughly disappointed.
Uchiha Makoto shook his head with a faint smile. "What? Aoi-san, were you hoping to see someone else?"
Aoi waved his hand and let out a long sigh, sitting down opposite Makoto.
"It's nothing to do with you. I just... got my hopes up for something completely different."
At this, Makoto shook his head earnestly. "No, this does concern me. To be precise, I bear the vast majority of the responsibility."
"What?"
Aoi raised an eyebrow in surprise, wondering inwardly: Don't tell me... this guy actually managed to steal Hiruzen's cute cousin away?
"It is my fault that the Uchiha clan has been scheming against you in the shadows." Makoto's expression was heavy with grief. "As the Clan Head, I failed to stop them..."
Hearing this, Aoi sighed again. So, there really was no cute cousin at all.
"Forget it. None of that matters anymore."
Aoi truly didn't care. Whether the Uchiha clan ruined his reputation or not, they were only digging their own graves. Before long, the name Uchiha would vanish from history entirely...
Seeing Aoi's magnanimity, Makoto felt deeply grateful. He smiled faintly and pushed forward a stack of bank notes.
"Even if you are forgiving, Aoi-san, I cannot simply rest easy knowing what has happened. Consider this a small token of compensation..."
"Small compensation?"
Aoi flipped through the notes and couldn't help but swallow hard. Since when is three hundred million ryō considered 'small compensation'?
The Uchiha clan truly deserved their reputation as an old and powerful house — their wealth was practically equal to that of an entire nation!
However, being rich was one thing, but throwing money around like this...
If Makoto thought that three hundred million ryō was enough to smooth over all the issues between him and the Uchiha clan, he was being far too naive.
But was Makoto a naive man?
The answer was no.
"Clan Head Makoto, why don't you just say what you really want?" Aoi tossed the stack of notes aside and scoffed.
"I may not be as rich as the Uchiha, but I have more than enough money for my needs."
The bald Headmaster back at the Academy had been managing his pharmaceutical business, which was growing larger by the day.
Meanwhile, the sales and auctions of the special ninja tools Aoi had designed were bringing in massive profits.
Aoi was, in fact, a hidden billionaire.
Hearing this blunt challenge, Makoto showed no sign of anger. Instead, he smiled humbly.
"Of course you do not lack for such trivial sums, Aoi-san. Nor did I ever hope that this money could repair the rift between you and the clan. This is merely a small gesture from me, personally."
Makoto made it very clear: the three hundred million ryō had nothing to do with the Uchiha clan as a whole; it was a personal gift from him alone.
Upon hearing this, Aoi immediately stuffed the money into his pocket without hesitation.
The Uchiha clan is one thing, but Makoto is a separate person. I can make that distinction perfectly clear.
Since we have no personal grudge, why refuse free money?
"Alright then. Tell me, what is it you want me to do?" Aoi smiled and wagged a finger. "But if it's beyond my ability, don't expect a refund..."
...
After a long silence, a graceful young woman stepped out from behind a large tree, holding a sleeping infant in her arms.
Uchiha Fugaku!
It seemed this beautiful woman was Makoto's wife, Uchiha Mizuhana.
"And what is the meaning of this?"
Aoi's lips curled slightly; he already had a faint idea of what was coming.
"We wish to entrust our son, Fugaku, into your care."
Makoto and Mizuhana together placed the swaddled baby Uchiha Fugaku gently before Aoi.
Just as I thought... Makoto was asking him to take care of his child — a final act of trust before their end.
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