Before Tsunade could sit down, Natsuki had already poured her a cup of tea.
"Thanks."
Tsunade sat down, thanked her, and took a sip.
"Aniki, won't you pour me a cup?"
Kawaki, who had arrived later, sat down and turned to talk to Sakumo.
Sakumo was sipping his tea and gave him a disdainful glance.
The contempt in his eyes was obvious. You're almost an adult, and you expect me to pour you tea?
Maybe there really was telepathy between brothers. Kawaki smiled awkwardly and poured his own tea.
"Let's go to the construction site this afternoon."
Kawaki said after finishing his tea.
Sakumo clearly didn't want to talk to him at the moment. He just nodded without even saying a word.
"Sure," Tsunade stepped in to smooth things over.
"Should we bring the Ghost Mastiff?"
Natsuki asked, not knowing what kind of situation they might encounter.
"Bring it. Its nose is really sharp."
With that, Kawaki dragged the huge Ghost Mastiff from behind Natsuki.
"Woof woof..."
It seemed to be calling for "Help me."
Natsuki turned away embarrassed, pretending nothing had happened.
The Ghost Mastiff's eyes visibly dimmed, and it stopped barking.
It seemed the bond had faded after all.
Kawaki didn't care. He put the dog's front paws on his lap and ruffled it vigorously.
Tsunade was stunned watching from the side. She thought Kawaki-kun might just squeeze the dog to death like that.
"Want to give it a try? Don't be fooled by its fierce look. It's really soft to the touch."
Kawaki invited Tsunade. She waved her hand and declined. She was still shaken by a scary thought.
The Ghost Mastiff was like a soulless shell, lying on Kawaki's lap without any reaction.
After a while, Kawaki got bored and tossed the dog aside.
He really was heartless once he stopped.
Now the Ghost Mastiff didn't even want to wait for its owner to feed it. It glanced at Natsuki and walked away alone. Its back looked so forlorn.
Natsuki was still worried. She excused herself and went to comfort the Ghost Mastiff.
The remaining three were silent for a long time, and the atmosphere became awkward.
At mealtime, Natsuki showed up with the Ghost Mastiff and called the three to dinner.
The Ghost Mastiff's mood had been soothed. Natsuki really lived up to her Inuzuka heritage.
In the dining room, since they had important things to do in the afternoon, no one drank alcohol.
After the meal, Tsunade left and went to the construction company again.
Kawaki changed into his Jonin outfit, Sakumo slung his Tantō on his back, and Natsuki brought the Ghost Mastiff. They all got ready and waited for Tsunade to come back.
When Tsunade arrived at the construction company, a construction team of ten people had already gathered.
The dark - skinned man from the morning was leading the team. He was a Chunin proficient in Earth Release.
"Lady Tsunade is here. Let's go," he said, waving his hand, ready to follow Tsunade to the construction site.
But Tsunade took out the land approval and gave it to him.
"Go to this address. You can decide whether to do the survey or start the construction."
"I have other things to do. And don't even think about playing tricks on me."
To prevent them from slacking off just because she wasn't going, Tsunade added a threatening warning in a low voice, with a piercing look in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't dare," the dark - skinned man said nervously as he returned the approval to Tsunade. He knew every piece of land in Konoha Village.
"You can set off now."
After watching the construction team leave, Tsunade turned around and headed back to the Hatake family.
When she returned to the hall of the Hatake family, she found that the three of them were already ready.
Then they went out together and headed to the area near the construction site.
When they arrived at the construction site, they found that the construction team was starting to conduct surveys at the edge of the land. They took out pens and paper and jotted things down.
They seemed to be very professional.
Four people and a dog hid in two nearby big trees.
They concealed their auras and Chakra fluctuations. Unless there was a very powerful Sensor Ninja, it would be difficult to detect them.
"I wonder if Tanzō will take action," Tsunade asked aloud.
"Not sure. It's time to compete in patience," someone replied.
"That's why I had them hired for a few more days." Kawaki didn't know either and could only wait.
Sakumo, a workaholic, was extremely relaxed now. He really enjoyed this feeling.
Natsuki was also on full alert. Even the Ghost Mastiff showed a serious look in its eyes and its nose twitched from time to time.
~~~Dividing Line~~~
Let's go back to the time when the construction team arrived at the construction site.
As soon as this team entered the scope of the construction site, they were discovered by the Uchiha Ninjas stationed in a hidden location.
Then someone immediately went back to the Uchiha clan's land to report the news.
In the Meeting Hall of the Uchiha clan's land.
The Uchiha clan leader was sitting cross-legged in the middle, with a calm expression, neither sad nor happy.
Fugaku was kneeling on his right side. There were no other figures in the hall.
He spared no effort to bring this nephew with him and give him guidance.
The ninja who had come back to report was kneeling on one knee right in front.
"Clan leader, a construction team has entered the hospital construction site. Currently, they are doing survey work."
"Are there any Senju clan members accompanying them?"
The clan leader got straight to the point and asked about the key information.
"The leader is a ninja. I could sense the Chakra fluctuations on him. However, it seems that he is just a construction worker who knows [Earth Release]."
The Uchiha Ninja reported the information he had observed from the construction team truthfully.
"In that case, you continue to observe and don't expose yourselves for now."
"Don't act rashly either. You go and send the news to Root."
The clan leader waved his hand, signaling the ninja to leave. Poor guy, he had to go on another errand.
"What should we do next?"
Fugaku was taken aback by his uncle's question. He saw that his uncle was testing him and knew that this was also a kind of training.
He propped his chin up with his right hand, thought for a moment, and then carefully chose his words.
"Let's wait for Tanzō to take action first or for the Senju clan members to appear before making a decision."
"Our Uchiha clan will never interfere first."
"Let Root be the first to stick their necks out and test the waters."
After Fugaku finished speaking, he glanced at his uncle's expression.
The clan leader's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.
"Not bad, but there are still some imperfections."
"If Tanzō wants to wait for an opportunity, why not give it to him?"
The old fox was still one step ahead. Partners are just tools to be used.
"You mean..."
Surprise flashed across Fugaku's face. He realized that he was still not ruthless enough.
"Wait for the news and then make a plan."
After the clan leader finished speaking, he got up and left, leaving Fugaku still sitting there thinking.
After the Uchiha Ninjas sent the news to Root's contact point, they returned to the construction site to continue their surveillance.
I have to say, the Uchiha clan still has quite a bit of cohesion at this time.
None of the younger - generation Uchiha has been corrupted by the Third Hokage, and no one has been indoctrinated with the Will of Fire.
It's a pity that their current strength is far inferior to that of the later period when Uchiha geniuses emerged frequently.
Even Fugaku Uchiha is only a three - tomoe Sharingan Jonin.
After receiving the news about the Uchiha clan, Tanzō didn't arrange any actions.
Sitting gloomily in the main seat, he gave instructions to the Root ninja kneeling on one knee in front of him.
"Keep an eye on the Uchiha clan's actions. As for the Senju clan's hospital, the Senju clan will be more anxious than me."
"Report any abnormalities immediately."
"Yes, Lord Tanzō."
After receiving the order, two Root ninjas left quickly.
Tanzō truly lives up to his reputation as the leader in the shadows. He can see through people's minds clearly.
While the Uchiha clan is eyeing the construction site, he's keeping an eye on the Uchiha clan.
Now, the forces involved in the hospital construction have reached a three - way standoff.