Arata knew very well that this matter would definitely irritate the Great Elder, so he decided to prepare a gift in advance to placate him.
Old men were always the same...if not fond of tobacco, then fond of alcohol.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, never parted with his smoking pipe. Jiraiya enjoyed drinking and visiting pleasure quarters. Even Tsunade liked to down a few cups whenever she had the chance.
As for the Great Elder of the Uchiha clan—
He had always been particularly fond of the clear sake from this small shop.
After entering the shop, Arata directly purchased two bottles of the finest sake, along with some side dishes to go with the drink.
Money wasn't an issue. The priority was to get the old man in a good mood—so he wouldn't nag endlessly later.
After reaching a secluded area, Arata activated his ocular technique and instantly arrived near the temporary Uchiha encampment on Uzu Island.
By now, all the Uchiha clan members were well aware that Arata possessed space-time ninjutsu, so there was no need for him to hide it anymore.
When Arata arrived at the Great Elder's residence, it was just about lunchtime.
The Great Elder had already finished arranging several matters and was preparing to eat.
Since the entire clan was busy relocating and building their new home, meals were kept simple. Everyone ate whatever was most convenient.
As an example to the clan, the Great Elder's own meals were just as plain.
When Arata walked in, the Great Elder was clearly surprised.
He understood Arata's temperament well—Arata had never been particularly invested in the construction of the new clan grounds.
Those matters were largely handled by him and Uchiha Fugaku.
Given Arata's young age, the Great Elder usually turned a blind eye to his absences and never reproached him.
The moment the Great Elder noticed the bottles of sake in Arata's hands, he already understood what was going on.
With a strange, mocking tone, he said,
"Well, well. Isn't this our Uchiha clan's Vice Clan Head? What brings you here today?"
Arata didn't mind the sarcasm at all. He placed the sake and dishes on the table and said with a grin,
"Great Elder, I brought some sake you like. Care for a drink?"
The Great Elder knew Arata all too well.
This kid never visited without a reason. Bringing both alcohol and food meant one thing...either he needed a favor, or he had caused trouble again.
Without any courtesy, the Great Elder picked up a bottle of sake, filled his cup, and drained it in one go.
After downing the cup, he exhaled deeply, as if his entire body had relaxed.
Satisfied, he squinted his eyes, poured himself another cup, took a slow sip, and said,
"You don't come without reason. Speak. What is it this time?"
Seeing that the Great Elder was clearly pleased, Arata seized the opportunity.
Naturally, he couldn't say it was because he liked Hinata.
She was still far too young—saying something like that now would only make him look like a pervert.
After organizing his thoughts, Arata said,
"Great Elder, I've arranged an engagement for myself....with the Hyūga clan."
The Great Elder was slightly surprised, but not angry. He simply asked,
"For what reason?"
Arata picked up the sake bottle and refilled the Great Elder's cup as he spoke.
"I've taken an interest in the Hyūga clan's Byakugan, but kidnapping one of them would be inappropriate.
Moreover, only the main family's Byakugan is without defects, and they guard their main family far too strictly."
"So I decided to take a roundabout approach. I went directly to the Hyūga clan head—Hyūga Hiashi—and proposed an engagement with his daughter."
The Great Elder looked at Arata with a strange expression.
"If I remember correctly," he said slowly, "Hiashi's eldest daughter is only a few years old. At that age… you can bring yourself to do this? Or is this some kind of special interest of yours?"
Arata shook his head vigorously.
"Of course not! I'm only interested in the Byakugan. It's nothing as twisted as you're imagining."
The Great Elder didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
Seeing this, Arata remained silent, patiently waiting.
After a long moment of contemplation, the Great Elder finally spoke.
"Actually, what you're doing isn't wrong," he said slowly. "The Hyūga clan's Byakugan is indeed far superior to our Sharingan when it comes to reconnaissance.
I had already been thinking of bringing this up to you....the Byakugan was within my considerations as well."
"However, as you said, the branch family's Byakugan is flawed, while the main family guards theirs far too tightly.
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