A Wonderful Sight

Fortunately, he saw Izuna on the way.

That familiar dark blue figure was walking from the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound, with light steps, seemingly in a good mood.

Yūki's heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath, just about to call out to the other person—

However, just as he opened his mouth, Izuna's figure suddenly paused, as if he remembered something, and his direction changed abruptly, disappearing into the side road in the blink of an eye.

With a few quick "whoosh" sounds, it didn't even leave a trace.

"Ah... he got away..."

Yūki stared blankly at the empty path; the Yūki he had just mustered deflated like a punctured balloon.

He stood there, clenching his fists, the anxiety he had finally managed to suppress surging up again.

Uncle Izuna is so busy... he's even walking so fast... he obviously doesn't have time for me, right?

Maybe I should just go back...

"Yūki--!"

A clear shout suddenly came from behind him, interrupting his reverie.

Yūki turned around and saw Uchiha Hinata him, panting, followed by Takuma, Harukawa, and his cousin Ichiyo.

"How could you run so fast!" Hinata ran up to him, hands on his knees, panting heavily. "We chased you the whole way!"

Yūki paused for a moment. "Why are you chasing me?"

"Nonsense!" Takuma stepped forward. "Aren't you going to find Lord Izuna? Take us with you!"

"Exactly!" Harukawa poked his head out from behind, his eyes sparkling. "We want to learn from Lord Izuna too!"

Yūki:"..."

He looked at his friends, whose eyes were shining, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"... You knew I was going to find Izuna?"

"Of course I know," Hinata said slowly. "You've been restless ever since you came back from Kyoto, and you didn't go to training this morning. It's obvious what you're up to."

Takuma raised his head, beaming with pride, and said, "Lord Izuna, wasn't that amazing!"

My Yūki faltered.

"So we followed!" Takuma gestured with his chin. "Don't even think about sneaking off alone, that Yūki."

Ichiyo sighed, "I'm not really interested, but that kind of attack is just too powerful; it's hard not to be wary."

Yūki looked at them, the hesitation and fear in his heart suddenly vanished.

"... Alright." He took a deep breath. "Let's go together. But—"

He paused, his expression becoming somewhat subtle. "I think I just saw Uncle Izuna, but he didn't see me and disappeared in a flash."

"Ah?"

So where do we go to find him now?

The children looked at each other in bewilderment.

Just then, a lazy voice came from the side.

"What are you kids doing here?"

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Nara Shikahiko. He was leaning against the wall, holding a document in his hand, looking tired, as if to say, "I was just passing by."

Hinata's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaned closer. "Uncle Rokuhiko! Do you know where Lord Izuna is?"

Rokuhiko raised an eyebrow, looked them up and down, and lingered on Yūki's face for a second longer.

Then a slight smile appeared on his lips, revealing a meaningful expression.

"Oh—looking for Izuna?" he said slowly. "He should be at the Hokage Building right now, talking to the Lord Hokage and the others."

"The Hokage Building?" Yūki was taken aback. "But that place is where we..."

"What are you afraid of?" Rokuhiko raised an eyebrow. "You're Hashirama's son, and the Hokage Building is where missions are assigned. What's wrong with you going in?"

Yūki:"..."

Hinata immediately pressed, "Is it appropriate for us to go find him now? Won't it disturb their conversation?"

Rokuhiko yawned and waved his hand, "Go on, go on, the talks are almost over. Besides—"

His smile held a deeper meaning, "I think now is the perfect time for you to go."

The children exchanged glances. Although they didn't quite understand what Rokuhiko meant, now that they had permission, they immediately swarmed towards the Hokage Building.

Rokuhiko stood there, watching the backs of the group of Little Bean, the smile on his lips gradually turning into a knowing grin.

"Lord Hashirama, this is all I can do for you." He muttered to himself, then turned and slowly Earth Flow away.

They originally just wanted to bump into Izuna outside and find a suitable opportunity to strike up a conversation.

However, when they arrived near the Hokage Building...

Yūki was taken aback by the actions of his friends.

Senju Ichiyo and Uchiha Takuma, the two guys who were just behind him, had somehow darted to the front of the group, jumped to the window, and peered inside.

"Hey, you guys..."

"Shh!" Takuma turned around, gesturing for him to be quiet, his eyes flashing with an alarming light. "Don't make a sound! We're observing!"

Yūki:"..."

What are you observing?

Takuma is one thing, Ichiyo why are you getting involved, Ichiyo?

He Earth Flow over helplessly, looked inside, and saw nothing but a bare corridor.

What are you looking at?

"I'm waiting to see when Lord Izuna comes out!" Takuma confidently. "What if he sneaks out the back door? We need to be on high alert!"

The word "deployment" sounded strangely comical coming from Takuma's mouth.

Yamanaka Harukawa peeked out from behind him and nodded earnestly. "That makes sense. Shouldn't we split up and guard the front and back gates?"

Hinata's lips twitched. "... Do you think this is a war?"

"Anything related to Lord Izuna is war!" Takuma. "Strategically, we must take the enemy seriously!"

"Lord Izuna is not an enemy..."

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them.

Everyone turned around and saw several more children running towards them, panting.

Leading the group was an Inuzuka Clan on his head, followed by a kid from the Sarutobi Clan and a child who looked like an ordinary Merchant's son.

He didn't know any of these people.

But Takuma and Hinata greeted them.

"Hon'yoshi! Unji!"

"Wait, wait for us!" The Inuzuka Clan boy gasped, leaning on his knees. "Just wait!"

Hinata a puzzled expression. "Why are you here?"

"I heard about it!" The Sarutobi Clan child's eyes sparkled. "Lord Izuna turned the entire Hyuga Clan upside down!"

"Wow!" Takahiro exclaimed in surprise, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds. "The news travels so fast!"

Ichiyo looked up at the sun. "It's only about 7 a. m. now."

"It's normal for such big news to spread quickly," Hinata said. "Besides, Lord Izuna has been the talk of the town lately."

Takuma asked, "Then why did you come here?"

"Aren't you looking for Lord Izuna?"

Hinata him strangely, "Eh... is it that obvious?"

The Inuzuka Clan boy, hands on his hips, said, "Of course! After what Lord Izuna did last night, we had to come and join in the fun! So, what brings you all here to see Lord Izuna?"

I won't tell you~

"Asshole."

"Hey-hey."

The Sarutobi Clan boys also commented, "Hinata, your personality is really terrible."

"Then I won't tell you either." Hinata's long-drawn-out, lazy manner annoyed the two children, who ganged up on him and chased Hinata around.

Yūki looked at the bewildered child from the Merchant and asked, "Then why did you follow me?"

The Merchant's child stood timidly at the back, whispering, "My dad said that Lord Izuna is a hero... I want to see what a hero looks like..."

Yūki at the child, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.

A child from Ordinary People.

In the past, let alone actively seeking out Ninjas, just seeing these little guys in their Clan Attire and carrying Ninja Tool Pouch would make them instinctively take a detour.

But now, the child not only came along, but also stood among them, somewhat reserved, yet without the slightest fear.

Yūki looked around again.

Senju, Uchiha, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Inuzuka Clan... and Ordinary People.

The children crowded around the windows of the Hokage Building, chattering excitedly about Lord Izuna's various exploits.

Nobody cared which family the other person belonged to.

No one gave off a "You're Uchiha, stay away from me" look.

No one felt that he was "unworthy" to stand here just because he was Ordinary People.

Suddenly, Yūki remembered that half a year ago, when the village had just been built, he and his father went to the outskirts of the village and met a child from the Uchiha Clan on the way.

The child was probably about the same age as him. When he saw the father and son, his expression instantly froze, and he quickly hid behind a nearby tree.

At that time, he didn't understand why; he just found it strange.

Why avoid them? No one else reacted like that when they saw them.

Later, the father told him that the boy's family had been killed by the Senju in a recent conflict.

"We didn't kill them," the father's voice was low, carrying a weariness he couldn't understand at the time, "But hatred doesn't need a specific person to bear it. As long as you're 'Senju,' that's enough."

If you have "Senju," that's enough.

Yūki understood this, but felt deeply saddened.

Later, the village was established, the two clans reconciled, and the elders said, "From now on, we are all one family."

But can those things etched into our very bones really disappear so easily?

Sometimes, even with Yūki, you can still feel a very obvious barrier.

When asked to team up, both adults and children harbor deep hostility towards each other, and will provoke each other or even fight whenever they have a chance.

Some elderly people still look at the other family with unfathomable hatred in their eyes.

The streets of Konoha were so deserted before because everyone just wanted to stay with their clansmen and didn't want to be with people who were enemies or even adversaries not long ago.

Everyone seemed to be separated by a wall; no one was willing to leave the wall or take a single step outside.

He thought this was the norm for "reconciliation".

It's already good enough that things are out in the open and a fight hasn't broken out.

But now--

He looked at the scene before him.

The Inuzuka Clan and Sarutobi Clan children were chasing Hinata, while Takuma was causing trouble nearby, occasionally tripping Hinata as he tried to escape. Hinata around and angrily shouted, "Takuma, you traitor!" before being tackled to the ground by his pursuers.

Senju Ichiyo stood to the side directing everyone, making sarcastic remarks here and there, acting incredibly obnoxious. If those three hadn't been fighting each other, he would probably be the next one to suffer.

Yamanaka Harukawa and Akimichi Takahiro squatted against the wall, sharing a handful of sunflower seeds that Takahiro had somehow produced, munching on them while watching the commotion, occasionally offering comments like, "Hinata going to lose," or "No, I think he can still put up a fight."

The child of the Merchant next to them squatted timidly, a handful of sunflower seeds also stuffed into his hand. Although he didn't dare to speak much, his eyes were bright and the corners of his mouth were always turned up, clearly he was extremely happy.

Yūki stood aside, watching this scene, and a feeling that was hard to describe suddenly welled up in his heart.

A few months ago, the Senju and Uchiha children would not only avoid each other when walking on the same street, let alone chase and play together.

Not to mention that Inuzuka Clan, Sarutobi, Akimichi, and the children of the Yamanaka also gathered together.

Although these clans do not have the same deep-seated hatred as the Senju and Uchiha, they are not particularly close to each other.

But now...

Hinata pinned to the ground, laughing and shouting, "I surrender, I surrender!" Takuma clapped and cheered from the side, but Hinata pulled him down, and the two rolled around in a heap.

Ichiyo finally got her comeuppance, being surrounded by everyone and getting a good squeeze.

The Merchant's child even started asking Takahiro about the origin of the melon seeds, saying they could lead to a big business.

What a wondrous sight!