Uchiha Yuan's Essay

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, his gaze moving across the documents spread before him.

As he reviewed old official papers, he occasionally paused to reexamine the investigation records concerning Uchiha Yuan.

Every member of the Uchiha Clan had their own file. As Konoha's leader, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew the detailed information on every clan.

Even an inconspicuous minor figure like Uchiha Yuan was regularly monitored and reported on by the Anbu.

"Wait a moment, Kakashi..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up, stopping Kakashi just as he was about to leave to search for Jiraiya.

Kakashi was slightly surprised. He halted and turned back toward the Hokage. "What is it, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi, his tone somewhat grave. "I was reviewing Uchiha Yuan's records and found that he was in the same class as you. Do you remember him?"

"Not at all... I only remember that he seemed to have been worse than Obito academically."

He paused, seeming to recall something. "Wait. Although his grades were poor, I think he did fairly well in theory classes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. His eyes deep, he fell silent for a moment before picking up Uchiha Yuan's Ninja Academy assignment scrolls and carefully looking through them.

It had to be said that Uchiha Yuan's handwriting was exceptionally elegant. He seemed to have some skill in calligraphy.

Like a student who had never drawn attention, he had remained unnoticed while quietly possessing a talent of his own.

Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through a dossier.

Suddenly, he stopped, a flicker of surprise and curiosity passing through his eyes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat quietly behind his desk and gently drew a scroll from the pile of materials.

He stared at the delicate writing on the scroll and slowly spoke, his tone carrying faint regret and confusion. "This is an essay Uchiha Yuan wrote when he was young..."

Kakashi stood silently before the Hokage. His impression of Uchiha Yuan was truly limited; he had almost no particular memories of him.

Hiruzen cleared his throat and began reading in a low, solemn voice. "I have a dream..."

For an instant, Kakashi felt his heart tremble slightly, and he vaguely sensed discomfort from the Sharingan in his left eye.

He unconsciously raised a hand to touch his forehead, frowning faintly as confusion arose within him.

"Dreams... wishes..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the scroll as he continued reading. "The ideal of building a peaceful world is to move all people with true love."

The moment he finished reading that sentence, Kakashi's left Sharingan suddenly stung for no reason.

He reflexively closed his eye and pressed a hand around it, trying to ease the sudden discomfort.

"Kakashi, what's wrong?"

Noticing something unusual about him, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stopped reading, concern entering his voice.

"It's nothing..." Kakashi said quietly, trying to hide his lapse.

He could not understand why the Sharingan he had inherited from Obito would react so strongly at a time like this.

"Maybe I've been slacking again lately... causing the Sharingan to consume more chakra."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at him. After a brief pause, he slowly continued, "Love can change everything and embrace everything... Even though I am a narrow-minded Uchiha, I still hope the world can attain true peace."

This time, the pain in Kakashi's left eye grew even stronger, as though some force were pulling against the ocular power within his Sharingan, creating a subtle resonance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly. Seeing Kakashi's pale face, he asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you're all right? Is something wrong with your Sharingan?"

Kakashi endured the discomfort in his eye and forced a smile. "Maybe it's because... Obito's wish was to become Hokage too... Hearing these words may have stirred up some old memories."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded faintly, his gaze sweeping over the scroll with a trace of nostalgia as he continued. "Actually, every student in the class hoped to become Hokage and change the world, including the most outstanding Kakashi, or the dumbest Obito."

At the mention of the dumbest Obito...

Kakashi gave a soundless laugh...

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely showed a smile. He looked up at Kakashi. "Kakashi, was your wish back then also to become Hokage?"

Kakashi unconsciously nodded and answered softly, "Yes..."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, while the stabbing pain in his eye subsided, another sensation of discomfort arose, leaving him especially exhausted.

He took a deep breath and tried hard to calm the turmoil in his heart.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued reading. "Therefore, I sincerely hope that I can become an outstanding ninja, perhaps even Hokage, and revitalize Konoha and the Uchiha Clan."

The air in the room became extraordinarily heavy.

Kakashi kept his eyes tightly shut, cold sweat faintly seeping from his forehead.

The Sharingan seemed to respond to every word, every sentence written by Uchiha Yuan. Vaguely, deep within its ocular power, a will he had never noticed before was awakening.

After reading the final passage, Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly set down the scroll.

"Did he... truly want peace?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment. "Perhaps those words were the ideals in his heart, but the facts prove that Uchiha Yuan did not walk the right path."

Slowly rising to his feet, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the window. His gaze passed through the huge office glass and fixed on the distant outline of Konoha.

The lights flickered, carrying an unreal sense of peace and tranquility.

He sighed softly, his voice filled with deep self-reproach and emotion. "Uchiha Yuan... Among the Uchiha Clan, there were many children like him or Shisui, who held ideals in their hearts yet were always ignored by us."

"Perhaps we were wrong from the very beginning..."

What was the point of saying that now?

The Uchiha Clan had already been wiped out. What was the point of reminiscing and lamenting in front of me?

At that moment, Kakashi, standing in the room, felt an inexplicable surge of irritation and exhaustion for some reason.

Trying hard to restrain his impatience, he finally could not help interrupting the Hokage's lament. "Lord Hokage, now probably isn't the time to reminisce and sigh over such things, is it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, then realized that he had become somewhat carried away by his emotions. He sighed and nodded. "You're right..."

Seeing this, Kakashi took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mood. In a gentle tone, he said, "Then I'll set out immediately to search for Lord Jiraiya. Please rest assured."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and watched Kakashi leave.

The moment he stepped out of Konoha, Kakashi could not help turning back to gaze at the village behind him.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions, as though some strange feeling were brewing within him.

The Third Hokage's words now sounded rather grating and hypocritical to Kakashi.

That strange emotion seemed to be influencing him...

Slowly, he raised a hand and removed the forehead protector covering his left eye, revealing the Sharingan that carried Obito's final will.

The instant the forehead protector moved aside, a wondrous change appeared...

That Sharingan, which had originally been unable to close on its own, eerily and slowly lowered its eyelid, as though it had regained the control of an ordinary eye.

Kakashi was startled. Then he felt the chakra that had been continuously leaking from his body abruptly stop, no longer being wildly consumed by the Sharingan.

He incredulously touched his left eye and muttered, "My left eye can actually close on its own?"

Kakashi's chakra would finally no longer run out so easily.