Memories of the past

Kou stood still, smiling and waving gently in the direction they had left, until the two figures completely disappeared from sight before slowly lowering his hand.

Kisame, who had been standing beside him, leaned closer and whispered:

"My lord, that fellow named Might Duy seems quite extraordinary. If I'm not mistaken, he might be..."

"That Konoha Genin who single-handedly held off the Seven Ninja Swordsmen during the Third Ninja World War?"

Kou turned his gaze away from the distance, and couldn't help but recall those somewhat distant memories:

"When I first recruited Jūzō Biwa, he talked to me about this quite a bit."

Although he was tough on the outside back then, anyone could see that what happened had clearly left him with psychological trauma.

Kou slightly tilted his head and gave Kisame a meaningful look:

"Just a heads-up, the Genin of Konoha are quite formidable."

Kisame listened to Koko's words and nodded as if he understood but not quite.

Kou smiled, turned his gaze back to the sun-drenched Training Ground, and said casually to Kisame and Utakata:

"Alright, we don't have anything else to do right now, so let's just take a good look around here."

As he spoke, he slowly shifted his gaze to Utakata, who was standing at the edge of the Training Ground, staring blankly at the group of children who were playing and laughing.

Kisame followed Koko's gaze and saw Utakata's absent-minded expression.

His rugged face contorted with an extremely complex expression.

Despite being the same age, the lives of the children from Konoha and Mist Village are worlds apart.

If it weren't for Lord Koko persuading Lord Madara to implement reforms in Mist Village back then, perhaps those children in Mist Village would still be living those cruel and suffocating lives...

Thinking of the current prosperity of Kirigakure, Kisame couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

He instinctively turned his head, wanting to say something to Kou.

However, the spot where he had just been standing was now empty.

Only a few pine needles drifted down from the old pine tree by the Training Ground, carried by the gentle breeze, and slowly landed on the grass where Kou had once stood.

Kisame was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with relief.

Yes, he had almost forgotten that both Lord Madara and Kokoro were ninjas from Konoha.

For Master Kou, this place must also hold incredibly precious memories for him.

Kisame thought to himself, and for once, he became quite interested. He strode forward with his thick, long legs toward the group of children playing together in the center of the Training Ground.

As a follower of Lord Kou and Lord Madara, I couldn't help but feel a little curious about the places where they once lived.

At that moment, Ino and Sakura, who were squatting by the flower bed pretending to admire the flowers and plants but actually secretly discussing their favorite type of boy, noticed the tall figure walking towards them with steady steps almost simultaneously.

They involuntarily stopped what they were doing, their eyes filled with slight tension as they all turned to look at the tall man who was grinning at them, trying to give them a friendly smile...

While Kisame was trying to communicate amicably with the children of Konoha, Kō had already crossed the Training Ground alone and entered the quiet and secluded grove.

The air in the forest was much cooler than on the Training Ground. The forest wasn't very big. After passing through the old pine trees that he knew all too well, which still bore a few faint Shuriken marks, he could see the narrow path that was mostly covered by fallen leaves and pine needles, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Kou Earth Flow confidently along the almost abandoned path. The pre-dawn sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on his deep blue, Mizukage Aide robe.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of several somewhat dilapidated wooden targets in the woods, their surfaces covered with scratches of varying depths left by countless Shuriken.

I used to practice Shuriken throwing techniques here, over and over again, using my Sharingan.

Later, when Shisui and Itachi were at the Ninja Academy, they seemed to have used these targets as well.

Thinking of those two guys, Kou's face darkened.

He shook his head vigorously, forcefully banishing those two faces that were so detrimental to his current pleasant mood from his mind. Then, following the path that was now somewhat blurred in the depths of his memory, he slowly Earth Flow to a large tree.

That tree was thicker than any other in the forest. Its gnarled roots broke through the soil and silently plunged into the earth. Its lush branches and leaves blocked out the sky, enveloping the entire grove in a cool and tranquil green.

Several unidentified birds have made their home on the branches, chirping and singing. Their clear calls, mixed with the rustling of the afternoon breeze through the needles, add a touch of vitality to this old tree that has stood here for who knows how many years.

Kou stood before the old tree, tilting his head slightly upwards, gazing at the branches and leaves that were still as lush as ever, a deep sense of nostalgia flashing in his eyes:

"It's still the same as before, nothing has changed."

A bird seemed to notice the figure that had suddenly appeared in the tranquil space beneath the tree.

It tilted its little head, looked at Kou for a while with its round, black bean-like eyes, then fluttered its wings and gracefully flew down from the high branch, landing steadily on Kou's shoulder.

Kou was slightly taken aback, turned his head, and looked at the bird that was tilting its little head and curiously examining him with its small, black bean-like eyes. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes:

"Is it you? I didn't expect you to still remember me after all these years, even though I've changed so much..."

Is this what they call spirituality?

He sighed softly, gently stroking the bird's soft feathers with his fingertips, then slowly shifted his gaze from the bird on his shoulder to the soil covered by the gnarled roots of the old tree.

He looked at the land, which was no different from the surrounding area, and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly.

He remained silent for a long time, then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he walked to the tree, squatted down, and began to dig up the soft soil little by little with his hands.

A moment later, an old iron box, weathered by soil and time, gradually emerged from the soil.

He gently lifted the box out of the soil and brushed away the thick layer of dirt and dust on its surface with his fingertips.

He looked at the iron box that held his and Obito's past memories, and murmured in a low voice:

"... I knew it, it's still there."

He held the metal box in his palm, feeling its cool touch, and a few memories involuntarily surfaced in his mind...

That happened when they were still at the Konoha Academy, before they became "the Uchiha genius".

Back then, I wasn't as well-liked as I used to be.

And the one who stayed by his side back then was both that foolish idiot from back then and the one he fears most now... his enemy.