The Returning Hero!

Time flies, especially when one's schedule is packed, making the passage of time feel almost imperceptible. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Li had been studying Ninjutsu under the Third Hokage for a month now. Today, instead of heading to the Third Hokage's home, Li followed Uchiha Hao and the others toward the entrance of Konoha to welcome the heroes who were about to return.

That's right, today marked the end of the Second Shinobi World War. The war had raged for two full years, finally concluding with a victory for Konoha, and those heroes who had rushed to the battlefield would be returning today.

"White Fang! White Fang! White Fang..."

As soon as they reached the main street, all the villagers and the ninjas who hadn't been deployed to the front lines stood on both sides of the road, shouting the name "White Fang" at the top of their lungs. Everyone was incredibly emotional. On the battlefields of the Second Shinobi World War, the reputation of White Fang had spread throughout the entire shinobi world. Known as the Fang of Konoha and wielding a short white blade, he earned the moniker White Fang of the Leaf. His prestige was so great that it even overshadowed the Sannin of Konoha.

Li stood with Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku, squeezed into the crowd, watching from afar as a group of ninjas entered Konoha. Leading them was a ninja with silver-white hair. He wasn't old, only in his twenties, with a short blade strapped to his back. He carried an extraordinary aura and a faint sense of pride on his face. Behind him followed hundreds of ninjas, the group marching into Konoha in a grand procession, basking in the cheers of the crowd, each of them wearing a look of quiet arrogance.

"Brother Li, is that the White Fang of the Leaf?" Uchiha Mikoto tugged at Li's sleeve, her face flushed as she asked. It was clear that even Uchiha Mikoto couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart at seeing such a renowned hero in person.

In truth, any child who hadn't yet become a ninja would blindly worship heroes. They had no idea that behind every hero lay a history of blood and tears they would rather not mention.

"Mm!" Li nodded faintly, his heart remaining largely unmoved. White Fang of the Leaf was indeed strong, but the way he died made Li look down on him; to be driven to suicide by gossip and rumors was simply foolish beyond measure.

Regardless, Konoha was quite imposing right now. Walking at the head of hundreds of ninjas and enjoying countless cheers was a distinct honor—an honor that belonged to White Fang, and to the Hatake Clan as well.

Upon the return of White Fang and his group, the Third Hokage personally greeted them. Accompanying him were Orochimaru and Tsunade, while Jiraiya was still wandering outside, teaching the three orphans he had encountered.

The welcome ceremony lasted until dusk, and the bustling streets finally quieted down. Li had returned home alone long ago; with time like this, practicing was far more realistic than hero-worship.

After a month of guidance from the Third Hokage, Li's strength had grown rapidly. His power had already reached the level of an elite Genin, and he believed it wouldn't be long before he broke through to Chunin. At that point, Li would apply to become a Genin. This voluntary application was quite different from the automatic promotion after graduation; those who applied on their own needed to pass various assessments to succeed, such as sparring against other ninjas.

"Right, I haven't seen Kushina in a long time. I wonder how she's doing? I should go check on her!"

After finishing his training, Li took a bath and thought of Kushina. He hadn't seen her since he began training under the Third Hokage, and he didn't know how she was faring at the academy. What concerned Li most was Minato Namikaze; he was genuinely worried that Minato Namikaze might win Kushina over while he wasn't paying attention.

Having made up his mind, Li changed his clothes and headed out alone. It was already night, and there were few pedestrians on the road. Kushina lived near the Hokage building; due to her special status, only there could her safety be guaranteed. When he arrived at her residence and stepped into the courtyard, he saw Kushina practicing Kunai throws. Judging by her panting, she had clearly been at it for a long time.

"Keep your eyes on the bullseye, then gauge the vertical distance between your arm and the target. Try to use your wrist for power when you throw!"

Swish! Swish!

With a few sounds of air being pierced, Kushina's three Kunai shot out, all hitting the bullseye. Kushina didn't pay attention to the hits, however, and instead turned to look at Li at the courtyard gate, a smile appearing on her face.

"Li, what brings you here so late?" Kushina seemed very happy. Li was her first friend, and the first person in all of Konoha willing to be friends with her.

"Nothing, just came to see you!" Li waved his hand, smiled, and entered the courtyard. Looking at the tree in front of the yard, which was riddled with Kunai, Li asked again, "Are you practicing Kunai throwing?"

"Yeah, I'm always bad at throwing in class, and a lot of classmates make fun of me!" Mentioning this, Kushina gritted her teeth in anger, looking as if she wanted to bite them.

Seeing this, Li couldn't help but chuckle. He pulled four Kunai from his weapon pouch and casually threw them at the bullseye on the tree trunk. Kushina, seeing this, was about to say it was useless, but at that moment, Li pulled out four more Kunai. His eyes locked onto the first four he had thrown, and he fired the new ones in his hand.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With several crisp sounds, the latter four Kunai arrived first, striking the previous ones. Suddenly, the Kunai that had originally missed the mark were all driven into the bullseye. All eight of them—not a single one missed.

Aside from their Kekkei Genkai, the Uchiha Clan's greatest strengths were Fire Release and Kunai throwing techniques. Since Li didn't have much chakra yet, he naturally had to master this throwing technique; it might just serve as a trump card for survival in the future.

"That's amazing! I never knew Kunai could be thrown like that. Teach me, Li!" Kushina's eyes sparkled as she stared at Li, excited. She was already imagining herself using such a cool throwing technique in class, leaving the entire class with their jaws on the floor.

Seeing Kushina so excited, Li felt helpless. He nodded slightly and said, "Sure, that's fine. How about I come here every night at this time to teach you?"

"Really? Won't that disturb your rest?" Kushina asked, looking embarrassed.

"It's fine, aren't we friends?" Li couldn't help but flick his finger against Kushina's forehead. However, he immediately realized the gesture was too intimate and feared Kushina might get angry. Just as he was about to explain, Kushina covered her forehead, grimacing in dissatisfaction.

"That hurts, you jerk! I'm going to flick you back!"

"..."