Reunion at the Barbecue Restaurant

He did not go home, but instead headed deeper into the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Uchiha Fugaku's home was not hard to find. It was deep within the compound, a relatively independent courtyard.

At this time, although Fugaku was already the head of the Uchiha clan, he had yet to marry, let alone have those two famous sons of his later on. He lived there alone.

Arashi walked up to the courtyard gate and knocked lightly.

"Come in." Fugaku's voice came from inside, carrying a trace of authority.

Arashi pushed the door open and walked in. He saw Fugaku sitting beside the stone table in the courtyard, holding a scroll in his hand, as if studying something.

Hearing footsteps, Fugaku raised his head. Seeing that it was Arashi, a hint of warmth appeared on his originally stern face.

"You're back? Was the mission... successful?"

Though he did not say it outright, his eyes were filled with concern.

Arashi walked to the stone table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, briefly recounting what had happened in White Scale Valley.

He left out the conflict with the Third Hokage and Danzo, only speaking of the course of the mission, his teammates' sacrifices, and how he had ultimately killed Rock Demon and the remaining Hidden Stone Village ninjas.

"...That's what happened." After Arashi finished, he looked at Fugaku.

Fugaku listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tapping against the stone table.

After he finished listening, he fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "This is the fate of a ninja." There was regret in his tone.

He raised his head, his gaze falling on Arashi as he studied him carefully. "As long as you're all right. This mission must have been hard on you."

"I'm fine." Arashi shook his head. "It's just... it feels a little uncomfortable."

Fugaku seemed to see through his thoughts and sighed.

"The world of ninja is like this, full of sacrifice and helplessness. You're still young. In time, you'll slowly get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it." Arashi's voice was very soft, yet carried an unquestionable firmness.

"I want to become stronger. Strong enough to protect the people I want to protect. Strong enough that I won't have to read anyone else's face again. Strong enough that there won't be a single thing in this world I can't stand."

Fugaku looked at the light flickering in Arashi's eyes. It was a kind of almost burning ambition and determination he had never seen in anyone else his age.

He froze for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.

"Even the First Hokage, who was once called the God of Shinobi, couldn't do that."

He stood up, walked over to Arashi, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You've grown very quickly during this period. Double Tomoe Sharingan. Very good. But don't be arrogant. An uncontrolled genius is not something Konoha's higher-ups want to see, especially if that genius is an Uchiha."

Fugaku's words sounded like a reminder, yet also like a warning.

Arashi nodded. "I understand."

"As long as you understand." Fugaku smiled. "Hungry? I'll make you something to eat."

Watching Fugaku turn and walk into the house, Arashi's taut nerves finally relaxed a little.

At dusk in Konoha, the setting sun dyed the streets a warm orange-red.

Inside the barbecue restaurant, sizzling cuts of meat gave off a tempting aroma.

"Arashi! You're finally back!" Obito shouted indistinctly, his mouth stuffed full of barbecue, his face brimming with excitement.

Rin sat to the side, smiling gently as she placed a freshly grilled slice of beef tongue onto the plate in front of Arashi. "Hurry and eat, Arashi. This is your favorite."

Might Guy raised his fist high off to the side, blazing with hot-blooded passion as he said, "Arashi! Welcome back! Your return has made Konoha's fire of youth burn even brighter!"

Kakashi was still as aloof as ever, leaning against the wall with a scroll in his hand. He occasionally glanced at the noisy group, but there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.

Uchiha Arashi looked at these familiar faces before him, and the irritation and coldness born from his trip to the Hokage's office seemed to melt a little in this warm atmosphere.

He had indeed been away from the village for about twenty days.

The smoke and smell of blood from White Scale Valley seemed to still linger at the tip of his nose, but at this moment, the fragrance of barbecue around him and his friends' laughter made him feel a long-lost sense of relaxation.

"Hey, you guys," Arashi said, picking up his chopsticks, taking the piece of beef tongue, and putting it in his mouth. The familiar taste spread across his tongue. "You're treating this time. I haven't gotten my mission pay yet."

"Don't worry!" Obito thumped his chest. "Rin's and my savings are still enough to treat you to a good meal!"

Rin nodded with a smile. "That's right, Arashi. Your mission was so dangerous this time, and coming back safely is worth celebrating in itself. You have to eat plenty."

Might Guy also nodded hard. "Exactly! Youth means eating meat in big bites and drinking wine in big gulps! Oh, right, you still can't drink wine, so drink juice in big gulps!"

As he spoke, he pushed a large glass of orange-colored juice in front of Arashi.

Arashi looked at them, his feelings a little complicated.

He was not someone who easily opened his heart. Even without the influence of the Vegeta Template, he already liked coming and going alone.

But Obito's enthusiasm, Rin's gentleness, Guy's purity, and Kakashi's awkward concern were like warm currents, quietly seeping into the seemingly hard shell around him.

"Tch, bunch of idiots," Arashi muttered under his breath, but the corners of his mouth could not help rising slightly.

After being out for so many days, eating soldier pills every day, his stomach had really suffered.

Obito and Guy were competing off to the side to see who could eat more, while Rin sat between them, laughing as she advised them to slow down. Kakashi would occasionally throw in a few snide remarks.

A simple, warm scene like this let Arashi temporarily forget those conspiracies and schemes, forget those cold calculations, forget the cruelty of the ninja world.

He suddenly felt that perhaps times like this were not so hateful after all.

"Right, Arashi," Rin suddenly remembered something and asked, "This mission of yours... did it go smoothly? I heard it was an A-rank mission."

At the mention of the mission, the atmosphere in the barbecue restaurant instantly quieted a little.

Obito and Guy also stopped their chopsticks and looked at Arashi, concern in their eyes.

They all knew what an A-rank mission meant. It was a danger enough to potentially claim even a jonin's life.

Arashi's eyes dimmed. The horrific scene at White Scale Valley surfaced before him once again.

Yamashiro Aoba, Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi... and that boy named Fujii Yuta.

One living, breathing life after another had vanished just like that.

"Yeah, it was completed," Arashi said flatly, no emotion audible in his tone. "But my teammates all died."

"What?!" Obito's eyes widened in shock. "They... they all died?"

Rin's face also turned pale. She covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief and grief.

Might Guy also put away his smile, his expression solemn. "I'm sorry, Arashi. I brought up something painful."

Kakashi put down the book in his hand and, for the first time, looked straight at Arashi, as if trying to read something from his face.

Arashi shook his head. "It's nothing. The world of ninja is like this."

He did not want to talk too much about it. That would only make him think again of the nauseating faces of the Third Hokage and Danzo.

"In any case, I'm back." Arashi picked up the juice on the table and took a big gulp. "From now on, I'll become stronger."

Stronger. Strong enough to protect the people he wanted to protect. Strong enough to control his own fate. Strong enough to make those bastards who treated human lives as chess pieces pay the price!

Obito looked at the flash of resolve and coldness that passed through Arashi's eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he merely patted Arashi on the shoulder. "Yeah! We'll all get stronger! From now on, I, Uchiha Obito, as the Uchiha clan's first Hokage, will do everything I can to protect everyone!"

Rin also nodded hard. "I'll work hard at medical ninjutsu too. In the future, I won't let my teammates get hurt again!"

Might Guy raised his fist high. "Youth means never giving up! I'll train with you and improve together with you!"

Kakashi did not speak, but his gaze grew even firmer.

Looking at these three, Arashi once again felt a trace of warmth in his heart.

Although Obito was still as crazy as ever, shouting all day about becoming Hokage, that ambition was still worthy of approval.

Perhaps, in this damn world, not everything was so terrible.

"All right, let's eat. The meat's almost cold." Arashi changed the subject.

"Right! Meat!" Obito immediately responded and picked up his chopsticks again.

The atmosphere became lively once more, as if the heaviness from just now had never appeared.