"Hiruzen, what are you hesitating for? The Uchiha dared to leave the village without permission and fight people from other villages. They clearly have no respect for the village—or for you as Hokage!"
"Danzo, you're taking this too far. I had ANBU keep watch over the Uchiha Clan. None of them left the village without permission. The people out there aren't necessarily Uchiha."
Seeing his old friend actually speaking up for the inherently evil Uchiha, Danzo's expression darkened.
"Hiruzen, what do you mean, not necessarily? We're talking about the inherently evil Uchiha! Who knows what tricks they used to get around your surveillance?"
"It's not as serious as you're making it out to be. The Uchiha are part of the village too."
"You see them as part of the village, but do they see themselves that way? If you ask me, the battle outside was definitely the Uchiha Clan antagonizing other villages in Konoha's name. Once they provoke those villages into attacking Konoha, they'll seize the chance to rebel. We have to suppress and punish the Uchiha Clan first, before they get that chance."
"Danzo, you've gone too far."
"Monkey, have you forgotten what our teacher said? The Uchiha are an inherently evil clan."
"Danzo, have you forgotten Kagami? He died saving you!"
At the mention of Uchiha Kagami, Danzo felt a stabbing pain in his right eye.
"Hiruzen, if you don't crack down on the Uchiha Clan today, you'll regret it someday!"
"Enough, Danzo! I'm the Hokage!"
Bang!
With a deafening crash, Danzo slammed the door behind him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was left sitting alone in the Hokage Office.
His face clouded with worry, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe again and began to smoke.
Suppressing the Uchiha Clan was a policy laid down by their teacher, Tobirama Senju. He wanted to follow it too, but the current situation was far too delicate. The Uchiha Clan was restless, and Uchiha Izuna was still outside the village, with no telling when he might return.
His teacher had told him to exercise restraint and not push the Uchiha too hard, yet his friend Danzo refused to pass up any opportunity to crack down on the Uchiha Clan.
"Whew..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. Though he was still in his prime, he seemed to have aged considerably.
"Uchiha Izuna, you're a dead man. Why did you have to come back?"
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was worrying himself gray in the Hokage Office, Tetsuya leisurely returned to his home in Konoha.
He had gotten rid of his old, shabby little place long ago. Once his business began to prosper, he had bought himself a detached house with its own courtyard in Konoha.
I'm a wealthy merchant now, after all. I can't shortchange myself.
"Teacher, I heard you were back, so we came to see you."
A knock sounded, followed by a familiar voice calling from outside.
"Coming, coming!"
When the door opened, Teuchi froze at the sight of the still-youthful Tetsuya.
"Teacher?"
Teuchi looked at Tetsuya in confusion.
"Are you... Teacher's son?"
Teuchi could hardly be blamed for being confused. The person before him looked so much like the teacher he remembered that they were practically identical, yet he still looked like a teenager. His teacher was supposed to be a year older than him.
Tetsuya also froze for a moment as he looked at Teuchi, who now looked thoroughly middle-aged.
Had so much time really passed in the blink of an eye? The slightly shy Teuchi who used to follow me around learning to make ramen was already forty-six or forty-seven, a middle-aged man pushing fifty.
Because of his evil god immortal body, Tetsuya was like Sasori, who had turned himself into a Human Puppet. His appearance was forever fixed somewhere between his late teens and twenty, eternally in the bloom of youth.
At that thought, Tetsuya smiled and said,
"You must be my senior fellow student, Teuchi. My father mentioned you. My name is Chiba Ryo. Please, come in."
"Chiba Ryo?! You really are Teacher's son! You look exactly like he did when he was young."
Teuchi laughed heartily.
He patted the shoulder of the eleven- or twelve-year-old boy beside him.
"Ichiraku, quick, greet your martial uncle."
Young Ichiraku stared at the man before him with wide eyes and respectfully addressed him as his martial uncle.
Though Teuchi was only a year younger than Tetsuya, he would never forget the debt he owed him for teaching him. Even if Tetsuya treated him like a brother, Teuchi was still his student, a generation below him, and thus of the same generation as Tetsuya's "son."
Naturally, his son Ichiraku had to address "Ryo" as his martial uncle.
Tetsuya smiled and patted Ichiraku on the head.
"All right, don't stand around outside. Come in."
"Thank you for having us."
After inviting them inside, Tetsuya poured tea for his guests.
Teuchi was filled with emotion. He had never expected his teacher's son to be so grown-up, much older than his own child.
It makes sense. Teacher was doing so well in the capital, he must have married long ago. When Ichiraku was born, I said Teacher wasn't married yet, but perhaps he already was.
Soon it was lunchtime, and Tetsuya personally cooked several dishes for Teuchi and his son.
Teuchi marveled at how "Ryo" had inherited his teacher's skills, while asking how his teacher and his wife were doing.
Tetsuya could only make something up on the spot, saying they were doing very well in the capital. But they were getting older and no longer liked traveling back and forth, so they had sent him to Konoha alone to see the place where his father had grown up.
Teuchi readily agreed with Tetsuya. After all, he was getting older himself and no longer liked traveling far from home.
The two chatted at length over their meal, though Teuchi did most of the talking, lamenting how the years flew by and how a man grew old before he knew it.
Tetsuya, too, felt deeply moved.
After seeing Teuchi and his son off, Tetsuya could no longer sit still. He went out alone to walk the streets of Konoha.
During his time in the Capital City, he had spent his days either fishing in the wooded mountains outside it or making money.
Back then, he had never felt the passage of time particularly keenly.
Only after returning to Konoha did he realize just how much time had passed.
Konoha's streets had changed. The old, low buildings had been demolished and replaced by taller, larger houses, and the streets had become broader and tidier.
Looking at it now, Konoha had actually been governed fairly well by Hiruzen Sarutobi in his prime.
"Hey! Tetsuya!"
"Hm?"
Hearing a familiar voice call out, Tetsuya turned and saw a ninja with a head of white hair and a weathered face.
"Huh? Tetsuya, how are you still so young?"
Sakuya strode over and studied Tetsuya curiously.
Looking at the man before him, Tetsuya felt a jumble of emotions. Ha, even Hatake Sakuya, so full of youthful vigor back then, has become a weathered, middle-aged man.
Though he wanted to laugh and say, Hey, Sakuya, how did you get so old?
He knew he couldn't say that, so he merely smiled politely.
"Hello, sir. My name is Chiba Ryo. Do you know my father?"
Before you continue