Xia Yan had some recollection of this former deskmate of his, entirely because her name had given him plenty to imagine.
Uchiha Sora-if you split that name apart, it was rather interesting. Xia Yan just wasn't quite sure whether she had an older brother.
Although they had been deskmates, Xia Yan really hadn't known her all that well, even if he remembered her as a genuinely nice person.
But as someone with an adult's mind, Xia Yan really hadn't had much interest in these children.
Especially since she came from the Uchiha Clan.
Xia Yan knew what lay in store for the Uchiha Clan. They were definitely going to be wiped out until only a handful remained.
And this Uchiha Sora had barely appeared in the future, which meant she had either died in the war or lost her life in the massacre of her clan.
Besides, as a child, his mind had been filled with thoughts of how to avoid the war, so naturally, he couldn't get too close to the Uchiha.
I didn't expect to run into her even now. It looks like the war didn't have any effect on her.
Xia Yan thought this silently, then prepared to turn around and leave. Someone was using the training ground, and he wasn't about to fight anyone for it.
But to Xia Yan's surprise, just as he was about to leave, Uchiha Sora seemed to notice something and turned around.
"The training ground here is quite large. If you want to use it, that's fine too."
Her voice was gentle, just as it had been when Xia Yan met her upon first entering the academy years ago, only now it sounded more mature.
Xia Yan stopped. He felt that perhaps there really was no need to simply walk away.
And compared with those other completely unfamiliar ninja, the girl before him was at least someone he knew, even if he hadn't gotten particularly close to her back then.
"Then sorry for the intrusion." Xia Yan smiled and nodded lightly.
This time, however, Uchiha Sora said nothing. Instead, she studied the boy before her curiously, because he seemed somewhat familiar.
After thinking for a long while, Uchiha Sora seemed to remember something. Somewhat surprised, she asked, "Are you... Xia Yan? Fukami Natsuhiko?"
"Yes." Xia Yan paused in surprise, then smiled and nodded. "Long time no see, Sora."
Xia Yan really was rather surprised that she had recognized him. After all, he had kept a very low profile at the academy.
The reason he could recognize Uchiha Sora was that he had activated his cheat when he was very young, then gained fairly good sensory abilities.
As her deskmate back then, Xia Yan had memorized her chakra. Add in the Uchiha Clan's enviably good looks, and he would have found it hard to forget her even if he wanted to.
He had to admit that heaven's favoritism toward the Uchiha Clan was rather excessive, because it really was difficult to find anyone with bizarre looks in the entire clan.
In other words, even being very good-looking wasn't anything special in the Uchiha Clan, because everyone looked about as good.
But if you looked ordinary, or even bizarre, you would definitely be memorable in the Uchiha Clan.
"I never expected it really was you." Sora smiled, giving the impression of a gentle spring breeze. "It's been five, almost six years. I've only heard about you from other people. These days, you..."
"I'm just a low-ranking ninja, constantly going on missions." Xia Yan knew what she wanted to ask, so he spoke first.
Xia Yan didn't want to reveal his actual circumstances. His identity as an Anbu did need to be kept secret, after all. He wasn't Kakashi, and he didn't want everyone knowing his identity either.
"Is that so?" Uchiha Sora nodded lightly, then smiled. "Fortunately, the war is over, isn't it?"
"Yes, the war is over." Xia Yan nodded too, seemingly rather moved.
As a ninja, one naturally had to be a capable actor. Anbu ninja in particular needed to put their acting skills to full use.
Because when carrying out certain special missions, you might need to impersonate anyone. Without adequate acting skills, that was absolutely impossible.
Xia Yan's acting was fairly good. His demeanor looked like the emotion of someone who had survived a disaster, even though he had never set foot on a battlefield.
"Let's not talk about that." Xia Yan decisively ended the topic. He knew that the more he said, the more likely he was to slip up, so he simply asked about something else. "How have you been these past few years?"
"Things have been much the same these past few years. After graduating, I went to the Land of Whirlpools."
Uchiha Sora tucked back the hair at her temple and spoke softly.
"But I was lucky. I stayed by the clan leader's side the whole time, so there weren't any problems.
"I came back last year when the war with Kirigakure ended, and I've been on standby ever since. Now I'm planning to join the Medical Department, but my approval hasn't come through yet."
Because the Uchiha specialized in Fire Release, when Kirigakure declared war, they went to the Land of Whirlpools as the main force opposing Kirigakure.
Members of the Hyuga Clan also went to the Land of Whirlpools with them. After all, Kirigakure excelled at using dense mist, and had even invented vision-obscuring techniques such as the Hidden Mist Technique.
In such an environment, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could prove very useful.
So even though the Hyuga and Uchiha resented each other over their rivalry for the title of Konoha's foremost clan and the foremost ocular technique, they still had to cooperate when necessary.
Still, Uchiha Sora really had been quite lucky. At the very least, being able to go to the Land of Whirlpools to fight Kirigakure already showed that she had decent talent.
Those without talent wouldn't go there at all. Instead, they would be sent straight to the Land of Grass, where the war situation was most dire, to fight the Stone Ninja, or to the Land of Hot Water to fight the Cloud Ninja.
In those places, members of the Uchiha Clan wouldn't receive much looking after.
"Good idea. The Medical Department really is a good choice." Xia Yan thought things over, but said with a smile, "Keep at it. I'm sure you can get into the Medical Department. Maybe I'll even need your help in the future."
"Thank you." Uchiha Sora's smile remained sincere and radiant. "I'll do my best."
He had to admit that Uchiha Sora really had inherited the characteristics of the Uchiha Clan's women.
In Xia Yan's memory, very few women from the Uchiha Clan had actually appeared, but every one of them shared the same traits.
They were gentle, intelligent, and beautiful.
Both Uchiha Mikoto, the mother of that ultimate turncoat Uchiha Itachi, and his childhood sweetheart Uchiha Izumi were this type.
Even long, long ago, probably just after Madara Uchiha left Konoha, during that bout of internal strife among the Uchiha.
Uchiha Chiri, who had quelled all the trouble in one fell swoop, had been a similar sort of person.
Xia Yan actually found it rather strange. Why were the men of the Uchiha Clan all no different from lunatics?
Yet the women of their clan were gentle to an unbelievable degree.
Could that peculiar madness of theirs also have the trait of being passed down to men, but not women?
Before you continue