After leaving the Hokage Building, Shin'un and Yūichi parted ways in front of the Hokage Building and Body Flicker Technique headed towards their own flower shop.
"Finally home."
A moment later, Shin'un, who was speeding across the rooftops, stopped and smiled as he looked at the familiar sign of his own flower shop across the street.
"Squeak~"
Shin'un pushed open the transparent glass door of the flower shop and went inside.
What comes into view are various flowers and plants that have been carefully tended.
Vibrant roses, pure white lilies, budding morning glories...
Clearly, during the time Shin'un was away from the village, her father Shinkaku, continued to take good care of them.
With a smile in his eyes, Shin'un glanced around and then looked directly at the counter inside the store, which was surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants.
There, a familiar figure was leaning over the counter, holding an account book and doing calculations.
Upon seeing this figure, Shin'un immediately shouted:
"Mom!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Toyoko Hirakawa immediately turned her head in surprise.
"Son!"
Upon seeing that it was indeed her own son returning, Toyoko Hirakawa threw down the account book in her hand, stood up, and pounced on him.
"The war ended a long time ago, why are you only now coming back?"
"I heard from the ninjas in our shop that you had a fight with a guy from the Sunagakure named Chiyo."
"Everyone says that woman is formidable. You haven't come back for so long, your dad and I were so worried, we thought you were gone..."
Hearing this, Shin'un, who was being held by her mother, twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"Mom, how can you talk to your own son like that...?"
"Who cares?" Toyoko Hirakawa wiped away her tears and said to Shin'un:
"It's good that you're back."
"Clang!"
Just as Shin'un was about to speak, he heard the sound of something falling from the side of the stairs.
Turning his head, Shin'un saw it and immediately smiled and said:
"Dad!"
The person who came was Shinkaku Hirakawa. Judging from the overturned watering can at his feet, he had obviously come down to water the flowers and plants, but he didn't expect to see his son.
After taking a few quick steps down the stairs, Shinkaku Hirakawa came to Shin'un's side. After looking his son up and down, his eyes reddened, and he opened his arms and rushed towards Shin'un.
Just as Shin'un opened his arms, ready to receive a hug from his father, what Shinkaku Hirakawa said made his lips twitch again.
"You're finally back, kid."
"Come on, turn around so I can see if you're missing an arm or a leg or anything."
After the family enjoyed a big meal prepared by his mother, Shin'un chatted with his parents, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Then he went to his little house, ate and drank his fill, and fell asleep until dawn.
"Haha, first day back in the village."
Bathed in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, Shin'un yawned sleepily before reluctantly getting out of bed.
After sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while, Shin'un suddenly stood up straight.
After stretching his muscles, Shin'un opened the only window in the room.
The weather is nice today; the sun is warm but not scorching.
The sky was cloudless, and the pure, flawless blue sky was a visual delight.
A gentle breeze, carrying a hint of winter chill, brushed against Shin'un's cheek, only to be dispelled by the warm sunlight overhead—a perfectly pleasant sensation.
Looking at the Konoha bathed in sunlight, Shin'un stood by the window, enjoying the gentle breeze, feeling extremely happy.
"It feels like it's been ages since I've been able to sleep until I naturally wake up like this..."
Standing by the window, Shin'un paused quietly for a moment.
A few breaths later, Shin'un turned around and went to the wardrobe in the room to change into his ninja outfit.
As he took off his shirt, Shin'un muttered to himself:
"Today's plan is... to go to the Hokage Building and find the Third Hokage."
Last night, after a brief moment of thought, Shin'un quickly determined his current needs.
Only three options can be chosen from either side.
First, there is a lack of mid-to-long-range perception capabilities; second, a systematic study of the complete Sealing Jutsu is needed to perfect the subsequent development of the skill [ Qi Sea ]; and third, the ability to fly is required.
Of the three needs, Shin'un is attempting to gain the ability to fly by developing the Lightning Release: Body Transformation into Lightning.
Of the other two requirements, Shin'un chose the Sealing Jutsu after careful consideration.
After all, as a ninja, mid-to-long-range perception ability is not a necessity, but Sealing Jutsu are directly related to Shin'un's future plans for the [ Qi Sea ].
"Squeak~"
After donning his ninja attire, Shin'un left his room, hurriedly grabbed a piece of bread from the living room dining table, and swallowed it.
"Mom, I'm going out."
Shin'un peeked out and greeted his mother by the counter downstairs. Before she could reply, he jumped out of the window.
"Tong~"
With a soft thud, Shin'un Body Flicker Technique leaped onto the surrounding rooftops and headed straight for the Hokage Building in the center of Konoha.
On the way, Shin'un paid special attention to the pedestrians on the streets of Konoha.
Some were buying groceries, some were arguing, some were fighting, and the Uchiha clan members responsible for maintaining order remained fierce and menacing among the common people.
Seeing that everything was normal in Konoha and there were no signs of any strange illness, Shin'un nodded and focused on heading towards the Hokage Building.
A moment later, Shin'un leaped between rooftops and quickly arrived at the Hokage Building.
" Lord Hirakawa!"
" Lord Hirakawa!"
"..."
As some Konoha Ninja greeted him respectfully along the way, Shin'un quickly arrived at the Hokage's office.
Shin'un was about to raise his hand to knock on the door when he frowned and noticed that there seemed to be an argument coming from the Hokage's office.
Before Shin'un could decide whether to eavesdrop or avoid suspicion, the door in front of him was forcefully pulled open, Tsunade, wearing a mask and with a grim expression, walked out.
Seeing Shin'un blocking the doorway, raising his right hand as if to knock, Tsunade paused, then said:
"Go on, that stubborn old man is inside."
After saying that, Tsunade turned and left.
Nodding, Shin'un was about to enter the Hokage's office when Tsunade stopped him.
"Etc!"
Turning his head, Shin'un looked at Tsunade, only to see her take a few steps and then turn back and walk over.
"You know about the strange illness that's been plaguing Konoha lately, right?"
Shin'un nodded, indicating that he understood.
Seeing Shin'un nod, Tsunade didn't explain further. She simply took out a pack of masks identical to the ones she was wearing from her breast pocket and handed them to Shin'un.
Shin'un took the mask with some confusion.
"This is... a medical mask?"
"That's right, this strange disease is airborne. If you or your family members need to leave the house recently, you must wear a mask properly and make sure the mask fits the contours of your face."
"If you run out of masks, you can get some from Konoha Hospital. Regular cotton masks won't work."
"In addition, the masks are disposable, should be changed every four hours, and should be thrown away after use."
After saying that, Tsunade stopped explaining and turned to leave, looking somewhat anxious.
"Airborne transmission..."
As Tsunade's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Shin'un narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then, Shin'un looked down at the mask in her hand.
After observing for a moment, Shin'un decisively decided to follow the expert's advice. She deftly pulled out a mask, quickly put it on her face, and pressed it firmly to make it fit her facial contours.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Shin'un opened his mouth and walked straight into the Hokage's office.
"Report!"
Looking up, Shin'un glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose dark face clearly showed that he was still angry from arguing with Tsunade earlier.
"It's Shin'un..."
Seeing Shin'un enter wearing a mask, Hiruzen Sarutobi a deep drag on his pipe, raised his eyebrows, and said:
"The mask Tsunade gave you?"
"Yes."
As he spoke, Shin'un noticed a pack of face masks on the desk in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Judging from the identical packaging, it must have been Tsunade to Hiruzen Sarutobi as well.
"Phew~"
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes.
Do you know what we were arguing about just now?
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi speak so frankly about his conflict with Tsunade, Shin'un raised an eyebrow and replied just as frankly:
"I'm not sure, is it possible for me to know?"
Opening his eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Shin'un, took a puff of his pipe, and said:
" Tsunade said to immediately mobilize the Anbu to seal off the entire Hidden Konoha. Everyone must stay at home and is not allowed to leave. At the same time, the Konoha Gate Village must be sealed off; no one is allowed to enter or leave."
"I said, Konoha ended a war and is eager to revive its economy; how could it possibly be under lockdown?"
"Furthermore, since the founding of Konoha, we have never had a precedent of keeping our gates closed."
"So Senior Tsunade started arguing with you directly?" Shin'un interjected, "Aren't you planning to order the Anbu to implement a lockdown?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, paused for a moment, and said:
"No, Tsunade said it was very serious, so I did consider whether to immediately implement a lockdown."
"But I can't order a lockdown without any understanding of the situation."
"You have to understand, the other ninja villages are all watching us. If I order a lockdown and nothing happens, it's not just a matter of the other villages laughing at us; it will have a huge impact on Konoha's reputation, mission system, economic recovery, and so on."
"So... I'll have Tsunade prepare a detailed report tonight, and I'll take a closer look before deciding whether to implement a lockdown tomorrow."
"But Tsunade said that time is life, and we started arguing..."
Taking another puff of his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and fell silent.
On the other side, after listening to Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shin'un gained a new understanding of this strange disease and also lowered his head to think.
A few breaths later, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up at Shin'un.
"By the way, I haven't asked yet, what brings you here?"
"Have you decided what you want?"
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shin'un immediately stood up straight and said:
"Yes, I want to learn the complete Sealing Jutsu systematically, starting from the basics."
Upon hearing Shin'un's request, Hiruzen Sarutobi an eyebrow slightly and smiled.
"You and your teacher seem to be on the same wavelength; he took most of Konoha's books on Sealing Jutsu from me yesterday."
"They said they wanted to study the specific principles behind how Sealing Jutsu work."
" Orochimaru- sensei?" Shin'un was taken aback upon hearing this.
"That's right." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "If you want to learn Sealing Jutsu, you can go to Orochimaru's house and study them with him later."
"As for what you want this time, just choose something else."
This unexpected surprise made Shin'un burst out laughing, and without hesitation, he said, " Lord Hokage, I want the Chakra Sensing Technique that the Second left in the Scroll of Seals."
"Ha~" Seeing Shin'un make the request directly, Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed. "Judging from your expression, it seems like you've already made up your mind."
After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly and said:
"Okay, this request isn't unreasonable."
"I'll have someone send you the copied Chakra Sensing Technique tomorrow."
"Just go home and wait patiently."