Gento did not linger any longer, using the Flying Thunder God to return to the Hidden Gento Village with Madara.
With a flash of the Flying Thunder God, their figures vanished from the valley.
The next instant, they were already standing in Cerulean Harbor.
Madara looked around. Where his gaze landed was not the familiar Hokage Rock of the Hidden Leaf, but a prosperous port city.
Mast-forests stood upon the sea, with merchant ships coming and going.
The streets were bustling with people, exceptionally lively.
He frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of confusion:
"This doesn't seem to be the Hidden Leaf Village, does it?"
"Even though I have been dead for many years, I still remember the location of the Hidden Leaf."
Gento immediately explained:
"Under my leadership, the current Uchiha has already left the Hidden Leaf and established our own shinobi village, the Hidden Gento Village."
"This is Cerulean Harbor, the city where the Hidden Gento Village is located."
Madara's brow furrowed even deeper, but the curiosity in his eyes also grew stronger.
"Leaving the Hidden Leaf?"
"Interesting. Speak, what happened?"
Gento briefly recounted what the Uchiha had experienced in the Hidden Leaf.
From the suspicion on the Night of the Nine-Tails, to the clan grounds being monitored, to Danzo's covert suppression, Hiruzen the Third Hokage's indulgence, and finally to the ultimate fallout and the entire clan migrating out of the Hidden Leaf.
Having heard this, Madara immediately let out a cold snort, a cynical smile rising at the corners of his lips:
"Back then, I urged the Uchiha clansmen to leave the Hidden Leaf, yet not a single person was willing to follow."
"They willingly let themselves be suppressed by the Senju, marginalized by the village, each huddling in the clan grounds, only daring to complain behind everyone's backs."
"In the end, didn't they still leave the Hidden Leaf? Wasting decades for nothing."
Gento remained silent.
He knew what Madara said was the truth.
The Uchiha of those days were addicted to the peace of one village and one clan, missing the optimal timing.
If not for him, the Uchiha's end would likely have been even more miserable.
"Let's go."
Gento led Madara toward the village.
"Let me show you the current Uchiha."
The two walked into Cerulean Harbor.
Madara's eyes gradually lit up.
On both sides of the wide streets, shops were lined up close together, with a dazzling array of signboards and banners.
There were those selling ninja tools, those selling dango, those selling sealing scrolls, and also several tea houses and taverns, all doing a roaring trade.
Uchiha clansmen wearing the uchiha crest clan robes shuttled between them; some had kunai pouches strapped to their waists, while others carried swords on their backs, their expressions calm and confident.
Occasionally, visiting merchants or shinobi would greet them, and they would respond with smiles, completely devoid of the gloominess of being marginalized in those days.
"This is the Uchiha clan grounds?"
Madara asked with some uncertainty.
The sight before his eyes, rather than a settlement of a shinobi clan, was more like a prosperous city.
"This is the commercial street of Cerulean Harbor."
Gento explained:
"The Uchiha clan grounds are north of the harbor, but now the clansmen mostly live scattered throughout Cerulean Harbor rather than living in a concentrated area."
"Those you see wearing the uchiha crest clan robes are all Uchiha clansmen."
"Some are carrying out missions, some are running shops, and some are training; they all live quite well."
Quite well?
Such a life was simply unimaginable for Madara, who was born in the war period!
He merely nodded, without saying much else.
But a hint of approval had already appeared in his eyes.
Gento led Madara to the first family building, the Mission Hall.
At this moment, people were coming and going in front of the Mission Hall in an endless stream.
Shinobi dressed in various attires went in and out; some had faces full of joy, some were in a hurry, but everyone's eyes carried a sort of positive and upward-striving light.
"This is the Mission Hall."
Gento pushed the door open, leading Madara inside.
"All commissions are posted and handed over here."
"Today, the volume of mission commissions in the Hidden Gento Village is among the top in the shinobi world."
"Every day, many missions are dispatched from here, ranging from D-rank to S-rank, with everything one could want."
The hall was spacious and bright, with walls covered in mission scrolls.
The staff behind the counter were busy registering, verifying, and distributing rewards.
Several shinobi who had just returned from completing their missions were queuing to hand them in, weary yet satisfied smiles on their faces.
In a corner, there was also a rest area, where several young shinobi sat in a circle, discussing strategies for their next mission.
Madara's gaze swept across the hall, finally landing on those few young Uchiha shinobi.
Within their eyes was that kind of gaze; one filled with hope for the future and confidence in their own strength.
"The mental outlook of the shinobi here is quite good."
Madara gave a rare word of praise.
Gento smiled, without saying much else.
He led Madara away from the Mission Hall, arriving at the next location, the Training Ground.
The Training Ground occupied a vast area, divided into two major zones: indoor and outdoor.
The outdoor ground was as large as several soccer fields, paved with hard rock, with dozens of areas demarcated on it.
At this moment, it was the peak training hour, and dozens of shinobi were sweating profusely in their respective areas.
Some were practicing shuriken throwing, with targets densely packed with kunai.
Some were drilling taijutsu, the muffled sounds of colliding fists and kicks rising and falling in succession.
Still others were practicing ninjutsu, the glows of Fire Release, Lightning Release, and Water Release flashing continuously.
Standing at the edge of the training ground, Madara watched those young Uchiha shinobi, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke:
"These children are all stronger than the Uchiha of the war."
"They have received systematic training since childhood, with abundant resources and none of those messy suppressions."
"As long as they are willing to work hard, everyone can become a shinobi capable of standing on their own."
Madara nodded, without making any evaluation.
Gento then took him to visit the Ninja Academy.
There, young children in the classroom listened to their teacher explain the basic knowledge of chakra, their eyes filled with yearning for the future.
They also visited the Awakening Chamber.
In that dim secret chamber, several clansmen were undergoing the Sharingan inheritance ceremony.
Looking at those young people awakening their Sharingan on the altar, Madara was even more shocked.
When Madara inquired about the principle, Gento merely brushed it off using modern shinobi biological science.
In the end, Gento brought him to the Archive Pavilion.
This was a three-story pavilion.
The outer walls were made of blue-grey stone bricks, and the windows were tall, letting in excellent light.
Anbu guarded the entrance, and entry and exit required registration.
"This is the Archive Pavilion."
Gento pushed the door open.
"Inside are collected the ninjutsu, Hidden Jutsu, and Forbidden Jutsu scrolls accumulated by the Uchiha throughout generations, as well as various classics collected from the Hidden Leaf, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Mist."
"A vast amount of content has already been accumulated at present, and it is still continuously increasing."
Madara walked into the Archive Pavilion, looking at the rows of neat bookshelves.
Looking at those scrolls labeled with various ranks, Madara's eyes finally revealed unvarnished shock.
"These..."
He muttered, reaching out to pull a scroll from the shelf. Unrolling it, he saw it was a notebook detailing the improved insights on Fire Release: Majestic Demolisher Flame.
He pulled out another scroll; it was the training notes on the Hidden Cloud's Lightning Chakra Mode.
Yet another scroll was the Hidden Mist's Water Release Hidden Jutsu.
Madara's voice was somewhat tight.
"These... are all ours, the Uchiha's?"
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