Returning to the familiar gates of Konoha Village, every Konoha ninja wore a joyful smile.
For their generation, Konoha Village was their homeland; their parents had lived there, and the nomadic life of the past was gone.
No matter where they went, there was a home waiting for them.
Hatake Sakumo and his group stood in the middle of the line, watching as people passed through inspection one by one and were allowed into the village.
Unlike the Konoha ninjas who had rushed to the battlefield after the war broke out, they had been away from the village for several years.
Considering the rapid changes the village had undergone in the past, they didn't know what it looked like now.
While waiting, Asuna, Maki, and Yamanaka Risa chatted.
Yamanaka Risa was a Konoha ninja who had arrived on the battlefield later, so she was very familiar with what Konoha Village was like now.
Thus, Asuna and Maki sought to confirm the places in their memories from her.
During the war, due to the tense atmosphere, they hadn't felt comfortable asking these questions, but now they could finally ask to their heart's content, and they would see it all soon.
"Ah, Uncle's ramen shop has developed to that extent?" Asuna was a little surprised.
The 'uncle' she referred to was the owner of the ramen shop she had visited with her mother during the joint Chunin exams.
That shop owner had always pursued the goal of making the best ramen in the ninja world.
Due to her childhood experiences, Asuna sometimes went there with her sister and Maki.
According to Yamanaka Risa, the owner was now very famous, and the shop had expanded, becoming a renowned establishment in Konoha Village's shopping district.
It was packed with people every day.
Although the shop's business was good before Asuna left, it had now truly soared.
"This is all thanks to his son, who improved the original ramen recipe, making it taste far better than before, so more customers came, and the owner took the opportunity to expand the shop," Yamanaka Risa said.
"I heard the owner is now planning to change the ramen shop's name to Ichiraku."
"Ichiraku, that was his old dream; now it's finally come true." Asuna and Maki had heard the owner talk about changing the shop's name before, and now seeing him actually do it, they couldn't help but be happy for him.
At the same time, they were a little curious about how the ramen improved by his son tasted.
Next, Asuna and Maki asked about other places, such as the dessert shop they loved to visit before leaving the village, or the clothing store, and even the shop for purchasing ninja tools.
Yamanaka Risa answered them one by one, and sounds of surprise occasionally emanated from them.
Hatake Sakumo quietly watched the three girls talk from the side.
He didn't participate; it wouldn't be appropriate for a man in his twenties to join a conversation among fifteen-year-old girls.
Moreover, he couldn't find any topics that would interest them; the only thing that could resonate was the war.
And clearly, Hatake Sakumo couldn't bring up such unpleasant matters when everyone was happily returning to the village.
He was actually a little worried that young girls like Asuna might have some psychological trauma from the war.
His fellow student, Tsunade, had made achievements in psychology.
She once said that even adults inevitably experience psychological problems when facing brutal warfare, let alone children whose minds are not yet fully developed.
Seeing the girls in such a cheerful mood, Hatake Sakumo couldn't bear to bring up that topic.
On the contrary, he felt somewhat relieved that at least the girls showed no outward signs of distress and seemed to be in good spirits.
He had seen examples like Tsunade described in the captured Sand ninjas and had always taken it as a warning, hoping not to see it in them.
When escorting the captured Sand ninjas towards the Land of Fire, Hatake Sakumo had seen their blank and dejected expressions, devoid of any youthful vigor.
He knew it might be the village's betrayal that caused their confusion, or perhaps other reasons.
Regardless, these were the effects of war.
Hatake Sakumo sincerely hoped that this brutal war would end soon, that those who instigated the war in Sand Village and Mist Village would receive their due punishment, and that the ninjas who had once believed in their villages but were betrayed by them would also get an answer.
At this moment, it was finally Hatake Sakumo's group's turn.
The people checking at the gate were from the Uchiha Police Force, and secretly, there were also Anbu members and Uchiha clan experts supervising.
The checkers were slightly startled when they saw the group.
Leaving aside the others, they couldn't forget Maki's appearance; she was the young lady of the clan leader's family after all.
"You've returned, Miss Maki." The Uchiha clan member checking showed a smile.
"I'm sure you performed exceptionally well on the battlefield."
"It was alright," Maki replied while filling out the registration form.
"After this war with the Sand Village, Miss Maki must have awakened her Sharingan, and now those people in the clan will have to shut up..." Another Uchiha clan member checking said happily, but his voice abruptly stopped midway.
Because he saw Maki's expression slightly darken.
The first Uchiha clan member to speak quickly elbowed the person next to him and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and fill out the information."
"Yes, yes." The Uchiha clan member who felt he had said the wrong thing immediately took the registration form from Maki's hand, completed the information, and then cautiously said, "Miss Maki, you can go."
The group passed by the inspection personnel, who felt a sweat break out on their backs.
He had never expected his compliment to backfire so badly.
To be honest, what he had even less expected was that after such a war, Miss Maki still hadn't awakened her Sharingan.
The Uchiha clan had always believed in the power of the Sharingan.
Because of this, some people in the clan held a critical attitude towards Uchiha Maki, who, despite being the clan leader's daughter, had been slow to awaken it.
They felt that such a Maki could not be the successor to the clan, and such arguments had never ceased.
Maki had also been harboring resentment, hoping to one day slap those people in the face with facts.
But unfortunately, she had never awakened it.
To this day, the abilities she could rely on were the taijutsu and Fire Release inherited from her parents.
Although she was very strong with just these, even ordinary clan members who had awakened the Sharingan might not necessarily gain an advantage against her.
However, for an Uchiha clan member, the Sharingan was like a symbol.
Could an Uchiha clan member without a Sharingan still be called an Uchiha?
Even if that Uchiha clan member could become a Chunin or Jonin relying solely on their own abilities, the possibility of being recognized in the Uchiha clan was very low.
As a bloodline limit, the Sharingan had completely integrated into their blood.
Maki was troubled by this and had even struggled with it for a while.
Later, under the guidance of Kazemori Masaki, who Asuna had called over, she came to a realization.
Although she hadn't completely let go of the matter, she wouldn't fall into an obsession, with her entire mind fixated on it.
This was also thanks to her excellent personal strength, cultivated by others, making it seem as if having or not having the Sharingan didn't really matter.
Of course, if she were to truly awaken the Sharingan, it would be like adding wings to a tiger, and her overall strength would make a leap forward.
With Maki's current level of strength, with the enhancement of the Sharingan, she would likely reach the level of a Jonin.
Afterward, she personally went to thank Kazemori Masaki.
At that time, Kazemori Masaki said something profound that Maki had never forgotten.
"Maki, you are truly a lucky child.
You should focus on the happiness in front of you.
I'm glad you were able to come out of that dead end.
If one day you truly awaken the Sharingan, you won't forget this happiness," Kazemori Masaki said.
Maki had never fully understood what Kazemori Masaki meant by that.
She couldn't read minds, so she couldn't fathom his thoughts.
She also didn't know that if she hadn't been able to get out of that mental dead end at the time and continued to spiral under such mental pressure, she might have already awakened the Sharingan.
Of course, the Sharingan awakened under those circumstances would likely be the negative kind.
The group walked into the village.
Maki's expression was initially a bit gloomy, but it quickly returned to normal.
Seeing the others staring at their goals, she smiled generously and said, "Are you worried about something?
Don't mind it; I've heard that kind of thing countless times, and now I don't really care anymore.
Bloodline limits like this, awakening them depends on luck.
When the time comes, it will naturally happen; there's no need to deliberately pursue it."
Yamanaka Risa said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to be so open-minded.
The clan records say that Uchiha clan members are always very persistent about the power of the Sharingan, and to pursue higher-level Sharingan, they seem to have caused quite a few incidents.
However, these details are vague in the records."
The records of other ninja clans might not be so explicit, but Maki knew some things.
She had secretly looked through the clan records.
According to them, the Uchiha clan back then, in pursuit of the Sharingan's power, triggered multiple internal clan conflicts, almost leading the clan to extinction several times.
Fortunately, after the internal strife ended, strong enough leaders would emerge to reintegrate the clan and lead its revival.
Of course, Maki didn't know the extent of the cruelty and bloodshed her clan had committed in pursuit of power.
For example, to pursue the Mangekyo Sharingan, they used Izanagi as an experimental capital, trying various rumored methods one by one, and thus began to plunder other people's eyes as consumables for Izanagi—
All of this was only known to Uchiha Kagami, the clan leader.
He personally sealed these records heavily, and only a select few were privy to them.
If possible, Uchiha Kagami actually wished these records would forever fall into darkness, never to be known by anyone again.
If Kazemori Masaki knew about the absurd things the Uchiha clan had done in the past, he would probably sneer inwardly.
Over time, there would always be some self-righteous fools.
Could something like the Sharingan be obtained by deliberately pursuing it?
The Uchiha clan's bloodline inherently possessed rich emotionality, which made them very prone to cherishing feelings.
The pain of losing those feelings would then stimulate the meridians in their brains, generating special chakra that caused a mutation in the visual nerves of their eyes.
This was the awakening of the Sharingan.
Because of this characteristic, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, called it the "Eye that Reflects the Heart."
And what must not be forgotten is that the awakening of the Sharingan ultimately comes down to emotion.
Yet, those Uchiha clan members throughout history only cared about the superficial pain and forgot the inner emotions.
When they conducted their experiments, they had no feelings for the victims, even if they personally killed their friends, relatives, or loved ones.
Without the love that was lost, how could the true power of the Sharingan be born?
This might be a relatively contradictory aspect of the Uchiha bloodline: beyond the innate tendency to cherish emotions, there was also a pursuit of power.
If one was not careful, the latter would overwhelm the former.
When one began to pursue pure power and forgot about emotions, that also meant embarking on a misguided path.
In the original story, Uchiha Sasuke was willing to abandon the village and go to Orochimaru.
Facing Uzumaki Naruto who caught up to him, after the first battle at the Valley of the End, he clearly had the chance to take Naruto's life, but Sasuke didn't do it.
In his heart, he truly considered Naruto a friend.
He also understood that killing Naruto might allow him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he didn't want to use that method because he didn't want to please the brother who kept talking about his 'generosity.'
Such Uchiha clan members were the true Uchiha clan members; even in their pursuit of power, they never forgot their emotions.
Only then were they qualified to pursue a higher level of the Sharingan.
"Well, all of this is also because of Father and Lord Hokage; they told me not to care too much.
And it's true now.
Do I look like I need the Sharingan?
It's good to have it, but it doesn't seem bad not to.
Who says you must have the Sharingan to become strong?
Look at Sakumo-nii; he doesn't have the Sharingan, but I dare say those experts in the clan wouldn't have an easy time against Sakumo-nii, right?" Maki said.
Hatake Sakumo was slightly startled that the topic had shifted to him, then smiled and said, "The Uchiha clan's experts are very formidable; I wouldn't dare say I could win."
"Sakumo-nii, don't be modest.
I'm an Uchiha, so I know the level of my own clan members." Maki pouted and said, "Although it's also because Sakumo-nii's talent is outstanding, I believe that even if I can't compare to Sakumo-nii, I'm not far off."
"I think so too.
Even without the Sharingan, Maki can become strong." Hatake Sakumo smiled and nodded.
"Hehe." Maki happily jumped once, looked at the familiar street ahead, and said, "I'm going to turn off here.
See you later; I'm going home to check things out first."
Everyone else thought the same; each wanted to go home first, as they would be staying in the village for a long time afterward.
So they said their goodbyes.
Asuna walked all the way to her doorstep, looking at the door she hadn't seen in years, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
She stepped forward and knocked.
Soon, the door opened, and standing there was Asuna's mother, Satomi.
Satomi saw her daughter, paused for a moment, then her face lit up with joy.
She hugged Asuna, feeling genuine happiness at reuniting with her daughter after a long separation.
After a while, she let go of Asuna, looking her up and down, seemingly checking if she was alright, and said, "Asuna, you've grown up."
This single sentence contained Satomi's years of longing.
Asuna was not quite the same as before; she had grown taller, almost as tall as Satomi, and her figure had become graceful and well-proportioned.
She was completely a young woman, possessing the vibrant youthful energy of a girl, yet also carrying the chill of returning from war.
Just as Satomi said, Asuna had grown up.
"Let's celebrate today.
I need to call Akemi back.
Her work in the research department has been quite busy lately, so she's been leaving early and coming back late these days."
Listening to Satomi's rambling voice, Asuna hadn't heard her mother's nagging in a long time, and she felt a sense of nostalgia.
She followed her mother into the house.