Time passes swiftly, the years flow like a shuttle.
Konoha, Year 32.
It was just after the start of summer, the weather was fairly warm, but not overly hot.
Today was a special day—
The day the heroes return!
Of course, the war hadn't truly ended.
The heroes returning were only the gravely wounded from the front lines, who could no longer survive as ninjas in the future.
On the battlefield, they had already become burdens to their comrades and now had to be escorted back to Konoha, where they would spend the rest of their lives in the village.
Alongside the many wounded were the bodies of fallen ninjas, now forever resting in the earth.
And so, on this gentle day, some people were silent, some wept, and some had tears streaming down their faces—never tears of joy.
Even without any official orders, the people of Konoha as well as the ninja clans had organized a solemn ceremony to welcome the returning heroes.
But as they awaited the heroes' return, the adults of Konoha maintained grief and silence, while the once lively children, not understanding what had happened, didn't dare speak rashly and simply stood quietly in the somber atmosphere.
War is never a beautiful thing.
—At the Hakushi house.
Hakushi wasn't very interested in welcoming those so-called heroes.
He had no relatives who took part in the war, so welcoming the heroes didn't matter much to him.
However, Hakushi knew Ruri would go. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, she was obliged to welcome back her clansmen who had fought outside.
If it were just Ruri, Hakushi thought he might have met up with her at the village gate for the welcome.
But there would certainly be many other Uchiha around Ruri. If he went along, it would probably feel out of place.
Because of that, Hakushi thought it wiser to stay at home, especially since he had plenty of experiments to work on.
Two years had already passed. Not only had Hakushi self-taught himself all the medical ninjutsu from the scroll Ruri gave him, he had also fully mastered them.
To be blunt, Hakushi was very confident in his medical ninjutsu skills.
Besides, he hadn't neglected his growth in other areas, either.
By Ruri's assessment, he now already possessed Chunin Level strength.
A year ago, Ruri had passed the clan's strict Jonin evaluation, reaching Chunin Level strength. Hakushi could match her at four-six or fifty-fifty, so he too was naturally at Chunin Level.
However, he had never revealed his true strength. In others' eyes, he was still an ordinary student at the Ninja School.
The kind who would blend into the crowd, completely unremarkable.
He had mastered a lot of ninja techniques. Not to mention the Three-Body Jutsu, but also Hand Sage Art, Healing Jutsu, Hemostasis Jutsu, Chakra Scalpel—all essential techniques for an outstanding Medical Ninja.
As long as he grasped their essence, learning them was not difficult for Hakushi.
What's more, he had a mature soul, far more self-disciplined than most, putting in several times more training hours than the average person.
Every day, aside from proper rest and attending classes, nearly all his other time was spent training.
It was only through countless hardships that he had achieved his current results.
In a partitioned room of the house—this was Hakushi's specially separated micro-laboratory.
On the table sat numerous distillation flasks, test tubes, containers, and Bunsen burners flickering with red and blue flames.
There were also glass bottles holding clear solutions, in which floated rare plant specimens and some preserved animal organs—eyes, livers, and other vital parts.
Hakushi deftly handled these instruments, mixing as needed to achieve his desired results.
Then he recorded data on his computer.
Come to think of it, Hakushi found it quite surprising—he hadn't expected a realm as industrially backward as the Ninja Realm to already have computers.
Though the current era's computer processing systems still weren't very advanced in Hakushi's view, having them was better than not.
He himself was skilled in lators like chemistry, biology, and medicine; he was knowledgeable about mechanics and electronics, but not adept.
Homemade computers were simply beyond him. Professional matters required professionals.
And even this not-so-advanced computer had cost Hakushi a fair bit of money.
Scientific research was like a bottomless pit. Over the last two years, it had devoured most of Hakushi's already scant finances.
Now, Hakushi's funds were exhausted, and his research progress would naturally start to slow.
He could gather raw materials himself, but some precision instruments and rarer materials could only be obtained with money.
Just as Hakushi was troubled by these thoughts, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Hakushi put down his work and went to open it.
As expected, it was Ruri.
Now eight years old, she was a little taller than two years ago. Though still childish, her gaze had grown sharper and colder, giving off a sense of formality and distance.
To put it bluntly, Ruri really wasn't a very sociable person.
She didn't know how to accommodate others or how to handle relationships well, but she was passionate about getting stronger.
At heart, this made her a hot-blooded battler.
Perhaps this was the traditional character of the Uchiha Clan—members of this clan were usually bold and combative.
Hakushi believed, if not for his true strength earning her respect, they might not even have exchanged a single word.
Precisely because both understood a little about each other's secrets, Hakushi felt he and Ruri were compatible partners.
"The welcoming ceremony ended so soon?"
Hakushi invited Ruri inside, asking out of curiosity.
By Hakushi's reckoning, Ruri should have spent the whole day hosting the returning Uchiha heroes.
"No, I just left early. Quite a few in the clan died, and some can no longer continue as ninjas."
Ruri's mood seemed a little gloomy.
"It's war, after all,"
Hakushi sighed.
Death or disability in war was, sadly, all too common.
"Why didn't you go?"
Ruri posed the question to Hakushi.
"I didn't have any family returning from this war."
Only then did Ruri recall that Hakushi's parents had died on a mission many years ago.
"Sorry."
"It's alright, I don't care much about that stuff. Being on my own just means more freedom."
Hakushi smiled at Ruri, showing he didn't mind, and walked toward moment of his house.
Ruri followed Hakushi into his study—Hakushi's private research room.
Hakushi never hid his research from Ruri.
After all, his work was open and aboveboard; even if Ruri knew, she wouldn't talk carelessly.
This tacit understanding was something they'd developed over two years together.
Though not at the ultimate "no words needed for understanding" stage, Ruri wasn't the type to pry or ask questions pointlessly.
Just like how she knew Hakushi's true strength but never considered exposing him.
Hakushi never asked Ruri why she didn't expose him, and Ruri never asked why he hid his power.
Even so, it never affected their pure friendship.
This was the best kind of tacit agreement.