Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"They're here!"

On a main road dozens of miles from Konoha, within a reconnaissance team responsible for providing backup, a Konoha ninja from the Hyuga clan narrowed his eyes, a look of excitement instantly appearing on his face.

"Go and inform the Hokage immediately!"

"yes!"

One of the teammates, upon receiving the order, suspected nothing and immediately turned back to Konoha, while the rest waited in place for the victorious front-line troops to return.

Sure enough, not long after, the dusty, well-traveled frontline troops appeared at the end of the road. Although they looked somewhat disheveled, every face was beaming with excitement.

Except for Xiao Tuan Tuan.

Due to Senju Hisa's misdiagnosis, Danzo's two enormous buttocks were severed from him. His wounds had not yet healed, and he could only lie face down on a stretcher.

"Mirror, I want to drink water."

His face was pale, and he licked his dry lips, turning his head to look at his adoptive father who was hurrying along beside him.

"Danzo, it's me."

Upon hearing this, Kagami turned his head and looked at Danzo, whose eyes were full of hope. He scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.

"No!"

A cold, angry voice rang out, and Senju Hisa glared fiercely at the bespectacled man.

"He couldn't drink a drop of water until his wounds healed."

Danzo's wound was not only in a sensitive location, but also incredibly large; it absolutely could not be allowed to get even a speck of dirt on it, or his fate would be uncertain.

"I'm sorry, Danzo."

Jingzai could only shake his head regretfully, which filled Danzo with despair.

"Aren't you a medical ninja? Heal me!"

"I don't know magic."

To avoid touching Danzo's dirty butt, Senju Hisana told a little lie.

"Hang in there, I'll find you a doctor as soon as we get back to the village."

Looking at Danzo's pale face, Uchiha Kagami nodded in assurance.

"Secretary, someone's here!"

Suddenly, the scouts on the reconnaissance mission reported back. Uchiha Kagami looked closely and saw several ninjas dressed in Konoha uniforms. His expression immediately warmed.

"They've come to pick up our family."

"Greetings, Party Secretary!"

The two sides met up, and the members of the reconnaissance team respectfully bowed to Uchiha Kagami.

"Thank you for waiting."

"It is our honor!"

The group looked at Uchiha Kagami with eyes full of fervent admiration; they had all heard of their leader's glorious feat of fighting three opponents single-handedly.

From now on, when they go out on missions, the ninjas from the Lightning, Earth, and Water kingdoms won't be qualified to sit at the same table with them.

Meanwhile, on the villagers' side, who were still eagerly waiting, Senju Itama lowered his raised little fist and craned his neck to watch for a long time.

"Where is anyone?"

They didn't see a single person, and immediately glared resentfully at Uchiha Gin, who returned the empty food box to Nawaki.

"You curly-haired baboon, you're lying to me again!"

"Oh~ maybe I saw it wrong~"

Having taken advantage of her, Uchiha Gin nodded with a look of sudden realization, his smug expression making Senju Itama's fists itch with rage.

"Let's go, the teacher will be coming to kick us out soon."

Before Senju Itama could raise his fist again, Uchiha Gin caught sight of a red-haired man rapidly approaching from a distance.

"I'll treat you to candy next time~"

Gin Uchiha waved goodbye to the children, then grabbed the furious Itama Senju and disappeared into the student group in a flash.

"Hey you guys, did you see a suspicious curly-haired guy just now?"

The belatedly arriving Uzumaki Miro looked around a few times, then asked the younger group, led by Uchiha Mikoto, with a puzzled expression.

"Reporting to Teacher Miluo, we've been eating snacks and haven't seen anyone suspicious."

"That's right, that's right~"

Upon hearing Mikoto's answer, the others immediately chimed in, causing Mikoto to frown.

"I remember saying that I would wait until the event was over before eating snacks."

"But I'm hungry."

Mikoto flapped her big eyes, unleashing a forbidden technique called "acting cute."

"This will not be repeated."

Out of consideration for the other child's cuteness, Milo Whirlpool didn't pursue the matter further and turned to manage the other noisy children.

"Curly-haired baboon, do you know that guy from earlier?"

As Uchiha Gin dragged him away, Senju Itama curiously observed the unremarkable Uzumaki Miroku.

Aside from having a bit more chakra, there's nothing particularly outstanding about it.

"A little familiar."

Uchiha Gin said without turning his head.

He usually refers to people he's "somewhat familiar" with—people he's extremely familiar with.

On the surface, Uzumaki Miluo appears to be a mentor who came with the Uzumaki exchange students, but his true identity is actually the eldest son of Uzumaki Hanamichi.

In other words, Uchiha Gin's nephew.

However, compared to his hot-tempered father, Uzumaki Miro, who had been disciplined many times by Uchiha Gin since childhood, was an absolute scoundrel.

Having no interest whatsoever in the business his father had built, he was determined to become a glorious people's teacher and strive to live a simple, nine-to-five life for the rest of his life.

"Where did you two just go?"

The two administrators, still waiting in place, looked at Uchiha Gin and Senju Itama holding hands, their expressions varying.

"Wow, the little cubicle has finally grown up?"

Uchiha Eimi nodded with a look of satisfaction, her beautiful, narrowed eyes filled with a hint of mockery.

"Well?"

Upon hearing this, Senju Itama finally realized what was happening. Looking down at her small hand intertwined with Uchiha Gin's, her fair face instantly flushed red, and she turned into a teapot of bubbles.

I was careless.

Uchiha Rin's expression hardened, his lifeless eyes fixed on Senju Itama, muttering something under his breath.

"Traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor."

"Eating alone, eating alone, eating alone, eating alone."

"Who told you to hold my hand!"

Senju Itama, her face flushed with embarrassment, shook off Uchiha Gin's large hand, but in that instant, a sudden sense of loss welled up inside her.

"It's not like you haven't had diarrhea before, don't act like it's like you've lost a piece of your flesh."

Uchiha Gin rubbed his reddened hands, pursed his lips, and retaliated.

Senju Itama was someone he practically raised from infancy, caring for him hand and foot countless times.

"Huh? Why is it so lively over there?"

Ignoring the sullen Senju Itama, Uchiha Gin glanced at the crowd gathered not far away, stroking his chin with curiosity in his eyes.

"I just heard from someone passing by that some big streamer is doing an outdoor live stream there."

Uchiha Eimi tilted her head as if in thought, then gave her answer.

"The streamer?"

Puzzled, Uchiha Gin took out his phone, skillfully operated it a few times, and opened an app called "Quick Shake".

Sure enough, I saw a familiar name in the first featured section on the homepage.

Title: A Short Broadcast~

Author: David Dai Zhenzi

"Family members, how are you?"

In the crowd, Su Shen Zhen Ji, dressed in a black battle robe custom-made by the Wei Zhen clan, held up a live-streaming device in one hand and waved to the enthusiastic fans around her.

"Sadako Mimi! Sadako Mimi! Sadako Mimi!~"

Fans holding light-up signs with the words "Wei Zhen" immediately cheered excitedly.

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic, I'll perform a special skill for you all."

Su Shen Zhen Ji thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention and immediately waved to her personal assistant beside her.

"Island Princess".

"Come on, come on~"

Upon hearing this, the petite Ichikishima-hime rummaged through the large bag on her back and finally pulled out several glistening roasted suckling pigs.

"I'll show you how to eat three pigs in one bite."

"Sadako Mimi! Sadako Mimi! Sadako Mimi!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's true what they say, the same rice feeds a hundred different people~"

After briefly glancing at Senju Itama's livestream of Sujin Sadahime, he shook his head with a hint of disdain.

Her appetite is decent, but her eating style, like that of the legendary Kanade Saehime, is truly impossible to imitate.

She wasn't born to make a living from the internet.

"But it was really lively, like celebrating the Lunar New Year."

The Uchiha clan resumed normal operations, surveying the vendors who had set up stalls around them at some unknown time.

"Winning once isn't enough to celebrate the New Year?"

Uchiha Gin patted her head and said earnestly,

"But I heard that it wasn't easy to win either, and the Sarutobi clan's ninjas were almost wiped out on the battlefield."

"Little Tuantuan's fault."

Hopefully, Hiruzen Sarutobi will let him off this time, considering how badly Tuan Tuan lost his butt.

"They're back!"

The reconnaissance team members who returned first brought back the message, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others perked up upon hearing it.

"I'll go prepare right away!"

Akimichi Torifu was already starving, so he rushed off to oversee the welcome party and, while he was at it, catch a glimpse of Sadako-sama's live stream, and hopefully get an autograph.

Before long, order began to return to normal, and everyone craned their necks, holding their breath, waiting for the figure at the end of the avenue.

"They're here!"

"Our heroes are back!"

Someone shouted first, and then a huge army appeared at the end of the road.

"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"

The ninja academy students, each holding a bouquet of flowers, raised their blossoms high, their clear, energetic voices ringing out.

"We're finally back!"

Jingzai, who had been away from the village for quite some time, saw the villagers lining the road to welcome him from afar, and his eyes welled up with tears.

Ta-da!

Before he could continue his lament, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group had already appeared before him.

"Mirror! Thank you for your hard work~"

"This is all part of my job."

Looking at his old classmates whom he hadn't seen in a long time, Jingzai's eyes were filled with emotion.

"Kagami, how is Danzo's injury?"

Mitokado Homura was a sentimental person; upon noticing that Uchiha Kagami was alone, he immediately inquired about Danzo's situation.

"His life has been saved, but he still needs to recuperate."

"I'm sorry to have worried everyone."

As they were speaking, two ninjas carried over a stretcher. Danzo, lying face down on it, said with a face full of shame,

"You've done a very good job."

Akimichi Torifu walked to his side, his eyes full of encouragement. With a wave of his large, fan-like hand, he struck Danzo's still-healing wound squarely in the center, creating a small but noticeable dent.

"ah!!!"

"Huh? Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Seeing the blanket soaked with dark red blood, Akimichi Torifu quickly apologized.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury."

Danzo trusted Toru's character and knew it was absolutely accidental, so he generously shook his head, remaining completely silent even though he was already in deep trouble.

"Danzo, take good care of your injuries. I have a lot to talk about with you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo, whose face was covered in cold sweat, and a chilling, fake smile appeared on his face. His tone of voice was also terrifying.

"Lord Kagami, are you alright?"

"Have you eaten? If not, try the pig's head meat produced by our family."

At this moment, representatives of the Uchiha clan, led by Uchiha Setsuna, approached. They immediately surrounded Uchiha Kagami, showering him with questions and inquiries.

"Elder Shaka, thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Uchiha Kagami smiled and responded to each question, finally fixing his gaze on Uchiha Setsuna.

"Compared to Lord Kagami, what I'm doing is nothing more than playing house."

"Lord Kagami, why didn't the Second Lord come back with you?"

Finally, someone asked the right question. Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kagami shook his head.

"The clan chief can't protect us forever; he has his own mission."

"But."

"Don't just stand there talking, the children behind you can't wait to give you flowers."

Koharu called out to Kagami, who was surrounded by her clansmen, and the crowd immediately made way for her.

"To offer flowers?"

Uchiha Kagami, who had never experienced anything like this before, was filled with curiosity.

Come on, children!

As a melodious background music began to play, dozens of ninja academy students dressed in uniform, holding bright red flowers, solemnly approached the combat heroes led by Uchiha Kagami.

"Oh... uh?"

Jing, who was seeing such a scene for the first time, was stunned for a moment, only to find that the person presenting her with flowers was actually an acquaintance.

"Young Master Fugaku?"

With a face full of admiration, Fugaku Uchiha placed the flowers he was holding into the other person's hand.

"Brother Jing, thank you for bringing honor to the family."

Don't let Fugaku's young age fool you; he's actually quite senior.

"Thanks."

Smelling the rich fragrance of flowers, Uchiha Kagami was filled with emotion. What was the purpose of all his hard work? Wasn't it to enable these children to thrive in a peaceful era?

Other ninjas who followed Uchiha Kagami into battle also received bouquets of flowers that held special meaning.

Seeing the children's smiling faces, their weariness vanished instantly, replaced by a look of indescribable emotion in their eyes.

Is this what it feels like to protect?

"Uncle, are you injured?"

As Danzo lay on the stretcher, a clear, childlike voice suddenly rang in his ears.

He turned his head in confusion and saw an adorable child, like a porcelain doll, holding a bunch of bright yellow chrysanthemums, looking at him with a curious expression.

"Just a minor injury~"

Besides his kunai, Danzo's only hardest thing was his mouth.

"How pitiful."

Mikoto tiptoed and patted Danzo's head.

"you!"

Danzo, whose head had never been touched by a woman before, widened his eyes, just about to burst into a tirade.

"Pain has flown away~"

"."

Is this child an angel?

Danzo felt a warmth in his heart as he watched Mikoto earnestly unleash her healing magic.

In comparison, Shinnosuke is practically a demon.

"Mikoto? Why haven't you offered the flowers yet?"

Just as Danzo was enjoying this rare moment of warmth, Nawaki and the Hyuga brothers came over again. Seeing that Mikoto was still holding flowers in her arms, he immediately became a sycophant.

"Let me help you carry it!"

"No need, I still want to give this uncle flowers!"

Mikoto shook her head in refusal. She wasn't a little princess who needed help with everything.

"It's okay, I'll help you."

Rope Tree immediately displayed an indomitable sycophantic spirit.

"Oh well"

Mikoto hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. Holding the flowers would indeed make it inconvenient to help her injured uncle use the Pain Relief Technique.

Just as they were about to take the flowers from Mikoto's hands, the Hyuga brothers couldn't hold back any longer. These were flowers from the goddess!

"How can I let you have all of Misaka's flowers by yourself?"

"ha?"

The three children wrestled over Mikoto's flower, and Danzo, seeing this, curled his lip in disdain.

Kids these days are so lame!

"This is from Mikoto!"

"Hizashi! I'm the older brother!"

"The older brother should give way to the younger brother!"

The bouquet was passed back and forth among the three children until, somehow, someone tripped and fell down, causing all three to tumble and fall at the same time.

The flowers in his hand were tossed into the air, then, with precise angle, were firmly inserted into the center of Danzo's wound, into the dent that Akimichi Torifu had just created.

Pfft!

"Ah! My chrysanthemum!" *2 (End of Chapter)