"They're back, they're back…"
"That's my brother; he's a Chunin."
"Hmph, my dad is a Jonin, where is he?"
Outside the Konoha gate, heads bobbed as numerous residents watched the Ninja army slowly approaching.
Everyone looked at the team expectantly, hoping to see their family members.
Even if they didn't see them, they might have been transferred to other units.
The others in the team also greeted their familiar acquaintances among the bustling residents.
They were either family or friends.
"After registration, you are dismissed. Be prepared for a potential war at any time when you return home," Inoichi Yamanaka, the captain, told all the Ninja.
"Yes."
Satoru observed everything. He saw a black-haired woman with a pregnant belly and a smile on her face, who looked surprised and delighted upon seeing Inoichi Yamanaka.
Inoichi Yamanaka carefully stepped forward to support her, afraid she might fall.
"This is Boss Inoichi's wife, the future mother of Ino Yamanaka?
It seems she's pregnant with Ino Yamanaka."
At the same time, he also saw other teammates, some of whom were also being welcomed.
Just then, a handsome but smiling middle-aged man appeared, about thirty years old, but he had lost an arm.
He walked over to Satoru after seeing him.
"Good kid, you seem to have grown a lot on the battlefield!"
"Dad, you're underestimating me, aren't you? I'm just like you now,
I've become a member of the Analysis Team, and I've even become a disciple of Hokage-sama."
Satoru immediately smiled proudly upon seeing him.
This was his dad, Hiroshi, who was once a classmate of Konoha's White Fang until his arm was severed.
He retired because he couldn't form hand signs, and that's how Satoru came to be.
The reason why the original Satoru knew Inoichi Yamanaka and admired him so much was because Hiroshi had instilled it in him when telling him Ninja stories.
"Very good, as expected of my son. You haven't been scolded by your superior, have you?" Hiroshi teased.
His son inherited his genes, and he was very satisfied.
"That's hilarious, do you think I'd be like you,
Getting rushed to the hospital after using the Mind Reading Technique for the first time?
Your son is a Chunin now."
"What? It truly is my excellent genes, hmph,
Damn it, back then I was just a little bit behind Lord White Fang,
And now my son is going to be a little bit behind his son too?"
And so, after Satoru registered, he followed his dad back home.
A two-story residential building.
It embodied the architectural style of Konoha, an ancient yet modern building, entirely made of wood.
Stepping inside the door, many dragonfly figurines made from different plants hung around.
Upon closer inspection, it felt very warm and cosy.
After throwing his luggage into the room, Satoru, for the first time in a long while, relaxed and fell asleep on the bed.
Hiroshi also did not disturb him.
Only by becoming a Ninja and experiencing war can one truly appreciate the preciousness of peace.
In his room, he used his agile right hand to craft another dragonfly from reeds, hanging it on the eaves.
By now, the eaves were already densely covered with dragonflies.
There were 125 of them, by count.
…
"Ah, it's already morning on the second day!"
Satoru stretched, having enjoyed a long-awaited peaceful sleep.
After brushing his teeth, washing his face, and eating a breakfast full of his dad's affection, he headed out.
…
"Do fish also have memories of depression?"
At Konoha's 98th Training Ground, a wide stream flowed nearby, and Satoru was performing Ninjutsu on a palm-sized fish.
After the technique was applied, the fish's eyes slowly revealed sadness.
However, it only lasted for a moment before returning to its normal deadpan look.
"It seems Mind Reading Technique: Depression needs improvement."
Having finally returned to the Village and settled down, Satoru began a series of Ninjutsu experiments.
At the top of his list was Genjutsu.
After developing Mind Reading Technique: Pain on the battlefield, a Genjutsu that could put enemies into a state of pain, he became thoroughly interested in this series of Genjutsu.
The difficulty of the Mind Reading Technique: Pain lay in capturing the emotional pain of a living being and the pain-producing nerves in the body.
According to his idea, the basic theory of Mind Reading Technique: Pain was to use the interaction between the enemy's pain-sensing nerves and their brain to make the enemy's conscious brain emit pain signals, thereby causing a real effect on the body.
Most of his experiments had been successful.
Now he wanted to develop Mind Reading Technique: Depression, which was to use Genjutsu to make the living being's brain emit depressive signals, thereby causing inertia in the body's nerve cells, looking for a weakness for a decisive blow.
However, it was clear from this fish that it only caused a brief effect.
It seemed there was something he hadn't noticed.
"Yo, young man, are you practising Genjutsu on fish?"
Bang!
Satoru felt his heart almost explode because the voice in his ear was so close.
If it were to be unfavourable to him, then…
With a hint of shock, he slowly turned around, pulling up his forehead protector and pulling back the bandage covering his eyes.
An elderly man in his twilight years appeared before him, with a pointed goatee.
"Third Hokage-sama."
The one who appeared before him was none other than Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At this time, the wrinkles on his face were not as numerous as they were during Naruto's era, but the changes were already quite visible.
"Haha, no need for formalities, did I scare you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and laughed.
Satoru dared not be negligent, revealing a dejected tone: "No, it's just that as a sensory Ninja of Konoha,
I couldn't sense someone approaching me; I've failed the Village's cultivation!"
"Hahahaha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed loudly.
"I am the Hokage; if a little kid who just left the academy not long ago could discover me,
Then I would truly be failing my teacher's cultivation, haha."
What you said is true, but it's too scary; don't you know that scaring people to death is a real thing?
Satoru couldn't stop complaining in his mind.
"Tell me, have you encountered any difficulties with Ninjutsu?
I am the Hokage; I can still give you some pointers," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Satoru heard this and glanced at him. You know you're the Hokage, don't you have anything to do, coming out to scare people?
But he still spoke: "Hmm, there's a bit of a problem…"
Then he explained the entire principle of the Genjutsu and the problems he encountered.
"I see. Although my Genjutsu is a weakness, I also know that humans and fish are different.
So, if you want to fully develop this Genjutsu, you'll have to experiment with real people."
Hiruzen Sarutobi advised.
Satoru nodded. Mind Reading Technique: Pain was also completed only after being tested on enemies.
Pain nerves and depressive nerves were not in the same range, which was why he failed.
"Ah, I haven't had a workout in a long time,
Let me be your test subject." Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing how intelligent he was, couldn't help but say it again.
Just as he said, since the war, he had been cooped up in the office working every day and hadn't had a chance to exercise in a long time.
"This… wouldn't it be inappropriate? You are Hokage-sama, after all."
Although Satoru was tempted, he maintained the persona of someone who loved Konoha and cherished his comrades in front of outsiders.
"Haha, where Konoha dances, fire will continue to burn.
This is the will passed down to me by the First and my teacher.
I have always upheld it, and I hope you can pass it on as well." Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a nostalgic expression.