Escape from Konoha.

Like Hiashi, he was the son of the current Hyuga clan leader. The difference was that he was born a little later than Hiashi, so he was from the branch family, while Hiashi was from the main family.

He was willing to die for Hiashi. All his glory and disgrace were no longer for himself, but for his most respected and beloved elder brother, Hiashi.

The respect and love that once existed have now turned into hostility and hatred.

If he weren't the son of the clan leader, openly displaying his murderous intent towards the next Hyuga clan leader would likely have led him to a secluded corner and been cursed to death.

Sometimes, even the status of those who separate from the family is different.

Encountering the Japanese was just a minor incident, not something that Ayane needed to pay special attention to.

When he arrived at the training ground, there was an excellent Jonin from the Hyuga clan waiting for Hiashi to come over for his morning training.

Because she was a maid, Ayane was granted special permission to stay here.

After she was assigned to be Hiashi's maid, her status was higher than that of ordinary branch family members.

The Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, trained by Hiashi, combined with the Byakugan, possess immense power.

Ayane didn't learn all 64 of the Eight Trigrams Palms; she only mastered 32.

On one hand, the main family members want the branch family members to become powerful, but on the other hand, they don't want the branch family members to learn all the Hyuga clan's secret techniques.

Because if a branch family member surpasses the main family in martial arts, it will be a great loss of face for the main family.

Those who embarrass the main family members will certainly be punished.

If a member of a family who has separated from the main branch performs well, they may be allowed to learn this move, Bagua Sixty-Four Palms.

However, there is an absolute defensive technique called 'Baguazhang·Huitian', which only members of the main family are qualified to learn.

As Hiashi's maid, there wasn't much for her to do, because Ayane had to go to school during the day, so she couldn't always stay by Hiashi's side.

Hiashi didn't particularly care about such things. Ayane was just a member of the branch family who might die at any time, so he never inquired about or cared about anything concerning her.

Like the other maids who had died in the branch family before her, she was just a dispensable tool in his life.

That's how he was educated by his father, who was the clan chief.

The main branch is the root of the Hyuga clan. As long as the root remains, it doesn't matter whether the branches wither or flourish.

◎

July, Konoha Year 32.

Shiraishi spent a full six months in the First Medical Ninja Experimental Class. His grades were mediocre, but as one of the first medical ninjas trained by the village, no matter how ordinary he was, the village still provided him with very generous subsidies.

After graduating from sixth grade, he will go to the battlefield and work as a medical ninja on the front lines.

Just as Shiraishi was thinking this, a message suddenly came back—

The war is over.

Yes, the war is over.

Konoha wins, Amegakure loses.

After bestowing the title of "Legendary Sannin of Konoha" upon three Konoha ninjas, Amegakure leader Hanzo of the Salamander acknowledged Konoha's victory, thus ending the three- or four-year war between Amegakure and Konoha.

The so-called "Legendary Sannin of Konoha" refers to Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, three Jonin of Konoha.

The three of them were disciples of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The three of them brought honor to Konoha by securing victory on the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

As a result, most people in the village were immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Shiraishi was also very happy, as he was finally able to avoid going to the battlefield to participate in the Ninja World War after graduation.

The three legendary Sannin returned with a large number of Konoha ninja, and countless people eagerly awaited their return at the village entrance.

Shiraishi was among them, but he was an inconspicuous member.

At that time, he saw the so-called Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

A handsome, effeminate man with long, straight black hair, exuding a murderous aura.

A busty female ninja with light blonde hair and a constant smile.

Hmm... wait a minute, why are there only two of the Three Legendary Sannin?

Shiraishi remembered that they were the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, so why are only two of them back? Where is the third one?

Could it be that he was killed by chance at the very end of the war?

Bai Shi couldn't help but wonder about this.

At this time, people didn't care why only two of the three legendary Sannin returned; what they cared about was the joy and relief that came after the war.

Although I will have to attend the funeral afterwards.

Great joy and great sorrow... these are the trivialities of life after war.

Konoha Mausoleum Park.

After the adults left, Shiraishi, dressed in black, lingered there.

The atmosphere at the funeral was somber, yet the weather was beautiful today, with clear blue skies.

Not all funeral days are rainy or cloudy.

Wearing black mourning clothes and with her long black hair loose, Ruri stood in front of the tombstones engraved with the names of the Uchiha clan ninjas, and earnestly placed the white chrysanthemums in her hand in front of each of the tombstones to pay her respects.

According to Ruri, in this war, the Uchiha clan lost three Jonin, eleven Chunin, nine Genin, and more than ten others were seriously injured or disabled and unable to survive as ninjas.

"ended."

Shiraishi walked over and whispered to Ruri.

There wasn't much sadness on Liuli's face; she had grown accustomed to the separation and death of her people.

Every year, the bodies of our clansmen are brought back from the front lines.

She also witnessed the desolation and collapse of the Uchiha ninjas who were crippled by injuries.

Liuli carefully placed the last bunch of white chrysanthemums and whispered, "How can it possibly end? War can be without reason, but it must have a purpose and generate benefits. As long as there are humans, war will never end."

It was as if they had anticipated that a new battlefield would soon appear.

So pessimistic... well, it can't be called pessimistic, because there's no trace of pessimism on Liuli's face; she's simply stating the facts.

Shiraishi paused slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

"Don't worry, I'm not so fragile that I need comforting. To be born in battle and to die in battle, that is the destiny of us Uchiha."

Liuli would not ask for peace without reason.

Compared to such matters, improving one's own strength is the most meaningful thing right now.

If one day the Uchiha loses this strong belief in survival through power, perhaps that will be the moment of their demise...

Chapter Twenty-One: Quiet down, focus on the game!

"The war is over."

The Hokage Building beneath Shadow Rock.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura, the leader of Root, gathered here.

The consultant turned around and looked out the window at the beautiful sunset. Her relaxed expression revealed that she was in a good mood.

After a brief silence in the conference room, another advisor, Mitokado Homura, spoke up: "Although the war is over, there are still problems that need to be resolved as soon as possible. In addition, Jiraiya has not yet returned. Hiruzen, Konoha is at a critical moment of rebuilding after the war. As a Jonin of the village, he should not act impulsively at this time."

You can tell from Kazuma's expression that he's dissatisfied with Jiraiya.

After the war in the Land of Rain, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were bestowed the title of "Legendary Sannin of Konoha" by Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, and their fame spread throughout the ninja world.

However, only Orochimaru and Tsunade actually returned. Jiraiya is still staying in the Land of Rain because he took in three orphans.

Koharu turned her head and continued, "Yes, Hiruzen, as a Jonin of Konoha, he ignored orders, took in orphans in the Land of Rain, and has been delaying his return to the village. This is a serious violation of the village's rules."

For ninjas who seriously violate village rules, one should, in principle, try one's best to dissuade them. If they really do not listen to advice, they should be labeled as rogue ninjas, arrested and sent back to Konoha prison, or killed.

Otherwise, if such ninjas are allowed to run amok, the village's rules will lose credibility.

However, at this moment, Konoha did not send any ninjas to dissuade Jiraiya, nor did it announce that Jiraiya had become a rogue ninja.

As a disciple of the Hokage, only the Hokage can issue the arrest warrant.

Hokage Hiruzen shook his pipe and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Jiraiya is an excellent ninja who inherited the Will of Fire. He knows what's important."

Menyan and Xiaochun frowned, not entirely convinced by Hiruzen's words.

Hiruzen added, "Jiraiya wrote to me before, saying that this could ease the relationship between Konoha and Amegakure, and do Hanzo a favor."

Upon hearing this, Men Yan's tone became even more dissatisfied. He knew that this was Hiruzen trying to excuse his disciple because he couldn't bear to punish him.

"Hiruzen, you've been too lenient with your subordinates. I've already told you this isn't the time to act impulsively. He's a Konoha ninja, not a Amegakure ninja!"

Although Konoha was the final victor in this war against the Land of Rain, the process of victory was not smooth sailing.

The most crucial point is that Konoha defeated Amegakure, but failed to defeat Amegakure's leader, Hanzo.

It is said that in the final battle of the Rain Country War, all the hundreds of Konoha ninja who fought against Hanzo alongside Orochimaru and his two companions perished. In the end, only Orochimaru and his two companions were spared by Hanzo and given the title of 'Konoha Legendary Sannin'.

The hatred between Konoha and Amegakure is now extremely strong.

If Hanzo were ungrateful, or petty enough to kill Jiraiya outright, Konoha would have no way to defend Jiraiya.

Hanzo only needs to pin a charge of 'stealing important information from another country' on Jiraiya's head, and then expose him to the ninja world.

Other ninja villages would probably be happy to see Konoha suffer a setback and support Hanzo, leaving Konoha in a lose-lose situation.

"If anything goes wrong, I, as the Hokage, will take responsibility."

Hiruzen's words directly prevented Homura and Koharu from punishing Jiraiya.

"Danzo, what do you think of this?"

Menyan didn't believe Hiruzen could shoulder such a responsibility; he was just showing favoritism towards his own disciple.

So he turned his attention to Danzo, the leader of the Root organization.

After the other party came in, he did not say anything and sat quietly to the side, but Menyan and Xiaochun had to take Danzo's advice seriously.

"Didn't Hiruzen say that he would take responsibility if anything happened to Jiraiya? He's the Hokage of Konoha. Also, I have other matters to attend to at Root, so I'll head back now."