Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-sixth year since the establishment of Konoha Hidden Village.
Over these years, Konoha Hidden Village's investments in the Land of Rain have yielded rich returns, bringing in significant financial income and making the Land of Rain a new center in the ninja world.
Not only the Land of Fire, but also the neighboring Land of Wind and Land of Earth have begun to participate.
Since witnessing the commercial prosperity of Konoha Hidden Village, the other four hidden villages have begun to imitate it, supporting merchants.
However, due to a lack of experience, many detours have occurred along the way, and it will still take a long time for them to catch up with Konoha Hidden Village.
Even with the convenience of the Land of Rain, the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind still couldn't keep up with Konoha Hidden Village, not to mention that because Konoha Hidden Village had sent medical teams multiple times to treat the people of the Land of Rain, merchants representing Konoha Hidden Village were more popular than merchants from other countries.
Therefore, the economic development of the Land of Fire far surpassed that of other countries, and there were also differences among the other countries.
This disparity in economic development was precisely the cause of the Second Shinobi World War in the original story.
Currently, Konoha Hidden Village, relying on alliance agreements and commercial ties, has not yet seen a clear trend of confrontation among the Five Great Nations, but the signs are beginning to appear.
Kazemori Masahiro has already dispatched the Anbu to investigate, ensuring that first-hand intelligence can be obtained.
Although the clouds of war seemed to be gathering, most people in Konoha Hidden Village didn't pay attention to this, still enjoying the peaceful environment of the village.
And this year, there was another highly anticipated event: the new generation of students at the Ninja Academy were about to graduate, which meant that a large number of new generation ninjas would emerge in Konoha Hidden Village.
The Ninja Academy had undergone multiple reforms, and its appearance was completely different from the original story, nearly three times larger.
It was no longer a single teaching building; according to different professional inclinations, it was divided into three teaching buildings for taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, and another teaching building for other education.
Each student was sent to the place best suited for them, maximizing the development of their talents.
At the graduation test venue,Fumori Masaki's second daughter, Asuhina, had just finished her exam and bowed slightly to the astonished examiner, saying, "Thank you for your guidance."
"Ah, um, Asuhina, you may leave," the examiner said, startled for a moment before regaining his composure.
Asuhina nodded slightly, bowed to the supervising examiners nearby, and then walked towards the door.
As soon as she exited, the examiners immediately began to discuss, with many words of praise and astonishment.
"I never expected it, that child Asuhina could achieve such a level," an examiner who had watched from beginning to end said, shaking his head in surprise.
"She truly is the Third Hokage's daughter.
Watching her performance, I feel as if I'm reminded of the Third Hokage in his youth," another examiner said.
At this time, civilian ninjas were just starting to emerge, and there weren't any adult civilian ninjas yet.
The current teachers at the academy were all people who had fought in the ninja wars, either having lost their will to fight or having been injured and unable to continue fighting.
Because of their rich experience, they were placed in the academy to teach new students, and they, of course, knew the performance of the current Third Hokage in the ninja wars.
"The Third Hokage is still quite young, isn't he?
He's almost forty, but he still looks like he's in his twenties," a female examiner said.
AlthoughFumori Masaki was married and had two children, because his appearance was still very young, even knowing he was nearing forty, some female ninjas still admired him, but it was only admiration.
"The Third Hokage also has successors," another examiner said with a smile.
With Asuhina's performance, she would surely become a powerful ninja in the future, and if someone was willing, she could be adopted into their family as a son-in-law.
The examiners discussed for a while, feeling they couldn't delay any longer, so they called in the next examinee to begin a new test.
After Asuhina left the examination room, two people approached her: her elder sister, Akemi, and Uchiha Rihito, who had played with the sisters since childhood.
Uchiha Rihito bore the shadow of her parents; at a young age, she also displayed extraordinary talent, mastering the family's inherited shurikenjutsu and Fire Release to perfection.
The only regret was that she hadn't awakened the Sharingan.
Although the chances of awakening the Sharingan were very low in peacetime, for the Uchiha, who believed in the power of the Sharingan, it was ultimately a regret.
Akemi and Asuhina had discussed this at the dinner table once, butFumori Masaki said that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and that awakening the Sharingan when she was older might be better for Rihito's future.
Akemi and Asuhina didn't quite understandFumori Masaki's meaning, and they also told Uchiha Rihito their father's words.
Uchiha Rihito also found it strange, but since it came from her father's good friend, it should have some truth to it.
"Asuhina, how was the exam?" Akemi, as the elder sister, was very concerned about her younger sister's results.
"Hmm, very good," Asuhina nodded, but there was no expression on her face, making it impossible to tell if she was happy or not, and her answer was very simple.
Akemi knew her sister's personality; although she wasn't cold by nature, she rarely showed emotion.
Sometimes, even a grateful look would make people feel cold.
She had tried to correct it, but later gave up, thinking that a cold beauty was a cold beauty, at least she could intimidate some unruly individuals.
"In that case, we both passed the specialized fields we wanted," Uchiha Rihito said with a smile.
What kind of ninja a student would become after graduation was determined while they were still at the academy, only this way could ensure that they could be trained from a young age.
Asuhina chose the ordinary ninja path, like Jiraiya and Hatake Sakumo, which was considered a regular profession in Konoha Hidden Village.
Akemi, on the other hand, chose the path of a research ninja, heading to the Research Department.
Since the former Hokage, Senju Tobirama, became the head of the Research Department after stepping down from his position, it attracted a large number of people to the department.
However, whether their goal was research or learning ninjutsu, remained unknown.
Akemi genuinely hoped to engage in research work.
Since childhood, she had seen fantastical imaginings in the books her father wrote, which left a deep impression on her young mind.
Even as she grew older, she never forgot them and hoped to realize them with her own hands.
In fact, prototypes seemed to be emerging in the current Research Department.
The unique properties of the ore extracted from the Land of Rain quickly caught Tobirama's attention.
At this point, Tobirama demonstrated his strong abilities as a scientific expert, and by understanding the scientific empiricism conveyed byFumori Masaki, it also compensated for his theoretical shortcomings.
Through Tobirama's full efforts, relying on that ore, a tool capable of storing and transmitting chakra was developed.
This would become another method to compensate for chakra deficiencies, in addition to the chakra extraction technique born from the Earth Grudge Fear.
In the past, ninjas could store chakra and ninjutsu, but they couldn't transmit them.
This ore solved that problem.
The most pressing concern, the chakra source, could be addressed by the underground Dragon Veins of the Land of Loulan.
Now, the Research Department was already attempting to create ninja tools based on this device, which could exert power without requiring ninjas to provide it.
Although Akemi couldn't know the specific details, she understood the concept of this tool.
In her perception, it was just like the tools her father had imagined, and she became increasingly eager to participate.
"Asuhina and I are indeed like that, but do you really want to follow in your father's footsteps?" Akemi asked curiously upon hearing this.
Uchiha Rihito's path, of course, was the family's inherited Police Force.
Any child born into the Uchiha clan would choose to join it; even if unwilling, family pressure would force them to join.
Akemi didn't know if Uchiha Rihito truly wished to join the Police Force.
"Of course, what's wrong with the Police Force?
Both my father and mother are in the Police Force!" Uchiha Rihito said with a laugh.
"There are indeed some people in the clan who feel uncomfortable being arranged by the family, so they try every possible way to join other departments."
"I heard Tsunade-neechan say that this is apparently called the rebellious phase," Asuhina said.
"Hmm, maybe it's because I've been exposed to Police Force matters since I was little, so I've always loved it.
In my heart, the Police Force is a sacred profession.
As law enforcers, we can protect everyone in the village and arrest those who attempt to commit crimes.
What's not to be proud of?" Uchiha Rihito said as a matter of course.
"As long as you like it, I don't want you to be forced by your parents into a department you don't like.
If that were really the case, you could ask my father for help.
He's the Hokage, after all; surely he can decide one person's path?" Akemi replied.
"I appreciate it, but I genuinely enjoy serving in the Police Force," Uchiha Rihito said with a smile.
"Huh?" At this moment, Asuhina suddenly saw someone pass by.
She saw the Uchiha clan's crest on the person's back, and the place he was going was the examination room she had just come out of.
She said with some surprise, "Rihito, that person is also from your clan, right?
Why is he going there?"
Uchiha Rihito looked over and immediately recognized who the person was, saying, "Ah, I know him.
You two should remember what happened during the joint Chunin Exam, right?"
"That incident where the Jashin Organization tried to disrupt the Chunin Exam, right?
I remember someone died, I think it was someone from the Police Force," Akemi recalled, then her eyebrows raised slightly, "I remember now, I even saw him at that ramen shop back then."
Asuhina, hearing this, lowered her head in thought, then recalled the appearance of the person who had just walked by, and nodded, "Hmm, I have indeed seen him.
He was with a member of the Police Force, so he must be his child.
Wait, I remember the place where that Police Force member died in that incident was near the ramen shop."
"You've seen him, then it's easy to explain.
He's the child of that deceased Police Force member," Uchiha Rihito said with a sigh.
"Apparently, he even witnessed his father die before his eyes, which must have been a huge blow.
Although he awakened the Sharingan because of it, I still consider it a regrettable incident."
"In other words, the shadow of his father's death made him not want to serve in the Police Force, right?" Akemi made a reasonable inference.
"That's probably it.
Both his parents have passed away, and his adoptive father is a high-ranking member of the clan.
Even if he doesn't want to serve in the Police Force, as long as his adoptive father agrees, no one can stop him," Uchiha Rihito said.
"If it's a place with psychological trauma, it's better not to go," Asuhina nodded slightly.
"Alright, let's not talk about him.
With our grades, we're definitely going to graduate, so let's go celebrate directly," Uchiha Rihito said, though she sympathized with the person, she wouldn't dwell on it.
"Okay," the two nodded and walked out with Uchiha Rihito, encountering some students along the way, who all greeted them happily.
Akemi and Asuhina, being the Hokage's daughters and having beautiful appearances, were often sought after by clan members.
Among civilian students, they also enjoyed high popularity, not only because of their pretty faces but also because, despite being from ninja clans, they had strong civilian ties and were very popular with commoners.
After leaving the school, the three arrived at the nearby food street.
Konoha Hidden Village was now a place where commerce typically outweighed agriculture, with all sorts of shops.
In recent years, Konoha Hidden Village had also launched a department to manage all commercial activities, with each industry having its dedicated area.
The food street where the three were located was equally lively.
To cater to female preferences, there were also exquisite dessert shops, which were very popular among women, and those shops were their target.
While searching for their destination, Asuhina suddenly noticed a familiar figure not far away and tugged on her sister's sleeve.
Akemi looked over, a happy expression on her face, and waved, "Tsunade-neechan! Asumi-neechan!"
The people who appeared there were Tsunade, Asumi, Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Orochimaru.
Only Hattori Hanzō rarely came out because he was assigned to the Anbu.
Hearing Akemi's voice, Tsunade immediately looked over, then ran over with the others and asked, "Why are you all here too?
It shouldn't be time to leave school yet, should it?"
"Sister, you forgot, today is graduation day!
As long as we pass the exam, we can leave directly; there's no need to stay at school," Akemi said.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Tsunade patted her head and said, "So, you've all passed the exam?"
"Of course," Akemi said proudly, pulling Asuhina's and Uchiha Rihito's hands.