Konoha Village. The entire village had undergone a great change in ten years. It was enough to make one's hometown somewhat unrecognizable.
"This... is this really Konoha?" Danzo's eyes widened in disbelief. In his impression, it had always been a simple village. Now it had become a rich and prosperous town.
The gate was also built very tall. Two chunin in uniform sat at a table, inviting them to register their information.
"We are ninjas from the village," Hiruzen walked over, proactively registered their names, and showed a big smile. "I am the village's genin, Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"Eh? Are you Senior Sarutobi!" one of the chunin said, looking at him in disbelief. "This change is a bit too big! Senior Sarutobi, I'm Kamizuki Kumo!"
"Eh?" Hiruzen scratched his head. "The brat who just entered school when we graduated, you're already a chunin!"
"Hee hee," the chunin patted his uniform with satisfaction. "I was lucky enough to pass the assessment the year before last. I'm one step ahead of you, Senior Sarutobi!"
"Hahahaha... how excellent!" Hiruzen laughed, then sighed with some regret. "It seems we have to complete the exam as soon as we get back."
"Hmph," Danzo walked over, clearly unhappy about falling behind. "We just wasted ten years traveling. Otherwise, we would definitely have been promoted to Jonin by now."
"How can this be considered a waste of time!" Hiruzen quickly nudged him. Ten years of travel had given him a broader perspective. He no longer played around like he did in his childhood. He had even tried to think from the perspectives of Hashirama and Tobirama.
Most importantly, their strength had also made great progress. Danzo possessed the combat power of a Jonin, not to mention Hiruzen, who had mastered the five nature transformations.
"It really was a waste of time," the gate guard strongly agreed with Danzo and brought up some of their peers. "Seniors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were promoted to Jonin long ago. Even Senior Kosuke Maruboshi was once a Jonin! But he made a mistake and was demoted. He's been a genin ever since."
"Kosuke?" Hiruzen's brow furrowed. He didn't plan to ask too much for the time being. After registering, he planned to accompany Shirou to the Hokage's office.
"This person hasn't registered yet," the other chunin blocked their path, pointing at Shirou, who looked about the same age as them.
"No, this gentleman is a distinguished guest of the village," Hiruzen shook his head seriously. While registering a fake name, he introduced him again in a deep voice. "He is a more distinguished guest than anyone else."
"Then you can take the guest on a good tour of the village," the chunin checked their registration books. "Your information and photos also need to be updated. If it weren't for us being here, other chunin might not even recognize you. The village has changed a lot over these years."
The changes inside Konoha were even greater. The houses were no longer so simple and crude. More and more shops lined the streets. The scenery could be described as vividly beautiful. It was impossible to imagine its former simplicity.
"Unimaginable," Hiruzen leaped onto a tall water well tower, looking out at the scenery. "Konoha has changed so much in ten years."
"Yeah," Danzo couldn't help but nod.
"Time really flies," Shirou seemed to see the baptism of time in the changes. He knew the future Konoha would be even more prosperous. The number of people also seemed to be increasing.
The streets were full of running and playing children. There was even a little white-haired fellow who recklessly bumped into them, about to crash into Shirou.
Shirou's palm extended slightly, and a gentle breeze enveloped the little fellow, allowing him to stop steadily.
"Eh? Is this ninjutsu?" the white-haired little fellow said, curiously touching the breeze. He looked up at Shirou. "Are you a senior ninja from the village!"
"No," Shirou shook his head.
"An outside ninja has broken in!" the little fellow immediately shouted to his friends, completely disregarding that he was still under the other's control. "Quick, go call a senior! I've found an enemy who has infiltrated the village!" A group of little ones started shouting in panic.
Shirou's expression fell silent.
Bonk!
Hiruzen leaped down and knocked the little fellow on the head. "Haha, you little brat, your eyesight isn't very good, is it? You actually picked the one who looks the least like an enemy."
"What do you mean!" the little brat pouted unhappily.
"Does this gentleman look like a bad person?" Hiruzen patted his head. "Brat, the person standing in front of you is the greatest person in the ninja world. Even just looking at his face, there's no way he could be a bad person!"
If it were a matter of looks, Danzo looked more like a bad person.
"Which clan are you from? What's your name?" Hiruzen curiously stroked the little fellow's white hair.
Shirou's eyes lowered slightly. This little fellow's full head of white hair and the red markings under his eyes vaguely looked like an old acquaintance from the future.
The white-haired little brat struck an extremely arrogant pose, clenched his fist, and pointed a thumb down at himself, crowning his name with a series of clumsy adjectives.
"I am the great one who has charmed countless beauties of the ninja world... the most handsome, most generous, freest, most talented, genius boy in the ninja world, the future number one of Konoha's ninja academy, the future most powerful ninja in Konoha! Jiraiya is here!"
Hiruzen was dumbfounded. He had never seen such a shameless little fellow. Even when he was a restless boy himself, he couldn't be as narcissistic as this.
However, Shirou was silent for a moment, and with one sentence, he angered this arrogant brat.
"Talking so much, a child's mouth must be quite dry, right?"