[Naruto, Anime Timeline]
[Konohagakure]
Because the Fourth Great Ninja War had broken out, many of the ninja in the village had gone to join the battle. Although these ninja were just a drop in the ocean compared to the large number of civilians, the village still seemed to have been affected to some extent.
Moreover, Konoha had just been destroyed once. Although it had been rebuilt after the disaster, at this moment, it looked even more desolate than ever before.
The Nohara residence, however, had not changed much from the past.
Ever since Rin died, the Nohara family, apart from the occasional visit from Kakashi, had become much colder and quieter.
At this time, the setting sun was sinking in the west, and dusk was dim and gloomy.
The Nohara couple was eating dinner at the dining table at home. The two of them looked much older.
Mrs. Nohara looked at Nohara Haruki's somewhat numb gaze and asked, "Can't you at least worry a little? Can we really win this war?"
Nohara Haruki was silent for a while and then spoke the thoughts in his heart, "Whether we win or not, is that really important?"
"Our daughter is already dead, I don't even have anything left to cling to."
Mrs. Nohara gave her husband a somewhat resentful look, "I told you not to bring it up, and yet you bring it up again."
Though she complained, Mrs. Nohara's mood also instantly sank, "This morning, I attended the Konoha Mothers' Alliance. All of their children have gone to the battlefield, and each one of them was burning with passion."
"But, little Rin can't go to war anymore."
Nohara Haruki said helplessly, "Back then, I should have tried to persuade Rin not to become a ninja, but she just wouldn't listen."
Mrs. Nohara glanced at Nohara Haruki and said, "And who was it that showed off to all the neighbors and relatives after little Rin got promoted to chunin?"
"I think it's because you attracted jealousy, and who knows who cursed our little Rin behind our backs. As a result, Rin ended up paying the price for you."
Nohara Haruki sighed, "Maybe so, but which family wouldn't brag a little when they had such a young chunin?"
"What a pity. Rin's teacher was the Fourth Hokage. If she hadn't died, maybe she'd be as successful as Kakashi now."
Mrs. Nohara glanced at Nohara Haruki again, "Give it a rest. That Fourth Hokage you're talking about, where is he now?"
"He can only have his portrait hung on the Hokage Rock for people to admire. I say being a ninja is not a proper profession at all. One second you're alive, and the next you're dead. Anyone could die."
"If only we could abolish the ninja system altogether, that would be best."
This time it was Nohara Haruki who shot a look back, "If Konoha abolished the ninja system, who would protect the village? We just died once, if it weren't for Naruto, we could've reunited with little Rin by now."
"Besides, now that the Fourth Great Ninja War has broken out again, the ninjas of each village have formed a massive ninja alliance to fight a world-destroying enemy together."
"Dear, how is it that the ninja world has so many lunatics nowadays? Every time something happens, they want to destroy the world."
Mrs. Nohara refused to back down, "You're not much better yourself."
"Back when Rin had just died, who was the one shouting about destroying the world? But in the end, all you did was throw tantrums at home. Outside, you didn't even dare demand an explanation from the Hokage."
Nohara Haruki became awkward and coughed once, "After all, she was my only precious daughter, and she was just gone like that. Who wouldn't feel heartbroken?"
"But people… always have to keep on living, right?"
Mrs. Nohara said with contempt, "You're just spineless. Compared to you, that guy who tried to destroy the world probably also went crazy because someone important to him died. At least he had more backbone than you."
Nohara Haruki snorted and said, "If I had his power, I'd have gone to Kirigakure and let them understand why we're living in this pit now."
"But precisely because I didn't have it, I've survived to this day, rather than, like you said, having my name engraved on the Memorial Stone for others to mourn."
Speaking of this, Mrs. Nohara suddenly remembered something and couldn't help becoming angry, "Speaking of this, I get mad just thinking about it. Did you hear? The Memorial Stone for little Rin's teammate, Uchiha Obito, was removed."
"Who knows which shameless higher-up in Konoha did it? I've always said that an acting Hokage won't do. It still has to be Lady Tsunade in charge."
Nohara Haruki murmured, "Uchiha Obito, huh? That name feels both familiar and strange. I haven't heard that name in a long time."
"Unfortunately, when he died, we didn't even get to see him in person."
Mrs. Nohara said angrily, "Yeah. I heard from the old folks in the neighborhood that little Obito used to look at Rin with eyes that weren't quite right. He probably liked her."
"Though Kakashi wasn't bad either, I always felt that Rin was a bit closer to Obito."
"If he hadn't died, maybe our grandkids would already be old enough to understand things."
Nohara Haruki said irritably, "What's the use of talking about this now? It's not like that guy who never even visited us before could suddenly come back to life and visit us old folks."
"If that really happened, I wouldn't mind marrying Rin off to him myself."
Mrs. Nohara rolled her eyes at her husband and was just about to continue complaining a bit more when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
The two of them were both stunned. This late at night, who could it be?
Ever since Rin's death, their social interactions had also reduced a lot. Unless it was something important, basically no one would come knocking.
Mrs. Nohara got up suspiciously, walked to the door, and opened it.
As a result, standing outside the door were just three strangers, two men and one woman, who looked to be in their thirties.
Mrs. Nohara was sure she had never seen the three of them before, so she asked, "Is there something you need?"
For some reason, Mrs. Nohara felt that there was a familiar scent on that strange woman. The moment she looked at her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of affection and familiarity.
The woman stared blankly at Mrs. Nohara, not speaking for a moment.
It was the man next to her, who clearly had a close relationship with her, who said, "Madam, we're here to visit you specifically. We hope we're not disturbing you."
As he spoke, he lifted the large bags of gifts in his hands.
"Visiting?", Mrs. Nohara grew even more confused.
Then, with her sharp eyes, she noticed that many of the gifts were things she liked. Some she didn't like anymore, but she had liked them in the past.
The visitors had clearly done some research on her preferences, just not thoroughly enough, and they were a bit out of touch with the times.
Still, she happily accepted the gifts, opened the door, and said, "Come in, then. What's your reason for visiting me?"
The man said, "Madam, we were all classmates of Rin. It's been so many years, and we hadn't come to visit her parents."
But Mrs. Nohara didn't seem touched by this and instead said disdainfully, "So many years without visiting, and now you come? You're not here to ask for something, are you?"
"Let me say this first, we're just ordinary people. We can't help with anything."
"Also, among Rin's fellow ninjas, the ones who aren't dead by now are all big-name figures preparing to join the ninja alliance and go to war."
'You're still in Konoha, don't tell me it's because your strength is too weak and people have forgotten about you?'
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