The night grew deeper. Moonlight fell across the Uchiha Training Grounds, painting everything in silver and white.
After leaving the Hatake household with Uchiha Obito, Chiya walked straight toward the Uchiha Training Grounds.
Along the way, Obito's small face was written all over with excitement and curiosity. He kept glancing up at Chiya, opening his mouth to say something and then stopping himself.
"Clan Head, where are we going?"
Obito finally could not hold back anymore.
"The training grounds."
Chiya answered plainly.
"I want to show you what the Uchiha's night looks like."
Obito blinked, a little puzzled.
In his mind, the training grounds at this hour should have been completely empty. After all, at this time of night, most people would have gone home to rest long ago.
But the moment they stepped into the training grounds, Obito stopped cold.
What he saw in front of him was nothing like what he had imagined.
The Uchiha Training Grounds were full of people. The light of jutsu flashed through the darkness, and the sound of kunai cutting through air rang out without pause.
The Uchiha ninja were practicing Fire Style, sparring in taijutsu, studying genjutsu. Every one of them was completely focused. Sweat had soaked through their clothes.
"This, this is."
Obito's eyes went wide.
Chiya smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping across the clan members on the grounds. A trace of satisfaction passed through his eyes.
The words he had spoken that day, that speech, had not been wasted.
The Uchiha Clan could not afford to grow comfortable. This brief peace had come, but it would come to an end someday.
Chiya turned to Obito.
"Do you see? This is the Uchiha's night."
Obito nodded blankly, deeply shaken.
He had never once imagined that the senior members of the Military Police Force would be training this hard, this late into the night.
Compared to everything he was seeing now, the warm-up laps from before did not even bear mentioning.
At that moment, several Military Police Force members who had been training noticed Chiya's arrival. They stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully.
"Clan Head."
Chiya gave a slight nod and gestured for them to continue.
One of the clan members smiled and asked.
"Clan Head, you are here to check on the training grounds this late?"
"Brought a kid to take a look."
Chiya turned back and looked at Obito, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"I want him to see how the glory of the Uchiha is forged."
The ninja looked at Obito with an encouraging expression.
"Little one, work hard. One day you will be one of us too."
Obito's face went red in an instant. He nodded with bursting excitement.
"Yes, sir! I will work as hard as I can."
Chiya ruffled his messy hair and kept walking with Obito.
Along the way, Military Police Force members kept stopping to greet them.
Obito's eyes stayed fixed on the clan members throwing themselves into training, and something in his chest felt like it had been set alight.
"Clan Head."
Obito spoke up suddenly, his voice quieter than usual.
"Why are they training so hard? Isn't the war already over?"
Chiya stopped walking and looked down at Obito, his eyes deep and steady.
"Obito, do you think the war is really over?"
Obito froze, unsure how to answer.
Chiya looked out toward the distance. His voice was calm but carried a heaviness beneath it.
"War never truly ends. It only goes quiet for a time. The Sunagakure envoys just left. Iwagakure and Kumogakure are still watching with hungry eyes. Kirigakure is like a venomous snake hiding in the dark, biding its time. If we let our guard down, when the next war comes, Konoha will be broken, and the Uchiha Clan's people will fall beneath the enemy's blade."
Obito's fists closed on their own. He thought of his parents.
They had been ambushed during a mission and never came back.
He understood the cruelty of war better than most.
"These clan members training right now are sweating today so they bleed less on the battlefield tomorrow. They are the guardians of the Uchiha."
Chiya continued.
"If war breaks out, they will be the ones standing on the front line, giving their lives to protect the clan and the village."
A look of resolve settled in Obito's eyes.
"I, I want to become someone like that too."
Chiya smiled and ruffled his hedgehog hair.
"Did you not say you wanted to join the Military Police Force? Then tell me, what does the Military Police Force do?"
Obito straightened up and answered loudly.
"The Military Police Force protects the clan and the village. We keep everyone safe and make sure the enemy cannot harm our comrades."
Chiya nodded, approval showing in his eyes.
"A good answer. But protecting people is not just words. It takes strength and determination. Are you ready for that?"
"I am ready!"
Obito answered without hesitation, his eyes full of certainty.
Chiya smiled with satisfaction.
"Good. I believe you can do it. Once you are a little older you will be able to start at the ninja academy. No matter what anyone around you says or does, focus on your training. Remember, there are no shortcuts on the path of training. Only sweat and persistence."
"Yes, Clan Head!"
Obito nodded with enthusiasm, as if he could already picture himself wearing a Military Police Force uniform.
The two continued walking through the training grounds. Obito's gaze was pulled to every Uchiha training around him.
He saw someone practicing seal formations over and over until blisters broke open on their fingers.
He saw someone running with weights strapped to their body until they were completely spent.
He saw pairs sparring with sharp, unforgiving strikes and no holding back.
All of it moved him deeply.
He had never seen so clearly before just what kind of effort it took to become a member of the Military Police Force.
When they reached the far end of the training grounds, Chiya stopped.
"Obito, after everything you saw tonight, what are your thoughts?"
Obito drew a deep breath and said with full seriousness.
"The senior members of the Military Police Force are strong because they never stopped pushing themselves. I want to be like them. I will train as hard as I can and contribute my strength to the clan one day."
Chiya's expression softened.
"Good. Hold onto what you saw tonight. Do not disgrace the Uchiha name."
"Yes!"
Obito nodded hard.
Chiya watched him and felt a quiet warmth in his heart.
He knew that tonight's experience had been burned deep into Obito. It would become an important source of drive as he grew.
'While he is still young. While his values can still be shaped from the ground up.'
'This step, I want to try it myself.'
Looking out at the training grounds, where the crowd had grown rather than thinned as the night deepened, Chiya felt that the purpose of tonight had been achieved, and the thought of leaving came to him.
Obito was still very young. For now, all that mattered was setting his direction.
Chiya said to Obito.
"It is getting late. We should head back."
Obito looked a little reluctant, but nodded.
"Yes, Clan Head."
On the way home, Obito was silent the whole time.
Chiya glanced at him.
"What are you thinking about?"
Obito looked up, his expression firm.
"Clan Head, I have decided. Starting tomorrow, I am going to train twice as hard. When I am older, I will become a member of the Military Police Force."
Chiya smiled faintly.
"Good. I look forward to that day."
"But you are still young right now. When it comes to training, start from the theory first. Take it one step at a time. Do not rush."
"Yes, Clan Head!"
Under the moonlight, the figures of one tall and one small gradually moved further away.
The Uchiha Training Grounds settled back into quiet, but what had happened that night sent ripples through the heart of one small Obito that would not fade.
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