svetikya Chapter 71 The Funeral, Reactions from All Sides
Chapter 71 The Funeral, Reactions from All Sides
The next day, inside the Senju residence.
The mourning hall has been properly arranged, and the atmosphere is solemn and respectful.
Mito Uzumaki's portrait hangs in the center, her face kind and serene.
Chiefs and elders of various tribes, along with the village's high-ranking ninja, arrived one after another, standing solemnly before the altar, offering flowers, and observing a moment of silence.
As the only direct descendant of the main family, Tsunade stood at the very front of the family seating area, dressed in black mourning clothes.
She fought back tears, her face solemn, and bowed in return to each guest who came to greet her.
Xingyuan Qianshuo did not stand beside her.
He chose to stay a step behind Tsunade—a distance that was both intimate and respectful.
He knew that he was currently only Tsunade's lover and it was inappropriate for him to be in the public eye.
But he was determined to be her support and to stay by her side.
When the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, led the high-ranking officials forward to pay their respects, Tsunade bowed deeply, and Senju Hoshino also bowed slightly.
This funeral also became the occasion for him to officially announce his relationship with Tsunade to the outside world.
Konoha not only has those dozen or so top ninja clans, but also a large number of small and medium-sized clans, some of whose strongest members are only Chunin.
Representatives from families such as the Sickle, Liuyin, Morino, Kaminarimon, and Izuno all came.
He also met the head of the Kazamatsuri clan, the family of the future "Grass Release ninja" Kazamatsuri Moegi.
This family, which is suspected to be a branch of the Senju clan, worshipped as usual, just like everyone else.
Using the system's detection function, he matched most people's names with their faces, and even diagnosed some of them with illnesses, but unfortunately, he could not start treatment at the moment.
The mourning ceremony lasted all morning, and the formal funeral took place in the afternoon.
The sky turned somber, adding to the solemnity and grief of the funeral.
Mito Uzumaki's coffin was buried next to the grave of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
However, Senju knew that there was no body of Mito in the coffin, just as there was nothing in the tomb of Hashirama Senju.
Hashirama cells are an extremely precious resource, appearing throughout the original storyline.
Hashirama Senju's remains are not here, and Mito Uzumaki's remains have naturally been placed in the proper place of preservation.
Xingyuan Qianshuo did not know the exact location, but he was certain that Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi were aware of it.
Although this is only a cenotaph, it does not prevent people from mourning.
As the coffins were lowered into the ground, people laid flowers at the two graves, observed a moment of silence, and then left one by one.
Xingyuan Qianshuo and Tsunade stayed until the end.
They paused at the graves of Tsunade's parents, Tobirama Senju, Nawaki, and others, placing flowers to express their condolences.
After paying respects to all the relatives, a subtle pause naturally followed.
Tsunade's gaze unconsciously and almost imperceptibly drifted to the other side of the cemetery—where another soul, to whom she had poured out her emotions and endless regrets, lay asleep.
Xingyuan Qianshuo keenly caught her hesitation and grief in that instant.
He didn't follow her gaze, nor did he point it out. He simply took her cold hand gently, his tone calm and mild:
"Tsunade, let's go and offer a bouquet of flowers to Kato Dan-senpai too."
Tsunade's body trembled slightly, and she suddenly turned to look at him, her eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions.
"Qian Shuo, you..." Her voice was hoarse.
Xingyuan Qianshuo met her gaze, his eyes clear and sincere:
"He left a mark on your life, a hero who sacrificed himself for the village. On this day of farewell, it is both emotional and moral for us to pay our respects. I... want to go with you."
There was not a trace of jealousy or reluctance in his words, only complete understanding and companionship.
At that moment, Tsunade saw in his eyes a tenderness that could encompass all her past sorrows.
She gripped his hand tightly in return, as if drawing strength from it, and nodded gently.
The two arrived at Kato's grave.
Xingyuan Qianshuo solemnly placed a reserved white flower in front of the monument, then took half a step back and bowed respectfully as if paying homage to other predecessors.
He remained silent, leaving the tranquility and sorrow entirely to Tsunade.
Tsunade stared at the familiar name on the monument, and the pain and regret of the past surged into her heart once again.
But this time, she had a solid and reliable support by her side.
She no longer wallows in the nightmares of the past.
After standing still for a moment, she bowed deeply.
As she straightened up, tears still glistened in her eyes, but something that had long imprisoned her seemed to loosen quietly with this bow.
She took Xingyuan Qianshuo's arm, leaned gently against him, and whispered:
"Let's go back."
They were not only saying goodbye to the deceased, but perhaps also to a past that would forever be etched in their hearts.
The dead are gone, the living are like this.
Ninjas value life and death, but also take a detached view of the impermanence of life and death.
Those who are alive must always carry invisible yet heavy burdens as they continue to move forward.
……
Friday.
Xingyuan Qianshuo went to work at the hospital as usual.
After examining nearly two thousand ninjas over three consecutive days, he was exhausted and lost his usual enthusiasm for his daily medical work.
During breaks between consultations, he also needs to write a summary report of this free clinic event.
This was, after all, a project approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi, so submitting a summary was a necessary procedure.
Due to the need to protect the ninjas' information, the clinic did not record the information of those without hidden injuries, so the total number of people is not accurate.
In his report, he described the estimated number of people and the proportion of those with hidden injuries, the results of subsequent treatment, and mentioned the discovery of many ninjas with severed limbs.
He suggested studying the puppetry materials collected in the village, or having the village arrange for people to develop more convenient and practical puppet prosthetics, with the goal of allowing the prosthetics to gather chakra like the original limbs and perform ninjutsu and taijutsu.
Of the patients seen today, four were ninjas who were diagnosed at the free clinic and required multiple treatments.
Two of them recovered after treatment today:
A person named Shin Mukogaya was rewarded with "Water Release: Water Prison Technique (Mastery), Chakra +70";
Another one is named Sahara Ryo, whose reward is "Combo Palm (Proficient), Chakra +50".
The Water Prison Technique is a C-rank Water Release technique that Xingyuan Qianshuo selected from the Konoha Ninja Art Library and trained on his own. Originally, he was only at the beginner level, but now he has directly jumped to the proficiency level.
The Combo Palm is a taijutsu technique developed using chakra absorption. It involves alternating between the two palms to absorb and disrupt the enemy's movements, creating a series of consecutive strikes.
Besides the two who have recovered, the remaining two are Gekko Saki, who is suspected to be Gekko Hayate's father, and Kozuki Mizuki, a female ninja skilled in swordsmanship. They still need to undergo treatment.
Just as Xingyuan Qianshuo was working as usual, Konoha's elite ninjas, in accordance with the arrangements of the Jonin meeting, made emergency preparations and were successively dispatched to patrol and guard the border.
News of the death of Mito Uzumaki, the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, was gradually spread to various ninja villages through spies and insiders.
……
In the northern heart of the Land of Iron, there lies a mountain range, a place rarely visited by humans, known as the "Mountain Graveyard."
Countless giant animal bones are piled up here.
In the dense forest, there is a huge circular pit that extends deep into the ground. The skeleton of an unknown behemoth is buried at the bottom of the pit, and the pit walls are full of ventilation openings. The main entrance is hidden beneath the skeleton.
Inside the entrance lies a vast underground space.
The passageways, large and small, connect the various stone chambers.
In the largest room in the center, the most striking feature is the crisscrossing network of giant tree roots.
On the intertwined tree roots, more than 20 meters high, sits a giant flower in bud—its petals are shaped like lotus flowers and are about 20 meters long, closing to cover a strange, humanoid giant.
The top of the petals revealed the hideous head of a giant creature, its color like withered wood, its nine eyes tightly closed, and several thick chains extending from the surrounding rock walls, binding it firmly.
Below, on the intertwined tree roots, white pipes suspended humanoid white creations.
Three of the pipes extend forward, connecting to an old man, gaunt and emaciated, sitting on a wooden chair—he is fast asleep with his eyes closed.
This person is none other than Madara Uchiha, one of the founders of Konoha, the former leader of the Uchiha clan, who "died" in the Battle of the Valley of the End.
At that moment, a white creation emerged from the stone wall beside them.
His appearance startled Ban, whose withered hands quickly gripped the sickle beside him.
"Lord Madara, good news, good news!" the white creation—the main body, White Zetsu—shouted hoarsely.
Madara Uchiha had a face full of wrinkles, and his long, pale hair was disheveled, covering his right eye.
He slightly raised his left eye, his scarlet Sharingan staring indifferently at White Zetsu, as still as stagnant water.
"Lord Madara, Mito Uzumaki is dead!" White Zetsu reported excitedly.
"Is that so?" A ripple finally appeared in Ban's withered expression. "The longevity of the Uzumaki clan is nothing more than this."
"The new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is that little girl from the Uzumaki clan~" White Zetsu continued.
"It's alright, it's time to get started on our plan." A glint appeared in Madara's eyes.
His aging body hindered his dreams, and he needed to be resurrected to regain his youthful body and strength.
"Ah~ Now we can scout Konoha at will." White Zetsu echoed, sensing Madara's increasingly spirited demeanor.
White Zetsu clones are scattered throughout the ninja world, gathering intelligence for Madara, but they must be cautious only in Konoha.
Even with their incredible skills in disguise and their elusive, mayfly-like abilities, they could still be detected by Mito Uzumaki.
She possesses "Kagura's Mind's Eye," which allows her to sense unusual movements within a radius of tens of kilometers using chakra. Combined with the Nine-Tails' chakra's ability to sense malice, she is practically the nemesis of White Zetsu.
Madara had warned White Zetsu in this way, and strictly ordered his clones to only operate on the edge of Konoha and stay away from Mito Uzumaki.
"I will focus my investigation on young people under the age of fifteen in the Uchiha clan, and select from them those who will inherit my will."
Madara's scarlet left eye seemed to see the future: regaining his youth, reclaiming the Rinnegan, absorbing the fully formed Ten-Tails, casting Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon, and creating a dream world of only victory, peace, and love.
"Yes, Lord Madara, we will investigate thoroughly," White Zetsu said confidently.
"They don't even spare them when they're defecating," a white creature hanging from a tree root hopped over and chimed in.
This white creature was covered in upward-twisting stripes, and its face was twisted into a vortex, with a dark hole at its center, around its right eye.
Ban ignored the guy's strange remarks; he was used to hearing such things.
This is nothing more than a degraded product of interstitial cells, but it is still quite convenient as a tool.
"How's Nagato doing?" Madara asked.
"Everything is as usual. Nagato is still happily playing ninja games with his two companions," White Zetsu replied.
"Hmm." Madara nodded slightly.
In order to find a suitable vessel for nurturing the Rinnegan, he went so far as to induce the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village to join forces to destroy the Land of Whirlpools, and secretly protected the Nagato family as they fled to the Land of Rain.
Even so, they were still almost exposed.
Surprisingly, the Konoha ninja named Jiraiya taught Nagato ninjutsu for three years, but neither acquired the Rinnegan nor reported it to Konoha or the toads of Mount Myōboku.
Everything seemed to be arranged by fate.
After this incident, Nagato, as a character, finally grew up successfully.
"Hashirama, you're on the wrong path. I am the ultimate victor." Madara once again denied his best friend in his heart.
It was Hashirama's naive ideals of peace that have led to the ongoing conflicts in the ninja world to this day.
……
Sunagakure Village.
The Third Kazekage, Suna Tetsu, hailed as the "strongest Kazekage in history," fell into deep thought after reading the intelligence presented by his subordinates.
With the change of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha, the new Jinchuriki will inevitably have an adaptation period, which is indeed a good opportunity.
However, Sunagakure suffered heavy losses in the Second Shinobi World War.
In particular, the Sand Village's sealing techniques for Jinchuriki were incomplete, and Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, repeatedly went out of control, forcing them to imprison the Jinchuriki Bunpuku for a long period of time.
Therefore, even if Konoha temporarily lacks the Nine-Tails' threat, Sunagakure will find it difficult to seize this opportunity.
Sand Iron put down the note, deciding to observe the movements of the other three major ninja villages before deciding whether Sunagakure would intervene.
……
Hidden Cloud Village.
The Third Raikage snorted coldly and tossed the report aside.
If I remember correctly, the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha should be the Uzumaki clan girl they tried to kidnap back then.
Unfortunately, it failed that time.
If they had killed him on the spot instead of trying to bring him back, perhaps...
The Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails of Kumogakure are still young and need to continue training, so this opportunity may be difficult to seize.
But based on his understanding of Onoki from Iwagakure, that stubborn and treacherous old man was likely to take the opportunity to cause trouble.
It would be best to let Iwagakure and Konoha fight first, then Kumogakure would have a chance to ambush either side.
……
Kirigakure is separated from the mainland by sea, making it difficult to gather intelligence on other villages. No information has been received from Konoha yet.
……
Hidden Rock Village.
After reading the intelligence sent back by the spy, Onoki was quite tempted by this opportunity.
However, he, who always planned carefully before acting, was unwilling to be the first to start a war, lest the barbarians of Kumogakure and the sand-playing tribesmen of Sunagakure reap the benefits.
His short frame paced back and forth in the office, pondering for a long time before finally making a decision: to send Old Purple and Han to lead a team to launch a surprise attack on the border of the Land of Fire via the route through the Land of Grass, but not to penetrate deep into the interior.
If the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Sand Village follow up with an invasion of the Land of Fire after the surprise attack, he will send more troops to join forces with the three great ninja villages to attack the Hidden Leaf Village.
If they remain inactive, the war will not be escalated further; troops will be withdrawn at the appropriate time, and the next opportune moment will be awaited.
Currently, among the major ninja villages, only the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure are in their prime and can skillfully utilize the Tailed Beast's chakra.
A surprise attack on the border of the Land of Fire would easily cripple Konoha's border defenses, and a retreat would be possible after reinforcements from the enemy's main force, making it virtually foolproof.
As for the possibility of Kumogakure and Sunagakure taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Iwagakure, it is extremely low—their jinchūriki are either old or young, and they would never dare to attack rashly.
However, the cautious Ōnoki still decided to strengthen the defenses of the eastern and southern borders while sending out Rōshi and Han.
Having made up his mind, Onoki acted swiftly, quickly summoning the village elders and sending someone to inform Rōshi and Han.
This time, he was determined to teach Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura a lesson.
……
Iwagakure Village Hospital.
Yakushi Nonou smiled and politely declined a young ninja's stammering confession.
As a gentle, kind, and attentive doctor, she often receives admiration from male ninjas.
But her identity as a spy was like a thick wall, isolating her from emotional communication with anyone around her.
Returning to his cabin in Iwagakure after get off work, the gentle smile on Nono's face faded, leaving only exhaustion and heaviness.
Her previous application to return to the village was not approved, so she had no choice but to stay in Iwagakure to gather intelligence.
The loneliness of being in a foreign land tormented her constantly, and the kindness of those around her only added to her guilt and remorse.
She could only repay this kindness with gentler and more dedicated treatment, as if only in this way could she alleviate her inner turmoil and guilt.
This afternoon, a Jonin from Iwagakure who had been healed by her some time ago came to say goodbye.
Although the other party did not reveal the details of the mission, they mentioned that they would be following "Master Zi" and appeared tense, suggesting that the trip would be dangerous.
Having been hiding in Iwagakure for more than half a year, Nono naturally knew that "Lord Rōshi" was the Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails.
A Jonin accompanying a Jinchuriki on a mission still feels his life hangs in the balance. Based on past intelligence, the target of this mission is likely Konoha.
Nonou quickly wrote a report, changed her clothes, and prepared to go out to deliver the information to the contact person of "Root".