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In this war, even in its final stages, every day, every village, ninjas would die. But humans are a terrifying species. Even death becomes something they gradually grow accustomed to and numb to.
For Konoha now, victory was no longer just a glimmer of hope. It was something within reach. So, they were immersed in a joyful atmosphere, unable to extricate themselves. This was why the expressions of sadness that should have been on some of their faces seemed so strange.
They were even out of place… Grief was a feeling for the minority.
For the vast majority of people in Konoha, including civilians and ninjas, they only knew that the Yellow Flash had led his squad to a victory that had decided the course of the war. As for the casualties that had occurred in his squad?
—Wasn't that the most normal thing? What was so strange about that? Was there any mission on the battlefield where no one died? Besides, it was just two Chūnin who had died.
Comparing it to the Hidden Mist and Iwagakure, you could even say that what Haori had done was roughly equivalent to what Minato had done. But based on their intentions and other factors, Konoha's attitude towards the two events was different.
Haori wasn't someone who liked to show off. If he could be low-key, he would be low-key. "Ending the war" was simply his own desire. Ultimately, he rarely had a mindset of contributing to Konoha. So, there were things he didn't need.
Unfortunately, his transformation came a step too late. It wasn't about "inertia." It was just that the dark forces were operating according to a predetermined plan. Haori's actions had only caused them to make a slight adjustment… a sinister adjustment.
He vaguely knew that Rin was supposed to die after Obito. But now, both of them had died. This was probably a mockery of Haori himself.
And Minato, at this point, had been officially confirmed by the Third Hokage as the next Kage. He was the perfect candidate for Hokage. But the problem was his age. He was less than 22 years old. So, he needed prestige. The Yellow Flash wasn't enough. He needed a more dazzling Yellow Flash.
Dazzling enough to make even Shimura Danzō speechless.
So, the Kannabi Bridge Battle was something worth celebrating.
If a younger ninja had made a contribution equal to Minato's by himself, objectively speaking, this would inevitably diminish Minato's brilliance. Konoha, or rather, the Third Hokage, didn't want this to happen. Haori felt the same way. He wasn't interested in the Hokage's position. He didn't want to affect Minato because of his own actions.
...
There was a public cemetery to the northwest of Konoha's Memorial Monument. Ninjas who had died in the war were buried there.
Rin was also buried there.
Funerals in this kind of war were silent. You could even say that having a real "burial" was a great honor… More than half of the tombstones here were just tombstones. They were empty. Most of the ninjas who died on the battlefield couldn't have their remains recovered.
After Haori returned from the Land of Earth, before he could tell Minato the details, the group of them went there again.
It was a condolence visit for Rin.
Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and Haori were all dressed in black. Minato and Kushina had pained expressions on their faces. Haori was expressionless the entire time. As for Kakashi's expression… there was no need to describe it.
In reality, most of the time Haori had spent with Rin was in ninja school. They didn't have many opportunities to meet after they graduated, especially later on.
The same was true for him and Obito.
But even if a person's impression of another person isn't measured by time, Rin had left a strong enough mark on Haori's mind. If you asked Haori if he liked Rin, unlike Obito, he genuinely liked Rin's personality.
Haori bent down, his fingertips touching Rin's name on the tombstone.
Above the name was her photo. In the photo, Rin was holding up a V-sign with both hands, with two streaks of light purple paint on her face. Her expression was her familiar squinting smile. It seemed like everything was the same as always.
Dying as a ninja, perhaps she didn't regret it. But she shouldn't have been a ninja.
"Rin shouldn't have died."
He said that Rin shouldn't have died.
Haori only had this one judgment about Rin's death.
If Kakashi, or Obito, or Minato, or Haori himself had died on the battlefield, it could be called dying for a good cause. But what was Rin's death?
The pain was much deeper than Haori had expected.
It was hard to say whether there was any blame in Haori's tone, but because of his words, Minato closed his eyes, and Kushina shed tears again.
Someone like Rin really shouldn't have died. So, Minato and Kakashi both felt that it was their responsibility, especially Kakashi.
Sadness made time seem long.
After a long silence, Kushina finally spoke.
"Haori, we should probably head back."
"Yeah." Haori stood up and followed behind Kushina.
"Kaka…" Kushina was about to call Kakashi, but Minato stopped her and shook his head.
Kakashi had probably lost more than anyone else. So, let him stay here alone for now.
So, the three of them left slowly, leaving Kakashi alone.
Ultimately, time wouldn't stop for anyone. Minato had a lot of things to do, especially at this stage.
It was precisely because of the fates of his two disciples, Rin and Obito, that he was even more determined to become Hokage. It was also why he was even more determined to end the war as soon as possible. He would protect everything next time.
As for Haori, it was only now that he finally understood what war was all about.
Perhaps Rin and Obito's names would be engraved on the Memorial Monument soon, but that was just something for the living. What meaning did it have for the dead?
Haori didn't know about Minato and the Third Hokage. He didn't know whether there had been any setbacks in the process of confirming Minato as the successor. With his current status, he couldn't possibly know. He didn't even know that the matter of the Fourth Hokage had been basically decided.
So, after leaving Rin's place, the first thing Haori did was to tell Minato about his encounter in the Land of Earth.
"Obito's body disappeared?"
Minato was very surprised. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Could it be that the Iwagakure ninjas did it? After all, Obito was a member of the Uchiha clan. Although his other Sharingan was destroyed, Iwagakure might have had some designs on his body."
You couldn't say that Minato was wrong in his handling of this matter. After all, it was the Land of Earth. Minato's squad had just stirred up a hornet's nest. They had to evacuate as quickly as possible. The process was bound to be rushed.
Besides, who would have thought that Obito could be salvaged after that kind of encounter? In reality, only the Wood Release could have salvaged him.
So, even though Haori told Minato that Obito's body had disappeared, Minato didn't consider the possibility that Obito was still alive.
"It shouldn't be Iwagakure. Because, judging from the scene, there were no signs of violent destruction. Obito's body was as if it had disappeared into thin air. And before I left, I encountered an unknown enemy…"
Then, Haori explained about his encounter with the White Zetsu.
"An unknown enemy who can absorb chakra?"
Before this, Minato wouldn't have imagined that there was something deeper hidden in this matter.
Haori nodded. "Judging from the situation at the time, I couldn't confirm that I had destroyed the other side's real body. And my attempt to retrieve the body ultimately failed…"
"Perhaps there are enemies hidden in the shadows who are even stronger than the Four Great Shinobi Countries."
His final words were clearly suggestive.
But he couldn't provide more details. For ninjas, "belief" had to be based on facts. Otherwise, it was pointless to say anything. Besides, if he really said anything specific, Haori wouldn't be able to.
Because he didn't know.
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