Chapter 77 - Memorial Monument
Mist Ninja Village.
The slightly gloomy weather was accompanied by a continuous drizzle dripping from the sky.
Such weather was simply too common for the Mist Ninja Village, located in an island nation.
In a special open space in the north of the entire Mist Ninja Village, several figures stood sparsely. Although the number of people was not large, everyone could be said to be a quite important figure in the Mist Ninja Village.
In front of this group of people was a huge stone tablet. This stone tablet was the Mist Ninja Village's Memorial Monument.
Of course, although the stone tablet was not small, it was limited after all. Ordinary ninjas could not make it onto this Memorial Monument.
The existence of this Memorial Monument was established to pay tribute to heroes who sacrificed themselves in "wars," or ninjas who made special contributions to the entire Mist Ninja Village.
At the very front of this group, two figures stood separately.
Ding! Ding!
Sounds of crisp hammering rang out on the Memorial Monument. As the last sound of the hammer fell, a clear name appeared in everyone's eyes — "Kinoshita Jiro"!
Quietly looking at the newly carved name on the Memorial Monument, Yuto's expression was calm.
"To ascend the Memorial Monument in the manner of a hero is a matter of glory for both Kinoshita Jiro and the Kinoshita clan."
Terumi Mei, standing side by side with Yuto at the front, spoke softly.
"Perhaps." Yuto's expression remained calm, only his tone carried a trace of low spirits.
Seeming to sense that Yuto's mood was somewhat down, Terumi Mei turned her head to look at Yuto and whispered:
"Lord Yuto, do you pity Kinoshita Jiro?"
"Pity?"
Hearing Terumi Mei's words, Yuto shook his head and smiled gently, saying:
"Seeing the Memorial Monument before me, I just suddenly remembered former companions."
After speaking, Yuto turned his head to look at Terumi Mei, raised his eyebrows, and teased in his tone:
"Is this beautiful lady worried about me?"
Looking at the smile on Yuto's face, Terumi Mei hurriedly turned her head to look forward, her tone resolute: "No!"
Although the rain was not heavy, it had no intention of stopping. However, neither Yuto nor Terumi Mei got wet in the slightest.
This was because, at a position slightly behind Terumi Mei, Ao was holding an umbrella for her.
Similarly, behind Yuto, Momochi Zabuza was holding an umbrella.
At this moment, whether it was Ao or Momochi Zabuza, they both stared straight ahead, as if they had not heard the conversation between Yuto and Terumi Mei at all.
Soon, the few people originally around the Memorial Monument, after paying their respects and bowing to Yuto and Terumi Mei, left one after another.
Finally, only the elder of the Kinoshita clan, as well as Yuto and the others, remained standing in place.
"Lord Yuto, Lord Mizukage, I did not expect the two of you to attend in person."
The elder of the Kinoshita clan had a trace of fear on his face and spoke in a respectful tone.
"The village will remember the contributions any ninja makes to the village. The same goes for Kinoshita Jiro."
Terumi Mei glanced at the elder of the Kinoshita clan and spoke in a solemn tone.
Hearing Terumi Mei's words, the elder of the Kinoshita clan hurriedly agreed, his face full of gratitude.
Seeing this scene, Yuto felt somewhat amused in his heart; Terumi Mei was still a bit green.
Looking at the elder of the Kinoshita clan, Yuto said with a flat expression:
"There is a very famous shipping company in the Land of Waves, and the boss is called Gato. Do you know him?"
The leader of the Kinoshita clan was slightly stunned. He did not understand the meaning of Yuto's words for a moment, but he still nodded.
Gato was one of the few wealthy tycoons, so the Kinoshita elder naturally had heard of him.
"The village plans to take over Gato's shipping company during this period. I will leave this matter to you."
Yuto looked at the elder of the Kinoshita clan and spoke casually.
The elder of the Kinoshita clan was stunned at first, and then a look of great joy appeared on his face. He hurriedly replied respectfully to Yuto:
"Rest assured, Lord Yuto. Your subordinate will go handle it right now and will definitely handle this matter well."
After speaking, the elder of the Kinoshita clan bowed to Yuto and Terumi Mei, then turned and left.
"This old fellow."
Terumi Mei raised her eyebrows and muttered in a low voice.
"It is merely a small amount of money. Moreover, as long as the Kinoshita clan is still in the Mist Ninja Village, then the Kinoshita clan's belongings are the village's belongings."
Yuto spoke with a smile, not caring at all.
Terumi Mei's eyes lit up. Lord Yuto's words seemed to give her a brand new line of thought.
Glancing at the Memorial Monument, Yuto turned around and walked outward, while Terumi Mei hurriedly turned and followed.
"How are the preparations for putting pressure on Konoha going?"
Yuto's voice suddenly sounded.
"If it is simply putting pressure, the Mist Ninja Village has plenty of candidates. After all, we do not plan to get any benefits from Konoha. Moreover, to start a war, we also need a reason."
Terumi Mei licked her lips and spoke with a smile.
Hearing the conversation between the two, a look of excitement appeared on Momochi Zabuza's face standing behind Yuto.
The title of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist" would probably resound through the Ninja World again before long!
The pattering light rain was still falling, and the figures of the four people gradually disappeared into the hazy drizzle.
Konoha Village.
Hokage Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat quietly at the desk. Although his expression was calm, anyone could feel that Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood was quite bad at this time.
Even his usually favorite pipe was put aside by Sarutobi Hiruzen at this moment.
Even the entire office gave people an extremely oppressive feeling.
Although there was a document on the desk in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, there was not much information in the document.
Many things were just fragments of words, simply insufficient to clarify what had happened.
Knock! Knock!
A soft knocking sound rang out outside the office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his head, a gentle expression reappearing on his face, and said towards the office door: "Come in."
The office door opened, and Iruka walked in with a solemn look. He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and spoke respectfully: "Lord Third!"
"How is the matter?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and asked in a somewhat low tone.
Iruka shook his head gently and sighed:
"Jonin Kakashi's injuries are quite serious. He is currently in a coma and probably won't wake up anytime soon. Fortunately, Jonin Guy happened to be leading a team on a mission nearby, otherwise..."
Speaking up to here, Iruka did not continue, but the meaning in his words was self-evident.
Seeming to sense that the atmosphere in the office was somewhat oppressive, a smile appeared on Iruka's face, and he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said:
"However, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke have already woken up. The injuries the three of them suffered are not serious, and they only need to recuperate for a period of time to fully recover."
"Finally, there is some good news."
Hearing Iruka's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen squeezed out a smile on his face.
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