Chapter 119: The Increasingly Treacherous Ninja World and the Funeral
Kayo walked out of the Raikage's tower, dejected.
With her powerful constitution, she had recovered quickly. She had just reported to the Acting Raikage, Dana, what had happened with the Root ninja.
"Don't worry," Hiroto said, patting her on the shoulder.
"Those Root people," she said, shaking her head, "their chakra was so dark. They weren't like normal people. I'm worried Kushina will suffer."
"The mission was basically a failure," he said. "Even Blue Bee-senpai was captured. Dana, as the Acting Raikage, has his own considerations. It's a shame, but the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was taken back by Konoha's people. She's one of them now. There's nothing we can do."
She nodded. She knew he was right, but she still wanted to do something. If she had been stronger, if she had been more careful, maybe Kushina would be in the Cloud now, starting a new life. Kushina had even agreed to it.
She was just a low-ranking ninja. She just wanted to help her fellow clansman, without going against the village's strategy. She had been so close, and then it had all fallen apart. If it had just been a failed mission, that would have been one thing. But those Root people...
Suddenly, an idea came to her. "Brother," she said, "you can specify who you want to carry out a mission, right?"
"Of course," he said, taken aback. "It's the client's right to choose. But whether the person you choose will accept is another matter."
"He'll accept!"
Dana looked at the mountain of paperwork, a headache already forming. "Divide these into three categories," he said to the Raikage's secretary. "Urgent, important, and routine. Bring the urgent ones to me immediately. The important ones, leave on my desk every morning. I'll handle them."
The secretary, a Cloud ninja in his thirties whom Dana knew, pushed up his glasses. "Lord Dana," he said, "what about the routine ones?"
"Leave them for now," he said. "We can deal with them when Dad gets back."
The secretary hesitated, then nodded.
The Acting Raikage's authority was immense. Considering he was a Yotsuki, the son of the Third Raikage, and a de facto elder, he now held a power in the Raikage's tower that was almost equal to that of the Third himself. Ninja promotions, ANBU deployments, foreign policy—it was all within his purview.
But it was all meaningless to him. The current direction of the village, its policies, its many reforms—they had all been initiated by him, in conjunction with the other high-ranking leaders. It would be pointless for him to change his own plans. So, besides keeping an extra eye on the matters he cared about, his main focus was on maintaining stability.
The Yotsuki clan, of course, fully supported him. And his own brilliant war record was enough to command the respect of the other clans. For now, everything was proceeding smoothly.
He had expected Konoha to retaliate, to declare war. But in the end, they had just sent someone to ask if the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been captured. He had, of course, denied it and said that she had been rescued by Konoha's own people. He had not mentioned Danzo or the Root, wanting to see how Konoha would react.
He had thought it would be a long, drawn-out affair. But to his surprise, they had quickly accepted his explanation and had left.
But he did not feel a sense of relief. If Konoha had attacked now, they would have had no chance of winning. They would have just been venting their anger. But the fact that they had suppressed their impulse meant that they were not just looking to let off steam. They were determined to win, to get their revenge. And that was much more dangerous.
After finishing his work at the tower, he went to the research base outside the village.
The recent major failure had been a wake-up call. Besides establishing a more robust system to reduce human error, some other plans also needed to be put into motion.
This was the same place he had brought Tsunade to. He had heard that she had more or less adapted to life here and had gradually begun to participate in the research. Of course, she was only dedicated to the projects "How to Wake Up Dan Kato" and "The Relationship Between the Soul and the Brain." He couldn't expect her to help with anything else for now.
And as for her little trick with Katsuyu, it was understandable. He wasn't going to go and confront her about it. But some things were already in motion.
He found Mamoru, who was now the head of the research base.
He took a slug from his sleeve, no bigger than his little finger. It looked up at Mamoru.
"What is this?" Mamoru asked, taken aback.
"It's a miraculous summoned beast," he said. "A part of a larger being. You can think of it as a Shadow Clone. I want to create a ninja tool that can carry it and keep it alive. Its habits are similar to a normal slug, but it can be fed with chakra."
Mamoru didn't ask what the point was. He just considered the request. "If it's a slug," he said after a moment, "how about something in the shape of a snail shell?"
Dana's eyes lit up.
Konoha
A week had passed since the "Night of the Purple Moon." Most of the wounded had been discharged. The fallen ninja were awaiting a collective funeral.
Many of the destroyed buildings were still being rebuilt. The core of the village was a massive construction site, filled with the sound of hammering.
Might Duy, who was usually in his green jumpsuit, was now in formal attire, limping his way to the Konoha cemetery. It was already filled with people. Most of the village's ninja were here.
Uchiha, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka—almost every clan had lost someone. And the wounded and affected covered the entire village.
"We mourn the loss of those who..."
The voice of the person presiding over the ceremony was low and somber.
At the very front of the crowd were the Fourth Hokage, Sakumo Hatake, and the three elder advisors.
"The priority now is to find the traitor in the village," Koharu said in a low voice.
Danzo's ear twitched. "Leave it to me," he said. "Special times call for special measures. This is a job for my Foundation."
Koharu gave him a long, hard look, until he began to feel uneasy. "The village is united in grief," she said. "We cannot disrupt that. Lord Hokage, I will handle this."
"I agree," Homura said. "Koharu is the most suitable for this."
Sakumo nodded.
With Hiruzen's death, though not all of it, more power would now return to him. But he felt no joy.
Hiruzen's final, desperate attack had not taken down Yotsuki Dana, but he had been right about one thing. His death had saved the heart of the village.
Konoha was not demoralized, not divided. They were united, a simmering cauldron of resentment, waiting to take their revenge.
You could see the Uchiha and the Hyuga standing together, mourning the dead. You could see clan ninja and civilian ninja together, paying their respects to their fallen friends.
Hiruzen's death had also saved the last shred of the Hokage's authority. No one was blaming the Third or the Fourth for the attack. Even the simmering discontent that had been brewing since the defeat in the war had been swept away.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had ruled Konoha for twenty years, had, in the end, used his own death to protect the Will of Fire.
Biwako Sarutobi was weeping, her eldest son, who had rushed back from the capital, and her five-year-old second son, at her side.
"Ma'am," Might Duy said, handing her a handkerchief, "my condolences."
"Might Duy," she said, recognizing him. "Enma told me everything."
"Ma'am," he said with difficulty, "it was my fault. I didn't..."
"Don't say another word," she interrupted. "Hiruzen did not die because of anyone. He chose to protect Konoha. Might Duy, Enma told me that Hiruzen wished for you to sign the summoning contract with the monkey clan. The Sarutobi clan has agreed. I will have someone bring the contract scroll to you."