Chapter 244: Nagato's Corpse Stolen
Nohara Rin still felt dazed.
She looked at the tiny infant lying in the crib, feeling like she was trapped in a dream—a nightmare she couldn't escape or wake from.
But reality gave her no extra time to digest and accept this cruel truth.
The heavy responsibility of caring for Naruto had already fallen on her shoulders. Though she was a girl who'd never even been in a relationship, she now had to try caring for this newborn infant.
Of course, this wasn't her job alone.
A total of six caregivers had been assigned to Namikaze Naruto. Nohara Rin was just one of them. The head caregiver was Yakushi Nono, who ran an orphanage and had extensive experience raising children. After examining all suitable candidates, Hiruko had chosen Yakushi Nono without hesitation—the same woman who'd participated in the raid on Amegakure.
Considering the exponentially increased risk of attack from gathering jinchuriki together, Naruto's care location had been transferred from Konoha Hospital to the Hyuga clan's Tamae Shrine. The Shukaku pot containing the sealed One-Tail was also enshrined at Tamae Shrine.
Here, Ritsu could respond at the fastest possible speed to protect them. This arrangement would also minimize potential casualties from any attack. After all, if fighting broke out at Konoha Hospital, the injuries and losses would be astronomical.
However, the first person to burst into Tamae Shrine wasn't Uchiha Tatsuhata, but Kakashi, who'd returned at the fastest speed, practically running himself into the ground.
"Kakashi!"
Nohara Rin cried out in delighted surprise.
For the first time since the Fourth Hokage couple's deaths, a smile appeared on her face.
"Rin!"
"Sensei and Kushina-sensei, they..."
Rin didn't finish her sentence before tears began falling. Starting with quiet sobs that escalated into full wailing, she leaned against Kakashi's chest and cried freely. The emotions she'd suppressed for days finally found release.
Uchiha Aika and Hyuga Akiba stood quietly nearby, watching their friend cry.
Moisture faintly appeared in Kakashi's eyes too, but the extremely stubborn youth suppressed it. His voice hoarse, he consoled her softly. "Rin, I've heard everything. Sensei was a hero who saved the village!"
"I know."
After crying for a while, Rin's emotions visibly eased. She stepped back somewhat sheepishly and wiped the tears from her eyes, looking red-eyed at Aika and Akiba standing nearby.
"Rin, don't be sad. This is our fate as ninja—after meeting, we must eventually part. But we'll all reunite with our loved ones in the afterlife!"
Aika reached out and hugged Rin.
Akiba stared wide-eyed. She couldn't produce such beautiful words. After thinking, she said seriously, "Rin, I'll ask Ritsu to avenge Lord Hokage!"
Nohara Rin's tears turned to laughter.
The girls laughed and played together, their clear laughter like silver bells breaking Tamae Shrine's tranquility.
Hyuga Ritsu sat in the shrine's main hall, his back to the statue of the "Rabbit Goddess." On the offering table before the statue, besides the usual ritual implements, sat a pitch-black pot—the Shukaku pot containing the sealed One-Tail.
He'd been guarding Tamae Shrine these past few days.
Hearing the familiar laughter from outside, he slowly opened his closed eyes.
Half a minute later, Kakashi, Hyuga Akiba, and Uchiha Aika entered the main hall.
"Ritsu!"
Akiba called out loudly.
"Senior."
Aika smiled sweetly, her voice pleasant and charming.
"Clan Head Hyuga, we've returned."
Kakashi spoke gravely.
Ritsu had been brought back from Iwagakure by Minato, who'd exhausted himself doing so. But Minato hadn't had the strength to also bring back Kakashi, Akiba, and Aika, so the three had to run back from Iwagakure on foot.
Clearly, they'd truly run themselves ragged. They'd made it back in less than three days.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Ritsu's gaze swept over the three. "You've learned about what happened in the village. I won't elaborate. Akiba, Aika—you two will remain at the shrine and help Rin care for Lord Hokage's orphaned child."
"Kakashi, you probably can't handle childcare. After discussing with the Hokage Advisor, we think you're better suited for ANBU work. ANBU suffered heavy losses and urgently needs reinforcements... Of course, this isn't an order. You and Rin are Lord Hokage's students. If you'd prefer to care for Naruto or have other work in mind, you can suggest it."
He'd taken Kakashi's group to Iwagakure to escort the Rinnegan. Until that mission was completely canceled, the three remained his subordinates.
So he'd used summoning techniques to order them to retreat and return to the village, then specifically consulted with Hiruko about how to temporarily arrange Kakashi and the others.
Hyuga Akiba and Uchiha Aika were easy to arrange without difficulty.
But Kakashi's status was rather special. He was the Fourth Hokage's student. Arrangements for Kakashi would draw considerable attention.
"I'll go to ANBU."
Kakashi answered immediately, almost without hesitation.
"You're certain?"
"Certain."
Kakashi nodded firmly.
His thoughts were simple. He truly wasn't good at caring for children. Honestly, he lacked the patience to soothe a tiny infant, even if it was Sensei Minato's child.
Comparatively, he preferred ANBU work.
Even if his abilities probably couldn't help avenge Sensei Minato and Kushina-sensei, ANBU remained the department most likely to let him contribute something to killing the missing-nin Tatsuhata.
Therefore, he wanted to join ANBU.
"After Lord Hokage's funeral ends, go find the Hokage Advisor. He'll arrange your employment. You can still reconsider. If you regret it, speak up early."
"I only regret not being born a few years earlier. Why is my talent so mediocre?"
Ritsu looked at Kakashi, whose eyes were filled with self-blame and guilt, and shook his head helplessly. "If you're certain about joining ANBU, do as you wish. This is only a temporary arrangement anyway. Once the Fifth Hokage takes office, there might be new arrangements for you."
"Senior, has the Fifth Hokage candidate been decided?"
Aika's bright black eyes widened with curiosity.
They'd just rushed back to the village and come straight to Tamae Shrine without stopping. They'd had no time to investigate the village situation.
Seeing Aika's curious expression, Ritsu smiled and answered, "Everyone favors Lord Jiraiya."
This news didn't need to be kept secret. To stabilize people's hearts, they'd already spread the information. Nearly everyone in the village knew the Fifth Hokage would very likely be one of the Sannin—Jiraiya.
This had effectively stabilized the village's turbulent morale.
As the saying went: a person's reputation precedes them!
The Sannin brand still held considerable value throughout the ninja world, especially in Konoha. Moreover, Jiraiya was the sacrificed Fourth Hokage's teacher. In many villagers' and most lower-ranked ninja's eyes, as teacher, Jiraiya should be even more formidable than his student, Lord Hokage.
That damned missing-nin Tatsuhata had only dared to ambush and harm Lord Hokage because Jiraiya wasn't in the village. Once Jiraiya returned, the missing-nin Tatsuhata might be too frightened by Jiraiya's reputation to attack!
"Lord Jiraiya? Has he returned?"
Kakashi asked urgently.
His relationship with Jiraiya wasn't close, but right now he desperately hoped Jiraiya would rush back to handle Sensei Minato's affairs. Though he was already a jonin, age remained an insurmountable barrier. Many matters left him feeling overwhelmed.
"Not yet."
Nohara Rin shook her head, speaking softly. "We haven't found where Lord Jiraiya is yet."
Kakashi lowered his head, somewhat disappointed.
Akiba tilted her head and said something shocking. "Ritsu, why don't you compete for Fifth Hokage? Lord Jiraiya is so old. If he becomes Fifth Hokage, we'll probably need to change again before long. Better if you take it."
Ritsu rolled his eyes. "Akiba, don't talk nonsense. I'm not interested in competing for the Hokage position."
Akiba immediately frowned, looking distressed. "But I already promised Rin that you'd definitely avenge Lord Hokage!"
"Avenging Lord Hokage and me competing for Fifth Hokage are two completely different things. There's absolutely no connection between them..."
Ritsu's words abruptly stopped.
He sensed extremely intense chakra fluctuations in the distance—at the Interrogation Department office building. His Byakugan instantly activated. The scene approximately thirteen kilometers away appeared in his field of vision.
The Interrogation Department office building was already in shambles.
Uchiha Tatsuhata stood in a pool of blood.
Before him lay Nagato's corpse on a dissection table. Tatsuhata withdrew a storage scroll from his robes and sealed Nagato's body inside.
Then his body sank into the blood pool beneath his feet and vanished in an instant.
Ritsu's brow furrowed.
For a moment, he couldn't understand what Tatsuhata was doing. Why steal Nagato's corpse? Did it still have some use?
Planning to use Reanimation Jutsu on Nagato?
But Reanimation Jutsu only required a small amount of bodily tissue. Was it necessary to take the entire corpse?
Or was this a diversion trap set specifically for him?
"Ritsu, what happened?"
Akiba dared to ask.
They'd all seen Ritsu's expression change and watched him activate his Byakugan. But Akiba's Byakugan couldn't see as far as Ritsu's, so they didn't know what had happened.
"Tatsuhata attacked the Interrogation Department."
Ritsu answered.
Technically, this needed to be kept secret, but secrecy depended on the audience. He felt no problem telling Akiba and Aika. They had the right to know.
"Tatsuhata appeared?"
Nohara Rin's eyes widened, her body tensing as she looked around anxiously.
Kakashi directly drew his short blade and pulled up the forehead protector covering his Sharingan. The eternally burning crimson eye rotated warily, scanning their surroundings.
Ritsu formed hand seals. A shadow clone appeared beside him and quickly left the main hall, rushing toward the blood-soaked Interrogation Department.
His real body remained seated in the main hall without moving.
He couldn't rule out the possibility that Tatsuhata was attempting a diversion, so he only sent a shadow clone.
However, his brow furrowed ever tighter.
The shortcoming of lacking rapid long-distance mobility was now glaringly obvious. He'd lost the initiative and could only passively defend one location against Tatsuhata's attacks.
In the long run, Tatsuhata might slaughter the entire village!
"Flying Thunder God..."
He murmured softly, feeling a headache coming on.
He'd already obtained all the Flying Thunder God technique's secret scrolls—not only the Second Hokage's handwritten notes but also Minato's written insights and experiences.
But after studying them, he'd regrettably discovered he lacked the necessary talent for this technique. He simply couldn't grasp the Flying Thunder God's essentials. Though he was still attempting to study it—multiple shadow clones were studying behind closed doors at home right now.
He knew clearly that his chances of mastering Flying Thunder God were slim.
Using Flying Thunder God to counter Tatsuhata's Flying Thunder God probably wouldn't work.
Wait.
A flash of inspiration struck his mind.
If Flying Thunder God wouldn't work, that didn't mean there were no other options.
"Kakashi, do you know about the Hidden Cloud Village's Heavenly Transfer Technique?"
Ritsu suddenly asked.
Akiba's eyes widened, looking completely lost.
Kakashi frowned and shook his head. "I've only heard of this secret technique. I remember it's mastered by Cloud ninja. Supposedly they use it to transport very powerful ninja tools."
Nohara Rin shook her head gently. Like Akiba, she knew nothing about this technique.
Then—
"Heavenly Transfer Technique?"
Aika blinked her beautiful eyes. "I remember our clan has records about the Heavenly Transfer Technique?" The girl delivered a pleasant surprise to Ritsu.
"Truly?"
Ritsu stared fixedly at the girl, making her cheeks flush slightly red. She turned her face away somewhat sheepishly but answered softly, "I don't like lying. I remember the clan library has research notes on the Heavenly Transfer Technique left by one of our ancestors. But I haven't read the detailed contents, so I can't guarantee how useful it is."
"No problem. I'll know if it's useful once I look at it. Just... can I see these notes?"
"That shouldn't be a problem. As long as it doesn't involve our clan's inherited advanced Fire Release techniques or various forbidden arts, all other materials can be freely borrowed by any clan member. Though you're not an Uchiha, Senior, given your status, I think the clan head and elders won't refuse your request."