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Fine rain fell, a dense, slanting curtain.
The last trace of moonlight vanished behind churning, ink-black clouds.
Naruto slept soundly in Hejū's arms.
The boy's small face was flushed from crying, peaceful now in slumber.
He had no idea. Just paces away, his parents lay still. Cold.
Tears welled in Hejū's eyes, overflowed, fell.
"Host…"
"Don't be sad…"
The system felt the weight in Hejū's heart.
The words of comfort faded. Hejū wiped the wet tracks from his face, expressionless. He stood in the rain, a figure of chilling, absolute detachment.
The system felt a strange coldness watching him. It was used to his antics, his goofiness. This Hejū was different. Terrifying.
"Host! Konoha shinobi are coming!"
"I know."
Hejū dropped the Limitless barrier around himself, keeping only little Naruto shielded.
Rain drenched him instantly. Water traced paths down his face. Those brilliant blue eyes dimmed.
He knelt before the bodies of Minato and Kushina. Light pulsed from his hands.
Tears and rain mingled on his cheeks.
He kept repeating it, a mantra.
"No."
"I can save you."
"No."
"Don't die."
"Please."
Led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, most of Konoha's forces mobilized.
The unnatural quiet warned them. Tragedy.
They slowed their approach, emerging from woods ravaged by battle.
"Minato…"
Hiruzen's eyes found the bodies. He flinched. Aged ten years in an instant.
Jūri saw Hejū in the rain, lost. He couldn't hold back. He rushed forward.
"Hejū! Stop!"
Jūri's eyes were red-rimmed. He grabbed for Hejū's hands, trying to halt the medical chakra.
"Hejū! They're gone! Minato-sempai is gone!"
His voice cut the silent night.
Like thunder in Hejū's ears.
Hejū shook his head, stubborn. "No. No. I can fix this!"
He repeated it. But his tears, his trembling hands, betrayed him.
"Child."
Hiruzen walked forward slowly. He placed a hand on Hejū's head. His own eyes were wet. He softened his voice.
"Child. They have left us. Let go. You have done all you could."
Hejū broke.
The dam burst. He sobbed, a raw, wrenching sound that carried through the dark.
[Ding! Favorability of target Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi has reached 100!]
Jūri watched, heart aching. He stood in the rain with Hejū, silent.
Time blurred.
The rain… finally eased.
Shinobi moved with solemn reverence, preparing the bodies.
Hejū stood aside. He watched Minato and Kushina's young faces, now cold and still. Silent tears fell.
"Hejū. Let's go back."
Jūri's voice was careful, cautious. He watched Hejū's every breath, afraid he'd spiral.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Little Naruto stirred, disturbed by the movement.
The cries pulled Hejū back. He was soaked. The baby in his arms was perfectly dry.
Hejū followed the procession silently, toward Konoha's gates.
[Ding! Favorability of target Takenouchi has reached 100!]
Hejū stopped walking.
"Hejū? What's wrong?"
Jūri was instantly alert.
Hejū didn't answer. A cold, heavy dread settled in his gut.
He walked on. His hands felt numb and cold.
Countless shinobi stood at the village gates. They watched the somber group enter.
The weight of grief hung over Konoha. In the eyes of every civilian, every ninja. They mourned not just their Hokage, but their own.
"Hejū! Hejū!"
Sarutobi Aoki pushed through the crowd, his Chunin vest askew, face pale with panic.
Jūri saw him. A bad feeling twisted in his chest.
"Wait, don't—"
Jūri moved to clamp a hand over Aoki's mouth.
"Takenouchi-oji… he—"
Aoki didn't finish.
Hejū was gone.
"Hejū!"
Jūri glared at Aoki, grabbing his collar. "Where is he? Take me there! Now!"
"O-okay! Yeah!"
Normally, Aoki would have fought back. But Hejū's face just now… anyone could see it was wrong.
Hejū's mind was chaos.
Minato and Kushina's deaths… they weren't meaningless to him.
Even knowing the script.
If he'd been powerless, maybe he'd feel less. But he had power. Enough to change things. Watching it happen anyway… pretending he felt nothing would be a lie.
But Takenouchi? This wasn't in the plan. This shattered the chain.
His thoughts were tangled threads. He didn't sort them. He just moved.
He found him.
"Hejū-sama."
A medic in white robes glanced up, the sheet in his hands trembling.
The man on the stretcher… Hejū-sama's only family. The medic's heart ached.
Hejū stood frozen for a moment. Then he walked forward. Past the medic.
Takenouchi lay on the stretcher, face pale and peaceful.
The face wasn't handsome. Rough-hewn. But now it looked calm. Serene.
"How?"
That was the only question in Hejū's mind. Before grief, came confusion.
"Takenouchi… he was protecting a child…"
The medic looked down, unable to meet Hejū's eyes.
"A building collapsed. He pushed a kid out of the way. A steel beam… it went through his heart…"
Takenouchi was retired. But the medic still called him 'Chunin'. Respect.
"Ha."
Hejū laughed softly. "Yeah. That sounds like him."
No wonder. The final point of favorability.
He thought he wouldn't care much. But as he reached for the white sheet, his hand shook.
He took it from the medic. He would do this himself.
His vision blurred. Tears fell, sudden and silent.
His eyelids grew heavy.
"Hejū!"
That was the last sound he heard. Not Jūri. Not Aoki.
It sounded like Shisui.
But Shisui was supposed to be at the border.
…
[Ding! System scanning host physical condition!]
[Ding! Mental state: fatigued. Physical state: stable!]
[Ding! Host unconsciousness exceeds 24 hours. Automatic protection protocol activated!]
[Ding! System detects multiple favorability targets at maximum. Congratulations on obtaining hidden Luck Buff!]
[Ding! System detects host unconsciousness. Cancelling Luck Buff application…]
"System-bro!"
"Wait!"
Konoha Hospital.
A quiet room.
The scent of white lilies.
A hand shot out from under the blankets like a corpse resurrecting.
"..."
The system had just been trying to scare him. The effect was… excellent.
"Keep that good stuff for me!"
Hejū sat up, refreshed.
Sunlight streamed through the window. Warm.
He stretched and locked eyes with Shisui in the doorway.
"Shisui?"
Hejū rubbed his eyes. So he hadn't imagined that voice.
"You're awake."
Shisui smiled softly. He placed a container of porridge on the bedside table. "Are you feeling alright? Any discomfort?"
Hejū: "..."
He knew exactly how he was. Perfectly fine.
Just tired. Wanted a nap. Didn't expect to sleep that long.
And… avoiding the mountain of trouble waiting for him. Fainting was a perfect excuse.
"I'm fine."
Hejū shook his head. "Why are you back?"
Shisui paused. He looked at Hejū, then away. Didn't answer.
Hejū kept staring. Pressing.
Shisui studied his face. Finally, tentatively: "The village was attacked. Minato-sempai and Kushina-sempai… something happened. I…"
Hejū suddenly laughed. Shisui blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
Hejū waved a hand. "With Minato-sempai here, what attack? And what 'something happened'? He's the strongest. Nothing happens to him."
Shisui went rigid. His smile faded. His eyes held shock, then deep sadness.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hejū touched his nose. He seemed genuinely confused.
"Hejū…"
"You… don't remember?"
Shisui asked carefully.
"Remember what? I remember everything!"
Hejū walked back to the bed and sat down casually. "I know! Kushina-sempai had a big, healthy boy, right? Minato-sempai probably can't bear to be apart from little Naruto now, huh?"
The name 'Naruto' had been decided long before the birth.
Shisui looked at him. His eyes reddened. He turned away to hide it.
Outside the door, the Third Hokage, who had heard everything, lowered his head slowly.
This child… was the blow too much?
Two beloved mentors gone. His last remaining family dead protecting a child.
His whole world, shattered.
Hiruzen steadied himself. He pushed the door open.
"Third Hokage-sama!"
Hejū looked surprised. "What brings you here?"
Shisui stepped aside.
Hiruzen walked to the bedside. He placed a hand on Hejū's shoulder. "How is your body?"
"..."
Why did everyone ask that? Couldn't they see he was fine?
Hejū nodded seriously. "I'm perfectly alright, Hokage-sama! I was just about to go visit Kushina-sempai later! Bring a gift for Naruto!"
His eyes shone with pure, simple joy.
Hiruzen's heart clenched. He pressed his lips together. "Then… I'll go with you."
"Hokage-sama!"
Shisui's voice was urgent. Where could he take Hejū? The bodies were already buried.
Hiruzen shook his head at Shisui. His gaze was firm.
Minato was dead. Kushina was dead. Orochimaru was buried in his lab, hadn't even shown his face during the chaos.
Hejū was now the pillar of the village's hope. Its heart.
As its core strength, Hejū could not afford to be weak.
He could not numb his pain with lies and forgetfulness.
Shisui fell silent. The Third had his reasons.
Hejū changed clothes. Followed Hiruzen toward the forest of stone monuments.
"Hokage-sama, aren't we going to see Naruto and Minato-sempai?"
Hejū looked at the many new stones added to the memorial. He stared at the Third's back, puzzled.
"We are. I am taking you to visit Minato and Kushina."
Hiruzen stopped walking.
His frame blocked the photos on the twin gravestone ahead. Only wreaths and flowers were visible.
Hiruzen's voice was solemn, heavy. "Hejū. Look closely."
He stepped aside.
The photos on the stone were of a gently smiling Minato and a radiantly grinning Kushina. They looked at Hejū, as if they hadn't left.
Hiruzen saw Hejū's pupils constrict. Saw the vein pulse at his temple. Saw his hands begin to shake, his eyes redden. The weight in his own heart was immense.
He had failed Minato and Kushina. He had failed Hejū.
Tears fell onto the soft grass, sinking into the warm earth.
Hejū made no sound. But his trembling shoulders, the ceaseless tears, spoke of agony.
[Ding! Favorability of target Kakashi Hatake has reached 90!]
Behind a nearby tree, Kakashi leaned against the bark, a bundle of flowers in hand.
His own eyes were dry. Empty.
But he understood the grief at that graveside better than anyone.
"Hejū."
"Death is the final destination for all of us. A topic we cannot avoid."
Hiruzen looked at the blue sky. "Whether we are ready or not, we must understand one truth: we will all die. No one is exempt."
Hejū kept his head down. Tear tracks dried on his skin.
He actually thought the Third was wrong.
Ordinary people died. But he wasn't ordinary.
Right, System-bro?
The system sighed. Yes.
"But death is not the end!"
Hiruzen's voice strengthened.
"Minato and Kushina are gone. But their Will of Fire will live on in this village!"
"Thousands of shinobi rest here. Each one died carrying Konoha's will in their hearts!"
"Minato and Kushina saved the villagers. Prevented greater disaster. For them… perhaps this was the best ending."
Best ending my ass, Hejū thought. Who wants to die when they can live? Who chooses sacrifice over watching their son grow?
His face remained the picture of a listening student.
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