In this war, even as it reached its final stages, ninjas continued to die every single day, in every village. Humanity was a frightening thing—so frightening that even death itself gradually became something people grew accustomed to, something they became numb to.
In Konohagakure now, victory was no longer merely a distant dawn on the horizon. It had become something tangible, something almost within reach. Because of that, the village was steeped in an atmosphere of celebration, unable to pull itself free. And precisely because of this, the sorrow that should have been written plainly on some faces instead appeared strange—out of place.
Even discordant.
Grief belonged to only a minority.
For most of Konoha's people—both civilians and shinobi—the only thing they knew was that the Yellow Flash of the Leaf had just led his squad to a decisive victory that altered the course of the war. As for casualties within his team?
—Wasn't that only natural?
Was there such a thing as a mission where no one died on the battlefield? Besides, only two chūnin had fallen.
Compared to the losses suffered by Kirigakure and Iwagakure, what Hagoromo had accomplished could objectively be said to rival what Namikaze Minato had done. Yet due to differences in intent—and other, less visible factors—Konoha's attitude toward these two feats was fundamentally different.
Hagoromo was not someone who sought attention. If he could remain low-key, he would. "Ending the war" was his own wish, nothing more. At his core, he rarely acted out of a sense of contributing to Konoha itself, and because of that, there were certain things he simply did not need.
Unfortunately, his change of approach came a step too late.
This had nothing to do with "momentum." Rather, the machinery behind the scenes was already operating along its predetermined path. Hagoromo's actions merely forced those in the shadows to make adjustments—
—malicious adjustments.
He vaguely knew that Rin was supposed to die after Obito.
Instead, both of them had died.
If anything, this felt like mockery directed at Hagoromo himself.
As for Minato, by now he had officially been recognized by the Third Hokage as the next Hokage candidate. He was, in every way, the perfect choice.
The only problem was his age.
Not yet twenty-two.
Because of that, he needed prestige. "The Yellow Flash" alone was not enough—what was required was a brighter, more dazzling Yellow Flash.
Dazzling enough that even Shimura Danzō would have nothing left to say.
That was why the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was something worth elevating and publicizing.
If, at this moment, an even younger shinobi were to accomplish something on par with Minato through his own strength, it would inevitably dilute Minato's radiance. Konoha—more precisely, the Third Hokage—did not want such a thing to happen.
Neither did Hagoromo.
He had no interest in the Hokage position, nor did he wish for his existence to interfere with Minato's path.
Northwest of Konoha's Memorial Stone lay a public cemetery. Shinobi who fell in war were buried here.
Rin was no exception.
Funerals during wartime were always silent, understated affairs. In fact, being able to conduct an actual burial at all was already a tremendous courtesy. More than half the graves here were nothing more than empty markers—most shinobi who died on the battlefield never had their remains recovered.
After returning from the Land of Earth, before he had even fully reported everything to Minato, Hagoromo came here again.
This was a memorial for Rin.
Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and Hagoromo—four figures dressed in black.
Minato and Kushina wore grief openly on their faces. Hagoromo remained expressionless from beginning to end. As for Kakashi's expression…
There was no need to describe it.
In truth, most of Hagoromo's interactions with Rin had taken place back in the Ninja Academy. After graduation, especially later on, opportunities to meet her had been few.
The same was true of Obito.
Yet impressions were not measured by time alone. Rin had left a deep enough mark in Hagoromo's heart. If asked whether he liked her—unlike Obito, his feelings were simple and pure.
He liked her personality.
Hagoromo bent down, his fingertips touching Rin's name engraved on the gravestone.
Above it was her photograph.
In the photo, Rin held up both hands in a V-sign. Two faint purple markings were painted on her cheeks, and she wore that familiar, squinting smile. Everything looked exactly as it always had.
To die as a shinobi—perhaps she did not regret that.
But she should never have become a shinobi.
"Rin shouldn't have died."
That was all Hagoromo said.
From beginning to end, this was his only conclusion regarding Rin's death.
If Kakashi, Obito, Minato, or even Hagoromo himself had died on the battlefield, it might have been called dying in the line of duty.
But Rin?
What was her death supposed to be?
The pain cut far deeper than Hagoromo had anticipated.
There was no obvious blame in his voice, but those words alone were enough to make Minato close his eyes—and make Kushina's tears fall once more.
Someone like Rin truly should not have died. Both Minato and Kakashi felt this deeply, especially Kakashi.
Grief stretched time into something unbearably long.
After a long silence, Kushina finally spoke.
"Let's go, Hagoromo. It's about time."
"…Mm."
Hagoromo stood and followed behind her.
"Kak—" Kushina began, but Minato stopped her, shaking his head.
For Kakashi, the things he had lost were greater still. For now, it was better to let him remain here alone.
And so the three of them left, leaving Kakashi behind by himself.
Time, in the end, waited for no one.
Minato had far too much to deal with—especially now.
It was precisely because of what had happened to Rin and Obito that his resolve to become Hokage only grew stronger. His determination to end the war as quickly as possible hardened even further.
Next time, everything that needed protecting—
—he would protect it all.
As for Hagoromo, it was only now that he truly understood.
This was what war was.
Perhaps someday Rin's and Obito's names would be engraved on the Memorial Stone as well. But that was something done for the living.
For the dead, what meaning did it hold?
Hagoromo knew nothing of the discussions between Minato and the Third Hokage. He did not know whether Minato's succession had encountered resistance, nor did he know that the matter of the Fourth Hokage was already largely settled.
At his current position, he had no way of knowing.
Thus, after leaving Rin's grave, the first thing Hagoromo did was report what had happened in the Land of Earth to Minato.
"Obito's body disappeared?"
Minato was clearly shocked. After a moment of thought, he continued,
"Could it have been Iwagakure? Obito was an Uchiha. Even though one of his Sharingan was destroyed, they might still have had designs on his remains."
Minato wasn't wrong to think this way. That was the Land of Earth, after all. His team had just caused enormous chaos and had been forced to retreat quickly.
And besides—who would ever imagine that Obito could still be saved after injuries like that?
In truth, only Wood Release could have saved him.
So even after hearing that Obito's body had vanished, Minato never once considered the possibility that Obito was still alive.
"It shouldn't have been Iwagakure," Hagoromo said. "There were no signs of forced removal at the site. Obito's body vanished as if it disappeared into thin air. And before I left, I encountered an unknown enemy…"
He then explained his encounter with White Zetsu.
"An unknown enemy… that absorbs chakra?"
For the first time, Minato realized that this incident might be hiding something far deeper.
Hagoromo nodded.
"Based on the situation, I can't confirm that what I destroyed was its true body. I also failed to recover a corpse."
"…It's possible that there are enemies lurking in the shadows who are even more dangerous than the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
His final words were clearly intentional.
But he couldn't go any further than that. For a shinobi, belief had to be grounded in evidence. Without proof, words meant nothing.
And even if he wanted to explain more—
Hagoromo simply couldn't.
Because he didn't know either.
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