In this war, even in its final stages, ninjas from every village died every single day. But humans are terrifying creatures; they can gradually become accustomed to and numb to even something like death.
For the current Konoha, victory was no longer just a ray of dawn; it had become something well within their grasp. Consequently, they were deeply immersed in a jubilant atmosphere. And precisely because of this, the expressions of grief that should have been on the faces of certain people looked incredibly bizarre.
Even completely out of place... Profound grief was a sensation belonging only to a minority.
For the vast majority of people in Konoha—civilians and ninjas alike—all they knew was that the Yellow Flash had just led his squad to achieve a victory that decided the course of the war. As for the casualties within his squad?
Isn't that the most normal thing in the world? What's so strange about it? Are there any missions on the battlefield where no one dies? Besides, it was just two Chunin who died.
Comparing the Hidden Mist and Hidden Stone fronts, one could even say the magnitude of what Hagoromo achieved was roughly equal to what Minato achieved. However, due to the two individuals' own wishes and other factors, Konoha's attitude toward these two events was completely different.
For Hagoromo, he was not a flashy person; if he could keep a low profile, he did. "Ending the war" was merely his personal desire. Fundamentally, he rarely operated with the mindset of making contributions for Konoha's sake. So, there were certain things he simply didn't need.
Unfortunately, his transformation ultimately came a step too late. Putting aside "inertia," the mastermind in the shadows was operating according to a predetermined path. Hagoromo's actions had merely forced the opponent to make minor adjustments... minor adjustments filled with pure malice.
He vaguely knew that Rin was supposed to die after Obito, but now they had both died at the same time—this could probably be considered a mockery directed specifically at Hagoromo himself.
As for Minato, at this point, he had officially been confirmed by the Third Hokage as his successor. He was the perfect candidate for Hokage, but the issue was his age—he wasn't even twenty-two yet. Therefore, he needed prestige. Being the "Yellow Flash" wasn't enough; he needed to be an even more dazzling Yellow Flash.
Dazzling enough to leave people like Danzo Shimura completely speechless.
Therefore, the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was an event worth flaunting.
If, at this juncture, an even younger ninja appeared who had single-handedly made contributions equal to Minato's, objectively speaking, it would inevitably dilute Minato's radiance. Konoha—or more accurately, the Third Hokage—did not want this to happen. And Hagoromo felt the same way. He had no interest in the Hokage position, and he absolutely didn't want his own actions to negatively impact Minato.
...
Northwest of the Konoha Memorial Stone lay a public cemetery where ninjas who died in battle were laid to rest.
Funerals during wartime were always silent, unassuming affairs. In fact, just having a proper "burial" was a tremendous honor... Over half of the tombstones here were merely tombstones; the graves beneath them were empty. The vast majority of ninjas killed on the battlefield could not have their remains recovered.
After Hagoromo returned from the Land of Earth, before he had detailed the process to Minato, the group came here once again.
This was a memorial for Rin.
Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and Hagoromo—all four were dressed in black. Minato and Kushina's faces bore deep sorrow. Hagoromo remained expressionless from start to finish. As for Kakashi's expression... there was no need to describe it.
In reality, the vast majority of the time Hagoromo spent with Rin was within the Ninja Academy. The opportunities they had to meet after graduation were few and far between, especially later on.
The same was true for him and Obito.
But the impression one person leaves on another isn't measured in time, Rin had left a deep enough mark in Hagoromo's heart. If asked whether Hagoromo liked Rin... unlike with Obito, he purely liked a girl with Rin's personality.
Hagoromo bent down, his fingertips tracing Rin's name on the tombstone.
Above her name was her photograph. In the photo, Rin was holding up a V-sign with both hands, the two familiar purple marks painted on her cheeks, and her expression was that familiar, eye-crinkling smile. Everything looked exactly as it always had.
Dying as a ninja—perhaps she didn't regret it. But she shouldn't have been a ninja.
"Rin shouldn't have died."
He said Rin shouldn't have died.
From beginning to end, regarding the fact that Rin was dead, Hagoromo only had this one statement to make.
If Kakashi, or Obito, or Minato, or Hagoromo himself died on the battlefield, it could probably be called a worthy sacrifice. But what was Rin's death?
The pain was far deeper than Hagoromo had anticipated.
It was hard to say there was any blame in Hagoromo's tone, but because of his words, Minato closed his eyes, and Kushina shed fresh tears.
A person like Rin truly shouldn't have died. Therefore, both Minato and Kakashi consciously felt it was their responsibility—especially Kakashi.
Sorrow made time stretch endlessly.
After a long silence, Kushina finally spoke up:
"Hagoromo, it's about time we headed back."
"Yeah." Hagoromo stood up and followed behind Kushina.
"Kaka—" Kushina was about to call Kakashi as well, but Minato stopped her and shook his head.
For Kakashi, he had probably lost much more. So for now, let him stay here alone.
Thus, Hagoromo and the other two slowly walked away, leaving Kakashi by himself.
Ultimately, time would not stop for anyone. Minato had many things to attend to, especially at this stage.
And it was precisely because of the fates of his two students, Rin and Obito, that his goal of becoming Hokage became even firmer. His resolve to complete the task of ending the war as quickly as possible grew stronger. What needed to be protected... next time, he would protect it all.
As for Hagoromo, it was only now that he truly understood what war was all about.
Perhaps in the near future, Rin and Obito's names would be carved onto the Memorial Stone. But that was just something done for the living to see. For the dead, what meaning did it hold?
Hagoromo was unaware of the matters between Minato and the Third Hokage. Given his current status, it was impossible for him to know if there had been any friction during the process of confirming Minato as the successor. He didn't even know that the matter of the Fourth Hokage had essentially been settled.
Therefore, after leaving Rin's grave, the first thing Hagoromo did was tell Minato about his encounter in the Land of Earth.
"Obito's remains vanished?"
Minato looked highly surprised. After a brief moment of thought, he continued, "Could it be the doing of Hidden Stone ninjas? After all, Obito was an Uchiha. Even though his other Sharingan was already crushed, there's no guarantee the Hidden Stone didn't have designs on his body."
Minato couldn't be faulted for how this matter was handled. That was the Land of Earth, after all. Minato's squad had just kicked the hornet's nest and had to evacuate as quickly as possible. The process was inevitably rushed.
Furthermore, who would have thought that Obito, after suffering such an ordeal, could still be saved? In reality, only Wood Style could have saved him.
So even now, when Hagoromo informed Minato that Obito's remains were gone, the man didn't even slightly consider the possibility that Obito might still be alive.
"It probably wasn't the Hidden Stone. Because looking at the site, there were absolutely no signs of violent excavation. Obito's remains vanished as if out of thin air. Furthermore, before I left, I encountered unknown enemies..."
Hagoromo then explained his encounter with the White Zetsus.
"Unknown enemies capable of absorbing chakra?"
Prior to this, Minato would never have imagined that something far deeper was hidden within this event.
Hagoromo nodded. "Judging by the situation at the time, I can't be certain that what I eliminated was their main body. And my attempt to secure a corpse ultimately failed..."
"Perhaps hiding in the shadows, there is an enemy even more powerful than the Four Great Ninja Villages."
His final words held a clear, pointed implication.
But as for the deeper truths, he couldn't provide a more detailed explanation. For ninjas, "belief" must be grounded in facts, otherwise saying it is pointless. Moreover, if asked for specific details, Hagoromo couldn't provide them anyway.
Because he simply didn't know them at all.
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