Chapter 34: The Stone in the Mist

The memorial ceremony was held at dawn, when the mist was thickest. An ancient tradition in Kirigakure—nin from the village of the mist were expected to return to the fog.

Ren wore a dark, formal kimono. It was his first time wearing it, and the stiff fabric felt foreign against his skin. His mother, at his side, looked smaller in her black kimono, as if grief had somehow shrunk her.

The war memorial stood in a secluded clearing, surrounded by a perpetual fog. Hundreds of names were carved into the dark stone, silent witnesses to the price the village had paid.

As an elderly monk recited traditional prayers, Ren surveyed the gathering.

There were other ninja in formal uniform, his father's teammates.

He noticed Ao among them, his face unusually grave. In the corner, his friends from the academy stood in silence—Jun'ko wasn't smiling for once, Aoi had left her books at home, Shinji was awake and alert.

"Mizutani Toshiro," the craftsman's voice rang out as he carved the name into the stone, "fallen on a mission in service of the village."

Ren caught snippets of whispered conversations around him: "...the third squadron this week..." "...the war is taking a turn for the worse..." "...they say Konoha has a new..."

'Not now,' he told himself, focusing instead on the sound of the chisel carving his father's name into the stone.

This moment didn't belong to politics or war—it belonged to memory.

When the time came to offer the incense, Ren moved mechanically, as if in a trance. The sweet scent mingled with the mist, creating ephemeral spirals in the humid air.

"Ancient tradition," the monk murmured, "says that the mist of Kirigakure is made of the souls of our fallen, who still watch over the village."

The idea that his father had become part of the mist itself... Ren didn't know whether to find comfort or pain in that thought.

After the formal prayers, the offerings began.

Each of Toshiro's teammates approached the stone, leaving a meaningful object: a kunai worn from use, a still-sealed medical bandage, a flask of water of the kind his father always carried with him.

Yuki stepped forward, placing down the first weapon Toshiro had bought at his shop—a simple tanto, worn from time but perfectly maintained. "The beginning of our story," she whispered so softly that only Ren could hear.

It was then that something unexpected happened. One by one, the shop's regulars came by, leaving small items: weapons Toshiro had helped choose, tools he'd recommended, even a pair of training gloves he'd given to a young genin who couldn't afford them.

"Your father," Ao said, approaching Ren after the ceremony, "wasn't just a ninja or a merchant. He was someone who took care of the village in his own way."

The words struck Ren unexpectedly.

His father hadn't been a famous hero, he didn't have legendary techniques or kekkei genkai. He'd simply been a man who'd done his best to help those he could, in whatever way he could.

On the way back, the fog had cleared slightly. Yuki walked with Ren's hand tightly held, as if afraid he too might dissolve into the fog at any moment.

"Kaa-san," Ren said suddenly, "tell me about when you first met Tou-san."

Yuki stopped, surprised by the request. Then, slowly, a small smile formed on his tired face.

"He was such a serious young chunin," she began, her voice softening at the memory. "He came into the shop looking for a specific set of kunai. I tried to sell him something completely different, just to see how he would react..."

As they walked home, her voice painted pictures of a young Toshiro, of his increasingly frequent visits to the shop, of his clumsy attempts to impress her with his knowledge of weapons.

For the first time in days, Ren felt a warmth in his chest. It wasn't happiness—it was too early for that—but it was something akin to peace.

That evening, in the courtyard where he had trained with

his father, Ren began practicing tanto kata. Every movement was a prayer, every stance a memory.

"You have taught me more than I imagined, Tou-san," he whispered into the night. "And I promise I will use these teachings in the right way."

[ I wanted to give the proper afterward to Toshiro death, i hope you liked it... express it with a comment, also there is a bonus image to everyone! We reached another goal in such a short time, yesterday there were almost 60k visualization, today 10k more!]

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