Chapter 69 Sandaime's Funeral

By the time Naruto's group returned to the village, everything had already settled.

Sunagakure's plan to destroy Konoha had failed, Orochimaru's plot had been exposed, and Sandaime dead, having taken Orochimaru's arms with him using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

As the party at fault, Sunagakure reached a peace agreement with Konoha, promising to compensate for the war in the form of gold sand, and Konoha would form a friendly alliance with Sunagakure based on the principle of mutual benefit.

Orochimaru, at the cost of losing his arms, managed to kill the Kage of two villages, making him the MVP of this tragic event.

As soon as Naruto and Sakura, carrying the severely injured Sasuke, returned, they learned the news that Sandaime had died in battle.

Sakura froze for a moment, while Naruto showed little reaction and quickly urged, "Sakura, Sasuke is barely breathing."

"Ah!" Sakura immediately snapped out of her daze and hurriedly took Sasuke to the Konoha Hospital.

Two days later.

As dawn broke, the sky over Konoha was shrouded in dark clouds.

Naruto sat up in bed, staring at the bundle of white chrysanthemums on the table for a long time before remembering that today was Sandaime's funeral.

He averted his gaze, stared at the ceiling for a while, and found himself not as happy as he had expected.

'The only good Hokage is a dead Hokage.'

After a while, Naruto put on his slippers and went to the bathroom to wash up. He then changed into black mourning clothes, grabbed a large black umbrella and the white chrysanthemums, put on tactical boots, and headed out the door.

He didn't wear his forehead protector or leggings.

He strolled leisurely out the door and met up with Sakura after wandering through the streets of Konoha.

The sky was gloomy, with massive clouds swirling visibly overhead.

Until a hint of pink appeared at the alley entrance, Sakura, with a worried expression and dressed in a black dress, waved at Naruto as soon as she saw him.

"Naruto."

"Yeah." Naruto walked up to her and started walking alongside her, "How's Sasuke?"

Sakura said with low emotion as she shook her head, "His body is seriously damaged and he is still unconscious. I don't know when he will wake up."

'He's lucky to be alive after using Cursed Seal twice.' Naruto thought so, then said, "He'll be out of the hospital soon enough, so there's no need to worry too much."

"Thank you, Naruto."

Sakura, walking beside him, lowered her face and bit her lip, "If it weren't for you arriving in time…"

The two walked slowly, and the rustling sound of footsteps echoed on the street. Naruto glanced at Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"There's no need to thank me for this. That's what companions are supposed to do."

"I know, it's just that..." Sakura seemed to be unable to control her emotions and said in a trembling voice, "Every time, I can't do anything to help. I can only watch you and Sasuke fight for your lives."

"Every time…I feel so useless. Maybe I am not suitable to be a Shinobi at all."

At this moment, Naruto suddenly stopped.

"No one is better suited to be a Shinobi than you, Sakura."

"What?" Tears stained Sakura's face.

"Everyone has different talents. Some find their path early, others later. You just haven't found your own ninja way yet, so there's no need to give up."

"But…"

"No buts. Let's go, Sandaime's funeral is about to start." Naruto glanced in one direction, where more and more people dressed in black were gathering on the streets of Konoha.

"And don't say such foolish things again."

After saying that, Naruto started walking toward the crowd.

Sakura stood there in a daze for a moment before wiping away her tears and followed him. Her slender, pale legs moved quickly under her black dress, and after a few quick steps, she joined the crowd.

The funeral was held at an open-air viewing platform, and the expressions on everyone's faces were heavy and sad.

Under the oppressive, rainy sky, the people began to offer their flowers.

Naruto held the slightly wilted white chrysanthemums he had bought a few days earlier, standing in the long line in the rain. When it was his turn, he placed the prepared white chrysanthemum in front of Sandaime's flower stand and silently left.

The funeral wasn't long, and after it ended, sunlight pierced through the rain clouds, illuminating the entire village.

The crowd that attended the funeral began to disperse in groups. Sakura had already told Naruto she had something to take care of at home, so he had nothing else to do.

His clothes were soaked from the rain, clinging uncomfortably to his skin, so he decided to head home for a shower.

"Naruto." Ino placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in, asking directly, "I heard that Sasuke was injured?"

"Yeah, he's still unconscious in the hospital." Naruto replied as they walked, "Why, you want to go see Sleeping Beauty?"

"Why not?" Ino nudged Naruto's shoulder and walked alongside him, then said, "Opportunities like this don't come often. After all, it's Sasuke!"

"You think you can just waltz in to see Young Master Sasuke?" Naruto rolled his eyes at Ino, " Kakashi-sensei said the higher-ups have issued a protection order, and the entire floor where Sasuke's room is has been secured by the Anbu."

"Even Sakura, who's in the medical department, can't visit him, so you'd better give up on this idea."

"What a cruel order." Ino said wistfully, "When I think of Sasuke lying quietly on the hospital bed, the snow-white walls, and the white roses with dew in front of the window..."

"Damn it, your saliva is almost flowing onto my face! You pervert, stop drooling!"

"Who are you calling a pervert? You're asking for it!"

"I'm talking about you, you damn pervert! Don't go exposing your weird fetishes in public, geez!"

Naruto pushed Ino away with a look of disgust, and Ino angrily grabbed Naruto's collar in retaliation.

Hinata, who was standing behind, watched as Naruto and Ino bickered, then felt a pang of loneliness as she pouted slightly.

"Hinata!"

"Kiba, Shino." Hinata quickly turned around, a little flustered, "What's wrong?"

"Kurenai-sensei is calling us. It seems there is a new mission." Kiba said with a grin, raising his fist. "I hope it's an A-Rank mission. Anything less would be boring!"

"A-A-rank." Hinata stammered, clearly taken aback.

"Don't listen to his nonsense." Shino, who was wearing his black round sunglasses, interjected calmly, " Kurenai-sensei knows our limits. She wouldn't take on anything too dangerous. After all, we are all sensor-type Shinobi, not monsters like Team 7."

"What happened to Team 7?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"Their Jonin Instructor had them chase after the Ichibi's Jinchuriki's team from Sunagakure." Shino said, "That was practically a suicide mission."

"It's Kakashi," Kiba interrupted, "I heard from my sister that he was the village's strongest rookie in his generation. And when he was our age, he was already doing dangerous, classified missions."

"It must be nice!" Kiba sighed in admiration.

Hinata, hearing this, couldn't help but glance worriedly at the crowd. But at this time, Naruto and Ino had already disappeared.

"I heard that Sasuke-kun was injured." Hinata said in a low voice.

"Yeah, he's in critical condition. He must have used some Forbidden Technique." Shino said, "To face off against a Biju under those circumstances, he must've put his life on the line."

"I heard Sunagakure's Biju team fared even worse, which is why Sunagakure ended up compensating Konoha."