[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Fire Country, Year 36.
...
...
In Konoha, unaware that he was being discussed in another country, Minato slowly woke up at this moment. As he saw that it was already getting dark, he got up with some yawns and began changing clothes.
He was preparing to go to the place where they had agreed to meet everyone. Initially, it was just Minato, Mikoto, and Hanabi, but Jiraiya also offered to come along, saying he would pay since it was a celebration tonight for completing their first mission together.
He quickly left home, thinking about what he would do in his time in the village over the next few days. He wouldn't see Kushina tonight, but tomorrow he would visit her... after attending the funeral that would take place with the jonins who died and paying some tribute to them.
He also wanted to see Mito, Duy's wife, and little Guy, not forgetting to visit Madame Gorete and make a small visit to the orphanage, which he hadn't done in a long time.
"I want to make the most of this time because after this, I won't be coming back here anytime soon..." Minato knew the war would keep him away from the village for a long time and in constant danger, the same could be said for his companions, so he really wanted to see all his acquaintances.
As he walked through the slightly busy but still active village, even in wartime, with civilians wanting to spend time with their family, he encountered someone along the way.
The Hyuuga girl was wearing an outfit that was a mix of traditional and casual styles at the same time, Minato looked at her and smiled. "Hello, Hanabi." He greeted her as the girl gave a tight smile.
"How are you?" She asked.
"I'm good, a bit rested, and you, did you rest?" He returned the question.
"Not much, I had to help my grandfather as soon as I arrived, but I'm here." She spoke and Minato nodded.
"Let's go then." Minato said, and they headed to the village center.
The place they had agreed to meet was none other than the very own Ramen Ichiraku. The pair finally arrived at the location, while Mikoto was at the entrance, arriving along with them, wearing a discreet black dress.
"Hello." As soon as they greeted each other, they entered and saw Jiraiya already seated at one of the tables.
"Come here, my students!" He waved as he noticed them approaching and taking their seats. "Well, you can order whatever you want. After this mission, I'll hold a small celebration on my account," he continued. "And speaking of which, here is the money from the mission you all earned." He spoke while handing out an envelope to each of them.
They took the envelope that seemed to have a lot of money, but Minato and the others set it aside.
"Excuse me, what will you order?" A pregnant woman attended to them; it was none other than Teuchi's wife, who appeared to be pregnant with Ayame.
They began to order something to eat. And the food came while they talked and started eating, enjoying that night, socializing calmly among themselves, but nothing extravagant.
After they were satisfied and Jiraiya paid the bill, they all started heading back to their homes. Meanwhile, Minato arrived at his apartment through the window, not the door, wary of encountering that old pervert again.
The apartment was dark and he couldn't help but look at his pocket, curious, wanting to know how much he had received. Then, he took the envelope, but didn't need to open it to count the notes, using only his observation haki.
His expression frowned while his eyes widened at what he saw inside the envelope. "All this money?!" He couldn't believe it; after all, he had earned so much money that he wouldn't make this much selling his explosive seal for years.
Hanabi and Mikoto were also surprised as soon as they opened the envelope, beginning to count the bills. However, Minato received a large portion as a bonus made by Damayo himself for him, after all, it was he who had rescued his family from that situation.
"With this, I can accelerate my plans..." Minato couldn't help but think; he wanted to use the money for something important, so he needed a large amount and was happy to have gotten a little closer to his goal.
He then lay down on his bed and fell asleep content, but despite his happiness, the following day did not bring the same mood back. After resting, Minato learned about the funeral that would take place in a secluded area near the academy, where the famous Memorial Stone of Heroes was located, engraved with the names of people who died as heroes during these dark times. The event took place there as a tribute, but the bodies went to the people of their own clan, where they would have a burial on their own lands.
Minato dressed in black clothes and left his apartment heading for the village center near the academy; the place was reasonably filled with people also wearing dark mourning clothes.
The place would be larger if we weren't in wars, after all, many friends and relatives of these ninjas were on the front lines fighting for the Land of Fire. Minato sighed and approached; he sensed Mikoto, Hanabi, Jiraiya already there before him, as well as Team 2 and all the jonins who participated in the mission.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He felt a bit melancholic looking at the stone with the bodies wrapped in front of it.
"Why...!" There was a woman crying in front of one of the bodies. It was a sad scene for Minato, especially when a woman holding a baby in her arms, appeared to be a civilian.
Another woman was crying with a seven-year-old boy, given the boy's white hair... definitely must be the son of the man from the Hatake clan who went out with Minato and the others on the mission.
Although he did not know these men well, they were still fellow villagers and had gone through the same mission. 'Would they have survived if I hadn't pulled Jiraiya from the capital?' Minato couldn't help but comment while pondering the possibility that they might still be alive.
He was so thoughtful about this that he did not notice a shadow covering the morning sun over him at that moment. "I know what you're thinking," Jiraiya appeared beside him, and Minato was surprised to see his sensei looking at him seriously. And before Minato could say anything, Jiraiya continued:
"Don't blame yourself, it won't change what happened. I was in the middle of a mission, and my duty was to be with my team, I shouldn't have left all the work to you, after all, you were facing jonins. And even though I don't know how things would have turned out if you hadn't pulled me from the capital, I know you wouldn't have managed well with those Stone Village ninjas attacking the city in the West, and it might have been Mikoto-san or Hanabi-San who could have died," he spoke while Minato thought about the girls also present.
Jiraiya sighed and continued. "However, most importantly, their deaths were not in vain. This is the life of a shinobi, Minato, but at least we made their lives worth something. We completed the mission and prevented the worst from happening, so don't let regret consume you or the 'WHAT IFs', move forward, we always have to make decisions that lead to bad consequences, but we must always choose the best path for us and our companions." He spoke.
Minato thought for a moment and, in the end, nodded in agreement with his sensei's reasoning. "I think you're right, sensei." He might have lost one of his companions in the West City fight if it weren't for Jiraiya; there's no way to know how his choices affected the future, but he would certainly choose to bring Jiraiya back rather than see Mikoto or Hanabi die on the battlefield.
"That's good, boy, stay strong and firm, and a bright future will open up for you." Jiraiya said, and Minato nodded. Jiraiya began to walk toward the front of the crowd, leaving Minato there.
"Minato..." But it didn't take long for Minato to feel the presence and hear the voice of someone special and he turned to see the girl with red hair, wearing a mourning cloak. She looked a bit emotional at Minato.
"Hello, Kushina," Minato said, maintaining a slight smile.
She simply approached him and leaned against his shoulder. "Mito-sama asked me to come see the funeral, since she couldn't be here due to..." She seemed unable to finish her sentence. "She feels very sorry for the death of a Senju, after all, he was her family," Kushina commented.
"I understand... it's not a simple time..." Minato commented, he himself was disturbed seeing the widows at the site with children left fatherless, and he almost blamed himself for what happened.
Hiruzen appeared at that moment, approaching the fallen bodies, not only the ninjas who participated with Minato, but also all the Damayo's security guards who had died. Thus, there were many children without fathers and wives mourning the loss of their husbands.
The Hokage looked out over the crowd, seeing the pain of mourning, he sighed and began to speak in his grandfatherly yet firm tone.
"My dear citizens of Konoha, today we gather here to pay our final respects to those who sacrificed their lives for our village and country. Looking around, I see the weight of loss, but I also witness the strength and courage that define our community. Each name engraved on this sacred stone is an eternal reminder of the bravery and unwavering spirit of our shinobi in dark times, who gave their lives for the good of the village and in an effort to secure a better future for their children and the new generation.
We know the shadow of war is long and harsh, but each of our fallen has left behind a legacy of honor and duty. They did not die in vain. Their lives and sacrifices are the reason we have not suffered a major blow. They fought to protect the Damayo of Fire, their sacrifice was enough to keep the enemy occupied before our main teams arrived in time to control the situation."
Hiruzen spoke, it wasn't exactly how it happened, but who would contest that, Minato and Jiraiya stayed silent, it was better they be remembered as heroes than a death from an ambush, at least their families would be proud of these merits.
Hiruzen continued his discourse... "Therefore, while we mourn the heroes we've lost, we also celebrate their strength and resilience. They have set an example of loyalty to the village, and it is up to us to ensure that each of us continues to shape a better future for the coming generations! May the fire in us be as the will of fire that burned in them!" He finally finished his speech as some clapped while others merely cried for their loss.
People began to leave after this, Mikoto and Hanabi just looked at Minato, seeing Kushina so close to him there, they didn't approach and went to their homes.
Minato looked at Kushina, who seemed quite sad, "Let's get out of here," Minato said, he wanted to talk to her and know how she was, probably not very well given that Mito's time was ending.
They left the place together, heading to the Hokage's stone as they always did in situations where the mood was not very pleasant.
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