Today was Hatake Sakumo’s funeral. The sky was overcast, and it was accompanied by fine drizzle. Regardless of how many people secretly cursed Sakumo earlier, when they heard about his death, almost everyone was worried.
The heroes that rose to prominence during the Second Great Shinobi War were the Legendary Sannin and Konoha’s White Fang. Among them, Tsunade had left Konoha, Jiraiya’s whereabouts were unknown and only Orochimaru was left.
And now, Konoha’s White Fang had died. A big tree that could shelter the village from the wind and rain had fallen, and it fell because of its own villagers’ slander. This was as much tragic as it was ironic.
Now, all those people, who cursed White Fang, felt some bit of regret. Therefore, the number of people that came to the funeral was unusually large. The senior Konoha officials, Anbu members, various clans’ patriarchs, and most of the Konoha ninjas that were idle at home, all came.
Hiruzen personally engraved Sakumo’s name on the cenotaph. Afterward, everyone attending the funeral gave Sakumo a bouquet to express their grief. Kakashi was kneeling in front of the shrine with listless eyes. His head was lowered, and he remained silent.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. People stepped aside to open up a path. Tonan, who held a black umbrella, walked through with a blank expression and arrived behind Kakashi.
He stared at the name on the cenotaph quietly. He didn’t say anything for a long time. The crowd behind him, especially the ninjas who fought alongside Sakumo in the past, glared at his back.
“He’s weak-hearted, isn’t he?” Kakashi’s eyes twitched a little. He recognized Tonan’s shoes and said with a dejected look.
Tonan bowed towards the headstone and lightly said, “You don’t understand White Fang-sama.”
Kakashi clenched his fists hearing this and roared, “Just because the villagers said a few words, he chose to seek death. How’s he not weak?”
Tonan glanced at the trembling Kakashi and immediately cast the black umbrella aside. He grabbed Kakashi’s collar and shook him, “White Fang-sama didn’t die because of the villagers’ slander. He used his life to take responsibility. He made the right choice in his heart, and he was also willing to be responsible for it. He’s an outstanding ninja and a qualified samurai. He’s a brave man who puts his responsibility first and is not afraid of life or death!”
A light mist rose from the earth with the summer drizzle. Just like Kakashi’s misty eyes at this moment. Tonan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and released him. Kakashi seemed to have lost all his strength and slumped on the ground.
Tonan bent down, picked up the umbrella, and sneered while patting off the dirt on it, “I doubt whether you can carry forward the Hatake Style with your ability. If that’s truly the case, then my blade will be too lonely.”
After speaking, Tonan turned around and looked at Kakashi with a side glance, “By the way, I won’t come to your house to train with you anymore. If you want revenge, you can challenge me any time. But if you can’t even pull yourself together, then you’ll never be my opponent.”
Tonan firmly stuck the umbrella on the ground, which just happened to block the rain for Kakashi, and strode away.
After his performance, the gazes of the surrounding ninjas and villagers changed from hatred to gentle while looking at him.
Namikaze Minato came to Kakashi and hunkered down beside him, “Kakashi, cheer up, White Fang-senpai definitely hopes you can catch up to Tonan.”
Kakashi nodded and then raised his head, muttering, “That bastard…” His words were broken with soft sobs.
Tonan went straight back to the clan district after leaving the funeral. Since this matter was now settled, he had nothing to do. He, therefore, came to meet the Great Elder for some tea.
After all, in Konoha, only with the Great Elder, he didn’t need to disguise himself too much.
Jingle
A gentle breeze was blowing the wind chime under the eaves continuously on a rainy day. In the spacious living room, Tonan and the Great Elder were sitting in seiza-style, facing each other while enjoying tea leisurely.
The Great Elder brought the teacup in front of his nose and sniffed lightly, “There are rumors everywhere in the village that you killed Hatake Sakumo.”
Tonan smiled lightly. He picked up the teacup, gently blew it, and took a sip, “He was going to go away anyway. Since we were acquaintances, why not help him on his way?”
The Great Elder chuckled, “I like your character. No matter how you look at it, you don’t resemble an Uchiha.”
Tonan put down his teacup. He lifted the teapot and leaned forward slightly, adding tea to the Great Elder’s teacup, “If people want to achieve something in life, they need to break the stereotype and constantly surpass themselves.”
The Great Elder nodded and looked at Tonan with narrowed eyes, “But there’s one thing I don’t understand. There was no benefit for you to kill White Fang. Not only did it cause you trouble, but you’ve also fallen out with Kakashi. Don’t tell me that you deeply respected him. And I don’t think his death can help in evolving your Sharingan as well.”
Tonan refilled his teacup and put down the teapot. He then raised his cup and said, “Is White Fang strong?”
“Of course, he’s very strong.”
Tonan leaned forward slightly, and meaningfully smiled, “But his surname is Sarutobi, not Uchiha.”
“Hahaha…” The Great Elder immediately understood Tonan’s inference, and he also raised his teacup with a big smile. The two lightly bumped their teacups as if celebrating.
At this moment, a two or three years old child ran into the living room from the backyard. Sucking on his thumb, he looked at the Great Elder with his innocent eyes and called out, “Grandpa.”
The Great Elder affectionately took the child in his arms and said, “Come, give me a hug.”
Tonan took a sip of tea and casually asked, “Is this your grandson?”
The Great Elder smiled and replied, “Yes, his parents have recently been busy with work, so they sent him over to my place to live with me. Shisui, say hello to Tonan-san.”
Shisui curiously looked at Tonan and sweetly greeted, “Hello, Tonan-san”
Tonan smiled faintly and said, “Shisui is so cute.” The Great Elder already had a big smile. “Children are like this. When he grows up, I’m sure as the other Uchihas, he’ll also not be this cute.”
“No, Shisui will definitely be a gentle child. I’ve always been able to judge people accurately.” Tonan pulled out his wallet, counted 800 Ryo, put it in a red envelope that was already there, and handed it over to Shisui. “Come, I’ll give some pocket money to you.”
Shisui stared blankly at the red envelope and then turned to the Great Elder. The old man smiled and said, “Take it.”
Only then, Shisui reached out his chubby little hand and took the red envelope. “Thank you, Tonan-san.”
Tonan dotingly rubbed Shisui’s head and said, “I like well-behaved and sensible children the most. Moreover, it looks like Shisui is also very talented.”
“You don’t have to overpraise him. He’s still too young, how can you tell what kind of talent he has.”
The Great Elder noticed Tonan’s expression while speaking, and his heart suddenly thumped, thinking of something bad. He hastily put Shisui to the ground, “Shisui, don’t stay at home all day long. Go out and play with your friends for a while.”
“Alright…” Shisui obediently left the living room and ran into the curtain of rain.
Tonan pointed at the sky outside with a perfunctory smile. “It’s raining outside…”
The Great Elder coughed lightly and said, “Children like to play with mud, and the rain is just perfect.”
Tonan nodded as if he just realized this and chuckled lightly. He raised the teacup in his hand, and said, “The tea today tastes very good.”
