Chapter 31: Burying The Lover, Hidden Danger
Notes:
Sannin, meaning the Legendary Three Ninja, are Konoha’s three renowned ninja, hailed as the greatest of their time.
“Stop!”
Puchi
A kunai was ruthlessly stabbed into Uchiha Mina’s heart. And at almost the same time, two guarding ninja rushed at Uchiha Tonan and placed their kunai on his neck.
“Damn it!”
Yamanaka Hayakawa looked at the iron bed with an ugly expression. He shouted at Yamanaka Ryochi, who just staggered up at the door.
“Immediately inform Takuya-sama.”
Yamanaka Ryochi had just awakened from the genjutsu. He was still unaware of what had transpired. As his mind cleared, he dashed out.
Hehe…
At this moment, Tonan let out a miserable laugh, and tears of blood overflowed from his eyes. Ignoring the kunai on his neck, he brought his lips to Mina’s forehead and gently kissed it.
“Mina… I love you…”
At this moment, Yamanaka Takuya, who heard the commotion, also walked in. On seeing the chaos in the interrogation room, he was surprised and asked, “What happened here?”
Hayakawa hastily replied, “Takuya-sama, we had begun the memory probe…”
After listening to the sequence of events, Takayu also became silent. He looked at Tonan, whose eyes were filled with inconsolable grief, and said, “Give me the memory record, and all of you withdraw.”
“Yes.”
Tonan ignored Takuya, and he unlocked the metal rings that bound Mina. Only the blindfold remained. He picked up her body and walked outside with a desolate look.
“Wait…” Takuya wanted to stop him but he retracted his hand before it reached halfway and sighed, “Go.”
Tonan glanced at Takuya with a dull face and said in a hoarse voice, “Thank you.”
He turned and left with staggering steps. Looking at Tonan made Takuya feel sad for some reason.
“You can already use Sharingan so skillfully. Even two chunin were unable to stop you… such capability…”
Takuya squinted his eyes and looked at the record in his hands.
“Let Hokage-sama make the decision.”
After leaving the Torture and Interrogation Division, Tonan didn’t go straight to the graveyard. He also didn’t go to the clan. Instead, he chose a detour and walked through the bustling Konoha shopping streets.
How could there be no audience for such a scene?
Along the way, people pointed at him. The guards wanted to step forward and ask questions, but they were stopped by the Anbu, who was dispatched by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
“Where is he going?” In the Hokage office, Hiruzen pondered while watching the crystal ball in front of him.
Tonan’s current state was far from good. In just three months, he lost a clan brother, both his parents, a classmate, and his girlfriend in quick succession. Familial love, friendship, and love, nothing was left behind.
If it was any other child in his place, he would definitely turn dark. Even if that didn’t happen, he would become dejected.
“It’ll be hard dealing with this, why didn’t I think of it before? I should have done something to protect that girl. Tonan, I hope you’ll not fail to live up to my expectations.”
Tonan carried Mina’s corpse and came to the swing outside the Ninja Academy and sat there. In the dark, there were quite a few Anbu monitoring the situation.
“Mina, this is where we first met. Without you, I don’t plan to stay here any longer either. At the end of the term, I’ll apply for early graduation. Do you want to look around one last time?”
Tonan reached out and gently pulled Mina’s blindfold.
Under the blindfold, Mina’s eyes were wide open with fear.
“Died with a grievance? Then, don’t look, else you might frighten others!”
Tonan pretended to sob, retraced the hand that was pulling the blindfold, and wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes.
He then carried Mina’s corpse and went to the graveyard for burial. After burying the girl he loved, he knelt there for the entire night.
Perhaps, it was because of Hiruzen’s secret order but no one came to disturb him the whole time he was there. After all, this was the time when Tonan was at his weakest and needed a crying shoulder the most.
It was also the best time to take advantage of the void and enter his heart. How could Hiruzen leave such a great chance to others? When the early light was brightening the sky, Hiruzen came behind Tonan.
“Tonan, pull yourself together. Mina definitely wouldn’t want to see you like this.”
Hearing Hiruzen’s voice, Tonan turned around and stood up. He forced himself to smile and said, “Yes, Mina always said that she likes mature and calm people, I can’t cry… can’t cry…”
While speaking, tears threatened to spill out. He used his hands to wipe them and explained, “Dust got into my eyes.”
Looking at him like this, Hiruzen sighed. He gently caressed Tonan’s hair and said, “Alas… you’ve experienced a lot and also lost too much in a short time. But you have the village and me. And many, many people care about you.”
“You are young now. The village will protect you. I will also protect you. When you grow up, we’ll rely on you to protect the village.”
Tonan was startled after hearing his words. He stared at Hiruzen with crystal clear eyes and muttered, “Hokage-sama…”
“Tonan…”
“Hokage-sama…” Finally, unable to restrain his feelings, Tonan hugged Hiruzen and cried like a child who had suffered too much. Hiruzen looked down at the grieving Tonan, and his eyes narrowed. No one knew what he was thinking.
Tonan, who was crying profusely, had many thoughts spinning in his head right now.
“Why is it so hard to gain this old man’s acknowledgment? Apart from those parents, the few whose acknowledgment I have are all children. This system also has no progress bar. It’s really a pain.”
Just like this, some time passed. The sun had already risen from behind the Hokage Rock. The golden sunlight fell on them, accompanied by green leaves flying with the wind. The scene was harmonious and peaceful.
Tonan noticed that the time was almost up, and he got out of Hiruzen’s arms. He took a deep breath. Trying to look cheerful, he said, “Hokage-sama, thank you. I will get back on my feet and protect our village.”
Seeing Tonan was no longer too sad, Hiruzen felt relieved.
“There’s no dejection and no darkening. This is better than I expected.”
He showed a kind and warm smile and said, “Will you be able to go to the academy on time? Or should I approve a day’s leave for you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Is all going well at school and home…”
The two left the graveyard chatting about Tonan’s everyday experiences. Only when they reached the shopping street’s intersection, did they part their ways.
What happened yesterday had already become a grapevine. When Tonan was on his way home, people around him talked in whispers, occasionally pointing at him.
As the subject of the gossip, Tonan had no opinion. In any case, he was the innocent, grief-stricken person in all this.
Sensing something, Tonan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Soon afterward though, his expression turned calm again. Straight ahead, there was a man with very pale skin and long hair walking towards him.
“Look, look, Orochimaru-sama, one of the three Sannin.”
“Orochimaru-sama.”
“Orochimaru-sama.”
The people around greeted in succession, looking at the person with reverence. Orochimaru calmly nodded back at them. It had just been a few years since the end of the second war, and the Sannin were the pride of the entire Konoha.
When Orochimaru arrived in front of Tonan, the latter placed his hands on the knees, bowed showing similar reverence, and said, “Orochimaru-sama.”
Orochimaru didn’t pay any special attention to Tonan. He just nodded as he did to the others and the two passed by.
However, after Orochimaru had walked a short distance, his snake eyes narrowed. His intuition told him someone was spying on him. He paused and turned around to look. But he saw nothing out of the ordinary on the wide and long street.
“Was it a misperception?” Orochimaru double-checked, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he left.
Once Orochimaru disappeared at the street’s turn, Tonan took off the duck mask. Just a moment ago, when he brushed past Orochimaru, he felt a special and familiar chakra.
Therefore, he used Byakugan to observe. In Orochimaru’s ninja bag, there was a sealed test tube, which had a pair of Sharingan immersed in some kind of liquid.
“Has it already begun? It seems I have to be more careful. I shouldn’t attract them.”
“Young fellow, this mask makes you look very handsome.”
“Thank you, but I won’t buy it.” Tonan smiled at the shopkeeper and put the mask back on the shelf.
