A Tribute to the Third: The Hokage's Funeral
Inside the Bounty Station of the Land of Demons, everyone else looked at each other in bewilderment.
It seems like they're asking, "Do you want to go?"
A row of black lines appeared on Shinki's forehead. It was too late to cover Naruto's mouth now.
Finally, a burly man from inside the Bounty Station stepped forward first. "Brothers, let's go! There are hundreds of us, can't we catch this little brat?!"
"Two hundred and fifty million, that's several million for everyone, and everyone's got meat to eat!"
This statement immediately drew agreement from the others in the Bounty Station.
"Big Brother Fatty's right! Let's all charge!"
"Yeah! Let's all go at them together! With so many of us, we can't even hold off two little brats?!"
"I'm telling you guys, don't get excited. This brat has captured dozens of Elite Jonin Kumogakure all by himself. Think twice before you rush in," one of the Ninjas kindly reminded him.
"I don't care! A dozen or so men are no match for him, but we have over a hundred!!"
"Brothers, if you want some meat, let's charge!!"
After saying that, the fat man Great Sword, was the first to charge forward!
Shinki shook his head and slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword from his lower back.
"Whoosh!"
The next second, the blade of the Kusanagi Sword instantly extended and swept horizontally!
"Pfft!"
The fat man's head rolled!
Instant kill!!
After doing all this, Shinki slowly raised his head and looked at the rest of the group with a "benevolent" gaze.
"Hey, anyone else want to try?"
Everyone shook their heads, falling silent in fear.
=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)
Fatty, thank you for taking the lead and proving to everyone how dangerous this kid is!
There's a reason behind the 250 million bounty!
After killing the fat man, Shinki and Naruto searched the Bounty Ranking and actually found a portrait of him, thus happily making over a million yen in bounty money for nothing...
After receiving the fat man's bounty, the Bounty Station hunters discovered that the Red-Haired Kid was searching the bounty list while comparing their faces...
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines!
Σ(っ°Д °;)っ
This kid's trying to make quick money!
So, within seconds, everyone else in the Bounty Station vanished in a flash!
"Such a coward, yet he accepted a bounty."
Shinki chuckled and continued searching for targets on the list.
After looking around, he narrowed it down to two.
[Kakuzu, missing-nin from Takigakure, a member of Akatsuki, skilled in the Secret Technique Earth Grudge Fear, and extremely old.]
[A bounty of 80 million!]
[Hidan, missing-nin from Yugakure, a member of the Akatsuki, a staunch follower of the Jashin Cult, and possesses immortality.]
[Bounty of 55 million!]
Shinki realized that he seemed to have seen the two people in the portrait somewhere before.
After thinking it over, he remembered that he had fought these two people during the mission to retrieve Gaara in the Land of Wind.
"It's the two of them!"
Meanwhile, in the Land of Lightning.
Achoo!
Kakuzu, who had lived for eighty or ninety years, sneezed.
"I said, you don't have a cold, do you?"
Hidan, standing to the side carrying a scythe, wore an expression of watching a show.
"No, it's just that I have a bad feeling..."
His voice was hoarse.
Hidan said with displeasure, "What ominous premonition do you have? I'm the one with an ominous premonition!"
"We agreed to help capture the Two-Tails."
"So, after arriving in the Land of Lightning, I ended up traveling this far with you just to complete a bounty mission!!"
"Do you value money that much?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿ಠ)"
Kakuzu said seriously, "I am, after all, the treasurer of Akatsuki, so money is a must."
"Otherwise, where will we get the funding for our missions?"
"Do you think everyone is like you, able to survive by believing in Evil Gods? ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ"
Hidan remained silent.
Kakuzu looked up. "We'll reach our target's residence soon."
"I promise you, after we kill this person, we'll go and capture the Two-Tails to help us. (￣⊥￣)"
The Land of Demons.
After identifying their target, Shinki found an information broker and bought the latest movement records of Kakuzu and Hidan.
Upon seeing the Konoha Forehead Protector on Shinki and Naruto's heads, the information broker looked surprised. "Are you two missing-nin from Konoha?"
Shinki and Naruto shook their heads. "No, we came here on a trip."
The information broker looked enlightened.
"No wonder."
Shinki realized something was wrong and frowned, asking, "What's wrong?"
The information broker held out his hand. "If you want to know the information, money is essential. (´◊ω◊`)"
After Shinki paying 20,000 gold coins, the information broker said, "The Third Hokage's body was discovered yesterday, and Konoha is holding Third Hokage funeral today."
Naruto and Shinki were struck dumb upon hearing this, as if struck by lightning.
"Dead? How could he be dead! How could my Third grandfather die so easily..."
Naruto lowered his head and said in disbelief.
The clueless information broker reached out again. "If you want to know the information, money is essential."
This time, Shinki drew his Kusanagi Sword directly.
"Say that again?!"
The icy Kusanagi Sword rested against his neck; the information broker could feel the chill emanating from its blade!
At this moment, a bloody gash had already been slashed across his neck by the Kusanagi Sword!
"I'll talk, I'll talk!"
"The death of the Third Hokage of Konoha is said to have been caused by Orochimaru, but I don't know any further details..."
The information broker finished speaking with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, the two boys in front of him had vanished...
Konoha.
The Third Hokage's body was brought back yesterday.
Today, all Ninjas, under the orders of the Fifth Hokage, are holding a funeral for the Third Hokage...
In front of a tombstone shaped like a flame.
A black-and-white portrait of the Third Hokage is displayed.
A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Under a gloomy sky.
The Konoha Ninjas, dressed in black mourning clothes, walked one after another to the Third Hokage's tombstone and laid white flowers.
Everyone bowed their heads in silence, with occasional sobs breaking the silence.
In this solemn and respectful atmosphere, Shinki and Naruto, dressed in mourning clothes, arrived...
As the crowd parted to make way, the two slowly walked to the Hokage's tombstone.
After placing the white flowers, Shinki bowed deeply...
The Third Hokage may not have been a perfect leader, nor a qualified Hokage.
But to Shinki and Naruto, he was a kind elder.
Although, he would yell at the two of them while they were spraying Kage Rocks.
It would be very embarrassing to be beaten to the ground by your own grandson.
He will bleed from the nose because of Naruto's self-created Sexy Jutsu.
He would narcissistically recount poems he had written on a whim to the children at school...
But he's also the one who laughs heartily with the children.
He would have a pipe in his mouth and care about every child who didn't come home in the evening.
It will take care of every "tender bud" of the Konoha.
He would give his life for the village...
The rain on the cemetery intensified, pouring down in torrents.
Then, a strong wind blew up.
The leaves, battered by the rain, were blown by the strong wind, reaching the Shinki and the Hokage's tombstone.
Shinki still remembered the poem the Third Hokage recited when he was a child at the Ninja Academy.
Where Konoha dance in the air, fire will never cease; its Kakkō will illuminate the village, Konoha will sprout anew...
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