The Guide * Flash

After that, Tobirama took the opportunity to visit the Envoy the other Four Nations.

It wasn't a formal diplomatic negotiation; he simply knocked on the gates of the Post Station of the Envoys in his capacity as the Head of the Konoha Military Police Force, sat down for a cup of tea, and chatted about recent events.

He also mentioned that Memorial Service would be held at the Dueling Arena three days later.

The Envoy reacted in different ways.

The Envoy from the Land of Lightning still spoke loudly, asking him how badly he was injured.

Tobirama didn't care about that. Getting injured was commonplace for Ninjas, especially with Hashirama. His injuries had already mostly healed, and as long as the bones weren't broken, they weren't considered injuries.

However, he still politely thanked the Envoy from the Land of Lightning for his concern, and thanked A, who was standing beside him, for being willing to help cover for Shūichi.

Yotsuki A was taken aback, and accepted the gratitude with some embarrassment.

As Tobirama straightened up, he saw the thoughtful expression on the Envoy from the Land of Lightning.

The Land of Earth greeted him with a smile and exchanged a few polite words. Tobirama also thanked him for sending a team and asked if he wanted the deceased Ninja to receive a memorial service.

The Envoy from the Land of Earth, still smiling, told him, "I'll think about it," and then asked him to leave.

Tobirama realized that the Rock Ninja would most likely not be included in the Memorial Service register.

The Envoy from the Land of Water listened in silence and then nodded.

The people from the Land of Wind asked a few more questions about the Memorial Service's procedures, Tobirama one. If he hadn't communicated with the Daimyo, he thought he might have had to gloss over the details.

However, they all agreed to attend, which is a good sign, whatever the reason.

It was already evening when I walked out of the last courtyard gate.

A gust of wind swept down from the eastern ridge, scattering the stray hairs on his forehead. Rokuhiko followed behind, rubbing his stiff lower back, which had been stiff from sitting for most of the afternoon. "Talking to those important people is really tiring."

"Stop complaining, immediately draft a process schedule, I need to see it by noon tomorrow."

"Understood." Rokuhiko knew this was a way of telling him to leave, so he wisely accepted the invisible vacation and planned to treat himself to a snack shop.

The setting sun bathed the Konoha emblem on the Konoha Gate in a half-gold, half-red hue, and lights began to twinkle in the streets and alleys.

Tobirama tucked his hands into his sleeves and walked back along the main street.

He walked slowly. As he passed the Commercial Street, the shops that had reopened were taking down their doors and closing up shop. Several children were squatting by the roadside, drawing pictures of Nine-Tailed Foxes on the mud with twigs.

A woman from the Akimichi Clan poked her head out of the noodle shop and called for her children to come home for dinner, her voice so loud that it could be heard throughout the whole street.

Tobirama walked through these everyday sounds, but his mind was preoccupied with something else.

If Izuna were here, how would he speak with the Daimyo?

Tobirama tried to visualize that scene in his mind.

Izuna sat on the veranda, holding a cup of tea poured by Wakako, his face bearing that signature smile.

When Yuan Yusheng asks, "Don't you Ninjas hold Memorial Services?", how would Izuna respond?

Unlike him, who would first offer a thank you and then bluntly state the fact that "there was no free time in the past," Izuna would probably respond in a way that Yuan Yusheng could understand, with words that made people realize the truth only after hearing the whole thing.

But what exactly will he say?

Will they arrange everything meticulously, just like I do, and handle the Memorial Service procedures in a professional and businesslike manner?

As usual, he took on everything single-handedly, getting the desired result before the other party could even react?

Or will he share the same views as Daimyo and the Daimyo, and talk to them about the stories of the deceased?

He found something he couldn't have imagined.

How can a person know something they have never seen before?

Before Wakako pointed this out, they didn't even understand that human life and death needed to be treated with such seriousness.

No one taught them this Warring States Period.

What they learned was mission completion rate, which meant bringing back as many people as possible while ensuring the interests of the family.

Their lives don't allow them to wallow in grief for too long. As children, they would cry and become listless because of it, and some children would even react violently, like the little girl in the Arena that day, who wanted to strap on Explosive Tags and die together with the enemy.

But as they grew older and became adults, they became numb.

Hashirama, who used to defy his father Hashirama his brother's death, has become accustomed to death being a constant companion. Faced with the loss of his brother, Madara could only offer words of comfort, "Let's end this battle and build the village of our dreams."

Like everyone else, he tried to keep his friend by taking on the busy position of Hokage so that he could temporarily forget his brother's death.

But what if we force this position on him? Can Madara, who lost his brother and can't even protect his clan, really govern Konoha well?

How pale and powerless it all seems! Only then do people begin to understand that even Ninja cannot truly be without emotions.

Now, thanks to Izuna's arrival, a crack has finally been torn open in the Ninja world, allowing outsiders to understand their sorrow and making the Daimyo and his Daimyo's Wife willing to offer them advice.

I told them that their childhood reluctance and sadness were justified, and that it was important enough to warrant a ceremony to commemorate the deceased.

Without Izuna, no one would be reminding them now that Ninjas would once again become weapons in the eyes of others, just like in the past.

Tobirama recalled that Hashirama had told him that Izuna said he wanted to capture the Tailed Beasts.

At the time, he thought that Izuna wanted to control the Tailed Beasts like they did, and use the power of those behemoths to intimidate neighboring countries.

So that person actually wanted to befriend Tailed Beast?

His speech was so whimsical and childish, it sounded like a child building sandcastles, which made him burst into laughter.

But after he finished laughing, he didn't think Izuna was incapable of doing it at all.

He still can't explain where that sense of certainty came from.

He understands a little now.

That's because of differing values.

Izuna's worldview, philosophy of life, and values were completely different from his own, so he couldn't understand what Izuna was thinking.

It's like someone living in eternal night seeing the sun for the first time.

He knew it was light, but he couldn't understand why it appeared until they stood under the sun and began to understand what sunlight truly meant.

However, simply seeing the sun is not enough.

Someone must hold up a torch in the darkness to tell them that dawn will not never come, to teach them how to recognize the color of the first ray of light on the horizon, so that they will not be consumed by fear and numbness during the long wait.

And Izuna was that kind of person.

He dragged everyone along, forcibly pulling up those who had lost hope, guiding them step by step in the right direction, even if it meant using strange methods.

And now, those who were once dragged along by the torch, groping in the dark, have unknowingly become the ones trying to hold up the torch themselves.

Tobirama turned out of the Commercial Street and headed towards the Hokage Building, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting across the rooftops opposite him.

It moved with incredible speed, its footsteps making a clicking sound on the roof tiles. Then, the dark figure stopped abruptly on the roof ridge, turned around, and leaped onto the roof of another row of houses.

It's a freckle.

He was wearing a dark blue shirt, his hair still loose and hanging down his shoulders, jumping around on the rooftop as if searching for something.

Madara's gaze swept across the street, and the moment he saw him, Madara landed right in front of him.

He grabbed Tobirama's shoulder, his Sharingan activated, the Mitsudomoe glowing red in the twilight. "Have you seen Izuna?"

Tobirama frowned, his expressionless face revealing as he pried Madara's fingers apart one by one. "Wasn't he in the Uchiha Clan Compound? I installed his eyes, I watched him lie down, and you're asking me?"

"He's gone." Ban frowned. "I went to bring him dinner just now, and he disappeared. The tribesmen who were keeping watch outside said they didn't see him come out either. Do you know where he is?"

His tone was so aggressive, as if he had taken Izuna away.

Tobirama straightened his collar, which had been pulled askew, and thought to himself that this person was as tyrannical as ever.

He didn't argue with Ban. "I've been talking to those important figures at the Post Station all afternoon. Rokuhiko can vouch for me. Have you searched everywhere?"

"Nonsense." Ban's voice was cold and hard. He said impatiently, "I wouldn't come looking for you without a reason."

Tobirama thought to himself, "He probably found out my location from my Big Brother and has been searching for me all this way."

Madara was always meticulous about Izuna's affairs. If he said he had searched everything, then that was it. The Training Grounds, the Hokage Building, the Commercial Street, the Amusement Park —Madara must have already scanned all these places before coming to find him.

If that's the case, where else can Izuna go?

Suddenly, a bright light appeared from afar without warning.

It was the direction of the Hokage Rock. Tobirama and Madara turned their heads at the same time and looked in that direction.

A beam of light flashed on the cliff face, drawing a cross in the twilight, so bright it made people instinctively squint.

As a sensory Ninja, Tobirama sensed not only the light, but also a familiar Chakra.

Madara realized that it might be Izuna, so he immediately set off and ran towards that direction.