"Okay... let's go back to the village."
"Go back to the village... you will be saved."
"... Just go back to the village."
Silver hugged Toya on the ground and wanted to help him up.
Toya shook his head with a pleading look. He was speechless and just wanted his wife to leave quickly.
He understood that Hatake Sakumo would not let go of Silver. Ninjas were ruthless towards their enemies. If he didn't leave, he would have no chance.
However, as his consciousness gradually faded and his pupils began to blur, Toya, lying on the ground, understood that... his death was imminent.
For a moment, he seemed to see his mother fighting and Scorpion waiting in the village.
"I'm sorry, I can't accompany you anymore."
Finally the last bit of light dissipated from his world.
Chill swept through Yin's body, and she hugged Toya tightly in her arms, as if this was the only way she could feel that she was still alive.
However,
It was empty all around,
That kind of coolness,
It's so real.
"... No way."
"... No way."
"My Toya will not die."
"I beg you, don't die!"
"I beg you, have mercy on me, Toya, Toya!"
She kept calling, trying to wake up Toya, but no matter how hard she tried, the man in her arms showed no response.
Finally,
She gave up in despair,
She is tired,
I am also tired,
My heart is dead too.
In a trance, she felt that she had had a long dream, but with the death of Toya, the dream finally shattered, and everything in the past turned into a reflection, hidden behind time, as if it were a world away.
Yin stroked the familiar face, showing an extremely gentle expression.
"We will be together, we will be together forever."
In her abdomen, a handful of Kunai had been completely submerged, and the blood spatter was slowly expanding.
"I said, if you die, I will come to accompany you..."
Micro Wind Blow passed by, and a white cloud floated blocking the sun in the sky, and under the shadow was a piece of sand stained red with blood, with two people embracing each other on it.
"... I'm sorry, Scorpion."
Ebizo Crossed the long Valley at the entrance of the village and walked under a tall sea buckthorn.
"Scorpion, what are you doing?"
"Look at the clouds, they are so beautiful."
Said the red-haired boy sitting under the tree.
The sky seemed clear and ethereal as if it had been soaked through by blue watercolor. The silvery clouds and mountains were like floating icebergs, outlining a golden outline under the hot sunlight.
"Second Grandfather, tell me... can mom and dad see this cloud?"
"Eh... maybe..."
Ebizo said uncertainly.
Seeing Xie's disappointed expression, he smiled and rubbed Xie's red hair.
"Haha, you must have been deceived by me, of course. They must be missing Scorpion on the other side of the cloud now."
"Really?"
Scorpion jumped up excitedly, not caring about his messed up hair.
"Then, how can the cloud fall?"
"... Huh?"
"Mom and dad are on the other side of the cloud. When the cloud falls, they can go home."
Ebizo shook his head in distress. "The cloud is so high, I don't know how to let it fall down."
"Then, when will they come back?"
"... Soon."
"It's always faster, faster. At least give me an accurate time."
Hearing what Xie said, Ebizo could only smile helplessly.
"Chirp!"
An eagle chirped suddenly, and he raised his head. After hovering in the sky for several times, the dark green Ninja Hawk flew towards him.
Emergency?
Thinking like this, after Ninja Hawk stopped on top of his raised right arm, Ebizo quickly took off Scroll tied to his paw.
After just a quick glance, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
——Toya, Silver will die in the hands of Konoha's White Fang, come quickly!
"... How could it be?"
"Damn Konoha's White Fang!"
Unknowingly, Ebizo's right hand that gripped Scroll turned white, and the handwriting on Scroll was a little crooked, but he still recognized the handwriting of his sister Chiyo.
In other words, this news is true!
He had never been married, but he regarded Toya and Yin as his biological children. How could he die? When he left the front line, the war situation was obviously still very optimistic. How long had it been!
Scorpio, who silently felt the emotional changes of Second Grandfather, had an unknown premonition.
Suddenly, a shiver ran through his body.
"What happened...?"
Xie asked nervously, his drooping arms clutching the corners of his clothes tightly without realizing it.
Ebizo forced a smile and said, "... No... No, it's just that Shukaku had some problems. It's nothing serious."
"Then my parents are back?"
"Well... Well, they suddenly have a new mission, so it may take a little more time."
"Really?"
"Of course, I just received the contact." Ebizo waved Scroll in his hand and said, "Your grandma wants you to wait in the village."
When Xie heard what he said, he patted his chest and felt relieved, but what came next was what he least expected to hear.
"Scorpion, I'm sorry, I... may not be able to attend your opening ceremony."
For some unknown reason, Scorpion's body became hot again, but his mind suddenly became cold.
"Hey... then, what should we do? Ninja Academy... school will start in a few days."
He finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"I have to lead the ninja to the battlefield now... I'm sorry."
The body was finally no longer hot, and a cold breath came to Scorpion's fingers. He knelt down and hugged his knees, not knowing how to answer, desperately searching for the words to say.
"No... Grandpa has nothing to apologize for... but..."
Nearly forty years have healed the ups and downs of emotions, but facing Xie's disappointed eyes, Ebizo still felt a little heartbroken. But he also understood that at this time there was no other option.
Ebizo squatted down and patted Scorpion on the shoulder. "Be strong, Second Grandfather will come back as soon as the mission is over..."
Xie tried his best to suppress his choking, suddenly threw away the hand on his shoulder, and said in a stiff tone, "... I know!"
When he said this, he could almost feel the surprised expression on the grandfather's side. But even so, he still couldn't control his feelings.
"That's enough!" He gritted his teeth and said, "That's enough..."
When Scorpion repeated it again, tears fell unsatisfactorily.
Why... why does it always turn out like this!
Is the mission that important?!
After more than ten seconds of silence, Ebizo struggled to squeeze out the words "I'm sorry...".
The sea-buckthorn trees made rustling sounds in the breeze, but the red-haired boy was no longer in the mood to appreciate this.
When the words came out of his mouth, he already regretted it, but as he was still young, he was too stubborn to choose to apologize.
And Ebizo has also left to gather ninjas.
Xie couldn't calm down for a long time, so he once again took out the Puppet toy that his mother gave him on his birthday and assembled it.
——When you can assemble it successfully, we will come back from the battlefield.
This was what his mother told him before she left, and it only took him one day and one night to succeed, but there were still no parents at the entrance to the village.
Later, every time he succeeded, he would go to the entrance of the village to take a look. So far, the purple paint on the Puppet has almost dissipated, but his parents still have not come back.
Now, even Grandpa Ebizo has to leave him again to go to the battlefield.
——I will become Fourth Kazekage so that my parents will never have to go to the battlefield again.
This was Scorpion's wish, but now he has begun to hate Kazekage.
At a young age, he had a simple and straightforward view of right and wrong: Third Kazekage gave the order to join the war. Without him, his relatives would not have been able to go to the battlefield.
As the strongest ninja in the village, but unable to protect the villagers and keep them away from the war, then...
What is the significance of the existence of Third Kazekage?!
The Scorpion, which was assembled again, carefully wiped the sand blowing on it.
That serious look seemed like... the Puppet in his hand was the most important thing in the world.