After the war, Konoha also had to show its stance toward the cannon fodder... no, the warriors who had died in the Konoha Defense War, as well as the civilians caught up in it. A memorial service for the dead was therefore held a few days after Jiraiya woke up.
Everyone wore solemn black mourning clothes, their faces grim. Konoha had suffered considerable civilian casualties this time; no matter what, the ninja had to look sad.
People consciously placed the white flowers in their hands beside the nameless gravestones. Everyone remained silent. After all, Konoha had been where they had lived for so long. Seeing it destroyed like this could not have felt good.
It was called a memorial ceremony, but in reality, it was merely going through the motions. The ninja could not possibly waste all their time on such activities.
Once the memorial ceremony was over, everyone went back to their own business. Konoha still had far too much to do and no time to waste here.
Inside a high-rise building, several elderly men and women who looked like they held power had gathered together. Their seats formed a circle, and they were discussing something.
"Konoha was attacked by the Akatsuki Organization, and our losses in this battle were immense. The reason was simply our unwillingness to hand over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Although the Nine-Tails was an extremely powerful fighting force for the village, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki did not fulfill his proper role in this battle..."
Everyone nodded knowingly at those words. Those present were all old-timers from the same era as Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Did they not know what each other was thinking?
"There is one more matter. Dozens of our ninja seemingly went missing during this battle. Searches have yielded no results, and their whereabouts