Gray Skies

Dying on the battlefield or passing away after treatment failed in the hospital—deaths like these were common in this world, so there was nothing unacceptable about them. However, having one's chance at treatment suddenly taken away was difficult to accept.

Perhaps it was related to his own experiences, or perhaps this was simply Yuhara's emotional trigger. In any case, Yuhara suddenly erupted. Yet just as he was about to leave and "reason things out" with those unreasonable people, someone suddenly grabbed him...

It was Jian Dong.

She briefly regained consciousness. With one hand, she grabbed Yuhara while looking straight at him, then slowly shook her head.

Yuhara's actions would only worsen his own situation; he could not change anything else. And once he bared his claws at Konoha, what would happen to him afterward was obvious.

That was why Jian Dong reached out and held him back. She even grinned.

"Come to think of it, I'm still quite young, but I feel like I've already lived a long life..."

The New Year had just passed, so Jian Dong was exactly twenty years old. She was very young. As for why she felt as if she had already experienced the vicissitudes of life, the reason was actually very simple... She had been through too much during the war.

She had lost her brother in the war. Did that mean she had only lost her brother?

Jian Dong spoke in that tone, and Yuhara could no longer break free from her feeble grip. He could only stop and restrain his emotions.

"What's strange is that when it comes to life, I have regrets, but I'm not attached to it. Death certainly can't be described as 'beautiful,' but it isn't actually as terrible as people imagine."

"As a Konoha Ninja, I remained loyal to Konoha until the very end. I prepared myself for this long ago... Sooner or later, when the time comes, it simply means the time has come."

"It's just a pity that, in the end, I'm not a strong person. I'm tired. I feel so tired. I can't help wanting to rest for a while, just rest for a little while..."

"Yuhara, you're different from us. You're a talented person, so you can be a little bolder when you act—but don't be too bold."

"Tigo, live on..."

Yuhara fell silent, and remained that way until Jian Dong could finally undergo surgery.

Jian Dong also fell silent, because the surgery had come too late.

There was a saying: "There is only one kind of heroism in the world: to see life for what it is and still love it." There was nothing wrong with that, but it was perhaps too bright and noble.

Perhaps there was no heroism in this world at all.

The shinobi village system certainly had its advantages, but at the end of the day, it was merely an assembly of shinobi clans, large and small. So what essential difference was there between the current era and the eras before it?

Fundamentally, it was those several shinobi clans that supported Konoha, so Konoha was inevitably stratified, divided into ranks from top to bottom. From the perspective of the great shinobi clans, they did the most work, so naturally they deserved the best treatment.

It was true that countless civilian shinobi died on the battlefield, but how much meaning did their deaths actually have?

To put it plainly, the spread of Chakra and the dissemination of ninjutsu had never been equal or fair.

Yuhara sat in a chair, staring fixedly at the cloth covering the face of the person lying on the hospital bed. His mind kept turning over certain questions... Of Jian Dong's final words, how much had been genuine acceptance, how much forced acceptance, how much genuine pessimism, and how much forced pessimism?

Regardless of Jian Dong's thoughts or Konoha's inner workings, after thinking it over and over, Yuhara still couldn't accept this outcome.

People couldn't always remain objective and rational, but they could always believe themselves to be objective and rational.

Whether it was to offer condolences, conduct publicity, or display his authority, after handling some of Konoha's internal affairs, the Fourth Hokage began inspecting the front-line battlefield.

Naturally, the symbolic significance of this inspection was greater than its practical significance. To put it bluntly, it was simply a show.

Come to think of it, the current Third Hokage was in his prime and not yet at the point where he had to hand the position over to his successor. The reason he wanted Minato Namikaze to become the Fourth Hokage so quickly was most likely to set an example for future generations of a smooth transfer of power... The Second Hokage's sudden death in battle and the Third Hokage's hasty succession had probably left Hiruzen Sarutobi with some unpleasant memories, so he wanted to prevent such a situation from happening again as much as possible.

Therefore, there was no need to pay attention to the rumors that the Third and Fourth Hokages were fighting for power, or that the Third Hokage was overly hungry for power. No matter what, the young Minato Namikaze could not possibly threaten the Third Hokage's position. The Third Hokage was in his fifties, still in his prime, while the Fourth Hokage was only twenty-four and far too young. Under such circumstances, the Fourth Hokage could only appear if the Third Hokage was willing to let a Fourth Hokage appear.

Contrary to the idea that he was clinging to power, the Third Hokage was actually someone who liked delegating authority but was not very good at doing so. His delegation and inaction had caused Konoha to develop many internal problems.

In any case, after completing the transfer of power, the Fourth Hokage first appeared at Konoha's camp in the Land of Rivers. As one part of his inspection, paying respects to the dead and offering condolences to the wounded was only proper.

So even though Yuhara had no interest in dealing with anyone, he still had to cooperate with others in "putting on a show"... That, at least, was the same in both his previous life and this one.

Because the Fourth Hokage had appeared right before Yuhara.

The injury to Yuhara's right arm had already been treated properly. In a sense, it was only a minor wound.

As for what had just happened, Yuhara did not resent the doctors. The doctors had indeed been doing their best to save every life. The only problem was the patients themselves—how, and at what speed and in what order, they had been brought before the doctors.

Unfortunately, Konoha's strongest—or rather, the strongest Medical Ninja in the shinobi world—had already left Konoha because of "menopausal rebellion." Otherwise, perhaps everyone here could have been saved... Even people who had never met Tsunade would miss her. That alone showed the strategic importance of a Medical Ninja like her.

At this moment, there was not just one corpse in front of Yuhara. In fact, corpses filled the area before him, because the place where he was standing was the morgue... Before they arrived, Konoha and Sunagakure had indeed engaged in a fierce clash.

After the Kikyo Mountain Battle, Sunagakure should logically have been at an absolute disadvantage due to its weakness. Yet unexpectedly, a fierce battle had still erupted under such circumstances.

When the Fourth Hokage came here to pay respects to the fallen, Yuhara had just realized a simple truth:

In this world, if a person wanted to protect himself and certain other things, merely becoming strong was far from enough...

He had to become invincible.