The Lead-Gray Sky

Dying on the battlefield, dying in the hospital due to ineffective treatment—deaths like these were common in this world, so there was nothing unacceptable about them. However, having the chance for treatment suddenly snatched away was difficult for anyone to accept.

Perhaps it was related to his own experiences, or perhaps it was simply Yuhara's emotional trigger, but at this moment, Yuhara suddenly erupted. However, just as he was about to step away to "reason" with those unreasonable things, he was suddenly pulled back...

It was Jian Dong.

She had temporarily regained consciousness. She grabbed Yuhara with one hand, looked at him with her eyes, and then slowly shook her head.

Yuhara's actions would only make his situation worse without changing anything. And if he showed his fangs to Konoha, who knew what would happen to him next.

So Jian Dong reached out and grabbed him, even managing a smile.

"Speaking of which, I'm still young, but I feel like I've already lived a long life..."

Since the New Year had just passed, Jian Dong was exactly twenty years old. She was very young. As for why she felt like she had seen it all, it was quite simple... she had experienced too much in the war.

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

As Jian Dong spoke in this tone, Yuhara found himself unable to break free from her weak grip. He could only stop, restraining his emotions.

"What's incredible is that regarding life, I have regrets but no attachments. While death can never be described as 'beautiful,' it's not as terrible as one might imagine."

"As a Konoha Ninja, remaining loyal to Konoha until the very end—I've long been prepared for that... Sooner or later, when the time comes, it will simply be time."

"It's just a pity that, in the end, I'm not that strong of a person. I'm tired, I feel too tired, and I can't help but want to rest for a bit, just a little rest..."

"Yuhara, unlike us, you are a talented person. So you can be a bit bolder when you act, but not too bold."

"Tigo, live on..."

Yuhara quieted down until Jian Dong could finally undergo surgery.

Jian Dong also quieted down, because the surgery came too late.

There's a saying: "There is only one kind of heroism in the world: to see the truth of life and still love it." This saying is certainly not wrong, but it's perhaps a bit too bright and noble.

Perhaps there is no heroism in this world at all.

While the ninja village system has its advancements, in the end, it's just a collection of ninja clans, large and small. So, what's the fundamental difference between the current era and the past?

Fundamentally, Konoha is supported by several ninja clans, so Konoha is bound to be stratified, with levels and ranks. From the perspective of the major ninja clans, they do the most work, so they naturally deserve the best treatment.

Many civilian ninja died on the battlefield, but what meaning did their deaths hold?

To put it bluntly, the spread of chakra and the diffusion of ninjutsu were inherently uneven and unfair.

Yuhara sat on a chair, his eyes fixed on the cloth covering the face of the person lying on the hospital bed, his mind racing with thoughts... How much of Jian Dong's final words were genuine magnanimity, how much was forced magnanimity, how much was genuine negativity, and how much was forced negativity?

Regardless of Jian Dong's thoughts or Konoha's internal affairs, Yuhara thought and thought, and still couldn't accept such an outcome.

People aren't always objective and rational, but they can always believe themselves to be objective and rational.

Whether it was to offer condolences, for propaganda, or to show his status, after handling some of Konoha's internal affairs, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha began to inspect the front lines.

Naturally, such inspections held more symbolic meaning than practical significance; in plain terms, it was a show.

Speaking of which, the current Third Hokage was still vigorous and strong; it wasn't yet necessary for a successor to take the helm. The reason he wanted Minato Namikaze to become the Fourth Hokage so quickly was likely to set an example for a smooth transfer of power for future generations... The sudden death of the Second Hokage and Hiruzen Sarutobi's hasty succession probably left him with some unpleasant memories, so he wanted to avoid such a situation from happening again as much as possible.

Therefore, rumors of power struggles between the Third and Fourth Hokage, or that the Third Hokage was overly power-hungry, could be disregarded. Because no matter what, the young Minato Namikaze could not threaten the Third Hokage's position. The Third Hokage was in his fifties, in his prime, while the Fourth Hokage was only twenty-four, far too young. In this situation, only if the Third Hokage was willing to have a Fourth Hokage could a Fourth Hokage possibly emerge.

Contrary to the idea of clinging to power, the Third Hokage was actually someone who liked to delegate power but wasn't very good at it. His delegation of power and inaction led to many internal problems in Konoha.

In short, after completing the transfer of power, the Fourth Hokage's first stop was the Konoha camp in the Land of Rivers. As part of the inspection, paying respects to the deceased and comforting the wounded was a matter of course.

So, while Yuhara had no intention of paying attention to others, he still had to cooperate with their "show"... This was the same whether in his past life or now.

Because the Fourth Hokage appeared before Yuhara just like that.

Yuhara's right arm injury had been well treated; in a sense, it was a minor injury.

Regarding what had just happened, Yuhara didn't harbor any resentment towards the doctors, because the doctors were indeed doing their best to save every life. The problem was simply how and at what speed and order the patients were brought to them.

Unfortunately, Konoha's strongest, or perhaps the ninja world's strongest, medical ninja had already left Konoha due to "menopausal rebellion." Otherwise, perhaps everyone here could have been saved... Even those who had never met Tsunade would miss her, which showed the strategic importance of a medical ninja like her.

At this moment, Yuhara wasn't just facing one corpse; in fact, he was surrounded by corpses, because his location was the morgue... Before they arrived here, Konoha and Sunagakure had indeed engaged in a fierce conflict.

After the Kikyo Mountain Battle, Sunagakure, being the weaker party, should have been at a distinct disadvantage. It was unexpected that a fierce battle would still break out under such circumstances.

As the Fourth Hokage arrived here to mourn the fallen, Yuhara had just come to a simple realization:

In this world, if a person wants to protect themselves and certain other things, simply becoming strong is far from enough...

One must become "invincible."