The Third Hokage Has Died!

The battlefield was a complete mess, but the fighting had finally subsided for the time being.

The medical corps rushed over and urgently sent the badly injured Sasuke, the exhausted Naruto, the unconscious Gaara, the completely spent Guy, and the others to the hospital.

Sakura went with the medical corps, tear tracks still wet on her face.

Ling Yue forced herself to stand, her head still throbbing as though pierced by needles. The backlash from [Void Threads] and the aftereffects of Shukaku's mental assault were no small matter.

She looked at Sasuke being carried away, her feelings too complicated to put into words.

Kakashi walked over, patting her shoulder. "You did well. You're injured too, so go to the hospital and get checked first."

Weariness colored his voice, and a trace of deeply buried heaviness lingered in his eyes.

The fighting in the village had ended, but the cost...

Ling Yue nodded. Just as she was about to follow the retreating forces back, she noticed that the atmosphere in the village was unusually oppressive.

The streets still bore the marks of battle. Many ninja wore tear-stained faces and expressions of disbelief and grief, while the villagers stood in silence. The air was saturated with suffocating sorrow.

"What... happened?" A bad feeling rose in Ling Yue's heart. She grabbed a hurriedly passing chunin and asked.

The chunin's eyes were red, his voice choked with sobs. "The Third... Lord Third Hokage... he... he died in battle!"

Ling Yue froze in place, her mind going blank.

The Third... was dead?

She had known the original plot. She knew Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan would lead to the Third Hokage's death. But now that she was truly here, feeling the real, overwhelming grief all around her, the impact was still enough to crush her.

That old man who always had a pipe in his mouth, who seemed kindly yet carried the burden of the entire village... was really gone.

To protect the Hidden Leaf Village, he had died at the hands of his own disciple.

This was not a manga or anime. This was a death that had truly happened, the end of an era.

In a daze, she followed the crowd and unknowingly arrived beneath Hokage Rock.

Looking up, the Third Hokage's stern yet benevolent stone face still stood tall. But the reality beneath that statue had changed beyond recognition.

Many villagers and ninja had gathered here of their own accord, mourning in silence as quiet sobs continued without end.

Naruto had also been carried nearby on a stretcher by medical ninja. He looked at the Third Hokage's stone face, then at the grieving crowd around him. He seemed not to fully understand what had happened yet, but his eyes had already reddened. "Pervy Sage... the old man, he..."

Sakura stood beside him, silently crying.

Sasuke was still unconscious and had not been brought here.

Ling Yue stood at the edge of the crowd, watching it all, her chest painfully tight.

Ever since coming to this world, she had always maintained the detached mentality of someone playing through life. Even after experiencing battles of life and death, she had always felt that the system had her covered and that she had foreknowledge of the plot.

But the Third Hokage's death was like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly knocking her awake. This was the real world of Naruto. Death could descend at any moment, and no one was absolutely safe.

Strength! She needed greater strength!

Not just to complete her missions and return home, but also... to survive, and to protect the people she wanted to protect!

[Ding! Major event "Konoha Crush Plan" has ended. Calculating overall evaluation...]

[Evaluation complete. Contribution: B+ (participated in stopping the One-Tail, assisted in breaking the Sand Cocoon, indirectly supported the main battlefield).]

[Rewards issued: Dimensional Points x2000, Skill Card Voucher (SR) x1, special item [Hiruzen's Will of Fire Notebook] (fragment) x1.]

[Hidden mission "Prevent the One-Tail's Complete Revival" completed. Rewards issued: Dimensional Points x1000, Skill Card Voucher (SR) x1.]

[Current Dimensional Points: 4350]

[Skill Card Vouchers (SR): 2]

[Item: Hiruzen's Will of Fire Notebook (fragment)]

The generous rewards had arrived, but Ling Yue felt little joy at the moment.

That [Hiruzen's Will of Fire Notebook] made her feelings even more complicated.

She found a quiet corner and briefly examined it.

[Hiruzen's Will of Fire Notebook (fragment): A fragment recording Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts and insights on the Will of Fire, ninjutsu philosophy, and certain ninjutsu. After reading it, chakra control and mental strength can be slightly increased, and one C-rank to B-rank Five Elements Release technique can be randomly comprehended (Earth and Fire have higher probabilities).]

It was good stuff, but now was not the time to study it.

She turned her attention back to the enormous sum of 4,350 points and the two SR card vouchers.

They were her greatest assets at the moment.

She had to turn them into strength as soon as possible!

But she did not exchange them immediately. After going through so much, she understood that what suited her was best.

Blindly chasing high-level skills was inferior to fully integrating her current system and shoring up her weaknesses.

Her most urgent priorities were healing the backlash from [Void Threads] and her mental injuries, then consolidating her newly advanced [Paper Arts] mastery and [Lightning Flash Body Technique].

She first spent 200 points in the system shop to exchange for slightly higher-grade [Mental Soothing Potion] and [Chakra Harmonizing Agent]. She secretly took them, and the stabbing pain in her head and the disorder in her chakra eased somewhat.

She would carefully plan out the rest after she returned.

The mourners gradually dispersed, but the atmosphere of grief shrouding the Hidden Leaf Village lingered for a long time.

Over the next several days, the Hidden Leaf Village fell into a state of busyness and solemnity.

Handling the affairs of the fallen, repairing the village, comforting the people, selecting an acting Hokage... countless matters demanded attention.

Team 7 was temporarily disbanded as well. Sasuke and Naruto remained hospitalized for treatment.

Besides caring for them, Sakura began studying medical ninjutsu even more diligently. Kakashi was so busy that he was nowhere to be seen.

Ling Yue spent most of her time in her small house, recovering from her injuries while digesting what she had gained from battle, familiarizing herself with the use of [Void Threads], and considering how to spend that "huge sum."

During that time, she vaguely sensed that feeling of being watched again, though this time it was even more concealed and cautious than before.

She knew it had to be Root or Danzo's people. The Third Hokage's death had made those lurking in the shadows more active.

But she pretended not to notice, only raising her guard in secret.

That day, her injuries had mostly healed, and she decided to visit Sasuke and Naruto at the hospital.

Just as she reached the hospital entrance, she ran into Sasuke coming out.

He had changed into clean hospital clothes. His face was still somewhat pale, his injured shoulder wrapped in bandages, and he seemed more withdrawn than before.

"Sasuke? You've been discharged?" Ling Yue asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Are your injuries better?"

"More or less." Ling Yue nodded and looked at him. "That day... thank you."

Sasuke paused, then turned his head away, his tone somewhat stiff. "There was no need. I would have done that for anyone."

A typical Uchiha, too proud to admit anything.

Ling Yue did not expose him and changed the subject. "How's Naruto?"

"That dead last is bouncing around like nothing happened. He's been fine for ages. Lord Jiraiya took him away." Sasuke paused and looked toward Hokage Rock, his gaze complicated. "You know about the Third Hokage...?"

"Yeah." Ling Yue looked that way as well, and the mood grew heavy.

"Strength..." Sasuke suddenly said in a low voice, as if speaking to Ling Yue, yet also to himself. "Without strength, you can't protect anything. Not even the people important to you..."

He did not finish his sentence, but Ling Yue understood what he meant.

The Third Hokage's death had intensified his desire for power.

Sasuke withdrew his gaze and looked at Ling Yue. Then he suddenly asked, "That ability of yours... those threads that can pierce through defenses. What is it?"

"A small family technique. It's troublesome to control, and it consumes a lot." Once again, she dumped the blame on her nonexistent "family inheritance."

Sasuke stared at her for several seconds, seemingly trying to see something in her face. In the end, he did not press further. He merely said, "Don't hold me back on the next mission."

With that, he turned and left.

Ling Yue watched his retreating figure, her brows faintly furrowing.

Sasuke's condition... seemed a little off.

He was more closed-off and impatient than before. Was it because of the Third Hokage's death, or because of... the cursed seal's influence?

She shook her head and entered the hospital, only to find that Naruto's room was indeed empty.

She asked a nurse, who said he had been taken away by a bold, white-haired man.

It seemed he had gone to train with Jiraiya. That was good too.

She also went to see Gaara, who was still unconscious. He was being held in isolated confinement, with Temari and Kankuro guarding outside. Neither of them looked well.

Relations between the Sand Village and the Hidden Leaf Village had fallen to rock bottom because of this attack.

After walking around the village and feeling the grief and tension in the air, Ling Yue became even more convinced that improving her strength was urgent.

She returned to her small house, locked the door behind her, took a deep breath, and summoned the system interface.

A fortune of 4,350 points and two SR card vouchers.

It was time for a major upgrade!

She first set her sights on the two SR card vouchers. Even an R card could draw out a practical skill like [Void Threads]. An SR card would definitely yield something good!

"System, use one SR card voucher. Draw!"

A magnificent SR roulette wheel appeared. Its needle spun rapidly before finally stopping on an icon radiating a soft white glow.

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the skill: [Healing Arts] (from Bleach, basic healing kido of the Fourth Division).]