When Snow Falls and Spiritual Roots Awaken

The sky over the Land of Waves had darkened at some point.

Though it was clearly summer, an untimely chill had seeped into the air.

On a sunlit hillside near the bridge, two newly raised earthen graves stood silently, overlooking the blue sea.

They were Zabuza and Haku's graves.

There were no ornate tombstones, only Zabuza's shattered Kubikiribōchō, planted deep in the soil as a grave marker.

"Haku... was a child born in Snow Village."

Naruto stood before the graves, his voice low. Looking at the two mounds pressed close together, his eyes were still red. "He said it snowed there often."

As though responding to Naruto's words—or perhaps as the land's final elegy for that pure young man—

A crystal-clear snowflake slowly drifted down from the gloomy sky.

Then came a second, and a third...

In the blink of an eye, goose-feather snow began to fall in flurries, covering this land that had just endured blood and fire in a layer of white.

"It's snowing..." Sakura held out her hand and caught a snowflake, watching in surprise as it melted in her palm. "At this time of year?"

"Maybe this is him crying too," Kakashi said softly, his gaze complicated as he watched the snow filling the sky.

This was no natural weather phenomenon.

Standing at the back of the crowd, Ye Tian keenly sensed the residual Chakra fluctuations within the snowflakes with his Divine Sense.

It was the Ice Release Chakra Haku had left behind in the air before his death, triggering a small-scale abnormal weather event through some lingering obsession.

"Even after death, the obsession in one's soul can still stir the world's Spiritual Energy into resonance... Is this what they call the Dao?"

Ye Tian was not immersed in grief like the others. As a Cultivator, he had long grown accustomed to death. Yet this natural phenomenon born of emotion deeply moved him.

"Still, sentiment is sentiment. I can't pass up the benefits I'm supposed to collect."

While everyone was silently mourning and weeping before the graves, Ye Tian's gaze quietly fell beside the Kubikiribōchō serving as a tombstone.

During the earlier battle, Kakashi's Lightning Cutter had chipped off a corner of the Kubikiribōchō, leaving several fingernail-sized fragments scattered in the dirt.

Those were good things.

The Kubikiribōchō possessed the special ability to regenerate through blood absorption, which meant the metal used to forge it contained extremely rare Memory Metal and Bloodthirsty Ore.

"In the cultivation world, materials like these are top-tier supplementary materials for refining Blood-Refined Artifacts!"

Ye Tian pretended to be exhausted, let his body sway, and conveniently dropped to his knees. One hand "accidentally" groped around in the grass.

The fragments felt icy cold, carrying a faint scent of blood.

Several inconspicuous Broken Blade fragments were silently slipped into the Storage Bag he specifically used to carry "junk."

[System Notification: Obtained "Kubikiribōchō Fragments (Trace Amount)," containing the "Bloodthirsty Regeneration" trait.]

[Suggested Use: Can be used to refine a "Bloodthirsty Flying Sword" or strengthen a bonded artifact, enhancing the artifact's self-repair ability.]

"Hehe, this is called never leaving empty-handed... Ahem, this is called making the best use of everything."

Ye Tian was delighted. This trip to the Land of Waves had been a huge profit! Not only had he taken advantage of the Nine-Tails to break through his realm, he had also obtained such precious forging materials—and even preserved a corpse with a Supreme Ice Spirit Root. Though it was still buried underground for now, that was not grave robbing preparation for the future. It was a long-term investment.

After putting away the goods, Ye Tian slowly rose to his feet and brushed the mud from his knees.

He stretched out his hand. Rather than use a Spiritual Power shield, he allowed a snowflake to land on his fingertip.

A cold sensation spread through him.

In that instant, he seemed to hear the pure, sorrowful whisper of a young man.

Not for slaughter, but for protection.

"Water has no fixed shape; when turned to ice, it becomes unyielding. The softest water becomes strong because of emotion."

Ye Tian watched the snowflake lingering on his fingertip, unwilling to melt, when a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

All this time, although he cultivated a fire-element technique, the five elements generated and restrained one another. Yet his understanding of water had remained at the superficial level of "nourishing all things" or "raging waves."

But now, seeing Haku turn fragile Water Release into an indestructible Ice Shield to protect Zabuza, even causing snow to fill the heavens—

He suddenly gained a trace of insight into the transformation between "water" and "ice."

"So-called spells are not merely the accumulation of Spiritual Power. They are also projections of one's state of mind."

Ye Tian closed his eyes, and the Spiritual Power within him began circulating unconsciously.

His realm, which had been somewhat unstable after forcibly breaking through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, rapidly stabilized beneath the cleansing force of this insight. Even the sensation of a bottleneck that had only just been broken showed signs of loosening once more!

The gate to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer was slowly opening before him!

"Is this what they call enlightenment?"

Ye Tian opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. Though that fleeting insight had not allowed him to break through directly, it had laid an incomparably solid foundation for his future cultivation.

With just one more opportunity, breaking through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer would be within reach!

"Ye Tian, we're leaving."

At that moment, Kakashi's voice interrupted his thoughts.

The funeral was over.

Everyone gathered themselves and prepared to leave this place filled with memories.

At the end of the bridge, Tazuna had brought the village's men, women, young, and old to see them off.

"Thank you so much!" Tazuna wept as he gripped Kakashi's hand, unwilling to let go for a long time. "Without you, this country would have been finished. We would have been finished too!"

Inari wiped away his tears as well, his gaze becoming firm. "Big brother, I'll become as strong as you!"

Naruto scratched his head and flashed his signature silly grin. "Hehe, of course! Because I'm the man who'll become Hokage!"

"By the way, this bridge still doesn't have a name." Tazuna looked at the bridge connecting the Land of Waves to hope and suddenly spoke up. "I want to name it after the hero who changed our fate."

Everyone looked at Tazuna.

"It will be called Naruto Bridge!" Tazuna announced loudly.

"Huh? You're naming it after me?" Naruto pointed at himself, his face full of surprise. "Really?"

"Of course! This bridge is a symbol of hope, and you brought us hope!"

Watching this warm and touching scene, Ye Tian, standing nearby, really could not resist making his presence known.

"Cough, cough..."

He weakly raised one hand. "Um... I think 'Ye Tian Wellness Bridge' would be nice too... After all, I contributed quite a bit... And the name sounds very auspicious, like living to a hundred and all that..."

This was a chance to leave his name in history. Maybe he could even gather a wave of faith power.

However—

The sea breeze blew past, carrying several fallen leaves.

No one paid him any attention.

Everyone gathered around Naruto, cheering excitedly. Even Kakashi nodded in praise of the name.

Ye Tian: "..."

Fine. I get it. I'm invisible.

But he was not angry. Instead, as he looked at the stone monument that would soon bear the words "Naruto Bridge," the corner of his mouth curled into an imperceptible smile.

"Naruto Bridge... Not bad."

After all, it was because of this bridge, because of this name, that the gears of this world's fate truly began to turn.

And Ye Tian, as an outsider Cultivator, only needed to quietly hide in the shadows, watch those gears turn, and then—

Stuff every fallen part into his own pocket.

"Let's go. Back to Konoha."

Leaning on his cane, Ye Tian turned and followed the group.

The days ahead held even more interesting things in store for him.

For example... the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.

It was a grand stage where geniuses gathered and monsters ran wild.

It was also the hunting ground where Ye Tian would truly begin to reveal the terrifying power of a Cultivator in this world!

"That little snake Orochimaru... He should be coming too, right?"

Ye Tian licked his lips, a greedy gleam flashing through his eyes.

That guy had quite a few good things in his hands.