Funeral

Compared to chasing those three people, Oguri Hayashi had more important matters to attend to.

That would be Yamada's funeral.

Yamada was that deceased High Ninja, the old farmer.

When Oguri Hayashi and the others returned to Takigakure, he was already placed on the pyre.

The people here weren't particularly skilled at combat, but when it came to chopping wood and felling trees, their efficiency was far beyond that of ordinary ninjas.

The villagers had already gathered, over two hundred people assembled in the open space outside the village, gazing at the pyre in the clearing, each lost in their own thoughts.

Some of them were villagers who had lived here all along, while others were refugees who had moved here intermittently over the past three years.

How much loyalty did they truly have to this village? Were they willing to die for it?

Now that the first person had died, no one understood what was going through their minds.

If Oguri Hayashi and Tsunade were to pursue those Reincarnators, the village would likely...

"Today, five ninjas impersonating Konoha entered our village and were discovered by Yamada," Oguri Hayashi said, standing on the pyre with Yamada beneath his feet.

"They might have heard some news, perhaps they are after our village's secret techniques, or our Seven-Tails, or perhaps Tsunade, or maybe they are after me."

"Or perhaps they are after one of you," Oguri Hayashi swept his gaze across them, his eyes sharp and piercing, compelling everyone to look at him.

"They are strong. Yamada, who had farmed for twenty years, was no match for them. Before we could arrive, Yamada was killed by them."

"Will Yamada's death make us yield?" Oguri Hayashi's voice was calm yet powerful. "Will they leave after achieving their goals?"

"They took Yamada's life today, tomorrow they will take our secret techniques, and the day after, they will take our land and occupy our village."

"Haven't we lived comfortably these past three years? No, we've lived as if we were in paradise. We all work hard together here, and without needing much money, we live better than the nobles outside."

"Are you going to hand over everything you have?"

People are forgetful.

Most of them had forgotten what Takigakure was like three years ago, but they knew what the world outside Takigakure was like.

The war had only stopped three years ago, and productivity could not have recovered to pre-Second Shinobi World War levels. The entire ninja world was barren. The outside world was a nightmare for the poor. Now that they had fields to farm, homes, and places to live, they were already happy.

Outside, they had also seen merchants who came to the village and heard them describe the devastation outside. Were they really going to hand over all of this?

"Yamada's death is unacceptable!"

"He died protecting this village! He died for you! Today it wasn't Yamada, perhaps tomorrow it will be Kimura, or Oda, or Fugken."

"You might die protecting this village in the future, but remember, your sons and grandsons will continue to live peacefully in this village, just like Yamada's son Taro and his grandson Koichi. Yamada's death, your deaths, will not be in vain!"

His words caused the forty-something Yamada Taro, his wife, and his son Yamada Koichi to sob quietly.

Taro possessed the chakra of a Chunin, while the other two had the chakra of Genin. However, they had farmed for generations and practiced the Lightning Release Body Cultivation Technique. Apart from daily morning exercises and martial arts, they did not know how to fight.

Yamada, their father and grandfather, was the same. Combat was not something they should have initiated.

But Yamada had forgotten Oguri Hayashi's words and attacked the enemy he couldn't defeat alone. By the time Oguri Hayashi arrived, it was already too late.

However, Oguri Hayashi's words were not wrong. The villagers' faces were solemn.

Yamada Taro and Yamada Koichi were the continuation of Yamada's bloodline, and also the continuation of Yamada's soul. Japanese people believe in spirits, and they believe even more that after dying in battle, they will become spirits to protect their descendants.

To the Japanese, death is not terrifying; the most important thing is to be able to continue one's lineage.

"Light the fire, cremation!" Oguri Hayashi raised his hand and said.

Although Konoha always spoke of the "Will of Fire," the appearance of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage through Impure World Reincarnation clearly showed others that cremation had never been seriously implemented.

Oguri Hayashi could not possibly hand over the bodies of these High Ninjas to Obito and Madara as materials for the next Shinobi World War.

Cremation was a must. This was something everyone was informed of upon entering the village, and something everyone had agreed to.

Four High Ninjas on the side formed Fire Release, and four Great Fireball Techniques instantly turned the firewood into seven-hundred-degree blazing fireballs, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

"Tsunade and I will go after those invaders shortly. I will leave a Shadow Clone here. Starting today, ninja training will commence every afternoon. They must be able to protect themselves," he said to the few original Takigakure ninjas beside him.

They nodded. Oguri Hayashi left a Shadow Clone here to relay news from the village to him at any time. In the next moment, he had already vanished from the village and appeared beside Tsunade.

"Are you done?" Tsunade glanced at him sideways. She wasn't running quickly but was following the other party's footprints on the ground. She had deliberately slowed her pace, making simple tracking a time-consuming and laborious task.

"That was fast. In our Konoha, such a ceremony takes quite some time." Of course, Konoha also had memorial monuments and the village leader's speech to help rally the people, but Konoha was a Great Ninja Village, and the Hokage might even spend a whole day on such matters.

Oguri Hayashi chuckled. "After all, it's just a small ninja village."

He didn't bring up the village matters anymore, and Tsunade didn't ask further. No matter how much she witnessed Oguri Hayashi build Takigakure with her own eyes, in the end, she was still an outsider.

Was she ultimately an outsider?

The thought flashed through Tsunade's mind and was gone. Oguri Hayashi, on the other hand, was more concerned about the Reincarnators than Tsunade's inner thoughts. "Are those three still heading towards Konoha?"

"Yes, fleeing in panic, scared out of their wits," Tsunade sneered. They had come confidently after learning of her Hemophobia, but upon seeing her recovered, they had fled in disarray. They were absolute cowards, not worthy of being opponents, or rather, not even worthy of being called ninjas.

Even ninjas would not abandon their mission when facing an enemy they could not defeat. However, Tsunade had guessed their identity correctly.

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