The daylight dimmed, and the sun slid wearily down the mountainside. Night was approaching.
Washed by last night's downpour and baked by today's blazing sun, Konoha's air felt like a blanket carefully cleaned and fluffed in the sunshine, fresh and cool, wonderfully comfortable against the skin.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Xihuo stood at Konoha's highest point. Beside them, the Eight-Tails held a jar and caught fireflies.
Konoha guards stood far in the distance. Instructed not to disturb the two men's conversation, they held their weapons and stood ramrod straight.
Xihuo silently looked down over Konoha. Seeing the village that had grown from nothing into such a bustling place, he could not help feeling a little wistful.
So much time has passed... Of the four who founded the village back then, not one remains.
He had treated the two Uchiha elders as early-game quest NPCs and simply killed them without a shred of mercy. He had also killed Hashirama Senju under the identity of [Black Zetsu] to earn points.
Only Tobirama Senju had been someone he intended to keep until the end, but a few unexpected developments had ultimately led to his death as well.
Madara Uchiha had died fighting Black Zetsu to protect Konoha. Uchiha Izuna had fallen to a poisonous scheme laid by an old enemy from the Warring States era while protecting the Ninja Academy's children. Hashirama Senju had sacrificed himself in a direct confrontation with Black Zetsu...
Watanabe Ichiro had done his best to give them righteous endings worthy of their reputations. Looking back now, however, his methods had still been far too crude and heavy-handed. He had acted hastily to earn points, without putting more thought into planning things properly.
Well, they would all eventually return to life, but he still felt he had let them down.