Danzo noticed the Third's displeasure, but his expression barely changed. "Both ANBU and Root could recruit more people. Perhaps those retired ninja from the ninja clans could come out and put their talents to use..."
"Root cannot expand its ranks..."
The Third rejected the first half of Danzo's suggestion, but the latter half left him deep in thought.
The village's current shortage of personnel was only relative. If a real crisis arose, the retired ninja in the village and the unregistered ninja within the ninja clans could all be called into service.
But had things truly reached that point?
The Third looked around, his gaze resting on each person as he sought an answer, but he found none.
Apart from him, no one in the village could shoulder that burden now.
While at home, Zou Hyuga received an invitation. It was black, signifying a funeral.
After opening it, Zou Hyuga could not help frowning. The deceased were the ANBU Commander and Deputy Commander, both of whom could be considered part of the village's senior leadership.
Zou Hyuga had barely known them, but their child, Konohamaru, had left a deep impression on him. After all, he was a child named after Konoha itself, much as Sasuke was the name of the Third's father.
Though he deeply disapproved of the Sarutobi Clan's nepotism, he still left home to attend the funeral and find out why they had died so suddenly.
He met Oto on the street. Her expression was sorrowful; apparently, she had received an invitation too.
Death was undoubtedly commonplace for ninja, but losing someone they knew still inevitably brought grief.
They walked together, Zou resting a hand on Oto's shoulder, and arrived at the village's Heroes' Cemetery.
This was the final resting place of the village's ninja. Beneath each