The day after Hidan met his end in the volcano was the Yukage's funeral.
Although the old Yukage had been quite advanced in years, he was unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had become a Kage at a young age.
As mentioned before, Yugakure's Kage had to be someone of great standing who was loved by the villagers.
As a result, every Yukage shared one trait: they were all rather old.
The Yukage killed by Hidan had been Yugakure's third.
Yūto had not wanted to attend the funeral, but Yugakure's staff had insisted on inviting him.
They said that if the person who had avenged the Yukage did not attend, the funeral could not proceed.
The funeral was modest, but many came to see him off. Nearly every villager in Yugakure attended to bid farewell to their Kage, except those who could not move.
Children too young to understand were held in their mothers' or fathers' arms, their still-developing minds unable to comprehend their loved ones' tears.
The funeral took place in Yugakure's central square.
Before the morning mist had fully dispersed, the villagers had already formed a long line of their own accord, each holding water scooped from their own hot spring.
This was a custom unique to the Land of Hot Water, symbolizing the return of the deceased's soul to the hot springs deep within the earth.
Yūto stood at the very front of the crowd, watching as the Yukage's body was laid on a platform built from hot spring stones.
The gruesome, bloody hole in the old man's chest had been covered with white chrysanthemums, and his face, its wrinkles relaxed, looked as though he had merely fallen into a long sleep.
The sight of the Yukage reminded Yūto of the Elder. Both had died saving someone else.
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