Chapter 85: Lord Danzo's Memorial Service
With the Sound ninjas defeated and the Sand ninjas fleeing, Konoha had achieved victory.
However, those who fought within the village, even in victory, hadn't gained any advantage. Instead, they suffered considerable casualties and damage to many buildings.
But the greatest loss was their supreme leader, the Third Hokage, who had fallen in battle.
Therefore, even in victory, Konoha's morale plummeted to its lowest point.
The entire village was shrouded in an atmosphere of oppression and sorrow.
Konohamaru, the grandson of the Hokage, was already weeping uncontrollably.
Naruto Uzumaki was also in a daze, tears streaming down his face.
The first person to acknowledge him, and also the Third Grandpa who loved him the most, was gone!
However, the most heavy-hearted at the moment were the elders of Konoha.
"Danzo is also dead. Only one survivor remains from the entire Root organization."
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane looked at Jiraiya, who was no longer joking but had a serious expression. The latter said in a deep voice, "According to the sole survivor's description, only one person and a group of puppets wiped out the Root organization. That person wore the Akatsuki uniform, had purple ripple eyes, and could use repulsive and attractive forces infinitely."
"He first killed Danzo, wiped out the Root organization, then infiltrated the Hokage Building to capture Tenzō and steal the Scroll of Seals and some other scrolls."
"This person can fly and turn invisible. His repulsive force can destroy everything, leaving no scent behind."
"However, the master of those puppets can be confirmed to be Sasori of the Red Sand, who destroyed a small country in the past. His puppet technique has reached a level where he can control them freely without chakra threads."
"He took the opportunity to steal a large number of corpses, likely for making puppets."
After Koharu Utatane finished speaking, Homura Mitokado also spoke, blaming, "Jiraiya, you took in disciples outside all those years, and one of them even possessed the Sage's Eyes, yet you didn't report it or bring him back. This led to him joining Akatsuki and launching the Konoha Crush with Orochimaru, indirectly causing the deaths of Hiruzen and Danzo. You need to take responsibility for this."
"Hey, hey... don't throw all the dirty water on me."
Jiraiya, who had been looking serious and seemingly deep in thought, suddenly had black lines all over his forehead. "I still don't know if that guy is Yahiko. According to the survivor's description, his body was covered in black piercings. He might also be a puppet, just resembling my former disciple."
"Besides, the Sand Village was invited by the old man. Who knew Orochimaru would disguise himself as the Fourth Kazekage and cooperate with Akatsuki, which he had joined before."
"Now that things have already happened, instead of shirking responsibility, you should quickly choose a new Hokage."
At this point, Jiraiya suddenly became gloating again. "That Danzo guy was really unlucky. The old man died, and he, as a former Hokage candidate, originally had hope of becoming Hokage again, but unexpectedly, he left with the old man. What a pity."
"Shut up, Jiraiya."
Koharu Utatane scolded, her forehead full of black lines, then proposed, "This incident is inseparable from you. Since both Hiruzen and Danzo have sacrificed themselves, then you should take on the role of the Fifth Hokage."
"No way, I'm not interested in being Hokage." Jiraiya raised his hand to refuse without hesitation and gave his reasons, "According to my investigation, Akatsuki's target is actually the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki. This time, they invaded Konoha, prematurely revealing the Sage's Eyes' trump card, but didn't take the opportunity to take Naruto. Instead, they targeted the Scroll of Seals and the Root organization. This is too bizarre."
"If it were truly the Sage's Eyes, that survivor couldn't have lived. He must have been deliberately left alive by the opponent. According to the survivor's information, Danzo and that demigod from the Rain Village seemed to have plotted something, which led to him coming here today for revenge."
"Since it was just revenge, why did he say that Akatsuki's territory is in the Rain Village?"
Hearing this, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado's eyes suddenly flashed. "You mean to say, he did it on purpose?"
"Maybe, or maybe he really didn't notice that survivor." Jiraiya wasn't too sure, saying, "That's precisely why I need to continue investigating. This Akatsuki, which gathers a large number of S-rank missing-nin and even possibly possesses the Sage's Eyes, is far too dangerous."
"The task of investigation can be handed over to the Anbu," Koharu Utatane said in a deep voice. "Konoha cannot be without a Hokage. Apart from you, no one is suitable to be the Fifth."
"Who says?" Jiraiya smiled meaningfully, "Isn't there still one of the legendary Sannin?"
"You mean..."
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane both widened their eyes.
"Ah... that woman is more suitable than anyone else. After all... she is the princess of Konoha."
Jiraiya convinced the two elders.
...
The next day, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and muffled thunder rumbled.
Before long, a light rain began to fall.
The ninjas of Konoha all wore black long coats and pants today, holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, to attend the memorial service for the fallen ninjas.
Even many villagers spontaneously went.
On the tables filled with white chrysanthemums, a large number of memorial portraits were placed. Among them, two enlarged portraits were placed at the most conspicuous top.
The rain suddenly became heavier, as if the heavens were weeping for these heroes.
The atmosphere should have been sad and heavy, but after Izayoi offered his white chrysanthemums, looking at Danzo Shimura's memorial portrait placed alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi's, his darkness after death turned to light, he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Izayoi quickly suppressed this impulse, made a gesture of prayer with both hands, closed his eyes, and murmured, "Lord Danzo, may you rest in peace. I will make the Root organization great again!"
Immediately after, Izayoi kept his face tight and expressionless as he returned to the ranks.
Rainwater slid down his face, looking like it was mixed with tears.
Many ninjas had the same expression as Izayoi.
However, more people were crying softly, wailing loudly, or silently shedding tears...
Most of these people were the new generation and ordinary ninjas who had been baptized by the Will of Fire or hadn't yet experienced the darkness and seen the dirty side of the village.
After half an hour of rain, the memorial service finally ended.
At the same time, it also marked the official end of the era ruled by the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura.
Once the Fifth Hokage took office, Konoha would enter a new era.
In Orochimaru's words, the windmill of Konoha, which had been stopped for many years, was finally about to turn again.
The higher-ups and those from the Land of Fire would be very busy next.
Not only would they have to clean up the mess, but they would also have to search for Orochimaru and the Hidden Sound Village's whereabouts, deal with the relationship between the Land of Wind and the Hidden Sand Village. There would definitely be a lot of negotiations.
After all, the One-Tail Jinchuriki of the Sand Village, along with the Kazekage's children and a considerable number of Sand ninjas, had been sealed and imprisoned.
Jinchuriki were strategic weapons, and the Sand ninjas who participated in the Konoha Crush were all elite ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village.
In any case, the Sand Village couldn't give up on them.
Both Konoha and the Sand Village, having lost their 'Five Kage', couldn't afford the cost of war. Otherwise, their exposed strength could trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War at any time.
So they could only finalize the 'price' through negotiation.
Izayoi wasn't interested in such political events.
He didn't even have time to sort out the gains from the Konoha Crush.
After the rain stopped, he began to look for a new home location. Since his old home was destroyed, Izayoi didn't plan to rebuild it.
He planned to buy land and build a big house.
With the threat of Lord Danzo gone and himself becoming Konoha's rising star, Izayoi wasn't afraid of anyone questioning the source of his wealth.
Without evidence, no one dared to provoke a powerful ace-level warrior.
Moreover, Izayoi had the Hyuga sisters as a cover.
"Onii-chan, our house is gone. Where are you planning to live next?"
The Hyuga sisters followed beside Izayoi. Hanabi spoke, "The hotel is too small and the price is so expensive. Why don't you move into Hanabi's house?"
"Yes, Izayoi-kun, why don't you move into my house? I'll convince Father," Hinata softly echoed.
Hearing this, Izayoi was somewhat tempted.
But thinking about having to see Hiashi Hyuga's zombie-like face every day and constantly being subjected to the Hyuga clan's 'Byakugan' treatment, Izayoi suddenly felt a chill down his spine, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
He shook his head and teased Hinata, "No need, it's not the time for a formal visit yet."
Hinata, knowing what he meant, immediately blushed and didn't insist anymore.
Besides, for a boy to suddenly move into a girl's house, especially when she was a daughter of a wealthy clan, even if he was a promising rising star, he would face huge criticism.
Although Izayoi often teased her about wanting to take care of him, Hinata knew that Izayoi was actually proud and definitely didn't want to face such gazes.
"Damn Sand and Sound ninjas, my hot spring inn was just built! I only dug two wells, and it was destroyed before it even opened. I invested in this with a loan, I'm finished now!"
Just then, a cry of despair entered the ears of the three of them.
Following the direction of the sound, they saw a middle-aged man in a black suit, obviously having come from out of town in the past two days, kneeling in front of a pile of rubble, wailing like a child.
Hearing his words, Izayoi's eyes lit up.
Immediately, under the surprised gazes of the passersby, Izayoi's figure floated into the air and flew above the street, surveying the ruins in front of the middle-aged man, measuring the area of the hot spring inn that hadn't yet opened.
After a while, a hint of joy appeared on Izayoi's face.
Floating down from the air to the middle-aged man's front, Izayoi looked at the stunned man and smiled, "Interested in doing some business? I'm very interested in your hot spring inn."
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Looking at this obviously extraordinary young man, the middle-aged man nodded repeatedly, as if grasping at a life-saving straw.
"Hinata, go to Ino's flower shop and ask Ino for a favor, tell her to..."
Izayoi leaned close to Hinata's ear and whispered his instructions.
Hinata listened quietly, then nodded seriously, "I understand, Izayoi-kun."
After Hinata used the Body Flicker Technique to leave, Izayoi smiled at the middle-aged man, "Let's go to the Hokage Building."
Konoha was the military base of the Land of Fire, and its relationship with the Land of Fire was a one-country-one-village system.
To transfer land ownership, the village's consent and witness were required.
Izayoi didn't know the price of this land, but he didn't want to be taken advantage of, so he planned to ask a member of the Yamanaka clan for help to avoid being scammed by this middle-aged man.
After all, no merchant is honest, and every world is no exception.
"No problem." The middle-aged man agreed very readily, obviously wanting to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible.
Even if his property was damaged, the village would provide some compensation, but it would take a lot of time to repair and reopen.
During this time, the compounding interest would definitely far exceed the village's compensation.
Now that someone was willing to take over, the middle-aged man couldn't ask for more.
By the time the three of them arrived at the Hokage Building, Hinata had also quickly arrived.
Beside her was Ino Yamanaka.
"Izayoi, not bad! You actually want to buy a hot spring inn. When did you become so rich?" Ino Yamanaka teased.
"Borrowed it, I'll have to pay it back later," Izayoi glanced at Hinata, creating a false impression for Ino Yamanaka.
"I really envy your relationship. I wonder when I can be like this with Sasuke-kun," Ino Yamanaka wasn't surprised, just sighed slightly.
Hinata smiled shyly and didn't discourage Ino Yamanaka.
Based on her observations, Sasuke Uchiha had no interest in women at all.
If he weren't a boy, Hinata would even feel hostile towards him.
This guy was sometimes even more clingy than her and Hanabi.
After chatting for a few words, Ino Yamanaka said to the middle-aged man beside her, "Uncle Yusuke, please."
"It's just a small matter," Yusuke Yamanaka nodded with a smile.
Under the gaze of people wearing green vests with obvious identities and two Byakugan-wielding girls, the middle-aged man, knowing that these people were all important figures, didn't dare to cheat at all. He quickly transferred the ownership of the hot spring inn's land to Izayoi for the price of 66,660,000 ryo.
The land was definitely not worth this price, and Izayoi also had to bear part of the middle-aged man's losses.
After signing the contract and obtaining the new land deed from the village, Izayoi happily wanted to treat Ino Yamanaka and Yusuke Yamanaka to a meal.
The latter chose to refuse, but the former readily agreed.
The weather was relatively cool now, perfect for hot pot.
So the four of them went to a hot pot restaurant. While the three girls were ordering, Izayoi took out a map of Konoha and circled the location of the hot spring inn with a pen, then circled several nearby houses.
The area of the hot spring inn was decent, enough to build a house twice as big as his old one, but Izayoi was still not satisfied.
He wanted to build an even bigger new home with not only a hot spring but also a large courtyard and a big house.
So in the following days, Izayoi visited each household, successfully buying the land of those houses at prices they couldn't refuse.
Including the hot spring inn, Izayoi's total expenditure this time amounted to a full 280 million ryo.
After all, to buy things from the shrewd commoners of Konoha, it was impossible not to shed some blood.
After buying the land, Izayoi went to hire a professional team to help him measure the land area and then began drawing up design plans.
Once Izayoi was satisfied with the design plans and completely finalized them, construction could begin.
(End of this chapter)
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