Naruto stared out at Konoha from his spot on top of the Hokage Monument, his mind completely blank as he felt an emptiness he had not felt since Haku's death engulf him. It had been about four days since the battle for Konoha had ended, and the council had taken stock of the situation and all the reports on how much damage and casualties Konoha had suffered. And it had been three days since word spread that the Sandaime was dead, having been killed by Orochimaru during the invasion. One day since the funeral for Sarutobi had occurred, and three days since Naruto had been able to get any sleep.
Like the time when Haku had died, the blond had been unable to get a moment's rest, since whenever he had, even if only for a few moments, the images of those he had lost replayed in his mind. Only now they were images of both Haku and Sarutobi, letting him know just how badly he failed. The thoughts of if only, played in his mind. If only he had been stronger, if only he had been there, if only he had been able to kill Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, then none of this would have happened. He knew that such thoughts were pointless, that these kinds of thoughts would not, could not, change the past. Yet it was these thoughts that seemed to be the only ones that had been running through his head for the past three days.
Thoughts on his failure brought him to thoughts on just how wrong Sarutobi's death felt. He may have always joked about the man being old, and needing to give him the Hokage titled before he died, but a part of Naruto had never really thought the old man would die. Sarutobi had been around since almost the beginning of the village's founding. He had seen all three of the wars, was the Hokage for two of them, and had ruled Konoha through its most turbulent times, even taking the title back after the Yondaime died to seal the Kyuubi. To Naruto, the Sandaime had always seemed eternal, a figure that would never die.
Yet he had, the man who had the longest reign of any Hokage, and in Naruto's opinion, one of the most successful, was gone. He would never hear the old man speak of the past, or berate him for some prank, offer him a piece of advice, help him through any of the hardships he faced. He would never get to see the old man's pride as he gave him the Hokage hat and title. There were a lot of things he would never get to do with the old man again.
It was odd, the pain he had felt was just as intense as it had been when Haku died, and so was the feeling of failure. And yet, for some reason, Naruto could not find it in himself to cry like he had when Haku had died, even when he had been at the Sandaime's funeral he could not cry.
Flashback…
Naruto watched with a sense of detachment as Sarutobi's two teammates spoke on behalf of their now dead comrade. He couldn't really hear the words that were being spoken, it was like there was an odd buzz in his ear that kept him from hearing anything, and it had been like that since he had heard of the Sandaime's death.
He looked over to his left and saw Konohamaru crying his eyes out, with Iruka placing a protective arm around the young Sarutobi. He could see the boy's lips moving, but like with the speeches, his mind could not pick up what was being said. As he continued to let his eyes travel, he found them coming to a stop right next to the figure on his right. Tenten was holding onto his arm, clutching it in between hers and had her head leaning on his shoulder.
He could see the tears in her eyes, and a part of him wondered if she had been close the old Hokage. Probably not, He shook his head. I spent a lot of time with jiji and never saw her with him, Still, that did not make her sorrow any less, he knew. The Sandaime had been a constant of the village for a long time, nearly seventy years or so, and Naruto knew that he was friends with Kaito, having seen the Sandaime in the shop on occasion when he had gone in.
A little while after the speech, people began to walk up to Sarutobi's coffin and set a white rose on it, a tradition that had been passed down in Konoha when grieving for the dead, it was supposed to be a symbol of rebirth, or something like that.
As the people continued moving and passing their flowers onto the coffin it began to rain. Naruto looked up at the sky and let the drops fall down onto his face, closing his eyes for a moment. He was glad the rain had come, because for some reason, no matter how hard he tried, his eyes could not work up the ability to produce tears. At least this way, he could pretend that the water now on his face were his tears.
When it was his turn Naruto gently pulled himself from Tenten's grip and made his way over to the coffin. He found himself staring at the picture of Sarutobi, one taken in his earlier years, showing a head of full spiky brown hair much like Konohamaru's and a wrinkle-free face. Naruto could easily recognize that he was in the Hokage office, having visited there as many times as he had in his life time Naruto could recognize every inch of that office.
A part of him wanted to say something, to have one last conversation with the man who had given him so much. A place to call home, taking him out to ramen, offering him advice, a shoulder to cry on, giving him encouragement when he had failed at something, or even a break from the glares he received in the village by offering him sanctuary in his office.
Naruto's mind replayed some of the times he had spent with the elderly Hokage. Like when he had done his first prank of putting itching powder in the entire collection of a clothing store's stock. Rather than be angry the old man had laughed almost as soon as the ANBU left, and had asked him how he had managed to pull it off. Or the many times when Naruto would come visit the man in his office, and they would have tea and these odd little cookies that tasted really good. And more recently the aid Sarutobi had offered him, informing him of the uses of the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu, of helping him cope with learning he had a demon sealed inside of him, of the time when Naruto had been lost due to an amalgamation of using said demon's youki, killing nearly a hundred bandits in less than an hour and losing someone he was honestly positive he had wanted to spend his life with.
Sarutobi had done so many things for Naruto, and it was only now he realized that he had never done anything to thank the man for all he had given him. Naruto felt that the least he could do now was offer his thanks for helping him as much as the elderly Hokage had.
Yet when he opened his mouth, no words came out, and Naruto found that in the end, all he could do was place the flower on Sarutobi's coffin and walk back to where he was standing.
.
.
.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/shihao123🎉