"Chiro, Chiro wake up!" A woman with long straight black hair sat on the desert sand holding a young man with short red hair, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Don't sleep, wake up! You!"
Opposite them stood a white-haired man with spiky hair holding a long sword, his expression blank as he watched the scene...
This kind of scenario was something he had witnessed too many times since becoming a ninja.
Death...
Was the norm in war and the ninja world.
As a Konoha ninja, the sole purpose was to achieve victory. Even if their hands became stained with blood, they had to win. Only then could the village grow stronger and more prosperous, allowing their children to live in...
A stable, harmonious, and happy village.
The reason you don't see darkness isn't because darkness doesn't exist in this world, but because someone has already done their utmost to shield you from it.
Therefore...
For the sake of the village, Hatake Sakumo coldly raised his family's ancestral short sword toward the woman sitting helplessly on the sand, her face covered in tears, eyes lost as she clung tightly to her husband.
Ninjas show no mercy.
"Chiro, please wake up!" The black-haired woman cried, her gaze empty as she held Chiro who remained motionless, saying, "Scorpion is waiting for us to return."
"Please wake up."
"We promised Scorpion we'd teach him how to make puppets."
"Chiro, I beg you, wake up."
"We'll quit being ninjas." The more she spoke, the more tears fell, murmuring, "We won't be ninjas anymore, so don't leave me."
"Wake up! Chiro, I..."
"If you won't wake..."
The woman's lips curved into a despairing smile as she tightly shut her eyes.
"Then let me join you."
If Chiro was gone, what meaning did her life have?
Only...
Scorpion...
I'm sorry.
Mom failed you...
"Sigh." Hatake Sakumo looked at the suicidal woman and sighed, gripping his short sword firmly.
Then...
"Slice—!"
Mercy had no place in the ninja world.
Even though this woman had already given up on living, as a ninja he still solemnly delivered his strike.
Hatake Sakumo sheathed his clean blade, untouched by a single drop of blood, coldly glancing at the couple lying on the desert sand before expressionlessly continuing forward.
The war...
Wasn't over yet.
...
"As expected..." Uzumaki Jun looked at Scorpion's parents lying before him and said helplessly, "I was too late."
That Zetsu, was he really so afraid of coming to Uzushiogakure?
He only sent a White Zetsu clone, and after speaking, it immediately turned into a tree without even returning...
Just because I made him do a bit more work?
Now he's too scared to come in person.
"Yin-Yang Holy Child?" Uzumaki Jun narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Seems he found an organization and got cocky."
Yin-Yang people have rotten bottoms!!
If he keeps acting up, I'll lead the Five Great Shinobi Villages to destroy that organization and contribute to world peace.
Besides...
I've always kept Zetsu's mother in my... no, I've always kept saving Zetsu's mother in mind. Is it too much to ask you to run some errands?
Not at all!!
Uzumaki Jun shook his head disappointedly.
Right now, saving Scorpion's parents is the priority. After all, they're Uzushiogakure's future chief mechanical engineers!
Whether Uzushiogakure can develop phantom tanks and Gundams in the future depends on this father-son duo.
"Not completely cold yet." Uzumaki Jun crouched beside Scorpion's parents and murmured, "Just no heartbeat." He then pulled out two injection vials from his system. "Not sure if the life potion will still work now?"
That Zetsu...
Gave the warning way too late!
Although the elders once tested it on frogs that had just died and the frogs revived, whether it works on humans...
Remains unclear.
"Hmm?" Uzumaki Jun narrowed his eyes at the red-haired young man, a slight smile forming. "It works!"
The heartbeat was faint, but definitely present.
Looks like I won't need to find another engineer.
As for whether they'll work for Uzushiogakure after being revived...
Please...
The Sky Ninja thought the same thing, but aren't they doing fine now?
So just seal their chakra and lock them up for a few years.
For now...
Take them to Uzushiogakure Hospital for emergency treatment.
Then come back to clean up the scene, since Scorpion's parents are officially dead now, and who else can take the blame...
But Hatake Sakumo?
...
Summer, Year 36 of Konoha's calendar.
A shocking incident rocked the ninja world. After assassinating Sunagakure's commander, Konoha's ANBU captain Hatake Sakumo committed unspeakable acts on the bodies of the commander and his wife.
Reportedly...
Their bodies can no longer be found!
They likely became one with the desert sands of the Land of Wind, scattered by the wind, performing a "You're the wind, I'm the sand" scene.
"Konoha!!" Chiyo's eyes burned red with fury as she roared, "Damn Konoha."
Her beloved son and daughter-in-law...
Died so tragically!!
"My child!" Chiyo tearfully grabbed Ebizō's collar. "Why send him to the battlefield? Why?"
"Scorpion is still just a child!!"
"What should I do now?" Tears streamed endlessly as Chiyo's gaze turned vacant. "What can I do?"
"Calm down, sister." Ebizō, equally enraged and grief-stricken by his nephew's death and missing body, took a deep breath to compose himself. After all, having remained single for so long, he'd treated Chiro as his own child. Now...
He'd never see him again.
"Right now, Scorpion is what matters." Ebizō consoled, "He's Chiro's only child, our grandson!"
"Yes, yes!" Chiyo snapped back to reality upon hearing this, panicking. "We must never let Scorpion know, we absolutely mustn't tell him."
"Hatake Sakumo..." At this thought, fresh tears fell as Chiyo's face twisted viciously. "I will have revenge, I swear it!"
"Damn Konoha, damn Hatake Sakumo."
"What does the Kazekage say?" Chiyo took a deep breath, bloodshot eyes fixed on Ebizō. "What will Sunagakure do?"
"The Kazekage..." Ebizō hesitated before replying, "The war is ending."
"Just as you predicted, Suna can't defeat Konoha. Too many ninjas have sacrificed themselves, so the Kazekage wants to..."
He didn't know how to continue.
The Kazekage was truly...
But...
Sigh.
The Kazekage wasn't wrong. With the war entering its final stages and the village's heavy losses, coupled with anti-war sentiments, ending the conflict was indeed the right choice.
It was the best option for the village now.
"..."
Hearing this, Chiyo froze, then shut her eyes tightly as tears rolled down.
She understood ending the war was best for Suna, but as a mother, as a grandmother, she...
Couldn't accept it!
That bastard Hatake Sakumo didn't even leave her son and daughter-in-law's bodies intact. Expecting her to stand by and do nothing, she...
Couldn't do it!
She wanted to be selfish, just this once.
"Tell the Kazekage I'm going to the Konoha front." Chiyo opened her eyes, her voice eerily calm. "Once the war ends, I'll resign as advisor and retire to fish in the back village."
She knew what the Kazekage wanted, what he aimed for, but now...
She no longer cared.
"Sister..." Ebizō opened his mouth to speak, then sighed. "If that's the case..."
"I'll go with you."
"Fishing..."
"Sounds good too. After working so many years, I'm tired."
Ebizō managed a smile.
"After resigning..."
"We can spend more time with Scorpion."
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