"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 224: The Funeral
...
The Susanoo giant wielded its massive chakra blade, nearly as tall as itself. Raising the exaggerated weapon from below in a sweeping arc, it carved a tremendous, kilometers-long straight trench across the ground before finally striking the iron giant's right arm.
The iron giant's arm was severed instantly and hurled away, exhibiting a "vaporization" effect as it separated—lacking sufficient mass, it could only dissipate rather than crash down with any substantial impact.
Fortunately, Yūshin compensated for this shortcoming. Treating the chakra greatsword as a disposable weapon, he swung it like a hammer throw, executing the slash while simultaneously hurling it skyward.
The giant blade spun toward the heavens as if it had struck something incredibly solid. Though the target was cleaved through, the immense resistance altered its trajectory.
The sword spiraled upward beyond the limits of sight, then, bound by gravity's pull, began its descent back to earth.
BOOM!
The blade plunged diagonally into a small mountain, its entire edge instantly buried in the ground.
The mountain collapsed like a mud clod slammed against the earth, immediately caving inward. The surrounding soil rippled outward in concentric waves, like the surface of a lake struck by a massive stone.
The day's weather had been overcast, but the ascending blade pierced and churned the cloud layer. When it crashed down, thunder roared as torrential rain poured forth.
Yet through the hole pierced by the sword, a single ray of brilliant sunlight streamed down upon the earth.
All this lent the battle an almost divine quality—the only flaw being that the "spotlight" was slightly off-center, missing the battlefield's heart.
The Sunagakure vanguard ninja stared intently at the giant's movements. As the ground's "ripples" spread toward them, they felt like they were riding wave crests, rising and falling.
Not one person spoke—they simply didn't know how to form words. More precisely, their entire worldview had been thoroughly scrambled.
Ninja... shouldn't be like this.
Ninjutsu... definitely shouldn't be like this.
The iron giant swung its left fist toward Susanoo. Yūshin controlled Susanoo to retreat and dodge—he couldn't avoid it, or Retto would be exposed.
What am I even doing? Yūshin asked himself, feeling the entire situation was too absurd.
Chakra-formed weapons had limited existence time, right? After all, chakra eventually dissipates...
With this thought, Yūshin controlled Susanoo to retreat while somehow producing a massive red bow.
People ultimately must push themselves. Previously, Yūshin had struggled with how to simultaneously use Byakugan and Sharingan power, but actually this question was easily answered—like asking Kakashi how to simultaneously look left and right.
This red weapon was condensed under Byakugan power, meaning Yūshin was currently using both abilities simultaneously... His right eye was Mangekyō Sharingan, while his left eye's three tomoe faded, replaced by Byakugan appearance.
Damn it, one of each should work, right?
This demonstrated that while Yūshin was ruthless toward enemies, he was unquestionably devoted to friends... He forced himself to use both powers merely to make this performance more spectacular.
Susanoo's left arm held the bow, right arm drew the string. Five arrows—ice and wood—immediately condensed into being. Then, drawing the bow to full moon, five physically substantial arrows shot forth instantly.
The iron giant's legs shattered under the arrow storm, the five giant arrows skimming the ground, their sonic waves continuing to carve trenches in the earth.
The giant arrows swept across the plain, piercing the atmosphere, instantly stabbing into the vast desert.
Ice arrows struck sand dunes, blasting massive amounts of sand skyward while blooming like lotus flowers.
Wood arrows hit the rocky wasteland, taking root and instantly transforming into trees of life—one end plunging deep underground, the other surging toward the clouds, their vigorous vitality instantly dyeing the surrounding environment green.
The thousand-plus Sunagakure army led by the Second Kazekage, while advancing eastward, witnessed the desert events firsthand, each one stunned speechless.
"What... is that thing?"
Fortunately, they weren't directly hit—everything they experienced was merely the aftershock of Yūshin's attack.
Unfortunately, they still had to advance to the battlefield.
"Whatever it is, it came from the east..."
East to west—Konoha striking Sunagakure.
The Second Kazekage immediately harbored ominous thoughts. He'd seen the First Hokage and heard of his abilities, but had never witnessed the First Hokage personally act... In short, he was merely another frog at the bottom of a well.
"Notify Chiyo and subsequent forces to temporarily halt operations."
"We continue advancing—we must confirm what's happening ahead... Remain vigilant, spread out all reconnaissance ninja."
The Second Kazekage's orders were standard and conventional, yet when facing the "unconventional" with conventional responses was itself an error.
Sunagakure's main force accelerated their movement. After an hour's sprint, they could finally observe the battlefield's central situation.
"What is that, Uchiha?"
The Second Kazekage had heard of Susanoo, leading to this instinctive judgment, but immediately he shook his head... The entity ahead seemed similar yet different compared to Uchiha power.
That chakra was truly heart-stopping.
Here, Yūshin had accompanied Retto in an hour-long performance, sufficient to establish his legendary reputation... This wasn't what Retto needed—he preferred Yūshin to cut him down like slicing vegetables.
However, he couldn't refuse such kindness. The dying care most about posthumous reputation, right? Since it wouldn't interfere with his main purpose, leaving behind a legendary final battle—what was wrong with that?
But by now, he could no longer endure.
"Curtain time has arrived."
Seeing Retto was utterly exhausted, Yūshin hesitated no longer. Susanoo's chest accumulated powerful Lightning Release, and the next moment, a giant lightning beam engulfed Retto...
Soil and even bedrock were vaporized by intense lightning, leaving a massive crater in the ground.
Of course, this was merely the final spotlight.
Susanoo extended its hand, catching Retto's remains.
Speaking of lifelong character and qualities, both Yūshin and Retto certainly couldn't be associated with "gentlemen," as both were devious ninja. However, regarding their past relationship, there was still some flavor of "gentleman's friendship."
Placing Retto's remains on the ground, Yūshin withdrew Susanoo and the Wood Human, then stepped forward to Retto's side, sealing him in a perfectly square ice coffin.
Good, the performance was complete.
Retto thought this performance was for Sunagakure ninja, but how could Yūshin willingly help Sunagakure?
This performance was actually for Retto himself.
Retto believed he would leave behind a good reputation, thus departing with contentment. For Yūshin, this pre-death contentment was important—the so-called reputation was irrelevant... For the dead, their perceived reputation matters, but actual reputation doesn't.
Invading the Land of Fire is a mistake. You're no match for Konoha—go back. This was the dying message Retto wanted to leave Sunagakure at the cost of his life.
Yūshin had already helped him leave this message, but how the message took effect would be Yūshin's decision... He couldn't let Retto claim all the benefits, right?
Until Retto's death, Yūshin treated him as a friend, but death is the purest dividing line.
If Yūshin hadn't come to this front line, it wouldn't matter—out of sight, out of mind. But since he came here, he had to make certain people understand the simplest truth... choosing war requires paying a price.
Of course, Retto wasn't completely ignorant of Yūshin's nature. He had corresponding expectations for the worst outcome... He'd placed his most favored successor in a relatively safe position.
A spatial passage appeared. Yūshin's figure vanished from his location, then appeared among the fifty vanguard ninja.
"Regarding you all, I have nothing more to say."
Countless vines burst from underground, beginning to twist together, pulling enemies in while merging stream by stream until the vines formed thick tree trunks.
At this point, the enemy's main force had reached one kilometer away. Yūshin's figure flickered and vanished again—when visible again, he'd appeared before the enemy's main force.
"Who are you..."
"It's you? You're still alive?"
Second Kazekage Shamon recognized Yūshin, having once served as Retto's subordinate. However, Yūshin had little impression of him... Back then, Shamon didn't have abstract tattoos on his head, appearing like a background character.
Hmm, from this perspective, Shamon might have pursued postmodern performance art to avoid being a background character.
Upon seeing Yūshin, Shamon immediately realized the situation was dire... If Yūshin looked as aged as Retto, then fine—just another old man seeking death.
However, Yūshin appeared identical to decades ago, not only unaged but his chakra felt even more terrifying... This referred to his chakra when activating Susanoo—now Yūshin's chakra had become unremarkable again.
Intuitively speaking, this "unremarkableness" was even more unfathomable.
Under various ominous emotions, Shamon immediately wanted to shield everyone behind him, then command subordinates to surround and kill Yūshin.
But just then, Shamon sensed chilling coldness from behind.
He instinctively turned to observe—only then discovering he no longer had subordinates.
Behind the Second Kazekage weren't a thousand subordinates, but a thousand ice sculptures.
Just as his attention scattered slightly due to shock, faint air-cutting sounds reached his ears.
Slap!
Yūshin struck Shamon's shoulder, and he exploded as if several grenades had been stuffed inside him.
What do you call this? This is...
Look one more time, and you'll explode; get a little closer, and you'll melt.
But Shamon didn't die—though he burst apart, his major organs remained connected, and his head stayed intact... Yūshin didn't want him to die immediately, so even in this state, he couldn't die.
Shamon prided himself on witnessing life and death, seeing everything in the Shinobi World, but such sanity-breaking circumstances still exceeded his psychological limits, making him scream in terror... Being able to simultaneously appreciate his own heartbeat, lung expansion, intestinal peristalsis, and other scenes was truly fortunate.
"You're far inferior to Retto... Ah, well, this doesn't seem to be your fault. Second generations being inferior to first generations is natural law."
Yūshin originally intended to criticize the Second Kazekage, but then felt he might be wrongly blaming him... No helping it—second generations are like this.
Not even considering matters of heart and strategy, just regarding fundamental strength, Shamon was far inferior to Nara Shūji.
Kazekage? What kind of Kazekage are you?
Small Divine Tree roots spread over, piercing into ice sculptures like tentacles, beginning to absorb these ninja's chakra.
In moments, the vibrant people within the ice sculptures became mummified.
Shamon no longer needed to wail—after contributing his chakra, he could die.
Yūshin floated toward the small Divine Tree's heights, plucked the condensed counterfeit chakra fruit, then discarded the small Divine Tree.
He seemed addicted to tree-planting, frequently engaging in greening activities like a traditional Ōtsutsuki.
By this point, all Sunagakure ninja who had witnessed Yūshin's "major actions" were completely annihilated. Searching their minds was impossible—they'd all been drained into mummies by the small Divine Tree.
Wasn't Retto's dying wish to tell Sunagakure not to provoke Konoha?
Yūshin arranged a thousand Sunagakure ninja corpses here, similarly telling Sunagakure not to provoke Konoha—his language was even more comprehensible... If Retto had knowledge from beyond, he'd certainly thank Yūshin for exceeding mission requirements.
Then, Yūshin placed Retto's ice coffin beneath the withered small Divine Tree.
The orientation had to be correct—same treatment as Lord Shimizu.
The battle ended, the performance art concluded. Only then did Nara Shūji come running frantically.
"Lord Yūshin..."
Yūshin waved dismissively, saying:
"Shūji, you'll oversee battles here from now on. I gave the Land of Rivers... I mean, we Fireflies split this territory equally with the Kujō clan to provide them a stable logistics base, enabling both sides to coexist peacefully."
"Since the peaceful situation has ended, the land can be reclaimed."
"Peace policy lasted forty years—already quite good. However... everything ends here. Fireflies affairs must ultimately begin with Fireflies and end with Fireflies."
Sunagakure disregarded relations with Konoha, meaning they disregarded Land of Rivers territory. Seems the desert suits them better... If grain doesn't suit their taste, eating sand must be more delicious.
Nara Shūji's eyelids twitched. He looked at the withered, towering tree before him, then at the distant ice sculpture群, simultaneously shocked by Yūshin's methods while sensing Lord Yūshin seemed somewhat angry.
"I understand, Lord Yūshin."
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