Chapter 44: Funeral (1)

In the hot summer, the high temperature for several days is finally coming.

Early in the morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and there was a solemn atmosphere in Konoha Village.

Pedestrians in groups of three or two on the street walked out from all directions, gathered into a stream of people, and rushed in one direction.

The place where Konoha Cemetery is located.

Minato Namikaze got up early. Fortunately, Naruto let him go last night and didn't cry. While there was still some time, Minato Namikaze first ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast and hurried to take care of Naruto.

In the crib, Naruto probably heard the noise and started crying again. Minato Namikaze, who had taken care of the child for two or three days, had some experience at this time and knew that it should be because of hunger...

He sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost seven o'clock.

Then he hurriedly made a cup of milk powder for her and started feeding her...

It went smoothly at first, but after a while, he couldn't continue. He resisted for a while and then began to feel inexplicably distressed. His voice was very loud, making Minato Namikaze feel dizzy.

After using up all the experience he had accumulated in taking care of babies in the past two or three days, he was still helpless.

Fortunately, there was a knock on the door at the right time.

After hearing this sound, Minato Namikaze in the bedroom rushed to open the door as if he had been pardoned.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

After the door opened, a bloated middle-aged woman in black clothes bowed respectfully to Minato Namikaze.

"Ms. Iori, you are finally here." Minato Namikaze welcomed the middle-aged woman named Iori in as if he had seen a savior.

"I don't know why, Naruto just started to make trouble again..." Namikaze Minato looked helpless, and while speaking, he guided Iori to the room where Naruto was.

Iori's face was vicissitudes, and although there were wrinkles on his face that were difficult to hide, he had a pair of deep red eyes under his ordinary appearance.

Although red is the color of blood and represents danger, Iori's red eyes seem to have been washed away, and his eyes are full of warmth, kindness and peace. Among the ordinary people of Konoha, she is just an ordinary citizen.

Of course, this is only the current Iori.

She used to be a special ninja who served in the Anbu. Few people can see that Iori, who is in his early forties, actually has nearly 20 years of experience in the ninja career.

Because of some special reasons, Iori is no longer a ninja now.

In the world of Naruto, ninja is actually just a profession and identity. Retirement from the ninja career is not uncommon. Many female ninjas will face the choice of temporarily or permanently giving up the ninja career for the sake of their families after getting married.

This is somewhat similar to Japanese housewives.

In the original work, Yuhi Kurenai is a typical example. Although her situation is slightly different, because Asuma died in the line of duty, she can only take care of the child alone, but ninjas are also human beings and pay great attention to the growth of their offspring.

Considering all aspects, Minato Namikaze found Iori and hired her to take care of Naruto temporarily.

After all, he is the son of the Hokage. Ordinary Konoha citizens and people without transparent backgrounds and resumes are not reassuring...

Because Iori was once a Konoha ninja and had served in the Anbu, these two conditions were the most important reasons why Minato Namikaze chose to hire him to take care of Naruto.

"Oh, little guy, don't cry, don't cry..." Iori skillfully picked up the half-drunk bottle, coaxed and fed it to Naruto's mouth again, and soon the crying sound disappeared in the room.

After seeing Naruto behaved well, Iori turned to look at Minato Namikaze standing at the door and smiled softly: "Hokage, I will take care of the young master. Please rest assured."

"...Then I'll leave it to you." With another helpless smile, Minato Namikaze returned to his room and quickly put on a solemn black uniform.

Then he hurried out of the house. When he passed through the entrance, a photo on the table made his eyes linger for a while.

It was a photo of him and Uzumaki Kushina. As far as I can remember, they took it when Kushina was pregnant. At that time, it seemed that they had agreed that when Naruto was born, they must take a family photo of the three of them.

But now...

Minato Namikaze was absent-minded for a moment, and then he slowly retracted his gaze. His mood instantly became the same as the weather outside, a little depressed.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, because today was the funeral day three days after the Nine-Tails incident. The weather was cloudy in the morning, as if to add a bit of sadness to the funeral.

The streets of Konoha Village were crowded with people.

Because this was a village-wide ritual activity, the limited space of the Konoha Cemetery could only accommodate Konoha villagers in batches to mourn and commemorate.

Because it took some time to take care of Naruto, it was already a little late.

Fortunately, for Minato Namikaze who could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, as long as he was anywhere within the marked range, he could basically ignore the distance...

With a thought, Minato Namikaze locked his perception power to a remote and deserted place near the Konoha Cemetery that had been marked in advance, and then launched the Flying Thunder God Technique, and his figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.

...

On the street, more and more Konoha villagers dressed in black gathered, and everyone held white flowers for memorial in their hands.

At a certain street corner, a young man with silver hair and a mask slowly walked out, and then merged into the crowd.

Following the bustling flow of people walking in the direction of the cemetery, the young man looked at the increasingly gloomy sky. His already dejected expression became even lower and more listless.

At this moment, the young man suddenly felt a powerful hand slap on his shoulder.

Then a rough voice sounded in my ears: "Hey, Kakashi, why are you still so depressed? Youth can't always be so depressed and negative."

"How about we have a long-awaited game? Let's get to the gate of Konoha Cemetery first than any of us?"

Kakashi Hatake was still walking forward dejectedly. Hearing this, he turned his head and glanced at Metkai, who was showing his white teeth to him.

Although the latter also wears black regular clothes, Metky is rarely seen in green tights, which always makes people look a little weird.

Kakashi silently removed Metkai's hand on his shoulder and said listlessly: "Kai, stop making trouble, today is not a suitable time for a competition..."

Although Metkai is hot-blooded and somewhat nervous, he actually knows the occasion. The reason why he said this is just to arouse Kakashi's fighting spirit, but it obviously has no effect now...

Hatake Kakashi glanced at Kai, and when he was about to look back, he suddenly noticed that Kai's hand seemed to be empty...

He quickly thought of something and felt a little speechless. He asked helplessly: "Kai, you guy, you didn't forget to bring the white chrysanthemum for commemoration, did you?"

When Metkai heard this, he was suddenly startled, and then suddenly opened his mouth.

"Oops, I was in such a hurry to go out in the morning, I think I really forgot to bring it..."

Just as Metkai was thinking about it, Kakashi Hatake suddenly handed over a white chrysanthemum. Metkai's expression was stagnant, and he was about to take it with thanks, but suddenly remembered that he had taken Kakashi's. What should Kakashi do?

But Kakashi Hatake seemed to have penetrated his thoughts in advance. He shook the other white chrysanthemum on his right hand and explained: "Don't worry, I still have..."

Seeing this, Metkai breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he turned to praise and said: "As expected of Kakashi, he actually prepared spare parts in advance..."

When Hatake Kakashi heard this, a strange look flashed across his exposed right eye, but then he quickly returned to normal.

The reason why he prepared two was of course not as a backup.

But because the white chrysanthemum given to Metkai was prepared for Lin. Because according to the procedure, the public funeral ceremony only needs to go to the memorial monument to offer memorial flowers.