Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Crying is like a contagious disease, easier to be infected when near patients.
Mito passed away. On the day of her death, all the Jonin and Special Jonin of the Sealing Team came, but none of them were needed. Even after extracting the Nine-Tails from Mito, she still had enough strength to place a new seal on Kushina.
Nawaki was the last person in the family to find out about Grandma's death, but he didn't make a scene. Instead, he calmly said that he felt it when Grandma made breakfast for him.
And Tatsuma finally understood why Mito, who had kept herself in such good shape, aged so drastically in just two years. She had almost exhausted her life to store enough Chakra for him.
Contrary to her status as the First Lady, her funeral was very simple. Besides Tsunade, Nawaki, and Tatsuma, only a few relatives attended: Minato, Kushina, and Hiruzen.
Surprisingly, Akimichi Torifu, who had secluded himself in the clan for over a decade, rarely involved in village affairs except occasional defense duties, also attended. Upon arrival, he seemed to be in an argument with Danzo, but he fell silent upon entering the cemetery.
This was Tatsuma's first time meeting Akimichi Torifu, one of the Hokage guards of the Second Hokage, who hadn't been on a mission since his teammate Uchiha Kagami's death and looked quite melancholic.
The funeral was brief. After paying their respects, Hiruzen and others with official duties left. Akimichi Torifu stayed behind. Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who were not invited, entered the cemetery after Hiruzen and the others had left, and conversed with Tsunade.
Today, Tatsuma wore a dignified black suit with a half-forehead protector, sitting and gazing at the portrait of Mito.
Akimichi Torifu walked up to Tatsuma. His sturdy body awkwardly settled down, not resembling a typical ninja. He attempted to sit cross-legged, but the excess flesh on his thighs and belly thwarted his efforts several times.
Finally, he stretched out his legs like a winnowing basket, gently tilted his head, and said, "I've seen you from afar before. It seems you don't like wearing the forehead protector on your head."
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma subconsciously touched his half-forehead protector and replied, "Grandma Mito said it looks good this way."
"It does look good," nodded Akimichi Torifu. He tried to nod, but the fat under his chin restricted his movement. Tatsuma shifted his gaze from the portrait and looked at Akimichi Torifu, saying, "Thank you the other day, Torifu-sama."
"What are you thanking me for?" Akimichi Torifu chuckled warmly. Tatsuma joined in with a smile, saying, "Not many dare to deceive Hokage-sama for Grandma Mito. Even fewer can actually do it.
Recently, the village's defense forces were indeed inadequate, but it's impossible to allow the Cloud Ninja to swagger into the village and abduct people, right? Just now, Danzo-sama intended to blame you for this matter, isn't that so?"
"Mito-sama is right. You really are so much like sensei."
Both former members of the Kage Guard, Torifu lacked the aloofness that Hiruzen and several Elders carried. He was like a neighbor uncle who would sit on the steps in summer, sleeves rolled up, enjoying the cool breeze.
Torifu adjusted his collar. Even in early spring, it seemed he couldn't stand the heat. After letting more cold wind blow into his sleeves, he continued, "Among sensei's disciples, I am the most useless. I can't help the village much, but fortunately, a few comrades still cherish old feelings. If there's anything you want to do in the future, you can come find me. I might still be able to speak up for you."
He didn't take on too much responsibility, nor did he promise Tatsuma anything concrete. But Tatsuma could tell that his words were much more sincere than those of Hiruzen and the others.
"Thank you, Torifu-sama. When the time comes, please don't mind if I come to bother you."
"Alright, I won't say more. It's not convenient to say more. I have to go back for dinner. Cheer up and don't follow my example."
Torifu patted Tatsuma's shoulder with his broad hand. Finally, using the momentum, he stood up. In doing so, he almost knocked Tatsuma off balance, but fortunately, Tatsuma's physical condition was still good.
He staggered away, and Tatsuma also got up to tidy up cushions, flowers, and the portrait.
"Tatsuma, long time no see. You and Minato have grown into fine young men."
As Tatsuma was tidying up, a familiar voice sounded. Tatsuma turned his head, nodded, and replied, "Jiraiya-sensei, long time no see. How are Nagato and the others doing?"
"You can still remember their names?" Jiraiya smiled and said, "They've become outstanding ninjas in the Land of Rain."
Tatsuma could remember the names of those children, which pleased Jiraiya greatly. He had also discussed with others, and Tsunade and Orochimaru mentioned the children from the Land of Rain. Even Minato found it difficult to recall their names.
After all, Jiraiya had spent three years with them, but for Tsunade and the others, it was just a passing acquaintance. Remembering three children was already quite good, and Jiraiya was not dissatisfied.
But upon hearing that Tatsuma still remembered, Jiraiya suddenly became talkative. He put his arm around Tatsuma's shoulder and seemed ready to talk about his experiences in the Land of Rain over the past three years. However, he quickly remembered something else, released Tatsuma, and pretended to look fierce, saying, "So, you were the one who set Tsunade up with that effeminate guy?"
"I actually set up Kushina with that effeminate guy."
"What?! That effeminate guy and Kushina... Wait, who are you talking about?"
"Minato."
"You..."
"Tatsuma, did you call me?"
Just as Jiraiya was about to say something more, he seemed to hear Minato being called by his name and looked over in confusion. Jiraiya quickly dropped his fierce expression, smiled, and said,
"It's okay, you go ahead."
With that, he pointed towards Kushina, who was still sobbing beside Minato, signaling Minato to continue comforting her.
Then Jiraiya looked back at Tatsuma and said, "You know who I'm talking about, don't play dumb! You can't fool me."
"Jiraiya-sensei, I've tried giving you chances, but you couldn't even wholeheartedly support Sensei. It's hard for me to believe your sincerity."
Tatsuma shrugged and continued, "Let me ask you this: if Sensei were to do something harmful to the village, would you choose to stand with the village or with Sensei?"
"I..."
Jiraiya fell silent, then somewhat annoyed and embarrassed, he said, "Can that Dan Kato stand completely on Tsunade's side?"
"No."
Tatsuma shook his head and mimicked Dan Kato's gentle tone, saying, "He would say, 'Tsuna would never do anything harmful to the village.' Understand?"
"Isn't this cheating and evading responsibility?!" Jiraiya said indignantly. Tatsuma looked at him and continued, "Jiraiya-sensei, there's something more important to you than love, so you can't fully commit. Perhaps that's why the two of you will ultimately end with regrets."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya became dejected. Tatsuma shrugged off Jiraiya's arm around his shoulder and then made a sudden turnaround, putting his arm around Jiraiya's shoulder.
Despite their height difference, which looked somewhat comical, Tatsuma didn't mind. He spoke earnestly to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sensei, lighten up. If you can maintain your friendship, maybe you could even be a godfather to Sensei's children."
Jiraiya became even more withdrawn at this remark, muttering softly, "But Orochimaru told me that Dan Kato underwent surgery by you and isn't a whole man anymore. Can he truly make Tsunade happy?"
"You're right, happiness is what matters most. Also, Orochimaru-sama's style seems to be getting weirder. Can you believe he actually listened to my joke?"
After saying this, Tatsuma quickly distanced himself from Jiraiya and continued packing up. Jiraiya stood there despondently, unable to gather his spirits for a long time.
Later, Nawaki came to comfort him, telling Jiraiya not to be too sad about Grandma's death. Nawaki's mature demeanor pleased both Tsunade and Orochimaru, and it finally broke through Jiraiya's defenses, making him cry uncontrollably.
Finally, Jiraiya's crying also unlocked the sorrow Nawaki had been hiding all along. The two embraced each other and wept inconsolably. Kushina, who had been sobbing continuously, was stirred once more by the choked sobs, clinging to Minato and crying again.
The absent tears and lamentations during the funeral finally found their place at this moment. Tatsuma silently continued his tidying, ensuring not a single petal was left to decay and soil the place.
Fortunately, Tsunade remained composed, knocking out both Jiraiya and Nawaki with a punch each. Orochimaru caught his disciple, who seemed heavier than himself. Tatsuma, meanwhile, carried Jiraiya on his back, towering over him by a head.
Kushina, comforted repeatedly by Minato, also stopped crying, and the group finally left the cemetery.
There were no further activities planned after the funeral. Tatsuma returned home and retrieved a large stack of notes on the Flying Thunder God technique that he had written before. He began to rewrite and annotate them once more.
The Flying Thunder God technique had too many possibilities, even beyond what its developer, Senju Tobirama, had explored. In most cases, Senju Tobirama used a self-amputated version of the Flying Thunder God technique.
One of the biggest issues was the inability to carry another technique user using Flying Thunder God for teleportation. Tobirama's accustomed technique was only sufficient to summon himself and his personal belongings, but not an additional technique user.
Moreover, the limitations on transporting others using Tobirama's version of the Flying Thunder God were severe. Unlike Minato, who could link large groups of people through the Nine-Tails for Flying Thunder God teleportation, Tobirama's version restricted him to only transporting one person at a time.
He had expressed in the original work that he could only teleport one person, which might explain why he sacrificed himself without hesitation when facing the gold and silver brothers.
Upon investigation, the reason was that he had self-amputated the technique, but he was not incapable of using the complete technique. In the original work, Senju Tobirama left behind the complete version of the technique on Obito, allowing him to teleport Naruto along with his Senjutsu Rasengan.
However, when using the Flying Thunder God Kunai, Tobirama could not employ techniques like "Flying Thunder God: Second Step" to infuse attacks with damage. Whether facing Uchiha Izumi or Uchiha Madara, his approach was always to teleport first and then swiftly attack using methods like Ninjato or Kunai to directly inflict damage.
Perhaps Senju Tobirama aimed to optimize the technique, which is why he never resolved this issue during his lifetime or after death. Tatsuma's solution, on the other hand, was quite simple: he borrowed inspiration from Minato Namikaze.
Since a small Kunai could not embody the complete technique, he used Kunai that could sufficiently embody the complete technique. One thing that currently bothers him is that from time to time, he senses Tobirama's technique.
Therefore, he needed to modify his own Flying Thunder God technique. This way, he could focus only on sensing his own technique, disregarding the technique left behind by Tobirama in the village.
Just as he was studying, a burst of Chakra appeared within his sensing range. Tatsuma closed his notebook and waited for the visitor.
The visitor was Mandrill. He nodded and said, "Hokage-sama is requesting your presence."
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