It's better to be a rebel ninja than to be a Hokage

The rain falling from the sky was not the heavy rain that could soak your clothes in an instant.

But it is not appropriate to describe the rain as thin silver threads that are like silk and mist, lingering across the cheeks.

The only thing that is certain is that this rain, which is not too heavy but not too light either, is really disturbing.

It made everyone standing in the rain feel... bored.

Sakura was naturally in a bad mood.

In addition to feeling bored, she also felt a little confused deep in her heart.

The experiences of the past two days were like a dream, and Sakura's mental feelings had lost their sense of reality.

But the cold rain fell on Sakura's body, continuously transmitting the chill from her body to her brain.

It seemed to be telling Sakura that no matter how unreal her real experience was, it was an inevitable reality.

——Today is the funeral of the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The departure of a great ninja who dedicated his life to Konoha, even the heavens are saddened by his death?

Sakura faced the rain falling from the sky and looked up at the head sculpture of the Third Hokage on the Hokage Rock.

In the previous plan to destroy Konoha initiated by Orochimaru, a striking crack appeared on the face of the Third Generation's rock sculpture.

Or...is this rain a punishment for Sarutobi Hiruzen's past mistakes?

He who had followed the "Will of Fire" all his life was given his final condolences by people in the continuous rain that would have extinguished the flames.

Two of the Konoha ninjas who survived the previous battle were absent from this open-air memorial service.

After fighting with Gaara, the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, Uchiha Sasuke is still in a coma and dying.

And... Uzumaki Naruto, who may never return to Konoha again.

Both of them are members of Team 7 along with Sakura.

Thinking of her till this point, Sakura was enveloped in speechless sadness.

...In the past, Sakura would probably start crying at this time.

But at this moment, the wailing of others broke through the rain and reached Sakura's ears.

At the funeral of the Third Hokage, everyone hid their sadness and pain in their hearts, and let the rain wash away these emotions.

Only the boy who was still studying in the ninja school could shed tears without any scruples.

"That's the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru."

Ino said as she stood next to Sakura.

Unlike Sakura, who came from an ordinary family and met Konohamaru for the first time at a funeral.

Ino did have some impression of Konohamaru.

The Yamanaka clan, where Ino was born, responded to the call of the first Hokage and joined Konoha when Konoha was first founded.

The Yamanaka clan is one of the several powerful ninja clans in Konoha today.

After all, she has to grow from an ignorant girl to a mature heir to the mountain clan.

He had more or less begun to follow his clan elders and begin to understand the political power structure of Konoha.

The same is true for Shikamaru and Choji, who are in the same ninja class as Ino.

Sakura had no interest in any of this.

She had briefly paid attention to Konohamaru just now, only because Konohamaru was sobbing blatantly.

As the grandson of the Third Hokage, he can show all kinds of emotions to everyone at will.

Everyone will naturally care about him and love him.

but……

"Ino, are you crying?"

Sakura noticed Ino's expression.

Ino wasn't crying at this moment.

But Ino's red eye sockets and red eyes showed that she had been crying for a long time.

She hid in the dark and was grieving alone, fearing that the people who were already distressed would notice that something was wrong with her and would not bother to pay attention to her.

"No."

Ino denied it flatly and forced a smile at Sakura.

Sakura opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

She raised her eyes and stared at Ino for a long time, then silently lowered her eyes and turned her gaze away from Ino.

Of course Sakura knew why Ino was crying.

Shikamaru had already told her about what happened to Team 10 in the Konoha Forest.

"sorry."

Xiaoying said, all the words of comfort finally condensed into these three words.

What Ino encountered was that her friends in the same village who lived with her day and night openly wanted to kill her.

Not only Ino, no one could bear that kind of emotional impact.

Sakura felt helpless and the only thing she could do was to apologize to Ino on behalf of Naruto.

"If you think about it, it's understandable that Naruto would hate me enough to want to kill me."

Ino, on the other hand, comforted Sakura.

"Why do you say such things?!"

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief when she heard Ino's words.

No matter what Naruto's reasons for wanting to kill Ino, no matter why Naruto did not turn his idea of ​​killing Ino into reality in the end.

But in this process, Naruto is undoubtedly the perpetrator, and Ino is the victim who is powerless to resist.

Why……

Sakura looked at Ino sadly.

Why should you care about my feelings...

But what Sakura was sad about was not just that Ino took Sakura's feelings into consideration and gave up her rightful right to be angry at what Naruto did to her.

Sakura was also mourning her own - joy.

Ino's words saved Sakura from having to make a difficult choice between Ino and Naruto.

She was actually happy about it...

"Sakura, you've heard about Naruto's situation these past two days, right?"

Ino just stared at Sakura quietly until Sakura's emotions had stabilized a little, then she asked a question to her.

Sakura nodded.

Two days ago, the Third Hokage died in battle.

At that time, the One-Tail and the Nine-Tail also appeared in Konoha at the same time and destroyed most of Konoha.

The One-Tail is a tailed beast owned by the Sand Village who participated in the plan to destroy Konoha.

Its Jinchūriki was Gaara, who infiltrated Konoha under the pretext of taking part in the Chunin selection exam.

And the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki——

——It’s Naruto.

After the Tailed Beast Rebellion between the One-Tail and the Nine-Tail, Naruto's life story, which had been banned from discussion by the Third Hokage for twelve years, was quickly known to all the people of Konoha.

"My father told me something about Naruto. Although I can sense that there are still many things that my father has not told me... But from the facts that I already know - if I were Naruto, I would not be able to bear to leave Konoha at this time."

Ino hinted at something.

Sakura, who had heard about Naruto's life story in bits and pieces through rumors over the past two days, was bound to have learned about it inaccurately in terms of details.

Ino learned from her father, Yamanaka Ino, what Naruto had experienced in the past twelve years - not just the simple hatred of Naruto by the public, but also... the attitude of the Konoha high-level officials towards Naruto.

After Puck's investigation, Team 10 learned that Naruto was being surrounded.

Sakura also encountered masked ninjas who had ill intentions towards Naruto during her battle with Gaara.

Ino's words caused Sakura to fall silent.

"In Naruto's opinion, there is no place for him in Konoha...but he is clearly the son of a hero."

Ino also looked up at the Hokage Rock, her eyes fixed on the extremely young head sculpture of the Fourth Hokage.

"A hero who protects Konoha, yet is hated by Konoha."

At this point, Ino sneered and couldn't help but laugh at herself: "Among all the people in Konoha who hate Naruto, I must be the most annoying one who can always accurately make him angry."

"And even mocked him for being a traitor or something..."

Having said this, Ino suddenly paused.

After a long while, Ino asked Sakura, "Have you made up your mind, Sakura?"

"Decide……?"

Sakura didn't immediately understand what Ino was asking.

"Towards Naruto."

Ino explained.

"I have cried all night because of him, and I understand Naruto's desire to kill me..."

"But there's no way I can make any more concessions to Naruto."

"I am Yamanaka Ino, a member of the Yamanaka clan that has been glorious since the founding of Konoha."

"The pain that Konoha brought to Naruto was avenged by Naruto in the same way two days ago."

"Hatred ends with hatred, but it will give rise to new hatred - if I really want to hate Naruto from the bottom of my heart, I have tried, and I can't do it."

"If I put myself in his shoes, I would probably make the same choice as Naruto - but I am not Naruto after all, and assumptions will only bring meaningless empty talk - what Naruto did was a wrong act that I must completely deny."

"I will firmly treat Naruto who defected from Konoha as a Konoha ninja."

"If I encounter Naruto again, I will not hesitate to kill him for the future of Konoha, or I will be killed by him because I am inferior to him in skills."

This was the strong choice Ino made after she cried alone until dawn on a vulnerable and helpless night.

As always...strong enough for Sakura to envy.

Ino has always been like this, and Sakura understands Ino's strength best.

She used to be cowardly and disliked, but she was attracted by Ino's strength.

——As long as I stay with Ino, I can feel at ease.

But this time, Sakura must make her own choice about her future attitude towards Naruto.

Sakura...hasn't made her choice yet.

"No matter what your choice is, Sakura, I will support you... but if you refuse to make a choice, all you will leave yourself is endless pain."

After saying this, Ino stopped talking.

It was her turn to pay tribute and bid farewell to the deceased Third Hokage.

Ino stepped out of the memorial procession, leaving Sakura alone.

Just like the situation Sakura is facing now.

In a ninja's life, there are countless choices to make, with no help from others and only relying on himself.

……

The memorial service for the Third Hokage has finally come to an end.

The subsequent burial ceremony did not require the participation of Sakura and others, and would only be completed by a small number of relatives related to the Third Hokage.

After leaving the memorial service, Sakura didn't know what to do next for a moment.

Her familiar friends, the three members of Team 10, need to help their family get through the crisis that Konoha is facing.

And the members of Class 7 also...

"Even if you are a ninja, a growing kid like you will end up in bed with a fever and a cold if you keep getting caught in the rain."

Jiraiya came to Sakura and interrupted her thoughts as she stood in the rain.

"Jiraiya-sama?"

Sakura didn't know why Jiraiya took the initiative to greet him. Logically speaking, ninjas like Jiraiya should be working hard for the village at this time.

Teacher Kakashi is... He was so busy that he only briefly learned about Sasuke's situation from Sakura, and didn't even have time to visit him in person.

"Kakashi and I have discussed this. You will be going on a mission with me from now on."