Rain drizzled endlessly.
Ever since everything had been settled with Kumogakure and Tobirama's body had finally been returned to Konoha, the village had been trapped beneath a curtain of unending rain.
It was as if even the heavens were mourning him.
The Senju Clan moved quickly and ordered a luxurious coffin, made entirely from golden nanmu wood that had been purchased at a high price from the Land of Fire.
It was said that the craftsmen who made this coffin had served the nobles of the Land of Fire for generations. Usually, only the Fire Daimyo and the royal family would ever receive a coffin of this quality.
Unfortunately, by the time Tobirama came to use it, his corpse was already covered in livor mortis, and a faint smell of decay had begun to spread from it.
Under Mito's direction, the funeral preparations advanced in an orderly fashion. By the time the news of Tobirama's death reached the ears of the Fire Daimyo, insiders claimed that the Daimyo was so overwhelmed with grief that very day that he cried until his voice went hoarse and nearly fainted on the spot.
Everyone around him was moved to tears and praised him as a man of true feeling, proof that the bond between the Land of Fire and Konoha was as firm as gold.
After regaining his composure, the Daimyo announced three days of mourning and sent his eldest son to Konoha to attend the funeral in person. The condolence gifts sent along with him had to be generous. A hero who had defended the Land of Fire could not be allowed to shed blood and tears in vain.
The other nobles and dignitaries who received Konoha's invitation were similarly overcome with sorrow. They all sent important members of their families to attend, and the condolence gifts they brought were equally heavy.
Several days passed in preparation, and at last Tobirama could finally be laid to rest.
...
At the center of the funeral hall stood the golden nanmu coffin.
On the table before it rested Tobirama's memorial portrait, along with an incense burner, candles, and offerings of the foods he had loved most in life.
White funeral wreaths filled the surrounding space.
"The filial son will break the basin!"
Standing before the coffin, Toma slammed the ceramic basin in his hands to the ground, shattering it in one sharp crack, then dropped to his knees as cries rose throughout the hall.
Since Tobirama had no son, Toma was the most suitable person to perform the ritual on his behalf.
After the burning of spirit money and a brief offering of respects, the next order was given.
"Raise the coffin!"
Four strong Senju clansmen lifted Tobirama's coffin and carried it toward Konoha Cemetery. All four were among the closest relatives he had left, his nephews and younger kin.
Behind them, drums and gongs began to sound. The funeral procession would pass through Konoha's streets before reaching the cemetery, giving the villagers one final chance to say farewell to Tobirama.
Tobirama's reputation in Konoha had always been extremely good. Though he had usually worn a cold expression and rarely smiled, his contributions to the village were plain for everyone to see.
It could even be said that without Tobirama, the Konoha of today would never have existed. Hashirama had not understood the difficulties of building a village from nothing. It had all been Tobirama's labor.
Both sides of the road were already packed with people. The villagers wore sorrowful expressions, and tears slipped from their eyes as they gave their final farewell to Konoha's Second Hokage.
"Teacher, have a safe journey."
"I'll protect Konoha."
Hiruzen stood within the crowd, tears in his eyes, grief so heavy that he could barely contain it. His life had been bought with Tobirama's.
"Teacher..."
"Wuwu... I really wanted to see you off one last time."
Danzo stood beside Hiruzen, equally heartbroken and filled with regret.
The moment news of Tobirama's funeral spread, Hiruzen and Danzo had come together to the Senju estate. They were Tobirama's disciples, after all.
They had even volunteered to carry his coffin. If needed, they would have been willing to break the basin as well.
Unfortunately, the Senju ninja acting on Toma's orders had driven them out before they could even see Mito.
To put it bluntly, without burdens like Hiruzen and Danzo, Tobirama would have escaped long ago.
Did Toma not understand Tobirama's strength?
And besides, what were those two supposed to be? Did they really think the Senju were all dead, that outsiders had to step in to carry the coffin? No matter how the line was drawn, it would never have been their turn.
It was shameless.
Toma had wanted to personally curse them out, but the dead had to be respected, and he could not risk offending Tobirama's spirit, so he held himself back.
The funeral procession slowly crossed the streets and finally reached the cemetery, where the coffin was lowered into the grave that had already been prepared.
The cries began once more.
The Senju clansmen stepped forward one by one and kowtowed before Tobirama's grave.
After the formal rites were complete, the friends and honored guests attending the funeral came forward to bid him farewell. They did not kneel. Each person simply placed a white flower before his grave.
And then, at the very end, came the most important part of the funeral.
The banquet.
The Senju had arranged more than a hundred tables to accommodate all the guests who had come to attend. It had probably cost them a considerable amount.
Still, compared to the condolence money they received, it was nothing at all. The most expensive part of the funeral was the golden nanmu coffin itself, which had cost six hundred thousand ryo, almost equal to the reward of an A-rank mission. Everything else combined only brought the cost of the funeral to around one million ryo.
But the condolence gifts totaled more than sixty-three million ryo.
After splitting the amount with Konoha fifty-fifty, the Senju Clan still took home over thirty million ryo.
That was no small sum.
Of course, Haru could not care less about any of that.
At the moment, he was enjoying the funeral feast to the fullest, one dish after another arriving at the table while he ate happily.
With Haru's status, no one would dare rotate the table while he was reaching for food, unless they no longer wanted to survive in Konoha.
And truthfully, the chefs responsible for this banquet were skilled. The meal was every bit as good as that expensive feast worth thirty thousand ryo Haru had eaten before.
At the tables, cups clinked and dishes circulated. A Senju funeral naturally drew all sorts of people with status and influence, and opportunities like this, where so many important figures gathered in one place, did not come often. Quite a few people were using the occasion to expand their network of connections.
The setting might have been a little awkward for that, but it did not matter.
Tobirama had been useful in life.
He was still useful in death.
Surely he would be smiling in the Pure Land.
At one table, the Fire Daimyo's eldest son had already come over with a cup in hand and started building a relationship with Haru.
The new head of the Uchiha Clan, a man of great strength and a possible future Third Hokage, carried enough weight that even the Daimyo's eldest son was willing to lower himself and show courtesy.
Naturally, Haru had no intention of missing this opportunity. The two of them chatted quite pleasantly together.
The only one displeased by the sight was Toma.
...
The era that belonged to Tobirama had passed.
Konoha now had no choice but to face the future.
And the first major question standing before the village was choosing a new Hokage, someone who could lead Konoha onward.
A few days later, a meeting concerning the selection of the Third Hokage was convened in Konoha.
(End of Chapter)
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