Naruto God of The Shinobi

CHAPTER 12

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Chapter Twelve

The funeral for Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage of Konoha, was something that brought the entire village to a standstill. Shops closed, the Shinobi Training Facility let its students out, clans that would never have shared the same street with one another, stood next to each other as the body of their once great leader was given its final rights before it was moved off to a secret burial site.

Many people came forward to say a few words about the legendary figure, mostly family members but a few people who worked closely with the man stepped up and spoke for a few minutes before passing on the spotlight. Haru said a several words before passing it on to the person behind him, his father and himself hadn't had the best of relationships, even before the war. The war only made it harder to reconcile with each other, the stress of losing comrades on the field of battle meant that neither really had time to talk, to busy wallowing around in guilt, or if they did, they simply lost the nerve to talk to one another. One of Haru's biggest regrets was that he hadn't told his father that he loved him for about a year before his death, he wished he had.

Many people cried, some for the loss of a great leader, others for a powerful shinobi and some cried for the loss of such a great friend. The sky was bleak, a fog of grey clouds prevented the sun from being seen, as if Kami herself was mourning the passing of the great leader of Konoha. The atmosphere of the village itself reflected that of the heavens, no one smiled as the funeral was carried out, neither shinobi nor civilians made any move to, they had no reason too.

For the shinobi, they knew that they were weakened considerably with the death of their greatest shinobi, weakened in both military might and in morale. The death of Hashirama was a blow to every shinobi, from genin to jōnin, all knew of his skill and found it hard to imagine the power required to take him down. All of them knew that Hashirama Senju held considerable power, his prowess in Mokuton was something that every ninja knew, and the thought that he could be killed, even if it was with the combined might of three Hidden Villages, was something that scared a few ninja. All of them knew that the only one alive in Konoha that could rival the power of Hashirama Senju was his brother, Tobirama, but even then, the younger brother freely admitted that Hashirama was far stronger than him. The thought of facing the power that took down Hashirama Senju scared many of them.

For the civilians, it simply the loss of a powerful man and a good person, Hashirama's positive attitude made him popular with the civilian sector of the village. He was always ready to help those who needed it, and that made him a good man in their book. His sacrifice to protect their lives only made that positive opinion enforce itself.

As the funeral wound to a close, Tobirama stepped forward, his words being last, himself being closest to Hashirama with the exception of Mito, refused to speak at her husband's funeral. She sat in the front row, her gaze focused on the ground, those next to her could make out the tears that would occasionally roll down her face, anyone who looked at her could tell that she was trying her hardest not to break down in tears.

Tobirama walked up to the front of his brother's body that was lying down on a stone bed for those attending the funeral see, he would have preferred to have a private funeral with family and close friends only but he knew in his heart that Hashirama would have liked a public funeral more. His brother almost looked like he was sleeping, that wish was destroyed when one noticed the stillness of his chest. Tobirama shed no tears as he turned around to face the large gathering of people attending the funeral, he had to remain strong, standing as a beacon of light for those in Konoha to follow in this dark time. Shinobi and civilians standing side by side to honour his brother, it was something that made him happy in a way, Hashirama had always wanted to see the village as united as it was now. But another part of him was angry, angry that it took the death of his brother for these people to come together like they were now.