At the entrance of Konoha Village.
The Village had issued a notice in advance that a large number of bodies and injured individuals would be sent back to the Village from the Land of Grass, and many people came to the Village entrance to wait.
Senju Rinmu stood at the very front, his eyes vacant, his arms hanging down, and his shoulders slumped, looking utterly devoid of strength.
This Clan Head of the Senju Clan, the son of Senju Hashirama, no longer possessed his usual high spirits, only the sorrow of a middle-aged man who had lost his son.
The convoy slowly approached.
One by one, body bags were claimed by family members.
Some family members wept, some were numb, and others confirmed the amount of their condolence money with the Ninja.
The last body bag contained Senju Nawaki.
Senju Rinmu heard no noise, his mind filled with a ringing sound, and he dragged his stiff legs forward.
He still couldn't believe that Nawaki had died just like that.
Nawaki possessed talent seen only once in decades and had an Elite Jonin like Orochimaru as his teacher.
The trend of the Senju Clan's resurgence came to an abrupt halt.
At that moment, Senju Rinmu even had the thought of abandoning everything.
If the Village higher-ups wanted the Senju Clan's clan land, then he would give them half.
If the Village higher-ups wanted the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, then they could go seal it; the Senju Clan would no longer bother with it.
If the Village higher-ups wanted the Senju and Vortex's sealing scrolls, then he would give them.
Seeing Senju Rinmu's body constantly swaying slightly, Vortex Kushina whispered:
"Uncle…"
Senju Rinmu shook his head, driving away the weak thoughts he had just entertained.
He could not give up; the glory of the Senju Clan, passed down for a thousand years, could not be destroyed in his hands.
Death?
His father established Konoha; would the deaths now be more numerous than those at the end of the Sengoku period?
Nawaki sacrificed himself at 12 years old, much later than his two uncles.
The Senju Clan absolutely does not fear death.
Night Light stood to the side, his nostrils tightly closed.
There was embalming fluid in the body bags, but the stench was still unbearable.
For Night Light, it was a foul-smelling corpse, but for Senju Rinmu, it was his beloved youngest son.
Senju Rinmu pulled open the body bag and saw Nawaki's pale face.
Reaching out to gently caress Nawaki's face, Senju Rinmu's resolute expression changed several times before he finally lowered his head.
The Senju Clan took away Nawaki and the bodies of other Senju Ninja.
This family had sacrificed too much for Konoha.
Black Gorilla's wife, the woman seen in Konoha Hospital last time, took Black Gorilla away.
Black Gorilla had removed his mask and was now a disheartened, weathered man with both arms severed.
His cheeks were sunken, completely unlike an Akimichi Ninja.
Night Light returned to Anbu to complete his mission handover, then went to Root to submit the personnel replenishment numbers, and left Anbu.
Returning to the familiar Crane Moon Izakaya, Night Light sighed, feeling a sense of relief that he was finally back.
Unbeknownst to him, Crane Moon Izakaya had already become Night Light's most comfortable resting place.
"Qiao Yi, have any suspicious individuals come to observe you recently?"
"No, I haven't seen any."
Night Light had specifically paid attention to missions related to Qiao Yi in Anbu; the mission scrolls were archived, so Anbu would temporarily no longer investigate Qiao Yi's identity.
"I have someone above me; they've settled such a big matter for you, shouldn't you thank me?"
"How should I thank you?"
"Yin Release and Yang Release, they're a bit boring now. Do you have any new tricks?"
Qiao Yi bit her silver teeth and leaned in: "You've been gone for so long, did you try new tricks with a little fox outside? Are you back to reminisce with me?"
"Not at all, my strength has increased a lot, so I need stronger stimulation."
Qiao Yi tilted her head and gave Night Light a sidelong glance, then said: "Then let's try the Iwagakure Kunoichi Secret Technique…"
"Oh? What secret technique?"
"Have you heard of the Mountain Earth Technique?"
"I've heard of it. It's an Earth Release Ninjutsu that uses a gigantic Earth Release hemisphere to crush a large number of enemies into a pulp. Is this the Ball Release after Yin Release and Yang Release?"
The two were lying on the bed, and Qiao Yi slowly disappeared into the covers, using her 'Ball Release: Mountain Earth Technique'.
After a night of madness, Qiao Yi lay on Night Light's chest.
She suddenly felt a bit nervous.
"It's coming soon!"
"What's coming soon? Didn't we just…"
Soon, Night Light felt a chilling Chakra.
He pulled on his pants, instantly vanished out the window, and stood on the rooftop.
From the direction of the Senju Clan, ominous Chakras emanated, drifting through the streets of Konoha.
For a moment, all the insects and birds dared not make a sound.
Uzumaki Mito, is she reaching her limit?
Night Light jumped off the rooftop and returned to the side room in the backyard.
"During the time I was away, did you often experience this chilling sensation?"
"Yes, especially these past two weeks, almost every day."
"It's a troubled autumn. Never mind, don't think about these things. There are still some aspects of the Mountain Earth Technique I don't understand; perhaps we should discuss it further."
Amidst the nightly chill, the New Year arrived.
Night Light's birthday came.
Aside from Qiao Yi, there was no one else to celebrate the New Year with.
The New Year in this foreign world was much more bland than in his previous life.
A few days after the New Year, Night Light carried two catties of braised beef into the Akimichi Clan's territory.
He didn't know where Black Gorilla lived, nor what Black Gorilla's name was, but he thought it would be easy to find out.
Both arms were broken; that characteristic was too obvious.
At a street corner, he saw three old women, and Night Light realized, wasn't this the Akimichi Clan's intelligence center?
He approached and asked, "Hello, is there a retired Ninja in the Akimichi Clan who has both arms broken?"
"Are you looking for a retired Ninja whose left arm broke first, or whose right arm broke first?"
Night Light was stunned. No, did that mean there were many one-armed Ninja in the Akimichi Clan?
"Left arm broke first, right arm broke later, and he just returned to the clan territory."
The old woman then said, "Then are you looking for a tall retired Ninja with a longer broken right arm, or a short retired Ninja with a longer broken right arm?"
Were the Akimichi Clan Ninja really that unfortunate?
Considering they were Taijutsu-type Ninja, it wasn't surprising.
Night Light continued, "It's the one with the longer broken right arm."
"Then are you looking for a tall retired Ninja with a longer broken right arm, or a short retired Ninja with a longer broken right arm?"
Night Light was speechless: "The tall one, the tall one who is dark and tall."
The old woman finally pointed Night Light in a direction.
A wave of sorrow washed over Night Light's heart.
A simple question for directions revealed a glimpse of the cruelty of war.
Within the Akimichi Clan territory, there were indeed many disabled people.
With the family as a safety net, even if they were disabled, the family would provide the minimum living necessities and support them, which is why there seemed to be many disabled Ninja.
If they were civilian Ninja, one wouldn't see so many disabled retired Ninja; it's not that fewer civilian Ninja were disabled, but that disabled civilian Ninja simply didn't live long.
Survivor bias.
Arriving outside a small courtyard, Night Light saw people moving.
The thin, dark man with both arms broken was sitting in the courtyard, his face full of bitterness.
"Brother, I've come to see you."