NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Ending
Chapter
29: Ending
Clear, plain words. As Hokage,
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't need to beat around the bush, especially when
addressing Iruka and Menma. Sarutobi Hiruzen could express his attitude
directly without pretending to be overly serious.
After hearing these words, Iruka,
who had already expected and prepared for this, finally felt relieved. Sarutobi
Hiruzen was not Tsunade or Minato. As a Hokage who once led Konoha through
crises and oversaw its rise, Sarutobi Hiruzen had supreme prestige in the
village. His words were enough to decide everything in this three-acre area of
Konoha Hidden Village.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka
said with a hint of excitement on his face, quickly lowering his head in
response.
Menma, however, still looked up at
Sarutobi Hiruzen with a very obvious look of worry and uneasiness. Taking a
deep breath, he mustered up all his courage and spoke, "But I also peeked
at the Scroll of forbidden jutsu's , which seems to be the village's top secret
that only previous Hokage were qualified to read. My identity is still..."
"You are you, Menma. You are
the child I have seen since childhood. I have always believed in you. You have
no other identity. You are the ninja of Konoha Hidden Village—Uzumaki Menma.
This is my recognition of you. You can ignore the Hokage's recognition and
other people's opinions. It will be enough to prove yourself with your actions
in the future. As for the Scroll of forbidden jutsu's , it doesn't matter.
Didn't you defeat the rebel Mizuki? This is your reward, you don't need to
worry about anything at this point, Menma."
Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and shook
his head, interrupting Menma with soft words. The endless gentleness in his
eyes made it seem like he was speaking with the utmost sincerity, like a kind
old man who deeply cared for his children and grandchildren.
Perhaps Sarutobi Hiruzen did have
some heartfelt words, but Menma was more willing to believe everything Sarutobi
Hiruzen did and said was based on safeguarding the so-called Hidden Leaf
Village. Menma wouldn't be deceived by Sarutobi Hiruzen's outward appearance.
To be more precise, Sarutobi Hiruzen's righteousness and Konoha's righteousness
were not his. This village was not his destination. His future lay outside, in
any other possibility, but not in Konoha Hidden Village.
On the surface, Menma still had to
show a relaxed and excited look on purpose, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen with
bright eyes, and replied with a touch of gratitude, "Yes, Third Hokage
Grandpa." It seemed to be a look of sincere joy and happiness.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a touch of
satisfaction. What he wanted was such expansion and such a result. Everything
was under control!
"Let's end this matter here.
It's very late today. Isn't there still a graduation ceremony tomorrow? You two
should go back and rest early!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said warmly.
Starting at 22:00 in the night,
after going back and forth, it was now more than 3:00 in the middle of the
night.
"Yes, Hokage-sama (Third
Generation Grandpa)!" Iruka and Menma bowed and responded. They exited the
Hokage's office together.
"Menma, although today's events
are over, I still want to remind you to be cautious and careful in your actions
in the future. Tomorrow, oh, no, it should be today, you will be an official
ninja. From now on, we have to perform various tasks, and any carelessness may
lead to very dangerous results. I hope you can remember this," Iruka said
seriously as they stepped out of the Hokage Building and reached the fork in
the street.
"Well, I remember it,
Iruka-sensei. I will definitely act with caution in the future!" Menma
nodded heavily.
Hearing Menma's answer, Iruka smiled
gently and nodded. "Go back and rest. The graduation ceremony starts at
nine o'clock! Don't be late."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka turned and left, heading back
to his home on the other side. Menma stayed on the spot, watching Iruka's
figure gradually disappear into the night. He then suppressed the smile on his
face and turned to glance at the Hokage Building, which was still brightly lit.
A faint cold color flashed quickly in Menma's eyes. 'This is just the
beginning!!'
The end of winter, the breath of
early spring was coming. January of the 60th year of Konoha, Menma officially
graduated from the Ninja Academy. After leaving the novice protection period,
what would come next were real BOSS-level enemies that were more dangerous and
terrifying than before.
The night slowly passed away. Dawn
came quietly.
The next day, when the first ray of
sunshine shone on the earth, the Ninja Academy located in the village's core
gradually became lively and noisy. The Ninja Academy had two fixed lively days
every year: the opening season in March and the graduation season in January!
The boys and girls who successfully
passed the graduation examination wore their newly received forehead protectors
and came to the Ninja Academy to attend their graduation ceremony in high
spirits. The younger students, who had not yet graduated, looked at these
graduating seniors with envy, longing for their future graduation prospects.
They had never seen the true cruelty
of the ninja world. In their eyes, they only saw the glory of becoming a ninja
but didn't see the risks that ninjas needed to take.
Menma rarely got up early and slept
until eight o'clock. This was not only because today was special but also
because he had just fought a battle last night. Even though Mizuki was a weak
enemy, it was Menma's first battle in this world. Mizuki possessed the average
strength of a Chunin and maintained a high level of fighting consciousness.
Menma knew very well that during yesterday's battle, he was still a little
nervous. His arm holding the kunai trembled slightly at the beginning. In his
previous life, he lived in a harmonious and peaceful country. The biggest
'battle scene' was when he 'assisted' his master in killing a chicken once.
It would be strange if Menma wasn't
nervous at all in this kind of 'real person PK.' Therefore, the outcome of this
battle was not that important to Menma. But the battle itself had extraordinary
significance. This allowed Menma to truly integrate into this dark and cruel
world of 'blood and fire.'