Mito's death did not alarm the people of Konoha, because Mito had already "died once" before and a grand funeral had been held.
Therefore, the second funeral held for Mito's death this time was very low-key and secret, and only a small number of people who knew that Mito was not dead came to the funeral.
At the funeral, Kirito looked at the familiar person who had permanently stopped breathing, and a wave of pain came from the bottom of his heart, making him unable to hold back his tears.
Next to him, Nawaki and Tsunade were also crying their hearts out.
Naturally, Sandaime was among the mourners at the funeral. As he looked at Mito's body in the coffin, a look of sadness and desolation could not help but appear on his face.
Since Mito's death, all of the powerful ninjas who had originally established Konoha had passed away. Names like Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama, and Uzumaki Mito had all disappeared into the long river of history.
In the future, the legends of their lives will only continue to be passed down in books and in people's memories.
"Where Konoha dances, the fire will never die. First Hokage, Sensei, and Mito-sama, the will of fire you left behind has been successfully passed down to the new generation: Tsunade, Nawaki, and Kirito are all heirs to the will of fire. Rest assured, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, will protect them from the wind and rain and allow them to grow up smoothly."
Sandaime turned his head to look at Tsunade, Nawaki, and Kirito, and saw that they were all sincerely grieving over Mito's death and had made a promise in silence.
Then, he walked up to them and said a few comforting words to each of them, telling them not to wallow in their grief and to pull themselves together as soon as possible.
Then, he looked at Kushina, the new Kyubi Jinchuuriki, and a serious expression appeared on his face.
Now that Lord Mito has passed away, and the Jinchuuriki has yet to grow up, the task of protecting the Jinchuuriki must be arranged as soon as possible.
The Jinchuuriki is too important to Konoha, and Kushina is still young and lacks the strength to control the power of the Kyubi.
Konoha is unlikely to be able to obtain the help of the Jinchuuriki for a long time, and instead, it will need to protect her at all times.
"In theory, the only person in the village who can now stably control the Kyubi's rampage is Kirito. It would be a good idea to have him act as Kushina's bodyguard, but Kirito will definitely need to go to war and gain experience in the future. Who should protect Kushina during this time? What a headache."
Sandaime frowned slightly and thought.
With the death of Lord Mito, it was time for both Nawaki and Kirito to go to the battlefield to gain experience. This was something that had to be done, because these outstanding young Konoha buds could not grow successfully without experiencing the trials and tribulations of the outside world.
He had also come this way back then.
Although the process would be very dangerous, this was how ninja grew up. Otherwise, they could not become truly powerful ninja, nor could they convince the other ninja in the village who risked their lives for the village.
Mito once said that he wanted to be buried with the first generation.
So after everyone had finished mourning for Mito, they began to secretly carry the coffin.
As the God of Ninja, Senju Hashirama's corpse was undoubtedly of great value. To prevent anyone from desecrating his remains, his grave was a secret known only to a few people in Konoha.
As Mito's disciple, Kirito is naturally not considered an outsider and is eligible to know this secret. He quietly left Konoha with Tsunade and the others and finally arrived in a very hidden valley in the north of Konoha.
Here, Kirito saw many ancient stone buildings, and some stone pillars with a strong historical atmosphere were engraved with the family emblem of the Senju clan.
Furthermore, he discovered that there was a very powerful protective sealing barrier here that could confuse others' perceptions. If no one showed the way, ordinary people would never be able to find the valley and would simply get lost in it.
In addition, there were many powerful beasts living in the valley. A ninja who was not strong enough to be a jōnin would be killed by these powerful beasts if they entered it carelessly.
"This is the burial ground of the Senju clan. For a long time, the members of the Senju clan have been buried here, and the first and second generations of lords are also buried here."
Momo, who was by Kirito's side, took the initiative to introduce herself to Kirito.
Kirito nodded in response, and then quietly cast his gaze towards Orochimaru, who was not far away by Sandaime's side. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Huh?"
Orochimaru was highly vigilant. Even though he was observing the powerful sealing barrier in the valley with interest, as usual, trying to find loopholes in it for fun, he immediately sensed someone showing him very familiar hostility.
He immediately looked in the direction of the feeling and discovered that the hostility was coming from Kirito's side.
However, at this time, Kirito had already withdrawn his gaze, leaving him wondering who had just shown him hostility.
"Who could it be?"
Orochimaru couldn't tell who it was, so he quickly looked away, thinking to himself.
At the same time, he also wanted to know why the person who had suddenly shown hostility towards him had suddenly shown hostility towards him.
Under the leadership of Momo, an elder of the Senju clan, the group avoided many hidden deadly traps and successfully entered the depths of the valley, deep into a huge underground tomb.
Here, Kirito and the others saw a large number of sarcophagi, all of which had names engraved on them, basically all of them belonging to the Senju clan.
"The area in front of us is where the successive clan leaders are buried. Except for Tsunade, Nawaki, Kirito, and Kushina, everyone else please wait here for now."
Momo led the group to a huge stone door at the back of the tomb, then turned to Sandaime, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu and said.
Sandaime and the others also knew the importance of the core of the clan cemetery, so naturally they had no complaints and nodded tactfully, waiting outside.
Momo was very satisfied with Sandaime and the others' understanding, and then turned around and began to quickly form seals to break the seal on the stone door.
As the seal was broken, the stone door slowly opened by itself.
Nawaki and Kirito saw this and immediately entered behind each other, lifting Mito's coffin up with them, before following Momo and the others inside.
Behind the stone door was a long underground passage that went deeper and deeper underground.
A few minutes later, Kirito and the others arrived in a huge underground space.
There was actually an underground lake here. Under the light of the fire, the lake was emerald green and crystal clear.
In the center of the lake was an island in the middle of the lake, with a dead tree growing on it.
Dozens of stone coffins were placed around the dead tree.
Here, Kirito sensed a very familiar energy, that of nature.
The concentration of natural energy in this underground space was actually ten times that of the outside world.
The lake water gave him the feeling of liquid natural energy.
But the most amazing thing for him was the dead tree on the island in the middle of the lake. Although it appeared to be dead, it was actually still alive. This vitality was very weak, but incredibly tenacious, and it contained a surprisingly large amount of chakra.
The amount of chakra might not be comparable to that of a tailed beast, but it gave him the feeling that it was not far off.
Using his natural energy perception, Kirito sensed very familiar Wood Release chakra within the dead tree.
It was this Wood Release Chakra that had kept the vitality of this dead tree going.
What's more, it was actually gathering and absorbing the natural energy around it, and then transforming it into Chakra.
Perhaps it was constantly gathering natural energy from the outside world, which was why this underground space was full of rich natural energy.
"Could it be that it's part of the Divine Tree? I remember in the original anime plot, all the fragments of the Divine Tree were destroyed by the Sage of the Six Paths, so how could there be fragments of the Divine Tree here?"
Kirito stared at the dead tree on the island in the middle of the lake, wondering.
"Kirito, can you use your Magnet Release to build a bridge to the island in the middle of the lake? This lake is not simple, it is a very terrifying trap. If we ninjas are not careful and get caught in this water, we may die in a moment if we are not someone with a large amount of chakra."
Suddenly, Momo's voice entered Kirito's ears, bringing him back to reality.
"No problem, Lord Momo,"
Kirito replied immediately, then carefully placed the coffin down and took out a summoning scroll from his body, using the Summoning Technique: Release to take out the Magnet Release Black Rod from it.
Holding the Magnet Release Black Rod, he input Lightning Release Chakra into it to create a powerful magnetic force, and then used the magnetic force to quickly attract the iron sand underground.
Soon, a bridge made of iron sand appeared in front of Momo and the others.
"It's ready, Lord Momo."
Kirito personally walked up to Momo and said to her.
Momo immediately told the others to follow, and they used the bridge created by Kirito's Magnet Release to successfully enter the island in the middle of the lake.
As soon as Momo arrived on the island, she quickly walked over to a sarcophagus, her face showing signs of grief as she muttered, "Lord Hashirama, I'm sorry to disturb you."
After saying this, she placed her hands on top of the sarcophagus, channeled her chakra, and then quickly formed hand seals with her hands.
Once the seal was complete, the sarcophagus slowly opened.
The remains of Senju Hashirama suddenly appeared before Kirito and the others.
It was very surprising. Senju Hashirama had obviously been dead for more than 20 years, but his remains were still lifelike, and he still maintained a strong vitality, completely unlike someone who had been dead for many years.
"Tsunade, Nawaki, you guys come take a look at your grandfather."
Momo looked at the sleeping-like Senju Hashirama in front of her, stunned for a moment, and then turned to Tsunade and Nawaki and said.
"Grandpa."
Tsunade heard this and then walked over to see Hashirama's remains. She was suddenly both excited and sad, and tears came out uncontrollably.
Nawaki also walked up quickly, silently looking at the remains of his grandfather, his face showing an expression of excitement.
His grandfather had already died before he was born, and he didn't have any memories of Hashirama, only a sense of his debt and respect.
He was just overcome with grief, and didn't feel much when he saw his grandfather.
"Is this the remains of the God of Ninja? What an amazing body, even in death it gives me a very dangerous feeling, I really don't know how powerful he would have been when he was alive."
Kirito stood on the side and looked at the remains of Senju Hashirama, marveling in his heart.
How much is the value of Senju Hashirama's remains? Judging from the fact that there is still not the slightest sign of decay in his remains, it is truly a miracle.
The Wood Release Bloodline Limit is truly amazing, and with the Hashirama cells still alive within his body, it is a treasure of the ninja world.
In the past, Kirito might have wondered why Senju Hashirama, who was obviously in perfect health, died after fighting Uchiha Madara.
But now he no longer wonders about this, because in the world of the ninja, death does not only mean the destruction of the body, but also the death of the soul.
What kind of power did Uchiha Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan have? No one knows.
But Kirito now thinks that one of the possibilities is a powerful technique that involves the soul. Perhaps in order to defeat Senju Hashirama, he mastered some kind of powerful soul jutsu.
It is very likely that Senju Hashirama died from a severe injury to his soul.
Otherwise, it would be hard to say that such a strong and healthy body died from a serious injury.
Compared to the body, a soul wound is even more difficult to heal. Unless one's soul is very strong, it is basically impossible to heal oneself, and it will only continue to worsen until one dies from a serious soul wound.
"Tsunade, Nawaki, place Lord Mito next to Lord Hashirama,"
Momo continued to look at the remains of Senju Hashirama for a while before saying to the two of them, "Tsunade and Nawaki, place Lord Mito's body next to Lord Hashirama's."
Tsunade and Nawaki immediately obeyed, carefully removing their grandmother's remains from the coffin and placing them next to their grandfather's.
Before dying, Mito once again activated the Yin Seal, causing him to return to his young and beautiful appearance, and used a special sealing technique on himself, allowing him to continue looking young and beautiful even after death.
Therefore, at this time, besides having grey hair, Mito and Senju Hashirama placed together can be said to be a talented man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.
"Okay, you two step back, I'm going to close the sarcophagus again."
Momo watched the two people in the sarcophagus in a daze. Scenes of the two of them together when they were young flashed through her mind, and she couldn't help but show a nostalgic expression on her face before she sighed.
Tsunade and Nawaki reluctantly looked at the two people in the sarcophagus and then slowly backed away.
Momo immediately performed the seal again to restart the sealing technique on the sarcophagus and allow it to close again.
"Momo-dono, I don't think the defensive power here is enough. How about I set a new sealing barrier here?"
At this time, Kirito suddenly said.
Upon hearing Kirito's words, Momo expressed surprise on her face before replying, "Kirito, although the defensive power here is insufficient, the outside is extremely strong. Unless one is a Kage-Level powerhouse proficient in sealing techniques, it is impossible to successfully break through the seal outside and get in here."
The unspoken implication was whether Kirito's move was a bit redundant.
But soon, as if she had remembered something, she immediately changed her mind and said, "But if you want to do it and it's not a hassle, then go for it."
"No hassle, just leave here first, I'll be done soon,"
Kirito shook his head and said.
Then, he suddenly asked, "Momo-dono, is this dead tree important?"
"Of course it's important. This dead tree has existed for a long time and possesses magical powers that can prevent the corpses around it from decaying for a long time. Because of this, it was transplanted here by our Senju clan. So when you set up the sealing barrier later, you must absolutely not harm it."
Momo replied seriously upon hearing this.
"I understand."
Kirito obediently nodded.
In a short while, Momo and the others left the island in the middle of the lake and returned to the edge of the underground lake.
Seeing this, Kirito immediately slapped his hands together, and an astonishing wave of chakra surged from his body, with a large number of seal techniques emerging from him.
These seal techniques quickly covered the entire island in the middle of the lake, and even penetrated deep into the lake water.
What surprised Momo was that the seal techniques formed from the chakra did not clash with the lake water, which would devour the chakra if it came into contact with it.
The lake water remained incredibly calm.
"This kid's sealing technique has reached this level, perhaps his sealing technique will surpass Lord Mito in the future."
Momo was astonished as she noticed this.
At this moment, the sealing technique Kirito used here was the Four Symbols Seal. At the same time, he also added in the sealing technique he learned from Monk Hoichi, which could channel and manipulate natural energy through chakra, to enhance its power.
If it weren't for the use of natural energy to enhance its power, this Four Symbols Seal would at most be able to seal the entire island in a different space. Now that natural energy has been added, it might be possible to seal the entire underground lake.
And the energy core that supports this enhanced version of the Four Symbols Seal is the chakra in the body of the dead tree.
Kirito used this dead tree as the eye of the seal formation to set up the Four Symbols Seal this time.
If someone forcibly opens any of the sarcophagi on the island in the middle of the lake, the Four Symbols Seal hidden here will be activated immediately.
Finally, Kirito also added a Sealing: Nine-Layered of Light Formation here.
This Sealing Technique is also sustained for a long time using the chakra in the dead tree, and the activation conditions are the same as those of the Four Symbols Seal.
The nine-layered lamp formation is the most advanced binding seal technique that Kirito can set up alone. Once activated, even a powerful tailed beast cannot break free in a short period of time.
"I hope no one will try to take advantage of this place. Teacher, I absolutely will not allow anyone to desecrate your remains,"
Kirito muttered after successfully setting up two powerful seals and turning his head to look at the sarcophagus where Mito was located.
Then, he went up to the iron sand bridge he had created using Magnet Release, left the island in the middle of the lake, and then left this underground space with Tsunade and the others.
This concluded Mito's funeral.
On the other side, in the underground prison of Gojo Makoto's mansion in the country of Waves,
the Gojo Makoto played by the White Zetsu clone went to a cell deep in the prison, where a ninja who had lost all four limbs was bound by chains covered in seal techniques on the surface. It was Kakuzu himself.
He heard a noise and suddenly turned his head with difficulty to look at the White Zetsu clone outside the cell.
"Give up. I will never join your organization. I, Kakuzu, will never yield to you,"
Kakuzu said coldly when he saw the White Zetsu clone.
Over the past few months, he had realized that this person was the damned mysterious warrior who had claimed to be the leader of the Night Organization and had invited him to join.
Who was Kakuzu? How could he possibly yield so easily?
Moreover, he didn't trust anyone and naturally would never become anyone's companion.
Moreover, the person in front of him had beaten him to his current state, and he was full of anger. He would be lucky to not kill the other person, so how could he possibly agree to become the other person's subordinate.
Anyway, he was not afraid of death and was not afraid of anything at all.
Kirito heard Kakuzu's stubborn words without any change in expression on his face, except that his gaze at Kakuzu today was particularly cold.
Kakuzu also keenly noticed this, and suddenly realized that today might be the day of his death.
In response, Kakuzu just sneered a few times indifferently.
Death meant nothing to him. From the moment the village betrayed him, his heart had actually died.
The reason he continued to live was because he was unwilling to be treated so unfairly.
So, he chose to take revenge, killing all the high-ranking Taki nin who had betrayed him, and using the secret technique of earth grudge to take away their hearts, so that they would die in long-lasting agony.
After completing his revenge, he personally became incredibly empty, and it wasn't until he discovered that money could fill this emptiness that he began to believe in money and continue living for the sake of making money.
But gradually, he also began to feel a slight sense of boredom with this day-in, day-out money-making routine.
Perhaps in the near future, even if no one kills him, after losing the joy of making money, he will choose to commit suicide.
It's just a little bit of a slight advance of the schedule now, no big deal.
"Are you really not going to reconsider? If you promise, I can make you the CFO of Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company, and the annual salary is 100 million. Right now, Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company's revenue is very high, which can completely satisfy your love of money."
Kirito did his best to make a last-ditch effort.
Kakuzu is such a Kage-Level powerhouse that is not inferior to the then-powerful force, and it is impossible for Kirito to say that he doesn't want to bring him under his command.
After all, if he can successfully recruit Kakuzu, it will change Kakuzu's fate, and there is a high chance that he can successfully obtain Enhancement Points.
Unfortunately, Kakuzu's stubbornness was even greater than he had imagined.
Although he had secretly used the Spirit Transformation Technique: Soul Search on Kakuzu to obtain his memories and understand his life and character, he still underestimated his obsession with not trusting anyone.
Even the huge bait of the financial director of Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company was useless.
He really doesn't know what Nagato did to get Kakuzu to join him. Maybe something happened to Kakuzu that changed him, but Kakuzu is now like a rock in a latrine—hard and smelly—and there's no way to win him over.
"Impossible is impossible. Just end my life quickly and don't waste any more of our time."
Kakuzu once again refused Kirito's invitation without hesitation.
After saying this, he closed his eyes, stopped looking at Kirito, and waited quietly for death to come.
"Alas, that's a pity."
Kirito let out a long sigh and a look of regret appeared on his face after getting rejected again.
His patience was limited, and this patience was exhausted with the death of his teacher.
Because after his teacher died, the time for him to go to war was not far off, and before that, he had to find a way to quickly improve his strength again.
Although his abilities had been constantly improving since obtaining the Byakugan and Ketsuryūgan, and his strength had been rapidly increasing thanks to the nourishment of the two powers of Wood Release and Senjutsu, he naturally wanted to improve his strength as much as possible just to be on the safe side and to ensure that he could survive the dangerous battlefield.
Enhancement Points were the key to this.
Kakuzu heard Kirito say that he would finally kill him, and that nothing was interesting. He calmly reopened his eyes and looked at Kirito again.
At that moment, Kakuzu's green eyes seemed to be speaking, and Kirito, upon seeing them, suddenly understood what Kakuzu was saying.
It was saying, "I will be waiting for you down there. We will meet again soon."
"You may not be able to do as you wish. I should live a long life, but perhaps one day, we will meet again in this world."
Kirito sneered, and then placed his hand on Kakuzu's head.
Kakuzu obviously didn't quite understand the meaning of what Kirito had just said. Just as he was filled with doubts, he noticed his consciousness rapidly fading.
"So this is what death feels like, it doesn't feel like anything special,"
Kakuzu thought as he was about to die, before falling into eternal darkness.
[You have successfully changed Kakuzu's fate and obtained two Enhancement Points.]
The moment Kirito ended Kakuzu's life, he immediately heard the long-lost voice of the system in his ear again.
"Two more Enhancement Points. Where should I add them this time?"
Kirito heard the System's voice and immediately quietly opened the Attributes Panel, looking at the various options for adding Enhancement Points. He was overcome with a brief case of choice paralysis.