As Renji neared the cemetery, his mind space grew more crowded—the number of heads of hair multiplying rapidly. Some of them, he realized, were beneath the ground.
'These must be from the buried kunoichi.'
He picked one at random, a messy bun that had partly come loose, and focused on it. The connection formed instantly, but unlike the living, there were no emotions flowing through it.
'Makes sense—they're dead, after all.'
As he drew closer to the cemetery gates, his mind space swelled with even heads of hair, in every direction like a vast forest. Each one pulsed with Demonic Energy.
'So much energy… If only I could absorb all of this!'
As he was thinking, a head of hair appeared in his mind space.
Long, vibrant red hair—sleek, slightly layered, with a small clip pinning part of the bangs neatly to the side. It floated there vividly, so lifelike he could almost picture Kushina herself standing before him.
But more than its appearance, the sheer energy in the hair stunned him. It dwarfed everything else around it—greater than the combined energy of all the others in the cemetery. It pulsed with nearly a hundred times the energy he had sensed in the Yamanaka jōnin's ponytail earlier, almost ten thousand units!
Unconsciously, he slipped into his mind space as an avatar and reached out to with a hand to touch that hair.
Almost the instantly, a soft, affectionate whisper sounded in his mind: "Naruto… Minato…"
He staggered back from the floating hair, breath caught.
'What was that?!'
'There's no way she's alive—how am I hearing this?'
Cautiously, he reached out again, this time holding the red hair with both hands in his mind space.
The same tender whisper brushed against him once more: "Naruto… Minato…"
He kept his grip steady, examining the hair deeply, searching for more. After a while, he released it.
He sighed, 'My instincts are telling me it's nothing more than an echo. I don't feel any other feelings, so she really must be dead. How deep must her obsession be, to be able to do this?'
Watching the fiery red hair floating before him, he felt overwhelming energy from it. Renji felt his resolve harden.
'I have to collect this. No matter what!'
With that, he pulled himself back from his mind space, only to realize, he had been standing motionless the entire time. Entering as an avatar had completely dulled his awareness of the outside world, leaving him exposed.
Luckily, Teuchi and Ayame had simply waited by his side without complaint.
Teuchi gave him a concerned glance. "What's wrong? Did you remember something?"
Renji shook his head and lied smoothly. "No… this place just felt familiar."
Teuchi nodded in understanding. "You used to come here to visit your parents' graves. It's probably because of that."
With that, they continued onward.
Eventually, they reached the designated area and found their place among the gathered crowd. The cemetery quickly filled with villagers—shinobi and civilians alike—until a heavy silence blanketed the grounds.
Then, at last, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped forward with his advisors, Homura and Koharu, flanking him. The old man's presence carried authority, his solemn gaze sweeping over the people who had come to mourn.
He began to speak, his voice steady and clear despite the grief etched on his features.
"Today, we stand together to honor those who gave their lives to protect our village during the Kyūbi's attack. They were comrades, family, friends… and each of them carried the Will of Fire within their hearts."
"The Will of Fire is what binds us—the belief that the future of the village is worth any sacrifice, that we protect the next generation no matter the cost. Our brothers and sisters who fell that night gave everything so the flames of Konoha would not be extinguished."
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on the younger shinobi in the crowd. "It is now our duty to carry that flame forward. To protect the children, to protect each other, and to rebuild this village stronger than before. As long as we cherish one another, the Will of Fire will never die."
"Let us never forget their sacrifice. May their names live forever in our hearts, as the foundation upon which Konoha endures."
Many among the crowd looked moved, some even crying.
While listening, Renji let part of his focus drift to the trio at the front.
Hiruzen looked noticeably younger than in the anime Renji remembered, yet exhaustion weighed heavily on his features. Beside him, Homura and Koharu stood quietly, their expressions set in sorrow as the speech carried on.
Renji shifted his attention to Koharu's tightly bound hair bun in his mind space. Its energy was faint—less than that of a typical jōnin. When he grasped it gently, emotions trickled through… or rather, the absence of much emotion at all.
She felt largely indifferent. But beneath that indifference, there was a small, unsettling trace of happiness.
'So… she's a bit happy about this. Probably because she's back in power.'
'I bet the advisors lost a lot of influence while Minato was Hokage.'
He scoffed inwardly.
'Still, come on, lady. Show some respect!'
Shaking his head, Renji his focus again shifted back onto Kushina's vibrant hair floating in his mind space. The temptation to get it now was strong—too strong—but he held himself back.
'No… not yet.'
His technique had proven stealthy enough with Ayame's braid and the Yamanaka jōnin's hair. But this was different. He was standing before the Third Hokage himself. "The Professor."
The so-called "Strongest Hokage" might look exhausted, but that didn't mean he could be underestimated. He was still the best shinobi in Konoha at this moment.
And then there were the Hyūga.
'If even one of them has their Byakugan active, they'd spot the hair moving instantly. My skill makes the hair's movement silent—not invisible.'
So he restrained himself, forcing down the urge to act. Instead, he turned his attention outward, scanning the gathering of clans assembled around the cemetery.
One by one, he committed the energy signatures of powerful kunoichi to memory, matching them with their faces whenever he could. Each clan had its standouts—their hair pulsing distinctly in his mind space.
Among the Uchiha, he quickly picked out Mikoto's presence. And not far from her, he also sensed the familiar signature of the kunoichi who had tailed him through the village.
After what felt like a long time, the speech came to an end. One by one, everyone stepped forward to place flowers before the monument raised for the fallen.
Renji's eyes lingered on the stone surface, densely carved with names. There had to be thousands. The sight made his chest tighten.
'Life is really fragile. Even as citizens of the strongest village, so many died—many without even having the chance to fight back. This… is the sin of weakness.'
He clenched his fist, resolve burning sharp in his chest.
'I refuse to be one of them. I need to hurry with my plans.'
The ceremony drew to a close, and slowly the crowd began to disperse.
Before turning to leave, Renji cast one last look at the fiery red hair pulsing in his mind space.
'I'll be back for you.'
With that silent promise, he walked away, letting the hair slip out of range.