Azami Senju

Chapter XVI: Samehada's Signature

~3rd POV~
Azami attended the funeral from the trees, completely making her chakra, not even Kakashi could sense her. She watched as the elders said a few melancholy words, not even Danzo had anything bad to say. Hiruzen died a valiant death, they all knew and acknowledged that fact.

But that did not mean they had to like it.

One by one, civilians and shinobi alike walked up to their precious Hokage's coffin and paused, saying a few silent prayers for the man, before placing a single white rose down. By the time the last person had placed their rose the coffin was covered in the beautiful flowers, and it had started raining.

Almost as though the sky itself was mourning the loss of such a great man.

Slowly, oh so slowly, people began to wander off. Civilians either went to shelters or their homes if it was still intact, shinobi and council members began the cleanup and rebuilding.

It was already sunset by the time the last person had left and Azami stepped in front of the grave. She sat crossed legged and held her hands in a prayer as she mumbled,

"Hiruzen, I'm really gonna miss you, ya know? You were always like a second father, especially after... after that. You taught me so much, you indulged my weird habits, you were so kind, you just... I'm really gonna miss you. I know, I know, I'm repeating myself. But for good reason! Its 'cause it's true! I really wish you hadn't used Oka-San's jutsu, but I get why you did. Shinigami is powerful, and you needed something just like that protect the village. To protect your, no, our family.

I swear, on Otou-San and Oji-San's names, that I will protect the village! I won't let anyone hurt it, and my will of fire will burn brightly in your and their honor! I will never give up, I'll train till I'm ready to puke, till my legs are jelly and I can't move anymore! I will be strong enough, stronger than Madara even! ...Just wish you could be there to see it... though I know you'll be watching from wherever you are now, I would rather it be in person. So you can ruffle my hair like when I was younger and say, 'Good Job!' Anyway, I shouldn't keep you, you have an entire village's worth of people to watch over after all. Can't waste all your time on me, so bye."

Azami stood up and, with tears in her eyes, placed her white rose down, on top of all the others, "Goodbye, Hokage-Sama. I'll miss you!"

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The cleanup was a slow and tedious, but necessary job. Civilians helped where they could, mostly with picking up trash or builders building. ANBU took over all patrol, except a certain wood-loving one, and the shinobi and kunoichi took 12 hour shifts just helping around. Of course, plenty still took missions, they couldn't allow other nations to believe they were weak, after all.

Nearby Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai Azami senses Samehada and two powerful chakras, one of which is Samehada's current owner by the way the two's signatures mix. She was alive when the sharkskin sword was created, she remembers meeting the man who created the Seven Swords of the Mist (though his name escapes her) with her uncle. Each of the swords have the mans chakra, and even their own signature despite technically being inanimate objects. Though Samehade isn't quite inanimate, it likes eating chakra and is very picky about owners.

And she knows by the bingo book that it's current owner, S-rank missing nin Kisame Hoshigaki, should most definitely not be in Konoha. As she monitors the chakras she notices Sasuje also getting near, and Kisame and the other man, probably Itachi Uchiha (his chakra is very similar to Sasuke's, just older and much stronger), suddenly disappear for a moment, before she catches their signatures walking along where she remembers a canal being. Soon after she senses Asuma and Kurenai do the same, and they confront the two criminals.