[Starting in Naruto with a Daily Login System] Chapter 50  A Grave Reminder

The funeral was held at dawn.

The sky was a dull, suffocating gray, as if the heavens themselves were mourning. The entire village had gathered—shinobi and civilians alike—standing together in silence, dressed in black.

Minato’s portrait was placed at the front, his usual bright smile frozen in time. Beside it, his Hokage cloak was carefully folded, his headband resting just below.

A symbol of everything he’d been. Everything he’d left behind.

I stood near the front with Kushina, Rin, and Obito. Naruto was nestled safely in Kushina’s arms, blissfully unaware of the weight of this moment. The village he was born to protect. The father he’d never know.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the reinstated Third Hokage, stepped forward.

"Today, we gather to honor the life of Namikaze Minato," he began, his voice steady, though sorrow clouded his eyes. "A leader, a friend, a hero. A man who dedicated his life to this village, and who gave everything to protect those he loved."

I barely listened.

Words were useless. No speech, no tribute could ever capture who Minato truly was.

He wasn’t just the Fourth Hokage. He was our sensei. Our leader. Our friend.

He was the man who always believed in us, even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. The one who smiled, even when the world tried to tear him down.

He was supposed to be invincible.

But he was gone.

And the worst part?

Even with all the ridiculous powers I had, I still couldn’t save him.

All the cheats, the advantages, the strength I’d accumulated—I could cut lightning, move faster than most could perceive, and push my body beyond human limits. I could do things no shinobi should be able to do.

But when it mattered most, it hadn’t been enough.

I clenched my fists.

Beside me, Kushina’s grip on Naruto tightened. Rin was silently crying. Obito stood stiffly, his jaw clenched, hands curled into fists.

We had won. The village was safe.

But it didn’t feel like a victory.

—

After the funeral, the village slowly drifted away, but we stayed.

The four of us stood before Minato’s grave, silent.

The fresh stone marker was simple, engraved with his name and title:

Namikaze Minato, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.

Gone too soon.

Kushina let out a shaky breath. "You idiot," she murmured, voice hoarse. "You weren’t supposed to leave me alone."

Obito let out a bitter laugh. "He was always too damn selfless."

Rin wiped at her eyes. "It’s not fair."

I said nothing.

Because no matter how much I tried to justify it, the truth was suffocating.

I had power. I had knowledge. I even had time.

And none of it had been enough to save Minato.

I’d always thought that with my head start—my cheats, my absurd abilities—I could change everything. Maybe even prevent tragedies before they happened.

But I wasn’t some omnipotent god. I was just… me.

And now Minato was gone.

No amount of strength, skill, or foresight could change that.

The silence stretched between us. None of us were ready to leave.

Eventually, Kushina exhaled sharply. "Alright, enough moping," she said, though her voice wavered. "Minato wouldn’t want us sitting here crying forever."

Obito scoffed. "He’d probably tell us to smile more. Something cheesy, like ‘Cherish every moment!’"

Rin let out a weak laugh. "That does sound like him."

Kushina took a deep breath, looking down at Naruto. "I have to keep moving forward. For him." She looked up at us, determination in her eyes. "And for all of you, too."

Obito gave her a lopsided grin. "Tch. Like we’d let you do this alone."

Rin nodded. "We’re family."

I hesitated, then added, "We’ll always be here."

Kushina’s eyes softened. "Thank you."

We lingered for a while longer, until finally—reluctantly—we left the graveyard.

Minato was gone.

But his legacy wasn’t.

And it was up to us to make sure it lived on.

Life in the village moved on.

It always did.

Even after all the death, all the loss, people still went to work. They still opened their shops, cooked meals, trained, and lived. Because that’s what shinobi did. We carried our grief, tucked it away into the hidden corners of our minds, and kept moving forward.

But just because we moved didn’t mean we healed.

Minato’s absence was everywhere.

I caught glimpses of him in the Hokage Monument, where his face was still being carved. In the streets where civilians still whispered about the Yellow Flash. In the way Kushina’s house felt emptier, quieter, even with Naruto in her arms.

I visited her often. We all did. Rin helped where she could, offering warmth and support. Obito would swing by pretending he wasn’t worried, loudly announcing that he was just checking in while carrying groceries like it was some kind of high-ranking mission.

I… mostly hovered.

Kushina pretended not to notice, but she saw through me.

"You’re brooding again," she pointed out one night.

I glanced up from my spot on her couch, where Naruto had just fallen asleep in my lap. "I don’t brood."

She snorted. "Please, you’re always brooding.”

I huffed.

Instead, I focused on Naruto, who was drooling on my vest. His tiny fingers had curled around a strap, his breathing soft and even. Completely defenseless. Completely unaware of everything he’d already lost.

I still wasn’t sure what to do with him.

Minato and Kushina had been his shields. His protectors. Without them, he was just a child in a village that could be cruel. And now, with the masked man still out there, Naruto’s safety wasn’t guaranteed.

No one knew who had attacked us that night.

It hadn’t been an Uchiha. That much was clear. But then who? And why?

The questions gnawed at me. The unknowns made my stomach churn.

But none of it changed the fact that Naruto was here now. And he needed people to look out for him.

Needed family.

I sighed, gently shifting him into Kushina’s arms. "You should sleep."

She gave me a tired smile. "Same goes for you."

I didn’t argue. Just this once, I let myself sit in the quiet, watching over them.

For Minato.

For Naruto.

—

Minato was gone.

I knew that. I understood that. But somehow, it still didn’t feel real.

The village still stood. People still moved, laughed, trained, and argued about irrelevant nonsense. The Hokage Tower still loomed over Konoha, though now it belonged to Hiruzen again. Nothing looked different.

And yet—

Everything was.

It was in the way the village felt dimmer, like a light had gone out that we hadn’t realized we depended on. It was in the way the air felt heavier, like Konoha itself was grieving. It was in the way I caught myself expecting to see Minato-sensei walk through a door, only to remember he never would again.

I had every advantage. Every power, every tool, every piece of knowledge that should have let me change things.

And yet I’d still failed.

Even with all my abilities, I hadn’t been fast enough. Hadn’t been strong enough. Hadn’t been enough.

Minato had died protecting his family, his village, his son.

And I—

I had just stood there.

I clenched my fists.

I hated this. I hated feeling powerless. I hated that the story was still following the same tragic script, no matter how hard I tried to rewrite it.

"You’re doing it again," Rin murmured beside me.

I blinked, pulled from my thoughts. "Doing what?"

She gave me a knowing look. "Blaming yourself."

Obito, standing on my other side, crossed his arms. "Yeah. It’s annoying."

I stared at them. "Excuse me?"

Obito sighed dramatically. "Look, we all wanted to save him. You think you’re the only one who wishes things went differently?"

Rin nodded. "We all lost him, Kakashi."

I exhaled sharply, looking away.

We stood near the edge of the village, where the sun was beginning to set over the rooftops. It was quiet. A rare moment of peace in a world that never really stopped moving.

It didn’t last.

"Kakashi," Obito said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You’re not a god."

I snorted. "Obviously."

"And you’re not alone either," Rin added.

I hesitated. Then—very quietly—I muttered, "I could have done more."

Obito groaned and smacked the back of my head.

"Ow!" I glared at him. "What was that for?"

"For being stupid."

"Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Listen, genius, you think you could’ve done more? So do we. But sitting here and moping about it isn’t gonna change anything."

Rin nodded. "Minato-sensei wouldn’t want you to drown in regret, Kakashi. He’d want you to keep moving forward."

Obito crossed his arms. "Yeah. So stop being emo."

I scoffed. "I am not emo."

"You so are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Both of you are impossible," Rin sighed.

Obito smirked. "Yeah, but you love us anyway."

She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately."

I almost smiled. Almost.

Because as much as I hated to admit it… they were right.

I wasn’t the only one carrying this loss.

And maybe—just maybe—moving forward didn’t mean forgetting. It just meant carrying the memories with us.

Minato was gone. That was reality.

But Naruto was still here.

Kushina was still here.

And as long as they were, I had something to protect.

And me?

I wasn’t sure what came next.

There was a part of me that still believed the story had changed. The masked man hadn’t been an Uchiha. That alone meant something was different. But had it changed enough? Would history continue down the same path, just with a different hand guiding the tragedies?

Would another enemy rise in the shadows? Would Naruto grow up the same way, carrying the burden of the Kyuubi alone?

Would everything fall apart again, just in a different way?

I didn’t know.

But I wasn’t about to sit back and find out.

If this world wanted to keep throwing its tragedies at me, then fine. Let it try. I wasn’t the same as I was before. I wasn’t just another soldier following orders, just another pawn in someone else’s story.

I had the power to change things. To protect what mattered.

And I would.

Because if Minato-sensei had taught me anything—

It was that the future wasn’t something to be predicted. It was something to be built.

And I wasn’t done building yet.

[END OF VOLUME I]