Naruto: Chronicles of a Fire Ninja - Chapter 375

Chapter 375: Chapter 370: Impossible Goals
“I have cooked a little too much. Can you guys please join me? It is rather lonely to eat alone,” Kaida said. Even though both of them could see what Kaida was trying to do, they couldn’t bring themselves to say no to a boy who was reminding them of their own son.

All three of them sat at the table to begin eating. Kaida had also not forgotten about the two bear-sized dogs in the room, presenting something specially made for them too. Seeing Ryota’s parents eating, those two also started eating as well.

For the next minute, the dining table was silent, with only a few sobs escaping the unfortunate parents. Kaida also didn’t say anything for the time being, just focusing on the food.

After 1 hour of slow lunch, they finally finished eating. Yasuhiro turned to his wife, who finally got some peace though she still had a somber expression on her face. At least she was not looking like she had lost all reason to live. He was about to thank Kaida for this when the boy in front of them went to the ground with his forehead touching the floor.

“I am sorry… I don’t know how I should say this, but if I don’t, I will not be able to live. When we were about to go to the outpost, I had an inkling feeling something bad was about to happen. I was worried about Yomi who was going to be alone in an outpost, but then I found out that Ryota will be going with her as well.

“When I shared my problem with him, he told me he will take care of her. He promised me that… and at the end, he died protecting her. He stayed behind to stop the enemy so that Yomi could run away. I know it was his decision to be a hero, to sacrifice himself for a friend, but I can’t shake off the feeling that I am also a reason behind your son’s death. Please give me any punishment you see fit,” an earnest plea came from the boy kneeling in front of them, reopening the wounds which were slowly closing.

“Kaida… You know I am sad about my son’s death. I am so sad that I want to lose my life, to go and meet him in the pure lands. But aside from that sadness, there is also a pride I have for my son.

“We all have to die in the end, but he chose to not succumb to fear or any other malice and chose to sacrifice himself for a friend. He died the death of a hero. I will not allow you to have a share of that, so I will not allow you to take any blame as well. You have nothing to do with my son’s death, understand?” Yasuhiro asked.

“…Yes sir,” Kaida said. Then he stood up, passed a scroll to the family, and silently left the house. As soon as he left, loud wails started coming from inside, but he didn’t go inside. He just sat on the ground there, looking toward the sky, letting the last reunion between parent and son alone.

After a very long time, the wailing finally stopped and the process of the burial of the dead started. Inuzuka had their own customs for the dead, where the ninja was buried with their companion. If they died at different times, their graves would be adjacent to each other. But since the loyalty of these dogs was too much, they normally followed their master to death on the battlefield.

Just like Kiba, who followed Ryota to death even though he could have easily run away and saved his life, Kaida was joined by Yomi and many other classmates he had, showing how well-liked Ryota was, a friend to each and every student of the class.

All of them remained in the background as the clan completed the ritual. The faces of both of Ryota’s parents were something Kaida was not able to see after he left the house, always keeping his eyes on the ground.

After the ceremony was completed, people started leaving while Kaida and Yomi remained there, along with Ryota’s parents, sitting in front of Ryota’s grave.

When the sun was about to go down, Yasuhiro stood up and came to Yomi.

“Child, can you take Ryota’s mom to the house? It is getting late,” Yasuhiro said. Yomi looked toward him and then toward Kaida, understanding that he must want to talk to Kaida about something. She nodded and took Ryota’s mom to their house.

While Yasuhiro took a seat next to Kaida, he asked, “Do you know about the ninja who killed my son?”

“Both of them are dead. He fought a squad alone, containing two special Jonin and two Chunin. By the time I reached there, he had already killed two already, and the remaining two were injured as well. I am sorry I couldn’t control myself at that time and killed the remaining two as well,” Kaida said.

“Sigh I can’t even take revenge for my son. It’s all his fault, though. Who asked him to find such good friends?” Yasuhiro said, a small smile forming on his face, which looked a mixture of sadness and pride.

“The revenge is still not completed, sir. It will be completed when those who were actually behind the death of my friend pay for it. But there is still a long way before we could do anything about them,” Kaida said.

After which Kaida stood in silence for a long time, his gaze fixed on Ryota’s grave as the last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon. The evening breeze rustled the leaves, carrying with it a quiet solemnity. Yasuhiro remained seated, his expression unreadable.

Finally, Kaida turned and took a deep breath. His heart was heavy, but the weight only strengthened his resolve. He knew that lingering here would not bring Ryota back or fulfill the promise he had just made.

With a respectful bow to Yasuhiro, Kaida spoke softly, “I will take my leave. Please take some rest as well.”

Yasuhiro nodded, though his eyes remained on the grave. “Don’t let this change you, son. This is just a part of life,” though he himself didn’t know how much he could follow these words.

As Kaida walked away from the burial site, the crisp night air seemed to sharpen his thoughts. He needed clarity—not just for his emotions but for the path ahead. Without hesitation, he made his way to the Uchiha compound, where he requested the most secluded meditation room available.

Once inside, Kaida closed the door behind him, shutting out the world and its noise. The room was dimly lit, with a faint glow from a single candle illuminating the polished wooden floor filled with various seals, whose main function was to just increase the concentration of the user. He moved to the center of the room and sat down cross-legged, his back straight, his hands resting on his knees.

For a moment, he let himself feel everything—the grief, the anger, the guilt, and the burning determination that simmered beneath it all. Then, slowly, he began to breathe, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest. Each breath became a rhythm, steady and deliberate, as he pushed the swirling chaos within him into stillness.

His mind went through various scenarios. In one of them, he was even planning on increasing his strength so much that he himself would be enough to destroy a ninja village by himself. But he quickly shook that thought. He was not dumb enough to not know his power level himself. With this Mangekyo, he was already in the league of S-rank, but he was left completely chakra-exhausted in a minute, even considering the fact that he deliberately overused his chakra.

But it showed a clear picture to him about his strength. At most, he would be able to go against a force five times that, and now that his chakra reserves have more than doubled from that time, 10 times. But the point still stood: going against 100 ninja alone is a feat in itself, which will make a great name but was nowhere near strong enough to go against a whole ninja village alone.

If he wanted to really do something, he had to think something different like…