Land of Hot Water Southern coast, night.
At dinner time, Minato did not refuse the wine offered by Shinji for the first time. Not a word was spoken the whole time, just glass after glass of alcohol pouring down the esophagus.
However, no matter how many glasses of strong alcohol Minato I drink, it always feels like it's not enough because my head is still clear!
From time to time, I can still think of the less than 500 demons that I bravely dealt with at that time! And their eyes were like looking at demons until life and death!
Because of his brave act of justice, more than a million lives in the two countries disappeared...
He obviously wanted to save people, but the result was that more people were killed. Devil, who is the devil? Is it them? Is it yourself?
"Koro-sensei, Master Gate Something's wrong today. Not only did I change my clothes, but I also..."
Karin did not continue speaking, or it may be that he simply did not know how to describe Minato's current state.
Whether it is self-destruction or self-anesthesia, I always feel that the degree is not enough.
"Well, man... no, no matter who you are, there will be times when you just want to completely numb yourself with alcohol. You will understand this kind of thing one day."
Shinji said indifferently, and then helped Minato refill the soju again. At the same time, he was also wondering, if it were today, would Minato accept his invitation to have fun together?
Seeing how Minato wants to escape everything, the possibility of agreeing is not small! By the way, if he agrees, which store should I take him to?
It has to be a bit higher-end. After all, it is the original Fourth Hokage. A low-end store is sorry for his status.
"Teacher, have you ever been like this?" Bai asked.
Shinji answered naturally, "Of course, but it's a pity that teacher, I know that alcohol is different from tears and rain. It can't wash away anything. Whether it's sadness, regret or pain, a short period of anesthesia will only make people's senses clearer. So, when you reach the age where you can drink in the future, be sure not to drink too much. Got it?"
Karin: "Hi——"
"Yeah."
Bai nodded slightly, bent his eyes and smiled lightly. As for Kimimaro on the side, he nodded indifferently.
"Hey, this is the last bottle of good wine! Why did you make it all for me? Stop joking! Pay me back now!"
Seeing the teacher who was teaching him not to be greedy for drinks just now, but now holding the bottle of wine and getting angry, Karin, Bai and Kimimaro looked at each other and smiled helplessly.
"Mr. Anri, why didn't you tell me then?"
Hearing these words, Shinji was startled, then put down the wine bottle in his hand, loosened Minato's collar, and sat down again.
"Xiaomen, you really asked a very interesting question, and it also makes me feel that your evil has become more and more pure."
"No! I'm not blaming you! I'm just..."
Looking at Minato who was hesitant to speak, with a tangled expression filled with some kind of pain while still clutching the wine glass, the life coach side of Shinji came online again after a long absence.
"Calm down, and know that no one said you did anything wrong. In fact, not even I said it was your fault."
"But, if it weren't for me, those people..."
"Don't worry about that kind of thing. Besides, even if you didn't take action, there might be other brave people who would show up at that time, and the result would be the same."
"Rebirth: The Great Era of Riding the Waves"
"It's different! It's all my self-righteousness..."
The wine glass rattled as Minato grabbed it, and Shinji, who looked at the pain on Minato's face, pondered for a moment.
"Xiaomen, the evaluation of right and wrong is meaningless, and the question of who the devil is is meaningless. If you want to understand this matter easily, I will give you a simple example here so you can understand.
Compare the villages plundered by those people to rabbits, and those who burned, killed and looted to wolves. As a bystander, you think it is too cruel for wolves to prey on rabbits.
So the strongest wolves in the wolf pack were hunted down.
What you don't know is that there is a group of wild boars on the hill where this wolf pack is located, which has never been in harmony with the wolves. The wild boars seized the opportunity of the wolf pack being weakened and destroyed the entire wolf pack in one fell swoop.
If you describe it this way, you will know how funny your current state is. At this moment, you are actually blaming yourself for the destruction of the wolves that you initially thought were evil! I even regretted it! Isn't it funny? "
"What, Master Gate would give up on himself because of such a boring thing." Little Karin curled his lips.
"They... are not animals!"
Minato suddenly became excited, and his excited tone startled the three little ones beside him.
"It's not an animal, but it's similar."
Shinji shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything more. His goal had been achieved. Only by letting Minato feel regret and pain could he better shape it into what he needed.
And those words I just said were just deliberately inducing Minato, UU Reading
The words that the destruction of wolves would destroy the natural food chain and disrupt the ecological balance were deliberately not mentioned.
This kind of thing has to be understood by Minato himself. As for when he can realize that there is no difference between ultimate good and ultimate evil, that depends on Minato himself.
"Obviously... Obviously you want to save people..."
Minato grabbed his head with both hands. Now that it was over, he felt painful but helpless. He really couldn't figure out why a good starting point led to such a result.
Minato was almost suffocated by the guilt. Even the former Fourth Hokage couldn't bear the guilt of millions of living people. He couldn't face it calmly and even wanted to escape at one point.
Minato has thought about atonement, but he can't find a suitable way to atone. Suicide to apologize? It's too light. One life is not worth millions of lives!
Shinji, who felt that it was almost done, spoke up at the right time, "Speaking of which, Xiaomen, there seems to be a good store opened in the next town. Do you want to go and relax? You have also finished the wine, do you want to join us?"
It was the first time that Minato hesitated when he heard such an invitation from Shinji.
"Koro-sensei..." Karin looked contemptuous.
"The three of you clear the dining table and refine Chakra by yourself in the room during evening classes. The three of you will supervise each other."
After saying that, Shinji stood up and looked at Minato again. Minato, who received Shinji's gaze, was a little confused. He really wanted to drink more, but...
"Mr. Anri, I only drink."
"Yeah, okay, okay."
Shinji nodded, and then he grabbed Minato's shoulders, leaned into his ear and whispered, "This is basically what men say when they first enter a shop like that. In fact, I said the same at the time."
"Uh..." Minato was stunned.