Ōnoki's words plunged everyone present into silence. Among the gathered ninja below, many old veterans who had lived through the Third Shinobi World War wore nostalgic expressions.
Each of them sank into thought.
Yes, since when had the people of the village begun to forget those who had once sacrificed themselves for them...
Yet some of the younger ninja could not understand. They had never experienced the Third Shinobi World War, did not understand war's brutality, and had never seen the ground littered with corpses amid cries of agony.
Their understanding of the predecessors who had sacrificed themselves for the village came only from brief descriptions in textbooks. Besides, some people who silently gave their lives in the shadows were destined never to be recorded in history or remembered.
They ate from their bowls while cursing the descendants of those who had sacrificed themselves. Without distinguishing right from wrong, stirred up by emotion and ignorant of the truth, they used their tongues like blades to wound others.
Ōnoki looked at the silent crowd below. Some showed remorse, some did not care at all, and some flushed red, as if they had been greatly wronged.
It was as though they were questioning Ōnoki: Why was he, the Tsuchikage, speaking up for a Rogue Ninja?
Panic immediately flooded his heart, along with countless thoughts. Since when? Since when had the younger generation of the village become like this?
What had become of Iwagakure's Will of Stone? Where had their Will of Stone gone? So many had become people who only sought the thrill of arguing, incapable of thought, like ignorant parrots repeating what they heard.
"Old man, enough. I shouldn't have come back." The disappointment in Deidara's voice was impossible to conceal.
"No..." Ōnoki raised his right hand, trembling as he reached