Living

No one's life is more important than another's, but in one's own eyes, one's life is more important than others.

Ye Zi didn't know if Orochimaru was paying attention to the battle on his side, but regardless, he didn't have the extra energy to notify Orochimaru that they were already escaping. Besides, he didn't believe Orochimaru would be held back, not even by that rock lizard whose size was comparable to Manda, which was only barely holding it back.

They had been careful coming in, and they were just as careful leaving; the former was to avoid detection, the latter was to avoid injury.

In such a dire situation, even a single kunai strike could lead to complete ruin.

There was no stopping, not even for counterattacks or assaults, all conducted without pause. Armed with only a blade and an intense will to live, Ye Zi transformed into a sharp point, executing a perfect breakout.

No one could stop him.

Anyone who stood in his path ultimately turned to corpses in the wind.

The blade, still gleaming with a cold edge even in the thick darkness, was seared into the minds of the Stone ninja and the Ash ninja.

No matter how they charged forward, no matter how they disregarded their own lives, they could not stop Ye Zi's blade, imbued with a powerful will.

"I can't die..."

He muttered this to himself, even as his arms grew so weak he could barely hold his blade, even as his vision was obscured by blood. He swung every blade with all his might, because only then would the obstacles diminish significantly, only then would the enemy deeply understand his will...

The will to break through!

Ye Zi led the charge, while Kushina and Kotoha faced negligible pressure. Watching Ye Zi cleave every obstructing enemy in two, they felt his will to survive even more keenly than the enemy.

One could interpret this as a sign of fear of death, but one could not say he was afraid of death.

The enemies who had been fearless finally grew timid.

There are some people you simply cannot stop, not even by delaying them.

Treading on blood and corpses, surrounded by a heavy encirclement, Ye Zi left a trail of blood and fearful gazes. He led Kotoha and Kushina out of the Land of Ash, bringing the ambush, which had turned from unplanned to planned, to a failed conclusion.

The people responsible for the rendezvous at the border of the Land of Grass were shocked to see the blood-soaked trio and quickly went to meet them.

The Grass ninja present looked at Ye Zi, whose entire body was covered in thick blood, without any physical disgust. Instead, they watched the young man with deep admiration.

The blood, so thick it seemed impossible to wash away, whether his own or the enemy's, was enough to earn respect simply by the fact that he was still standing.

The reception party had many things they wanted to say, many questions they wanted to ask. But looking at Ye Zi, who was hunched over, stubbornly refusing to fall, and at Kushina and Kotoha, who were exhausted and lost, all their words and questions died on their lips.

Orochimaru's team's first high-difficulty mission ended in failure.

The next morning, Orochimaru returned to the territory of the Land of Grass, his body carrying an unshakeable weariness, but he was unharmed.

The enemies who had failed to intercept Ye Zi and the others did not lose their fighting spirit because of it. Upon returning to the battlefield, Orochimaru became the sole target. Under an assault that could be described as the combined might of a small nation, Orochimaru still managed to retreat unharmed, a testament to his Sannin status.

Upon his return, Orochimaru simply stated that the mission had failed. In the following days, perhaps to allow Ye Zi and the others to recover peacefully from their injuries, he remained silent.

Only when Ye Zi and Kushina's injuries had mostly healed did he prepare to demand an explanation from the highest authority in the Land of Grass. However, the Land of Grass provided an explanation before he could.

They paid the agreed-upon reward in full.

A simple explanation silenced all dissatisfaction.

The purpose of accepting the mission was the reward, and with the reward in hand, what meaning did any dissatisfaction hold? Since dissatisfaction was meaningless, what was the point of investigating whether the intelligence had been leaked, or if it had been leaked intentionally?

As they parted ways.

Kotoha approached Ye Zi and said calmly, "I owe you my life."

Ye Zi looked at her, seeing none of the traces from their first meeting. The lively girl seemed to have settled into the sorrow of that night, much like he had after a great fire, growing as if enlightened, without reason, and with a coldness.

"You should thank your father, and I should thank him too," he said, his tone equally calm.

That night, he endured both mental and physical torment, ultimately breaking through amidst a trail of blood and corpses. In the end, it was all thanks to Miki, who used his remaining life force for a single jutsu.

Without that great wind, their lives would have withered in the deep darkness of the night.

A flicker of sadness flashed in Kotoha's eyes, quickly returning to a dead-water silence.

That expression, those eyes...

Ye Zi felt as if he were seeing his past self.

"Living is the most important thing. That's what someone very important to me once said." He didn't want to dwell on it, so he turned decisively and followed Kushina and Orochimaru, who were waiting for him.

Living is the most important thing...

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in that dead-water silence.

"We will meet again," Kotoha shouted at Ye Zi's retreating back.

Ye Zi didn't look back, only thinking silently in his heart, "Of course."

One day, he would return to that place, and she would too.

The injuries sustained there had to be avenged.

She wanted to avenge the price of her sorrow.

And he was merely a beast who held grudges.