Don't Bow, Don't Bow

"Gaaahhh—!"

A beastlike howl rang out as the mother, who had lost her flesh and blood, gripped the weapon.

She stabbed Dinhong's ugly body again and again, frenziedly.

"Ahhh! Wuuuuaaah!"

Each strike tore away flesh and blood, and made the other women's hearts beat faster.

With every stab she landed, the numbness in the eyes around her began to fade. More and more pupils started to move.

So they picked up the weapons.

"Don't worry. My friend left a large amount of Chakra inside him. He won't be able to die anytime soon," Uchiha Kai gently reminded them.

"Also, it's best to cut him. If you stab him straight through, the wound could easily kill him."

As the crowd gradually stirred, the three of them left the cave.

The wailing and angry shouts behind them blended together, forming a bizarre scene.

Outside the cave, the three sat on the ground in silence for a long while.

"Creak—"

Aburame Keiichi had arrived at some point. His dark gray combat boots crunched over fallen branches and leaves.

"Are you all right?"

"How does it feel, killing someone with your own hands for the first time?"

Aburame Keiichi asked casually, his hands in his pockets.

"Ugh—blegh!"

Morino Kei, who had already reached his limit, could no longer hold back. He vomited furiously until there was nothing left in his stomach but bile, and only then managed to get himself under control.

"Why?" Hyuga Rei asked in a daze, clutching her chest.

"This is the real world—the Shinobi World, torn apart in the vortex of war." Aburame Keiichi raised his head, his gaze sweeping over them.

"This is just one small corner of the Shinobi World. What happened here may not be common, but it certainly isn't an isolated case."

"Events more cruel, more terrifying, and more nauseating than this happen everywhere."

"If you can't even stomach this, then give up now. Why struggle?"

Aburame Keiichi spoke calmly, making no effort to spare their feelings.

"If the people I'm killing are all like this..." Uchiha Kai suddenly spoke first.

"Then even if there were thousands upon thousands of them, I wouldn't waver in the slightest."

Aburame Keiichi was taken aback, then broke into an amused smile.

"Heh... No wonder you're from the Uchiha Clan. You've got some fire."

"What about you two?"

"If scum like them can live without a care, plundering and hurting others, how could I make such a pathetic face?" The girl's gaze grew resolute.

"I'm going to become Hokage. How could I stop so easily? How many more people like them are out there? How can I stop now?"

Not one of the three wavered, and none of them would retreat even half a step.

This was their shared resolve. It would remain unchanged, now and in the days to come.

"Good."

"Follow me."

Aburame Keiichi turned away, suppressing the smile at the corner of his mouth.

"What about them?" Morino Kei asked, raising a hand.

"They lost the will to live long ago." Aburame Keiichi didn't look back. The Destroying Insects he had just recalled had already given him the information.

"Your appearance was the best release they could have hoped for."

The panel's cold voice rang out at the same time.

[Mission: Choosing Not to Commit Evil—Complete]

[Reward: Constitution ×0.2, Sealing Technique: Sealing Evil Dharma Seal]

[When the stomach is full, the mind is at ease; when the wine is strong, the spirit grows bold. That year, Jiangnan suffered a drought, and the people of Quzhou ate one another.]

Hyuga Rei's body trembled. Veins bulged around her eyes as her Byakugan swept over the scene inside the cave.

"..." The girl fell silent and shook her head.

"Hurry up and take care of things. There's a dilapidated temple halfway up the mountain. We'll make do there for the night." Aburame Keiichi's voice drifted over from afar.

So the three of them set about their work in silence.

They gathered the bodies that had just breathed their last inside the cave, took down the broken remains and bones hanging from the iron hooks, and dug a large pit outside to bury them together.

As for Dinhong the Demonic Monk's body, it had already been hacked to pieces, reduced to a mess of flesh and bone fragments. Uchiha Kai simply burned it to ashes with a Great Fireball.

—Half an hour later, halfway up the mountain.

Looking at the abandoned temple before them, the three pushed open the door and saw Aburame Keiichi standing in the middle of the courtyard, beside a lit fire and a pot.

"Finished cleaning up?" Aburame Keiichi asked.

"Mm." The three nodded together.

"Good. It's getting late, and it'll soon be time for dinner." Aburame Keiichi nodded.

"You've probably had enough of chewing on rations these past few days. How about this, Kei—you come with me to hunt something for us to roast tonight." Aburame Keiichi beckoned Morino Kei to follow him.

"Ah... Why me?"

"Stop whining and hurry up."

With that, the two left the courtyard to go hunting.

Only Hyuga Rei and Uchiha Kai remained in the courtyard, and the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.

"Let's look up ahead. This is a temple, after all. Even if it's fallen into ruin, there should still be a Buddha statue inside." The girl was the first to break the silence.

"There should be," Uchiha Kai replied, following her.

Hyuga Rei paused in front of the hall, clasped her hands, and bowed once before entering. Uchiha Kai simply walked in, his boot grinding the layer of incense ash on the floor, no one knew how long it had been there.

Inside and outside the hall were equally shabby. The red glow of the setting sun slipped in through gaps in the broken roof tiles, and cobwebs covered the walls.

The Buddha sat on a raised platform. Apart from a layer of dust, it was surprisingly undamaged. Its form and expression remained lifelike, a smile fixed high on its lips.

But its eye sockets were empty. No one knew where its eyes had gone.

Uchiha Kai glanced at it, then looked away. He stopped at the doorway and didn't go any farther inside.

Hyuga Rei, meanwhile, walked in surprise to the only remaining cushion and brushed the dust and debris off it.

"It's still here?" the girl said, then knelt on the cushion, her expression softening.

Looking up at the eyeless Buddha on its high seat, she clasped her hands and was about to close her eyes in prayer when she suddenly turned around.

Seeing the boy leaning idly against a pillar by the doorway, she couldn't help asking, "Kai-kun, aren't you going to pray?"

The boy snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh, me? I don't really believe in this."

"Come on, it's just for good luck." The girl slumped.

"Isn't there anything you want, anything you want to come true, Kai-kun?"

Uchiha Kai pursed his lips and answered carelessly.

"Well, there is something."

"Then why not ask the Buddha? If you pray, it might be more likely to come true." Hyuga Rei smiled faintly.

Uchiha Kai lifted his head slightly, his gaze passing over the eyeless, pupil-less Buddha statue.

"Clay and wood. Praying won't get a response, and asking is useless." There was a hint of disdain in the boy's voice.

"What could it do after hearing my wish? It's just a useless statue. It doesn't deserve my prayers."

Hearing this, Hyuga Rei covered her mouth, the corners of her eyes curling upward.

"Is that so? You're still as cold as ever, Kai-kun..."

"So aloof. You're freezing my heart." The girl hugged her shoulders.

"It's not like that..." The boy spread his hands helplessly.

Hyuga Rei suddenly changed tack and asked, "Then what's your wish, Kai-kun? If the Buddha can't hear it, can I?" The girl gave him a mischievous smile.

"Ah... My wish?" The boy froze, then thought for a moment.

"For now..."

The arrogant Uchiha drew the blade from his waist, its keen edge flashing with cold light.

"I only wish for the blade in my hand to grow sharper..."