Back to Camp

After several days of rest, Mo Jingxian had fully recovered.

Perhaps because he had been broken through and come out stronger, he had become even more adept at controlling elemental Chakra.

It was a blessing in disguise.

Six had set out, but only he and Ayako Hyuuga remained to make the return trip.

Not knowing what had happened to the others, they felt that something had been off about the mission from the very beginning.

Even though they had pieced together most of what had happened, they still wanted to go back and confirm it.

On the day they set out, Ayako Hyuuga put away Shinju Ishikawa's only keepsake, and the two of them started for home.

"Xian." Ayako Hyuuga watched a mother pass them, holding her child's hand.

"I hate war. Do you think there's anywhere in the Ninja World untouched by it?"

She asked the question, though she already knew the answer.

"Any normal person hates war," Mo Jingxian said. "But wars keep happening. They've never stopped."

"That's right. They've never stopped." Ayako Hyuuga looked away.

They walked on in silence for a while, but she still couldn't let it go. With utmost seriousness, she asked:

"Xian, tell me. If someone appeared who was so powerful that no one could oppose him, could he put an end to war?"

"Hashirama Senju," Mo Jingxian replied. "He founded the shinobi village system to put an end to war. And the result... you've seen it."

He knew what Ayako wanted to ask, so he continued:

"Have you heard of the Warring States period?"

Ayako nodded.

"During the Warring States period, the average life expectancy of a shinobi was only twenty-five. The village system has been around for just fifty years, and now a shinobi's average life expectancy has reached thirty-three. That's progress."

The answer was far beyond what Ayako had expected. Mo Jingxian hadn't condemned anything or said a single extreme word.

He had simply laid out a set of cold figures, leaving her unable to argue.

"But... but..."

Ayako Hyuuga stammered for a long while, unable to come up with a single argument.

Since the war began, she had witnessed too many tragedies.

Some had happened to the enemy, and some to Konoha's own people.

She often wondered: these were all living, breathing people. What made them turn their blades on one another, fighting to the death as if they'd forgotten their own lives?

Ayako Hyuuga especially couldn't forget the look in the Sand shinobi's eyes. They had no grudge against each other; they hadn't even met before.

But what kind of eyes were those? They held the most vicious curse in the world, as if they wanted to kill her that very moment.

When Shinju Ishikawa had given his life to save her, hatred had begun to take root in her heart.

She hated Sasori of the Red Sand, and she hated the Sand shinobi. She even hated herself for not being stronger.

The hatred kept spreading.

She was afraid. Desperate to talk to someone, she hoped Mo Jingxian might say something different.

She was afraid she'd become one of those red-eyed shinobi slaughtering each other on the battlefield.

"There is no 'but.'" Mo Jingxian turned to look at her. "You can't deny that the system has made progress, but you shouldn't deify it or lose yourself in some grand narrative."

Ayako Hyuuga's eyes lit up. It seemed she was beginning to understand.

"People can keep growing, and so can systems. There's no perfect system in this world, just as there are no perfect people."

The glimmer of hope in Ayako's mind grew clearer, and she asked eagerly:

"Then what kind of system would mean there was no war?"

At that moment, she was like a devout believer, placing almost all her hopes in what Mo Jingxian would say next.

This girl was lost in a mental fog, Mo Jingxian guessed to himself.

I have to pull her out of it, or the consequences could be serious.

The Ninja World had no research or records on this kind of mental illness, but in his previous life, there had been a fitting name for it:

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), also known as battle trauma.

He glanced at Ayako Hyuuga and cleared his throat.

"I don't know what kind of system would prevent war. But I can tell you about a civilization far removed from ours..."

Mo Jingxian began telling her about his previous life, starting with the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods and continuing all the way to humanity's entry into the interstellar age.

At first, Ayako Hyuuga hadn't paid much attention. But as the story unfolded, its turbulent history, its unyielding struggles, and its fearless spirit—daring to rival the heavens—deeply shook her barren heart.

As he went on, there were things she simply couldn't imagine, no matter how hard she tried.

Mo Jingxian described them in great detail, but she still couldn't picture them in her mind.

Weapons capable of destroying heaven and earth—one alone could wipe Konoha off the map.

Ordinary people without Chakra who could reach the sea of stars with the help of tools.

And above all, a country that could enjoy nearly a century of peace, with a population in the billions.

She had no idea how much food it would take to feed billions of people. A lot, she supposed. A whole lot.

"Then what?" Ayako Hyuuga suddenly took Mo Jingxian by the arm, as naturally as could be.

"Tell me more. What was that country like? Could people really live without killing one another? Were there old people in their seventies and eighties everywhere?"

They passed through a town and headed into the wilderness, traveling east.

Ayako Hyuuga had turned into a curious little girl, asking one question after another without stopping.

At first, it was fine. Her questions were thoughtful, but then...

"Wouldn't women feel embarrassed wearing only three-piece swimsuits on the beach?"

"Did perfume really come in dozens of floral scents?"

"Why did the men there all like black stockings? And, wait, what are black stockings?"

Heh!

Women.

Anyway, as long as she didn't get stuck in a mental rut, that was all that mattered.

As for what she chose to focus on, that was up to her. It was only a story she'd heard for fun, after all.

The midnight campfire lit up a small patch of ground. Mo Jingxian and Ayako Hyuuga sat beside it.

"Get some sleep."

Mo Jingxian volunteered to take the first watch.

While he'd been unconscious, Ayako had watched over him day and night. He had her to thank for his recovery.

"Mm." Ayako was very well-behaved—perhaps only when she was with Mo Jingxian.

"Xian."

"What is it?"

"About those things you told me..." Ayako Hyuuga lay flat in her sleeping bag, hands folded over her chest.

Gazing up at the star-filled sky, she slowly closed her eyes. "Thank you, Xian."

Mo Jingxian smiled, then casually tossed a handful of dry twigs and grass onto the fire.

The fire crackled once or twice, sending a few sparks flying before they quickly vanished.

After a night's rest, if all went well, they'd enter the Land of Rain tomorrow. They were close.

The night breeze brought a hint of chill, and firelight flickered across the girl's profile, casting it half in shadow.

Mo Jingxian collected his thoughts and continued working through the logic behind Water Release: Water Severing Wave.

"Compression, acceleration. Those make sense. But why add a dispersion rune...?"

The journey home was fairly peaceful, and the two of them entered the Land of Rain without a hitch.

But while passing through a town to replenish their supplies, they heard some unexpected news.

Konoha had been defeated. The entire Land of Rivers had now been placed under the protection of the Land of Wind.

They called it protection, but it was really just a colony under another name.

That was the sorrow of a small country. Two great nations fought to the death on its soil, then treated it as a prize to please the victor.

War didn't make the pie bigger. It only destroyed things.

When there were fewer people to share it, the conflict might be buried—until it flared up again.

They stayed in town for two more days, gathering information.

They heard that on the day of the battle, a mushroom cloud more than a hundred meters high had risen over Konoha's camp.

There were all kinds of rumors. Some said the heavens had been enraged and sent divine punishment to chastise the shinobi of both great nations.

Others said Konoha and the Sand shinobi had annihilated each other, with both sides' strongest fighters left badly wounded.

The most ridiculous rumor claimed that Hanzo, the pillar of the Land of Rain, couldn't bear to watch people suffer, so he had stepped in and given Konoha and the Sand shinobi a sound thrashing.

The rumors were spreading throughout the Land of Rain. Let them be happy.

Once they'd gathered enough information, Mo Jingxian and Ayako set off again.

They couldn't travel through the Land of Rivers anymore, so they changed course and chose the Land of Grass, planning to return to the Land of Fire from there.

The information they'd gathered was ridiculous, but once they stripped away the muddled rumors, they could still extract something useful.

For example:

Konoha's forces were currently stationed along the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire, while the Sand shinobi were advancing on all fronts.

Strangely, though, the intensity of the Sand shinobi's attacks had dropped sharply, as if they'd suddenly lost interest.

The two sides were trading blows along the border, back to testing each other. It almost seemed like they were putting on a show for the entire Ninja World.

No one knew what sort of secret schemes were at play. At any rate, the situation seemed to have returned to normal.

Konoha's new main camp was stationed behind a fast-flowing river, with the Land of Fire just beyond it.

Every time the Sand shinobi attacked, they had to cross the river. Konoha's shinobi used the terrain to strike while they were halfway across.

When retreating, they had to cross the river again to get back.

It made things difficult for the Sand shinobi. Their attacks had dropped off sharply, and the war had settled into a grinding stalemate.

Since the last battle, Konoha had sent another 2,500 shinobi to the front lines in two waves of reinforcements.

Nearly 4,000 combat-ready shinobi were now stationed in the main camp.

Against the Sand shinobi's 8,000, they were still outnumbered, but at least the front had stabilized.

Orochimaru had withstood the pressure, helping Konoha free up troops to fight the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.

Three of the Five Great Nations had now entered the war. The Land of Lightning was still waiting to see how things would develop.

As for the Land of Water, no one knew what it was thinking. Nobody could keep up with the train of thought of a lunatic, but they still couldn't afford to let their guard down.

"Xian, I saw Hayama Shirakumo."

Ayako Hyuuga lifted the tent flap and came in, sitting down beside Mo Jingxian.

"Is he all right?" Mo Jingxian reorganized the sealing scrolls. "Did things turn out the way we guessed?"

They had been back at the new main camp for three days.

There had been no mission debrief and no new mission assignments.

It was as if they'd been forgotten. They had simply been left in a corner of the camp to gather dust.

"Alive and kicking." Ayako Hyuuga joined him in sorting the scrolls, wrapping the ones they'd separated in cloth.

"I have some bad news. Lutai didn't make it back. He was killed in action."

Mo Jingxian's hands paused.

"Too bad," he said. "Looks like he couldn't escape the game board either."

As he spoke, Mo Jingxian shook his head as if to cast the excess emotion from his mind.

"Tell me, what else did you find out?"

Ayako Hyuuga stacked the bundles neatly, then sat down.

"Six teams." She held up her hand to indicate the number. "Fewer than ten people made it back."

"Mm. Go on."

"Isn't that ridiculous?" Ayako Hyuuga stared seriously into Mo Jingxian's eyes. "Someone once told me about the 'Will of Fire,' but this isn't what it was supposed to mean."

Mo Jingxian blinked and held her gaze for a moment. "The dragon slayer..."

"Becomes the dragon in the end."

Ayako Hyuuga finished the thought without hesitation.