Reasoning

The following morning.

In a forest far from Konoha.

Hearing the birds singing, Sasuke looked dazed.

The light of dawn slanted in from the east, filtering through the trees and casting dappled shadows. It warmed them where it fell.

Sasuke still hadn't come back to himself.

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Qing asked.

Sasuke spoke his mind. "I just can't believe... we managed to walk right out of there like that. It doesn't seem real."

Lin Qing gave a slight nod, understanding Sasuke's confusion.

After leaving Konoha, Lin Qing had been searching through the fragments of his predecessor's memories, learning about Konoha's standing in the Ninja World.

If all the shinobi in Konoha had been determined to keep them there,

then with only a level-two Star Platinum and a level-one Hermit Purple, they could never have made it out of the village alive.

He had spent the journey turning it over in his mind, and by dawn, he had gradually begun to understand.

There were many forces at play.

First, several major clans and powerful individuals hadn't taken part in the battle.

It had something to do with Itachi Uchiha. No one wanted to provoke a madman who had slaughtered his own clan.

Another factor was the feeling that "when the hare dies, the fox grieves."

There was something fishy about the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

They couldn't find any evidence, but they weren't fools.

If the Uchiha could be wiped out today, then the Hyuga or Aburame might be next.

Many powerful shinobi had wanted nothing to do with it.

Next came the decisions of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

If the Hokage had issued a direct order, or even taken the field himself, Lin Qing would have stood no chance. He wouldn't have been able to escape, either.

Perhaps out of guilt toward the Uchiha Clan, this "Professor of Ninjutsu" from legend had never shown himself.

Fail to act decisively, and you invite trouble.

Finally, there was the only person willing to appear and intercept them: Kakashi.

His position was interesting, too.

He didn't belong to the Uchiha Clan, yet he possessed a Sharingan and had a decidedly complicated relationship with the Uchiha.

Kakashi was one of the few people who could get involved in this affair without getting his hands dirty.

Lin Qing recalled his fight with Kakashi.

"...He held back. Rather than a battle, it felt more like a test."

Sasuke asked in surprise, "A test? What was he testing?"

Lin Qing pointed to his eyes. "Whether we could protect these eyes out here."

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan symbolized mystery and power.

Just look at Kakashi. Getting a single Sharingan had been enough to make him the "Copy Ninja."

Everyone wanted a chance to rise to the top in one leap.

Once word got out that Lin Qing and Sasuke had escaped Konoha, countless shinobi and bounty hunters would come after them.

Without enough strength to fight, they'd be better off staying in Konoha as prisoners than having their eyes gouged out and their bodies carved up.

"Besides, we had to face some kind of hurdle on our way out of Konoha. Otherwise, it wouldn't look good. Kakashi played that role. He tested us, but he also let us off easy."

"But why would he help us?"

Lin Qing considered it for a moment. "Because of that Sharingan of his, I suppose."

Perhaps he felt indebted to the Uchiha and wanted to help them one last time... That was Lin Qing's guess based on what he knew.

Lin Qing was mostly right, but there was another reason:

Kakashi's own judgment.

Kakashi didn't know the real reason behind the tragedy that had unfolded that night. But he had worked with Itachi Uchiha, and based on what he knew of Itachi, he couldn't believe Itachi would do something so utterly inhumane.

There had to be more to it.

So Kakashi had stepped in.

He wanted to let Lin Qing and Sasuke escape. Once they left the village, any hidden hand trying to make a move would have to "reach out."

The farther that hand reached, the more likely it was to leave traces. Only then could Kakashi follow them, piece by piece, back to the truth.

That night seemed to revolve solely around the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but the intelligence, maneuvering, and calculations behind it all intersected like pieces on a chessboard.

Lin Qing was a piece that had suddenly appeared on that board.

It was just that Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Itachi Uchiha were playing shogi,

while Lin Qing was a chariot from Chinese chess.

He'd smashed through every arrangement and hidden thread in his way.

"Brother Qing, you're incredible."

Little Sasuke exclaimed from the heart, "It's one thing to be good at ninjutsu, but I never thought you could figure out so much. You're just like a prophet in a fairy tale."

Lin Qing smiled.

It wasn't especially difficult to make deductions and analyze what he already knew.

All it took was sound logical reasoning and a reasonable amount of information.

"Want to learn?" Lin Qing asked.

"Of course!"

Sasuke's eyes lit up. "I want to be just like you, Brother Qing!"

"Then start with math. It'll help you develop your logical thinking."

"Huh?"

They fled until noon. The sun was high in the sky, and Lin Qing and Sasuke were both famished.

They occasionally passed small villages along the way, but since they weren't very far from Konoha yet, they were afraid Danzo's men might pick up their trail if they went in, so they stayed out.

Using the vines of Hermit Purple, Lin Qing caught a wild rabbit.

But then he was at a loss over how to cook it.

"Just kill it, skin it, gut it, and roast it," Sasuke said, tilting his head slightly. "Brother Qing, don't tell me you don't know how to kill a rabbit?"

Lin Qing really didn't.

He'd never set foot in a kitchen growing up. He'd never killed a rabbit—or even a fish.

It wasn't that Lin Qing was afraid. He just didn't know where to start.

Little Sasuke put his hands on his hips and smiled.

At last, there was something he was good at. He took the rabbit from Lin Qing and pulled out a Kunai he kept with him. With practiced ease, he slit it open and began gutting it, saying, "I'm pretty good at this. When I trained with Brother Itachi using Kunai, we'd often catch rabbits and fish to eat. Back then..."

As he spoke, his voice gradually grew softer. His hands slowed, and his bright eyes filled with tears.

Sasuke sniffed hard.

"Why do you think Itachi did all this? Could he have had some reason?"

Sasuke hoped that the all-capable Lin Qing could deduce an answer, one that would explain the mystery of the previous night.

"Of course he had his reasons."

Sasuke jerked his head up.

Lin Qing continued, "But having a reason doesn't make it right. You shouldn't judge someone by what they think. Judge them by what they do."

A villain's elaborate plans could be undone by a fool's flash of inspiration.

"His reasons were only the cause. From that cause, countless different paths could have followed. But Itachi Uchiha chose the simplest—and most foolish—one."

Sasuke seemed to understand, but not quite.

Lin Qing gently patted his back. "Don't rush. If you can't figure it out, take your time. You're still young. You've got plenty of time."

Sasuke murmured an assent and focused on preparing the rabbit. Lin Qing crouched beside him and watched, occasionally asking a question. As they talked back and forth, Sasuke gradually emerged from his grief.

With no salt or seasoning, the roasted rabbit tasted mediocre.

But Lin Qing ate it with care. It was his first meal in this world.

During their brief rest, Lin Qing finally had time to check what he'd gained from the previous night's battle.

Soul Shards: 652.

That was enough for 65 draws.

Lin Qing had started with 300 shards.

On his way up from Root, fighting through to the outskirts of Konoha, he'd gained 52 Soul Shards.

He'd gained 300 Soul Shards for defeating Kakashi head-on.

For defeating Itachi Uchiha, Lin Qing had received 800 Soul Shards, while Kakashi had only been worth 300. That didn't mean Kakashi was that much weaker than Itachi.

It was because the two of them had approached the fight differently.

Itachi had attacked with the intention of killing Lin Qing. Kakashi, on the other hand, had held back considerably and hadn't used Chidori or Kamui.

Itachi had simply suffered from a lack of information. Lin Qing had hit him with a quick combo and never gave him a chance to fight back.

652 shards.

Lin Qing decided to draw first.

Level-two Star Platinum was already powerful enough in close combat. Even if he saved up 1,000 shards and upgraded it to level three, it would only be the icing on the cake.

His battle with Kakashi had made him realize his weakness:

He lacked mid- and long-range combat ability.

He needed a new Stand to make up for that shortcoming. Otherwise, it would be all too easy for someone to kite him to death.

Having weighed the pros and cons, Lin Qing opened the system interface.

Draw!