Reasoning

The next morning.

In a forest far away from Konoha.

Hearing the chirping of birds, Sasuke looked dazed.

The light of dawn slanted in from the east, piercing through the woods and casting mottled shadows, warming his body.

Sasuke had not yet regained his senses.

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

Sasuke spoke his true thoughts: "I just feel... it's unbelievable that we managed to escape so brazenly."

Lin Qing nodded slightly, understanding Sasuke's confusion.

After leaving Konoha, Lin Qing had been sifting through the memory fragments of his predecessor, learning of Konoha's status in the ninja world.

If a group of Konoha ninja had been determined to keep them there, they could never have walked out of the village alive with only a Level 2 Star Platinum and a Level 1 Hermit Purple.

Pondering it carefully until dawn, Lin Qing finally began to grasp the situation.

There were many layers of maneuvering involved here.

First, several major clans and various powerful individuals did not participate in the conflict.

The factor of Itachi Uchiha was at play; no one wanted to provoke a madman who had slaughtered his entire clan.

Another factor was the sentiment of "the fox mourning the death of the hare."

There was something fishy about the Uchiha massacre.

Everyone lacked evidence, but they were not fools.

If they could wipe out the Uchiha today, they could wipe out the Hyuga or the Aburame tomorrow.

Many powerful figures avoided the matter, unwilling to get involved.

Secondly, there was the decision-making of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

If the Hokage had issued a mandatory order, or even appeared himself, Lin Qing certainly could not have fought or escaped.

Perhaps out of guilt toward the Uchiha clan, this legendary "Professor of Ninjutsu" never showed his face from start to finish.

He who hesitates is lost.

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

His identity was also quite interesting.

He did not belong to the Uchiha clan, yet he possessed a Sharingan, maintaining a very ambiguous relationship with the Uchiha.

Kakashi was one of the few who could get involved in this matter without getting covered in filth.

Lin Qing recalled the battle with Kakashi.

"...He held back. It was less of a battle and more of an assessment."

Sasuke asked in surprise: "An assessment? Assessing what?"

Lin Qing pointed to his eyes: "Assessing whether we can protect these eyes out there."

The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan symbolized mystery and power.

Just look at Kakashi; obtaining a single Sharingan was enough to make him the "Copy Ninja."

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

Once news of Lin Qing and Sasuke escaping Konoha spread, countless ninja and bounty hunters would set their sights on them.

Without sufficient combat power, it would be better to remain a prisoner in Konoha than to have one's eyes gouged out and body dismembered by others.

"Moreover, our departure from Konoha needed a hurdle; otherwise, it wouldn't look right on the surface. Kakashi acted as that hurdle—partly to assess us, and partly to let us go."

"But why would he help us?"

Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said: "Because of that Sharingan of his, perhaps."

Perhaps he felt he owed the Uchiha, so he wanted to help one last time... This was Lin Qing's speculation based on the available intelligence.

Lin Qing's guess was close, but there was another reason:

That was Kakashi's own judgment.

Kakashi did not know the true cause of the night's tragedy, but he had worked with Itachi Uchiha, and based on his understanding of Itachi, he could not believe he would commit such an inhumane act.

There was definitely something wrong.

Therefore, Kakashi had to act.

He wanted to let Lin Qing and Sasuke escape. Once they left the village, if the mastermind hiding in the shadows wanted to make a move, they would have to "reach out."

The further they reached, the more likely they were to leave traces, allowing Kakashi to peel back the layers and trace the truth.

This night seemed to involve only the Uchiha massacre, but the intelligence, maneuvering, trade-offs, and intersecting influences behind it were like a chessboard.

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

However, while Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Itachi Uchiha, and the others were playing Shogi, Lin Qing was a "Rook" from Chinese Chess.

He smashed through countless arrangements and hidden agendas, sending them all flying.

"Brother Qing, you really are amazing."

Little Sasuke sighed sincerely, "It's one thing that your ninjutsu is powerful, but I never expected you to be able to deduce so many things. You're just like a prophet from a fairy tale."

Lin Qing smiled.

Deducing and analyzing based on existing intelligence was not a particularly difficult task.

As long as one possessed sufficient logical analytical ability, combined with a moderate amount of information, it was enough.

"Want to learn?" Lin Qing asked.

"Of course!"

Sasuke's eyes shone, "I want to become someone like Brother Qing too!"

"Then start by learning mathematics to cultivate your logical thinking skills."

"Eh?"

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

They had passed by small villages along the way, but considering they weren't far from Konoha and feared being tracked by Danzo's men, they hadn't entered any.

Using the vines of Hermit Purple, Lin Qing managed to catch a wild rabbit.

However, Lin Qing found himself at a loss as to how to eat it.

"Kill it, skin it, remove the organs, and roast it, that's all," Sasuke tilted his head slightly, "Brother Qing, do you not know how to kill a rabbit?"

Lin Qing truly did not.

He had never stepped foot in a kitchen since he was a child; let alone a rabbit, he hadn't even killed a fish.

It wasn't that Lin Qing was afraid, he simply didn't know where to start.

Little Sasuke put his hands on his hips and smiled.

Finally, there was something he was good at. He took the rabbit from Lin Qing's hands, pulled out a kunai he carried with him, and skillfully gutted it, saying:

"I'm very good at this. Back when I used to train with Brother Itachi, we would often catch rabbits and fish to eat. At that time..."

As he spoke, his tone gradually lowered, his movements slowed, and his bright eyes filled with mist.

Sasuke sniffled hard.

"Tell me, why would Itachi do these things? Could he have had some hidden motive?"

Sasuke hoped that the omnipotent Lin Qing could deduce an answer for him, one that could explain the mystery of last night.

"Of course he had a hidden motive."

Sasuke jerked his head up.

Lin Qing continued, "But a hidden motive does not equate to being correct. To judge a person, you cannot look at what they think; you must look at what they do."

The painstaking efforts of a villain are no match for the sudden inspiration of a fool.

"The motive is merely the cause, but based on that cause, countless vastly different paths can be derived. And Itachi Uchiha chose the simplest, and also the most foolish, path."

Sasuke seemed to understand, yet not quite.

Lin Qing patted his back gently, "Don't rush. If you can't figure it out, take your time. You are still young, and you have a long life ahead of you."

Sasuke let out an "en" and buried his head in preparing the rabbit. Lin Qing squatted nearby to learn, occasionally asking a question or two. Between the questions and answers, Sasuke gradually emerged from his sorrowful mood.

Without salt or seasoning, the roasted rabbit tasted quite mediocre.

Yet Lin Qing ate it very seriously; this was his first meal since arriving in this world.

During a short break, Lin Qing finally had time to check the spoils of last night's battle.

Soul Fragments: 652.

That meant 65 draws.

Among them, Lin Qing had originally possessed 300 fragments.

From the moment he fought his way up from Root to the edge of Konoha, he had gained 52 soul fragments.

Defeating Kakashi head-on had earned him 300 soul fragments.

By defeating Itachi Uchiha, Lin Qing had gained 800 soul fragments. The fact that Kakashi only yielded 300 did not mean Kakashi was that much weaker than Itachi.

It was because their mindsets during the battle were different.

Itachi Uchiha had fought with the intent to kill Lin Qing, whereas Kakashi had done the opposite, holding back significantly during the fight and not even utilizing Chidori or Kamui.

It was just that Itachi Uchiha had suffered from a lack of intelligence; Lin Qing had unleashed a small combo, not giving Itachi a chance to perform.

652 fragments.

Lin Qing decided to draw a card first.

A Level 2 Star Platinum was already formidable enough in close-quarters combat; even if he saved up 1,000 fragments to upgrade it to Level 3, it would merely be icing on the cake.

During his battle with Kakashi, Lin Qing had realized his own weakness:

He lacked the ability to fight at medium to long range.

He needed a new Stand to make up for this 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 card!