Chidong knew that Sosuke standing before him was an opponent he could never hope to resist. He simply squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the final punishment.
Yet he felt no pain from a blade cutting into his flesh.
"Are you just going to accept death like this?"
A deep, alluring voice slowly reached his ears.
Hearing it, he abruptly opened his eyes and exclaimed in astonishment,
"You... you're not going to kill me!?"
At his words, Sosuke smiled faintly and said softly,
"Why would I kill you?"
"I admire you, Chidong. Some of your ideas show a remarkably admirable conviction."
Chidong didn't look pleased. Instead, he tensed and said in a low voice,
"What do you mean by that...? I already told you: no matter what you do, I won't betray my village!"
Hearing this, a trace of amusement flashed in Sosuke's eyes. He replied gently,
"Don't be so tense, Chidong. Relax. I have no intention of persuading you to turn against your village."
"On the contrary, I'd be glad to see you become an outstanding shinobi of Sunagakure."
Chidong was slightly taken aback, even more baffled by what Sosuke had said.
His bell-sized eyes widened a little, and he asked in a heavy, muffled voice,
"Why...!?"
"You're a Konoha shinobi. How can you say something like that to me!?"
Hearing this, Sosuke slowly looked up at the sky. His smile faded slightly, and he spoke in a low voice,
"You said before... that you wanted to become a hero of Sunagakure..."
Chidong froze at that, unsure why Sosuke had brought it up.
Ignoring what he might be thinking, Sosuke continued slowly,
"As a shinobi, you should know that wars have raged without end since time immemorial across the land beneath our feet."
"Battles, slaughter, unchecked desires, and