His tone was thick with alienation, like an icy blade that instantly severed the atmosphere that had only just begun to ease between them.
Harukawa Rin was startled by the chill in his eyes and instinctively took a step back, her eyes reddening slightly. "You... how can you say that? Konoha clearly accepted you. It gave you an identity, gave you a place to belong..."
"A place to belong?"
Kawaki Aoba repeated the words softly, his gaze drifting toward the pitch-black forest in the distance. "I don't need a place to belong that others give me. What I want is the power to control my own fate.
As for the identity Konoha gave me, it's nothing more than a stepping stone for me to gain greater power."
With that, he ignored Harukawa Rin and turned to continue walking toward the village.
The night stretched his shadow long, making him seem especially lonely.
Harukawa Rin stood where she was, watching his retreating back gradually vanish into the distance. She was angry and anxious, with a faint, indescribable ache in her heart.
Kawaki Aoba had suffered greatly in the past, but she had not expected his guard against this world to be so strong.
"Hey! Kawaki Aoba!"
Harukawa Rin gritted her teeth and hurried after him. "Even if you only see Konoha as a stepping stone, you can't disregard your own safety! In that fight just now, you could have waited for reinforcements before making a move. Why did you have to take the risk alone?"
Kawaki Aoba did not turn back. His voice came from ahead, tinged with impatience. "Wait for reinforcements? By the time they got there, those spies would have already destroyed the secret scrolls or fled without a trace.
Where would I get military merit then?"
"Is military