Death Flag! We're About to Be Safe?

Qian Ye immediately understood what they were talking about when he heard that.

The White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo Hatake.

The biggest uproar in the village these past few days had been caused by that big shot abandoning a mission to save his comrades.

Jiro snorted coldly and slammed his canteen heavily against a nearby tree root.

"What is there to clarify? He was wrong, and wrong is wrong!"

"He abandoned an important mission and caused the village enormous losses. He deserves every bit of criticism he gets!"

Jiro had not deliberately lowered his voice, and several Genin resting nearby heard him.

They all turned to look over, their expressions varied.

Yamada looked at Jiro, trying to ease the tension.

"Jiro, you can't put it that way. Lord Hatake did it to save his comrades' lives."

"If it were you, could you just stand by and watch your comrades die before your eyes?"

"I could!" Jiro answered without the slightest hesitation, his voice firm and absolute.

He rose to his feet and looked down at Yamada. The scar on his face appeared even more vicious in his agitation.

"Yamada, have you stayed in the village so long that you've forgotten even a ninja's most basic principles?"

Jiro pointed at the supply carts behind him, his voice echoing through the woods.

"Our mission right now is to deliver these Explosive Tags to Kikyo Pass!"

"If we get attacked on the way and someone is seriously injured, what would you choose?"

Jiro gave Yamada no chance to answer and immediately supplied one himself.

"You'd slow the entire team down to save that severely wounded person, causing the supplies to be destroyed!"

"The front-line defenses would collapse, and even more comrades would die. Is that the ending you want?"

Yamada was left speechless by Jiro's barrage of questions.

He opened his mouth, but did not know how to refute him.

Jiro grew increasingly agitated. He pointed at his own chest, his eyes reddening.

"Three years ago, at the Rain Country border! My squad was responsible for transporting Explosive Tags!"

"Our medical ninja had her leg blown off by an Explosive Tag detonated by the enemy!"

"I insisted on taking her with us, and delayed our journey by a whole half day!"

Jiro's voice grew louder and louder until he was nearly roaring.

"And what happened? The front-line stronghold was forcibly breached because it lacked Explosive Tags!"

"Forty-two comrades! All forty-two of them died! All because I went soft!"

The surrounding Genin all fell silent, even breathing carefully.

Jiro looked at Yamada and spoke each word slowly and clearly.

"Ninjas on a mission are tools! Tools should not have unnecessary emotions! We exist solely to complete our missions!"

"Sakumo Hatake is very strong, and he has killed many enemies. But what he did this time was trample all over the rules of being a ninja!"

"He saved those few comrades, but because the mission failed, dozens or even hundreds of comrades on the front lines will lose their lives!"

"Who will pity those who die on the battlefield?"

Jiro's words struck the ground like iron, and no one dared speak up to refute him.

Qian Ye sat beside the supply cart and listened quietly.

He had to admit that Jiro's logic was remarkably consistent.

Jiro was not a bad person. He was simply a very pure, traditional ninja, shaped by this cruel world.

In his mind, missions came before everything else.

Only by completing missions could they protect the village and let more people survive.

This idea of sacrificing the smaller part for the greater whole was practically the consensus of all low-ranking ninjas during wartime.

What White Fang had done was noble from the perspective of human nature.

But to front-line ninjas like Jiro, who lived with their heads on the line every day, it was profoundly irresponsible.

You saved the people before your eyes, but caused countless people far away—people you could not see—to die.

That was the fundamental reason Jiro believed White Fang was disgraceful and undeserving of respect.

It was hard to judge.

In this fucked-up world, no one was absolutely right or wrong.

Everyone was trying to survive, clinging to the path they believed was right.

As a small fry, Qian Ye had absolutely no intention of voicing an opinion while following behind the carts.

He was just keeping it real.

He could not even protect his own life right now. What right did he have to care whether White Fang lived or died?

As long as I lie flat hard enough, no one can morally blackmail me. Qian Ye mocked himself inwardly.

Yamada looked at the emotional Jiro and ultimately chose to compromise.

He waved a hand, unwilling to continue arguing about the subject.

"Enough, enough. Stop arguing. We're just low-level personnel responsible for transporting supplies."

"The village higher-ups' affairs are none of our business."

Yamada stood and brushed the mud from his pants.

"Break time is over! Everyone up! Keep moving!"

The Genin climbed up from the ground one after another, dusting themselves off.

Qian Ye also silently rose and returned to the back of the last supply cart.

The group traveled along the forest path for another half day, and the sun had begun to tilt westward.

The horses pulling the carts panted heavily, while the ruts their wheels carved into the muddy road grew deeper and deeper.

Everyone was covered in dust and grime, their clothes soaked through with sweat several times over.

Qian Ye followed behind the last cart, his legs moving forward mechanically.

He felt like nothing more than a walking corpse now.

This job was more bitter than coffee.

Other people got to eat and drink well after transmigrating. He had transmigrated only to push carts and eat dirt.

He was just a fragile office worker—why did he have to suffer like this?

But complaints were complaints. Qian Ye did not dare stop moving for even a moment.

Whenever he got the chance along the way, he concentrated chakra in the soles of his feet to stimulate his muscles.

Though he had not made another spectacle of launching himself into the air like that morning, his proficiency was steadily improving.

Captain Yamada, who was leading the group, stopped and looked back at the exhausted team.

"Hang in there, everyone. Konoha's Third Outpost is only ten li ahead!"

Yamada's voice sounded especially loud in the quiet forest.

"Once we reach the outpost, we'll be safe. We can get a good night's rest there tonight!"

At those words, the previously lifeless group instantly came alive.

Several Genin who had nearly collapsed from exhaustion immediately had light return to their eyes.

"We're finally almost there! My legs are about to break!"

"I want some hot soup. I can't swallow another bite of these dry Military Ration Pills!"

"Will there be hot water for a bath at the outpost? I'm starting to stink."

The atmosphere within the group visibly relaxed.

The tension that had filled their nerves completely loosened after they heard the word "safe."

Even the lines on Jiro's face softened somewhat, though he had kept a stern expression all along.

He stuffed the Kunai in his hand back into his Ninja Tool Pouch and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Don't celebrate too early. Keep the carts steady, and don't let anything go wrong at the very end!"

Jiro was still lecturing them, but his tone was clearly less harsh than before.

They were all human. Anyone would be tired after spending an entire day in such a highly tense environment.

Knowing they would soon enter a safe zone, that sense of psychological relief was impossible to suppress.

Qian Ye watched the Genin ahead chatting and laughing, but an inexplicable chill ran through him.

He had never experienced a real war, but he had watched plenty of movies and read plenty of novels in his previous life.

Usually, whenever someone said they were "about to be safe," that was precisely when things were most likely to go wrong.

Qian Ye slowed down and fell back behind the others instead of joining the liveliness at the front.