Leaving the Village

"Mm, ordinary training was about enough. Your strength is more than sufficient to take on higher-level commissions now. Sakumo, take them to experience that."

In the Hokage's office, Sakumo had brought Kakashi and me to report our recent progress to the Third Hokage.

That probably meant taking someone else's life, didn't it?

"I understand."

The Third Hokage took out a scroll and handed it to Sakumo. It was probably our mission assignment.

"Recently, there have been reports of a band of thieves near the village. They specialize in robbing travelers and merchants. According to the intelligence, there may be Chunin among them. Still, that shouldn't be a problem for you."

If there were only Chunin, Kakashi and I could handle them. Even if there were Jonin, it wouldn't be an issue.

"Do we need to take prisoners?"

"If any of them are rogue ninja from Konoha, keep them alive. If not, there's no need."

"Understood."

After accepting the mission, we left the Hokage's office and went home separately to prepare for the mission outside the village.

"You're leaving the village for a mission today, right?"

Dad didn't have a mission today. Rarely having some free time, he had chosen to sit at home and drink tea.

"Yes. The Third Hokage and Teacher Sakumo said it was time for us to train outside the village. The mission is to wipe out a band of thieves. There might be rogue ninja among them."

"In the blink of an eye, you've become a ninja like us... With Big Brother Sakumo there, I'm not worried about your safety. But you understand what this training is for, right?"

To get used to killing.

"I understand."

"Then are you ready?"

"I..."

Seeing me hesitate without managing to say anything for a long while, Dad set down his teacup, shifted to the side, and patted the sofa as if telling me to sit down.

"Qingyue, being a ninja isn't glamorous at all. We do the dirtiest, hardest work. Although there are more commissions now, like escort missions, in essence, we're just useful blades.

"When I was young, my teacher taught me to see myself as a tool. Ninja didn't need emotions; we only needed to let others use us as freely as they used objects. Having those ideas drilled into me from childhood, I quickly became a Jonin. As far as I could remember, I had always carried out missions that took other people's lives.

"It wasn't until later, when the companions around me died, that I finally realized I had emotions too. But by then, I had already become numb.

"Qingyue, what I want to tell you is that you should make every decision yourself. Wielding a blade takes other people's lives, but putting it down means being plundered yourself. When you choose to wield that blade is up to you. You don't need to turn yourself into a tool. You're a living person. You're my and your mother's child."

I roughly understood what Dad was trying so awkwardly to say, but as someone from the modern world, what I was struggling with probably wasn't the same as what worried him.

What Dad feared was that after taking lives, I would gradually turn myself into a tool.

But what I feared was the very act of taking a life.

In this world, taking someone else's life seemed to be an ordinary thing.

But for people from the modern world, most had never even caught and killed a wild chicken themselves.

However, now that I had come to this world, I absolutely couldn't remain naive. Besides, I had promised Rin that I would protect the life we had here.

There was no peace without bloodshed, nor any protection without hurting others.

After packing some emergency supplies, I tied my forehead protector around my upper left arm and placed my ninja blade at my waist.

"I'm leaving, Dad."

"Mm. Come back safely."

At the village gate, Kakashi and Sakumo were already fully prepared and waiting for me.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

"Let's go."

After submitting the paperwork to leave the village, I finally stepped out of Konoha Village for the first time and into the world beyond.

Since the mission wasn't particularly urgent, we didn't travel at high speed.

Sakumo led Kakashi and me along at a leisurely pace, like we were taking a walk, while explaining matters concerning missions and clients.

"In most situations, ninja must place the mission above all else. After all, completing commissions directly represents Konoha's reputation. If that reputation is gone, fewer and fewer missions will be entrusted to us, and the village will decline.

"We have always been called the strongest ninja village. We have many ninja, and they are powerful, so our reputation in the outside world is exceptionally high. Once we accept a mission, what we need to consider isn't whether what we're doing is right or wrong, but how to complete it. Do you understand?"

The implication was probably that we might receive some deeply unfair missions in the future.

For example, a wealthy landlord might oppress villagers until they rose up in revolt, then hire ninja to suppress the unrest.

What would we do then?

If we dealt with the landlord instead, we would earn the reputation of taking money and then killing our employer. A ninja career would end right there.

If we helped the landlord, we would have to turn our hands against ordinary villagers who had done nothing wrong, perhaps even take their lives.

Could I really do that? No, I definitely couldn't. An evil person who had committed countless crimes would be right in front of me, yet I would have to help him commit further evil. That made no sense.

But what could I do?

While I was thinking, we had already arrived at the foot of the mountain where the thieves were hiding in a cave.

This place wasn't particularly well concealed, but it lay along the only main road through the area. Anyone coming this way would have to pass their base, making it an extremely convenient location.

"Alright. According to the intelligence, the thieves are inside this cave. There are ninja among them, so we can't treat them as ordinary bandits.

"None of the three of us are good at sensing, so we can only use a Shadow Clone to scout ahead. Kakashi, I'll leave that to you. Once they notice you, create as much chaos as you can and use smoke. I don't need to explain the rest, do I?"

It was a simple tactic. We were all close-combat ninja. Sakumo and Kakashi had poor sensory abilities, but they were sensitive to killing intent and similar presences, so they could find enemies even in smoke.

As for me, I had Observation Haki and Battle Aura protecting me. I could wait for someone to attack me blindly, then counterattack.

"Understood!"

"Good. Begin!"

After a series of hand seals, Kakashi created a Shadow Clone. Carrying several smoke bombs, it charged into the cave.

Shadow Clones were truly convenient. After scouting the path and throwing the smoke bombs, it could conveniently get taken out, allowing us to directly learn the enemy's numbers and the surrounding environment.

Unfortunately, the cave could easily collapse and let the thieves escape. Otherwise, we could have simply sent in a Shadow Clone with a few Explosive Tags and blown up this "illegal structure."

My first mission outside the village, taking other people's lives... I knew they were thieves, a group of evil men who deserved to die. I also knew this wasn't the modern world; it was a world where one had to take from others to survive, but...

My hands wouldn't stop trembling. My heartbeat accelerated, breathing became difficult, and it felt as though something was lodged in my chest. It seemed like stomach acid could surge up at any moment.

It was like the panic after causing a terrible disaster.

"Enemy spotted! Eight people in total!"

"Move!"