Turning Point I

After resting in Konoha for a week, I once again headed to the battlefield along Konoha's border with Hidden Sand.

By now, the situation was quite clear. Without the Kazekage overseeing them, Hidden Sand had been beaten back step by step, yet they still chose to keep fighting.

It seemed they were making a sacrifice. Once Hidden Sand lost the war, they would have to face an enormous amount of reparations. The warriors still on the front lines were all pawns meant for sacrifice.

Such sacrifices would make Konoha pity them from the bottom of our hearts. That was the habitual mindset of the strong.

Politicians like the old Third Hokage, who were indecisive toward outsiders and prioritized peace, were especially susceptible to this tactic.

Once their number of combatants had been reduced to a certain point, it would instead benefit Hidden Sand at the negotiating table.

It was probably a scheme by elders like Chiyo. This style of sacrificing their own warriors who shed blood and gave their lives really suited this rotten ninja world.

"It looks like the outcome has been decided, Lord Orochimaru."

"So it is Qingyue. I have also heard about the situation on the eastern front. I never expected someone your age to be able to contend with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That truly makes me curious."

Damn it, Orochimaru had his eye on me...

"There is nothing more to be done on this battlefield. You should be able to see Hidden Sand's calculations as well. Unfortunately, my indecisive teacher falls right for this sort of thing."

"That is not necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, after going through this, Hidden Sand certainly will not dare do anything to Konoha again."

Now that Rasa was dead, Hidden Sand's losses were even more severe than in the original history. When Orochimaru eventually defected, he probably would not seek out Hidden Sand for the Konoha Crush Plan either.

No, Minato would not die in my script, so the Konoha Crush Plan definitely could not happen.

Besides, whether Orochimaru would defect was still uncertain. That depended on whether the old Third Hokage wanted to drive his disciple away.

After briefly speaking with Orochimaru, I headed to the battlefield and began clashing with Hidden Sand's enemies.

After all, I had only just mastered Armament Haki. I needed to quickly memorize this feeling. I could not just keep resting now; I had to strike while the iron was hot and become familiar with it.

On the battlefield, I would not wipe out Hidden Sand completely. I merely forced them to retreat, only attacking and killing the ninjas who charged at me of their own accord.

[With that, Hidden Sand's front is basically over too. Hidden Mist will not cause trouble again, right, Teacher Hill?]

There was still no response. Ever since I woke up in that hospital bed, Hill had not spoken for a long time.

I had found it strange at the time. Based on Hill's personality, she should have contacted me in the consciousness space as soon as I woke up.

But so many days had passed. Even when I tried contacting her myself, I received no response from Hill.

It was truly strange. Hill had been with me ever since I was born. As long as I contacted her, she would always respond.

But now, I could no longer hear her voice.

It made me feel...

"A little lonely."

Hill had helped me leave the entrance hall and step into the schoolyard. She had slowly untied the knots in my heart from my previous life. Not to mention, everything I had in this world had been given to me by her.

Hill was not only a teacher I respected, but also an important benefactor to me. More than that, she was my pillar in this world.

"Hill should be alright, right? Like me, she reincarnated after death. Come to think of it, why did she reincarnate as a system? And why was I reincarnated into this world and given so many benefits?"

It was far too unreasonable. Why had so many good things fallen into my lap?

Because I had previously been caught up in excitement and hard work, I had never thought about these things. Deep down, I had also been afraid to think about them.

It was called escaping reality.

But now that Hill had suddenly disappeared, I had no choice but to think about it.

What exactly was Hill's existence? And why did I exist? What did whoever gave me so much power want me to do in this world?

Why did changing history grant me the Power of Fate?

Before Qingyue could figure anything out, a strangely shaped magic circle suddenly appeared beneath his feet during an instant when no one was around!

The magic circle emitted a faint blue glow, and Qingyue's consciousness became dazed.

In the next instant, Qingyue vanished from this battlefield.

[All personnel are ready. Interference with [Player] will now begin.]

[Confirmed. Both [Players] have been in this world for a sufficient period and meet the conditions for interference.]

[Conditions met. The two [Players] may now make contact. Execution begins.]

[Execution order received. Locating [Player] Qingyue's position now--]

[Location confirmed. Beginning teleportation.]

Time rewound. At this moment, someone was suffering misfortune--

What... had my life been for?

I had finally managed to become a Genin, only to be assigned teammates with whom I had the worst relationship. The two of them were even friends.

Even the Jonin in charge disliked me. I handled every commission by myself while they cultivated off to the side.

"Hey, trash! Come carry these things!"

"Yes..."

I did the dirtiest and most exhausting work in the team, yet I never received even the slightest guidance from the Jonin in charge.

"Ninjas from Iwagakure? Get them!"

During one mission, we unexpectedly encountered ninjas from Kumogakure. They were far stronger than us, and our Jonin in charge was quickly defeated.

Then... while they discussed retreating, they used a ninjutsu to trap my legs. I was left behind to cover their escape.

After being captured by Kumogakure ninjas as a prisoner, I was constantly humiliated. I had clearly told them everything I knew, but they still laughed as they stripped me naked, repeatedly splashed cold water over me, and violated my body with all sorts of horrifying tools.

Before I knew it, I had gone numb. My body's sensations gradually became indistinct. Even when red-hot iron rods struck me, I no longer felt intense pain.

Suffering such humiliation, I did not even have the chance to die.

On some unknown night of torture, I was bound by my limbs to a wooden post and finally succumbed to exhaustion, falling asleep.

In my dream, everything around me was blank.

It was strange. I had never felt so lucid in a dream before. Was I dreaming, or was I already dead?

"You are not dead yet, Kanasi."

Who was that? I looked toward the source of the voice, and what appeared before me was... a tall, pure-white figure?

Its muscular lines were balanced, and its body proportions were perfect, but I could not even make out its facial features. It was nothing but pure white.

"Who are you? Am I dead? Have you come to take me to heaven?"

"What an interesting idea. This is the first time someone has mistaken me for a being who escorts the dead to heaven."

For some reason, this... person's voice felt so familiar.

"Isn't that it?"

"No. More accurately, I suppose I am a god—a kind Man-God who equally loves all mankind! Clap clap clap!"

The person began applauding on his own, even performing an exaggerated dance. Could human limbs really bend like that?

Ordinarily, if someone covered in pure white danced so ridiculously in front of me, I would definitely laugh. But after what I had experienced, I truly could not laugh.

"I feel sorry for you. You seem pretty upset right now, after all. Considering what happened to you and all."

"You know what happened to me?"

"More or less. My interest is observing different people, and when I saw how miserable your fate was, I could not help sympathizing."

"Heh, even gods sympathize... You equally love everyone, but I am definitely not included, am I?"

My parents had been killed by people from our own village. Their children had then turned around and bullied me. In the end, I became a discarded pawn and a prisoner of Kumogakure.

I must have been someone abandoned by the world, right?

"That is why I am here now. So, how about trying to believe in me and following my advice?"

"Advice? Go ahead. I cannot escape anyway. Once I wake up, there will only be endless pain again. It does not matter."

For some reason, this person's words... made me want to believe him.

"You are already in this state anyway, so there is no harm in trying to trust me, right? Ahem. The next time someone comes to punish you tomorrow, provoke him with your words. That will give you the opportunity to kill him and escape."