"These nobles are utterly despicable!" Konan said indignantly.
Yahiko had wanted to say more, but seeing how angry his friend was, he set aside his plans and prepared to return and report everything honestly to Lord Hanzō.
After they had eaten for a while, Yahiko began talking with Axel about their experiences over the past few years.
"I never would have guessed! Yahiko, you were the ones who founded the Akatsuki!" Axel exclaimed in surprise.
The Holy Church's merchant association sometimes hired ninja escorts from ninja villages when they were short-handed. His subordinates had told him that the Land of Rain had an organization called the Akatsuki whose ninja were all quite capable, and every one of them was friendly.
"Oh, Axel, you've heard of our organization too!" Yahiko said happily.
"Of course. We have caravans working under us too, and they visit ninja villages occasionally," Axel explained vaguely.
Yahiko did not press him further. Instead, he asked, "Axel, how are you planning to deal with those nobles?"
"According to the holy law. Most of them will probably be burned to death by the Holy Flame," Axel said coldly and matter-of-factly.
"Wouldn't that be too cruel?"
"Cruel? Compared to what they've done, what does this amount to? Besides, we owe the people an answer, and we owe our fallen comrades an answer!"
"Yahiko, you should stay out of this."
"Why?" Yahiko asked in confusion.
"I don't want this to damage our friendship. You're a good person, but the decision has already been made. They must pay the price."
Hearing Axel's earnest words, Yahiko fell silent. Strictly speaking, the Holy Church was not really doing anything wrong, but he kept feeling there had to be a better way to resolve this.
"I want to ask how the Holy Church will deal with the nobles' families!" In the end, Yahiko could not hold back and asked the question that had been troubling him all along.
"According to the law. Yahiko, you have to trust that the Holy Church won't kill indiscriminately. Not one of the people we kill is innocent!"
"But how many innocent victims will you create by doing this? Are their children and families guilty too?" Yahiko demanded loudly.
"In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent. They enjoy status and wealth above everyone else, yet treat the common people who support them as worthless weeds. Is that right? What we're doing has never been a tender, sentimental affair. It's a life-or-death struggle!
"And speaking of children, who cared about the children sacrificed to the evil god? Didn't their lives matter too?" Axel grew angrier as he spoke.
Seeing both men flushed with anger as they argued, Konan hurriedly spoke up. "Enough! What are you two doing? Wasn't today supposed to be a happy reunion, a chance to spend time together?"
At Konan's words, both men turned away, neither willing to acknowledge the other. In the end, they could only part on bad terms!
After this meeting, we'll probably find it hard to see each other again, Axel thought as he watched the Akatsuki members leave. We've gone our separate ways after all!
"Yahiko, you shouldn't have said so much!" Konan complained.
"Was I wrong? I didn't object to them punishing those nobles, but they won't even spare the nobles' families. Don't you think that's going too far? Blind slaughter will only create more suffering!" Yahiko said, still convinced he was right.
"Yahiko, have you ever thought about why the Holy Church is so harsh toward the nobles?" Nagato, who had been silent for some time, suddenly raised the crucial question.
"Why?" Yahiko asked in confusion. Konan also turned to look at Nagato.
"It might have something to do with the Holy Light Clerics themselves!"
"What does it have to do with them?" Everyone looked at Nagato curiously.
"Have you noticed? Almost all the Holy Light Clerics come from commoner backgrounds. Very few come from wealthy noble families. In fact, you could say none of them do!"
At Nagato's words, Yahiko finally understood. "You mean they stand with the commoners, so they're naturally opposed to the nobles!"
Nagato nodded. "That's why they've always been ruthless in striking against the nobles. If they fail, the nobles will repay them a hundredfold, a thousandfold."
The next day, screens of light rose above the Magic Tower in Corona City. More than fifty nobles who had taken part in the Evil Cult's rituals were bound in neat rows to white stone pillars. Rich stood before the execution platform and declared loudly,
"Every noble here today is sentenced to death. This will answer for the children sacrificed to the evil god, and for the Holy Light Clerics who bravely gave their lives. Carry out the execution!"
"No! Stay away! I'm a grand duke, the Daimyo's younger brother!"
"Waaah! Daddy, save me! Save me!" a young noble child cried out.
Rich felt a twinge of pity at the sight of the young child. Yet although the boy had harbored no conscious malice, he had killed many children his own age. He had always believed the people he kept were pets, like cats and dogs. When he was happy, he gave them more food; when he was unhappy, he punched and kicked them. Some of his methods had even been appallingly cruel.
As the Holy Flame ignited, nothing remained within the screens of light but agonized screams.
Seeing that some of them were still children, Yahiko clenched his fists. "They really are too cruel! They won't even spare children that young!"
This time, however, Nagato said little. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Perhaps that child was guilty too!"
"But what crime could such a young child commit?" Konan said, unable to bear it.
"You lot haven't read the criminal records? The Holy Church doesn't kill people for no reason!" a nearby merchant could not help reminding them.
"Oh, sir, where are the criminal records? We just arrived, so we're not familiar with how things work here!" Yahiko said sheepishly.
"Over there. There's a huge blackboard, and it clearly lists the crimes those fifty nobles committed! So don't go soft just because you see children. If we're talking about which organization treats children well, who could do better than the Holy Church? At least, in all the countries I've traveled through on business, I've never seen anyone value children more than the Holy Church!" The merchant pointed them in the right direction and sighed.
Yahiko and the others then went over to the blackboard and examined each noble's case. They had had no idea until they looked, and what they saw shocked them. Abducting common women, murder, and arson were among the lesser offenses. Keeping people like dogs, torturing them to death, eating human flesh-the accounts were horrifying, one after another.
"Maybe Axel and the others are right. Whatever they do to these people is justified," Konan said angrily.
This time, Yahiko could no longer find any grounds to argue!
Just then, a passionate chorus suddenly rang out across the square,
"Arise, slaves tormented by hunger and cold,
Arise, all who suffer throughout the world,
The blood in our hearts is already boiling,
We must fight for the people..."
Before you continue