"I used to have a vague understanding of the reasoning behind it, but I couldn't put it into words." Shikaku Nara carefully watched Yanbai's expression as he continued, "But you were different. You gave me the knowledge and concepts I needed."
"Based on the knowledge you gave me, and what I've seen in practice, I've drawn two conclusions. First, many people would rather suffer than give up. Compared with enduring that pain, choosing to let go is harder."
Yanbai looked at Shikaku Nara curiously and smiled. "Oh? Are there really people like that?"
"There are. My close friend Inoichi Yamanaka is one of them." Shikaku Nara was as serious as ever.
The answer surprised Yanbai. He asked softly, "Huh? Is he caught in that kind of anguish?"
"Yes, he used to be..." Shikaku Nara nodded.
Yanbai pressed his lips together before saying, "If it involves his privacy, you don't need to go into detail."
"Perhaps telling you about it wouldn't be a bad thing." Shikaku Nara spoke with a solemn expression. "Every time the three of us in Ino-Shika-Cho get together, Inoichi complains about his work."
"After graduation, we all started working right away. Inoichi had to work overtime every day, but all he ever did was the same repetitive, tedious tasks. He also had to clean up after the older members of his clan, and even take the blame for them."
"I taught him quite a few ways to pass the blame back, but they didn't help much. The next time we got together, he would still be sighing."
"We could all tell that the job was causing him a lot of distress. At one point, it even gave him insomnia. But he kept at it. He never asked for time off or put an end to his suffering."