When Haseo awoke once again, gravely wounded and on the brink of death, the sensation of breathing freely reminded him of a very simple truth—being alive is truly wonderful.
Thinking this way, the brutal wars between Ninja Villages, fierce enough to leave no one unscathed, weren't that hard to accept. Everyone wants to live, but paths narrow, so I must survive—even if it means killing you.
Haseo currently had no interest in learning about what changes had occurred in the village or even in the world. Right now, his sole task was to recover his physical condition… at the very least regaining basic mobility instead of lying helplessly in bed forever.
Therefore, since waking up, he'd been eating whenever possible, sleeping whenever possible, and strictly following medical advice.
He even received specially-prepared nutritional meals from Tsunade—meals that were extremely nourishing. The girl spent quite a long time at Haseo's bedside every day, developing something akin to the role of a dedicated physician.
And regardless of whether Tsunade saw him as an experimental subject, those meals did genuinely benefit him—he could feel his body gradually improving. More importantly, the food actually tasted good.
Everyone kind of knew Haseo had some weird taste issues from time to time. But if he found something tasty now… then it truly must be delicious.
Five days after his initial return to consciousness, Haseo was slowly spooning his meal into his mouth bite by bite while Tsunade sat nearby on a chair supervising him… Wait, the food was clearly delicious—so why supervise?
Just then, someone knocked on the ward door from outside. After receiving permission, the visitor entered.
It was Chichio.
After confirming Haseo had regained consciousness and seemed mentally intact, she finally received visitation permission. Previously, she had remained under isolated treatment inside the hospital, cut off from external contact.
"Haseo, you… I heard you've recovered, but… are you really alright?" Chichio carried a long wooden box upon entering. Before she could even smile upon seeing the energetic Haseo, her expression turned to shock.
Haseo seemed fine—but his entire body had shrunk significantly. That was the biggest problem.
Except for those present during the event and the doctors, for other people, suddenly shrinking was an extremely magical occurrence.
"I'm fine. Just got a second shot at growing up. Starting over… isn't something to complain about," Haseo replied. It was a way to laugh off the bitterness, but there was no need to drag anyone else into it.
But one thing Chichio did understand was this—if Haseo's attitude hadn't broken, then whatever he'd gone through wasn't more than he could handle.
Chichio placed the box next to Haseo's bed in the ward and sat down on the chair beside it. She looked like she wanted to speak but kept hesitating, unable to get the words out, so an eerie silence temporarily filled the room.
Tsunade was holding a medical book no one else could understand, though only she herself knew that her eyes, hidden behind the pages, were glancing around restlessly.
If there's drama to watch, watch it. If not... one always shows up eventually.
Finally, Chichio spoke, "Haseo, you once asked me why I became a ninja, right?"
"Mm, that did happen."
It was about a hundred chapters ago, so naturally, Haseo still remembered.
"Haseo, do you have anything you like or dislike?" Chichio continued.
The topic came out of nowhere. Clearly, Chichio felt nervous, even tense, and her tone carried some regret, making it hard for her to speak freely.
"Like… such a word carries an ambiguous meaning, so I can't really answer that. But as for hate—there definitely are things I despise deeply."
He didn't know where she was going with this, yet Haseo could only follow along with Chichio's conversation thread.
"Hate? Hate what?"
"Firstly, Google; secondly, online trolls; thirdly, wisdom teeth."
"..."
The conversation just got even more disconnected.
After thinking for a moment, Chichio continued, "The reason I became a ninja, looking back now, was simply because I didn't trust anything around me. I believed that in the end, a person must rely on themselves for protection. Yet as a ninja, I had no love, no tears, no hatred—just living life blindly and aimlessly."
It was a feeling far too many people had known.
"I understand," Haseo replied accordingly.
"But now, suddenly, I've found out that I don't need to do that anymore.
I witnessed the bloodiest battlefield and the most determined fight. Blood and snow both sting the eyes, but only blood truly burns. I… came to realize that the most ninja-like ninja is a heroic ninja.
On such a battlefield, my powerlessness overwhelmed me. I finally understood I couldn't protect myself after all. However, that wasn't necessarily bad news, because someone *can* protect me.
I feel lucky to be who I am.
Haseo, I don't think I'll ever see a stronger ninja than you were that day.
Just standing alone, you separated sins from punishments, preserving life and beauty itself. I guess I've figured something out.
I… no longer have a reason to fight.
Haseo, I just don't see the point in being a ninja anymore."
Chichio's words were broken, almost exaggerated in praising Haseo, but still, he could feel the unspoken emotions buried deep inside her.
That battle was brutal, yet Chichio was someone who dared to decisively sacrifice herself to avoid becoming a burden to her team, so it wouldn't be fair to accuse her of fearfulness. Still, she had come to realize exactly what it was that she truly wanted.
It wasn't the battlefield.
Maybe it's just what happens after you've seen the storm—a kind of calm clarity, a choice made from experience.
The reason she struggled to express herself was only because she feared Haseo would think she was running away from the battlefield. Yet... despite all of Haseo's flaws, he had never been a narrow-minded person.
"Chichio, breaking away from the past also takes courage. Moving forward toward a new direction requires even more courage. So you don't need to lower your head; this is a good thing... Your decision is a good thing," Haseo finally said after a moment of silence.
Ninjas were always caught up in killing, but their lives revolved around bloodshed without purpose. Breaking free from that life was undoubtedly a good thing. Chichio wasn't like Haseo—she wasn't the type who thought, "I must live, even if it means killing you."
There was just one point the girl hadn't fully understood: if she hadn't stayed by Haseo's side, she definitely wouldn't have gone through so many troublesome things.
Haseo's current words were particularly important to Chichio. She kept her head lowered, silently and determinedly calming down her emotions. Eventually, she still lifted up her head.
She picked up the sword case, then opened it, revealing two long swords placed inside.
These were the "spoils of war" seized by Haseo. However, now both swords' decorations had completely changed: pitch-black lacquered scabbards and newly replaced hardwood hilts made these blades unusually low-key. This was... Haseo's preferred style.
"This is the least I could do for you — just a small but meaningful gesture. Haseo, you can give them new names... You enjoy doing things like that, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Haseo replied, "These are weapons reforged using fragments of Kumo's Seven-Star Sword. So... let's call them 'Stellar Crown' and 'Stellaron Maiden.'"
Chichio put the sword case aside and stood up, even lightly hugging Haseo. "I love these two names... They're my absolute favorites among all the names you've given."
This was an indirect criticism, yet Haseo didn't pick up on it.
"Then I have one final piece of advice, Chichio—even at a moment like this when we're parting with sadness, right now, I have another feeling instead, which is... surprisingly soft. So you should be careful, at least half the people in this world aren't good ones."
Haseo always acted swiftly while speaking sparingly, but he was an honest man.
Chichio finally burst into laughter—the most beautiful smile Haseo had ever seen from her.
Did she catch on to Haseo's sense of humor?
Probably not. That would be too difficult.
Way too hard to pull off.
...
After Chichio left, the ward once again fell into silence.
Without realizing how much time had passed, Tsunade finally closed the book in her hands and whispered, "I thought there might be a confession. Haseo... did you just get dumped?"
Haseo looked at the longsword lying beside his hand and replied, "Wasn't this already a confession? Tsunade, you're being rather narrow-minded."
A once-gray person had finally found her own color, becoming vivid and vibrant beyond measure—wasn't that the most heartfelt declaration of love she could make toward him?
Tsunade pouted slightly but still couldn't help asking, "I understand 'Stellar Crown,' but what exactly is 'Stellaron Maiden'?"
Her eyes tracked Haseo's gaze to the two swords.
"It's for remembrance… you're just a kid, so it's fine if you don't get it yet."
Stellaron Maiden, the girl beneath the starry sky—who exactly was she commemorating?
Tsunade thought to herself, "I know exactly what you mean."
"By the way… can ninja retire early?" Haseo suddenly asked after a while.
"Haseo, the war has ended, and besides… even the Hokage cannot stop someone who has lost their will to fight from leaving the battlefield."
"...Guess that's true."
Normally by now Tsunade would have already walked away from Haseo, but today she decided to stay with him a little longer.
Otherwise, a solitary old man would only look even more pitiable.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>