(All Chapters are available on patreon: patreon.com/CanonBreaker )
It wasn't until night fell again, after dinner and rest time arrived, that Nawaki still hadn't fully snapped out of it.
The forest had already rotated its guards. Clan chūnin from within the city, together with the jōnin who had protected the site earlier, set up camp to guard the unfinished ship—around a hundred ninjas in total.
All the ninjas who had worked during the day returned to the city to rest, preparing to resume construction tomorrow. At this pace, the ship would likely be completed before nightfall tomorrow, and the day after that, they would be able to set sail.
Outside, the night was pitch-black, with only a white crescent moon hanging tens of thousands of meters high in the sky.
Moonlight spilled against the window of a wooden cabin.
Inside the room, pale tatami mats were neatly laid out, with three bedding spaces on top. One was empty; the other two looked sound asleep—Baixing, who was pretending to sleep, and Might Dai, whose nose was blowing bubbles as he drooled and muttered in his dreams.
"Wife, I really can't eat anymore…"
"..."
"Kai, hurry and call me Dad."
"..."
"Daddy's right here~"
Baixing: "..."
Damn you—
Developing the habit of half-sleep, half-wakefulness had come from long-term training. And yet the guy beside him talking in his sleep made it impossible to truly relax.
"So you like talking in your sleep that much? Then you can go comfort Nawaki instead!"
"Water Release: Water Droplet!"
With a slight movement of chakra, a tiny bead of water floated out from Baixing's mouth and shot toward Dai's dream bubble. With a soft pop, it burst his beautiful dream.
"Eh?"
Dai immediately sat up, bleary-eyed, looked around, then flopped back down—only to sit up again, finally noticing the boy standing by the window under the moonlight.
"Nawaki? Why aren't you sleeping?"
Seeing Dai wake up, the dejected Nawaki didn't notice that a small patch of tatami had been dampened by the water droplet.
"Sorry, Uncle Dai. Did I disturb your rest?"
"No, I just woke up anyway," Dai replied. "Let's keep our voices down—don't wake Baixing. He took down a chūnin today, he must be exhausted."
The still-awake Baixing: "..."
Did you ever let me sleep?!
…Though now, I probably can.
Just then, Nawaki suddenly spoke.
"Uncle Dai… have you ever killed someone?"
Dai froze for a moment, then after some thought, nodded.
"I have."
"It was a group of bounty hunters."
"At first, I didn't want to kill them. That man… he looked pretty pitiful."
"But Baixing told me to kill him. He said that if you spare someone like that, they'll hate you later and take revenge on your family."
Dai scratched his cheek and continued,
"So…"
"When I thought about my family being targeted for revenge, I chose to kill him anyway."
"What about Miss Nonou? And Miss Mikoto?" Nawaki asked curiously.
Dai recalled the past, then let out a bitter smile.
"Them…"
"It wasn't easy for them either."
"The first time you kill someone, it feels like you've destroyed the values you spent your whole life building."
"But ninjas…"
"Must kill."
"If we don't kill them, they'll kill us."
"It's just that…"
"Just what?" Nawaki asked.
Suddenly, Dai looked at Nawaki seriously and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Nawaki. No matter what, don't become a ninja who kills indiscriminately."
"Before killing, you must hold fast to the principles in your heart."
"If you become a ninja who kills without restraint…"
"Then things like comrades will stop mattering to you."
"From the moment you lose the conviction to protect something, a ninja is no longer a ninja."
"Or rather…"
"No longer human."
"But a monster that lives only for itself."
The room fell silent for a long time.
Lying there, Baixing found himself unable to sleep after hearing Dai's words, his mind drifting to a certain snake—and a future white-haired jōnin who would one day claim immortality…
Meanwhile, the brown-haired boy in front of Dai seemed to have grasped something. He nodded lightly, a smile returning to his face.
"So that's how it is."
"I understand now!"
"We're ninjas of Konoha. We must protect Konoha Village, and while protecting the village, also protect our families."
"So—"
Nawaki's expression hardened with resolve as he spoke solemnly.
"As long as I uphold the beliefs in my heart and protect what I want to protect, that's enough!"
"That's right, young man!" Dai exclaimed. "To celebrate your enlightenment, let's run one hundred laps around Uzushiogakure tomorrow!"
Nawaki: "..."
"N-no, no—" Nawaki waved his hands frantically. "Let's forget that. We still have a mission tomorrow."
"Oh?" Dai leaned in, his face growing larger in Nawaki's field of vision. "Are you scared?"
"I'm not scared at all!"
Pfft.
After the two of them raised their voices, they heard movement behind them as someone turned over. Only then did they remember Baixing was still resting. Both pairs of eyes cautiously glanced over—seeing that Baixing hadn't been disturbed, they finally relaxed.
"A monster, huh…"
"Maybe I already am."
Baixing smiled bitterly to himself, then steadied his heart once more.
No matter what dream you want to achieve, no matter what goal you pursue, you must eliminate your enemies.
Since ancient times, justice has swept away evil, light has defeated darkness—but as long as my power is sufficient, I am justice and light!
The next day, Team One continued guarding the forest perimeter.
After losing four chūnin, the Kirigakure ninjas directly abandoned further attacks. More importantly, the squad sent to ambush Yamanaka Kazuya had failed completely—Toyed with by the Ino–Shika–Chō trio until they were utterly outmaneuvered.
In the end, the enemy captain was left behind, two chūnin were killed, and the remaining chūnin retreated to a sea outpost previously used by Kirigakure during their campaign against Konoha, where they made their report.
Between Konoha's No. 1 and No. 2 maritime outposts lay the territory of the Land of Whirlpools.
At this moment, Outpost No. 2 had already been completely destroyed.
When the forces at Outpost No. 1 withdrew, they demolished all buildings and facilities, leaving nothing but rubble. However, Kirigakure ninjas who arrived later rebuilt it into a temporary camp.
Bang!
"An eleven-man squad!"
"Six elite Kirigakure chūnin dead, and even Jōnin Huiichi is dead! Why didn't you four die with them?!"
"We're sorry, Lord Suikagami!" ×4
"If we weren't desperately short on manpower, I could execute all of you right now for mission failure."
"Please spare us!" ×4
"But since the mission isn't over yet, I'll give you one more chance. If you fail again, prepare to commit seppuku!"
"Get out!"
"Yes!" ×4
Inside the blue-and-white tent of the camp, four Kirigakure chūnin left with their heads lowered.
The man seated inside, with a short-cropped white haircut, rested his chin on his hand and mulled over their report.
"Building a ship to escape?!"
"Don't even dream about it."
"Someone!"
"Lord Suikagami!"
Hōzuki Suikagami stood up from his chair, his ferocious gaze sweeping over the Kirigakure chūnin before him.
"Tonight, reorganize and rest. At the same time, gather all supplies in the camp."
"Take whatever can be carried. Destroy anything that can't. Leave nothing for the enemy!"
"Yes!"
Suikagami nodded slightly. His tone sank as he grasped the ninja blade at his waist and drew it slightly from its sheath, a white gleam reflecting in his eyes.
"At dawn tomorrow, we depart."
"All Kirigakure ninjas will follow me to ambush that so-called 'Noah's Ark' trying to flee!"
"Yes!!"
After the Kirigakure special jōnin left, Hōzuki Suikagami slowly closed his eyes.
Che… Ameyuri… Huiichi. I will avenge you.
I will never let the Uzumaki and those Konoha ninjas have their way.
Never!
What Suikagami didn't know was that, while he was still planning for tomorrow—
Someone else had already set their sights on them even earlier.
◇ Why are You waiting—this story is fully complete!
You can now read the entire book from start to finish in one uninterrupted binge.
If you're interested, feel free to check it out and enjoy the full journey! on P@treon
◇ if you're interested: patreon.com/CanonBreaker