Chapter 12 — This Damn World
The final meal ended up tasteless, finishing abruptly.
Shinji wasn't some saintly fool who thought that unless he ate with someone, he had to go avenge them. At most, he might leave a little extra money for the inn when leaving.
Hidan didn't even consider the old man's words to be anything worth noting.
A son dies—so what?
In this world, people die all the time.
After dinner, Shinji and Hidan returned to their room to rest. The old man's daughter-in-law took the children back to her parents' home, probably to avoid gossip.
Unnoticed, the night had grown deep.
Shinji suddenly opened his eyes, preparing to slip out quietly.
To his surprise, someone was sitting outside the door, seemingly waiting for him.
"The night's late. Where are you off to?"
"Huh? You're waiting for me?"
Shinji was puzzled. In the moonlight, the old man's face looked unusually calm.
"You and your companion… you're both ninja, right?" The old man didn't answer Shinji's question but stated it as if confirming to himself.
"Our village is extremely remote. Even trade caravans rarely pass through, so unfamiliar faces hardly ever appear. You two just arrived, and I hid to observe you."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
The old man sighed. "Because I'm scared."
Shinji thought for a moment, seeming to understand.
Then the old man continued, "I wasn't sure whether your arrival would bring harm to the village. Even knowing you might be dangerous, I had no choice but to come and ask, pretending I didn't know anything while bringing you here."
"Afraid another tragedy might happen, like before?"
"Sigh… We finally had a few years of peace. Once bitten by a snake, ten years wary of the rope. How could I not be afraid?"
"So you're standing here, trying to stop me?" Shinji asked curiously.
"What could an old man like me stop?" The old man shook his head. "It's just a gamble. Win, I go back to sleep. Lose, I may never wake up. At my age, I've long since seen through life."
Shinji nodded. "No wonder, after dinner, you found an excuse to send your family out—to avoid putting them at risk?"
The old man didn't reply. In truth, he had intended to keep the two outsiders contained while taking his daughter-in-law and grandchildren away for a couple of days.
But outside wasn't safe either—wild beasts and bandits roamed frequently.
Their group was weak: the elderly, the young, the only able-bodied adult being a woman. If anything happened, they wouldn't survive.
After half a day's contact, and through his subtle tests, he realized the situation might not be as bad as feared.
The other companion looked like a dangerous person, but this one—Shinji—had shown restraint and even prevented his companion's outbursts. It indicated he was capable of normal communication and, with some probability, not a mindless killer.
That's why the old man chose to stay behind and find out their intentions.
Old yet strong-minded, this was a wise man.
And brave.
This was Shinji's assessment.
In this world, the cruelest thing is that ordinary people have no control over their fate, only whether uninvited guests bring them harm or help.
"Don't worry, I have no interest in your village. We'll leave at sunrise."
"Then I'm relieved. Ah, it's so late—I'm going to sleep now."
Once reassured, the old man finally exhaled.
As for why Shinji would suddenly go out so late, he didn't ask—he had no desire to know. The more he knew, the faster death could come.
All he needed was to ensure the outsiders bore no ill intent—that was enough.
At that moment, Shinji asked suddenly, "The story you told tonight… is it true?"
"Every word."
"Do you hate those ninjas? Or have you ever thought about taking revenge?"
"At my age, does hate matter?" The old man laughed bitterly. "What could an old fool like me do, leading widows and orphans to fight anyone?"
He continued, "I never thought about revenge, nor dared to. Now I just want to live peacefully and watch the children grow up."
"I understand."
Shinji nodded lightly, then moved off in a certain direction.
Watching Shinji's retreating figure, the old man's eyes flickered with a trace of pain.
Clearly, the grief of losing a son was far from as casually spoken as before.
But even if the pain and resentment were deep, what could he do?
Afterward, he had inquired subtly about the identity of those ninja. And then?
The two groups responsible for the village's devastation: one, mist ninja spies from the Land of Water; the other, Konoha ninja pursuing enemies.
The massive fireball that killed his son? Released by a Konoha ninja trying to protect their comrades.
Killed unintentionally by his own nation's protecting ninja… as a citizen of the Land of Fire, what could this old man do?
The "compensation" afterward? Help rebuilding the village, some money, and supplies.
The dead? Gone.
This is war.
Revenge was something he could never even think of.
For ninja, there was only fear—nothing else.
Even stepping back, who could he even avenge?
The mist ninja who happened to pass by?
Or the Konoha ninja whose fireball accidentally killed his son?
From the former's perspective, it was wartime and the enemy was hostile—they couldn't care less about villagers.
From the latter's perspective, facing an enemy required full effort. Holding back for fear of collateral would only endanger comrades and self.
Seen this way, no one was truly wrong.
So who was at fault?
Perhaps… this damn world.
"Tonight's moon… really full."
"Move! You're blocking the way! Old man!"
The old man had just lifted his head in appreciation when a door creaked open behind him, and a harsh voice told him to move.
Startled, he shivered, then looked back to see Hidan's deadpan face, like he'd just finished a feast.
"You… came out too?" The old man quickly forced a smile.
He suddenly realized a serious problem—the "tiger" bluff he relied on had just gone out!
Without the "tiger" as protection, how could this harmless old fox face the wild wolf that clearly wanted to devour him?
Damn!
Better appease him quickly with some words. He looked not very clever, maybe he could be fooled.
Unexpectedly, the man seemed completely uninterested in him.
"You two have been standing at the door jabbering forever. Do you think I'm deaf? Move aside! Where did he go?" Hidan snapped impatiently.
The old man quickly betrayed Shinji, pointing in a direction: "That way!"
"Next time you dare say my brain doesn't work, I'll kill your whole family, got it?"
Hidan glared fiercely, then rushed off, disappearing swiftly into the night.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the old man suddenly seemed to remember something, gritted his teeth, and also headed outside.