Chapter 187 Innocence and Mature

  ‘In the world of ninjas, those who violate the rules will be called trash, but... people who don’t cherish their companions are even worse than trash! '

   This sentence, after it was uttered from the mouth of the soil, it echoed in Kakashi's mind from time to time, forcing him to question and ask back.

  —Should ninjas be affected by emotions? And how do you view the sacrifice of your companions?

   But now, Orochimaru's answer made him see the fact that he hadn't thought about it all this time—who exactly is this 'companion'?

  In the Battle of the Kannabi Bridge, Lin who was kidnapped by the enemy was a companion, so is the village ninja who died on the battlefield because of a mission failure a companion?

  The problem he had been struggling with before was wrong from the very beginning. It was not a choice between companions and missions, but a choice between the current companion and the invisible companion.

   "Obito Uchiha, it doesn't seem like you are so confused."

  Oshemaru smiled, "He is very decisive and determined, and he will rush to rescue Nohara Lin even if he breaks with you."

   "But Obito Uchiha may just be too stupid to see the companion behind the mission."

"So you may wish to speculate, if on that day, you used what I said now to refute, whether he would be speechless and obediently carry out the task, or would he say something, 'None of the companions will give up', saved Nohara Rin will do the task again."

  Kakashi remained silent. Based on his knowledge of Obito, there is no doubt that the naive guy who often talks about ideals will choose the latter.

  Never give up, don’t give up, save everyone... But these words are fine to talk about, and it’s okay to regard them as ideals, but they are not reality.

  What is the reality? The reality is that if Minato-sensei hadn't arrived in time to repel the Iwanin troops, Konoha would have to pay a heavier price for their mission failure.

  "A person can't listen to what he says, but depends on what he does."

Orochimaru looked at Kakashi, and said slowly, "Opportunities are fleeting on the battlefield. If you can really grasp it, it's okay to achieve a happy ending, but when there is a conflict between sacrificing your companions and the mission, all ninjas The village advocates prioritizing the implementation of tasks."

   "Because you don't know what price the village will pay if this mission fails."

   "..."

   What Orochimaru said, the facts presented, and the reasons given were very convincing. Kakashi was speechless and could not find a place to refute.

   All along, the tangled and perplexing questions have been answered, but Kakashi is not as comfortable as he imagined, and the boulder in his heart is getting heavier and heavier, making him unable to breathe.

  At this time, the sky was already bright, the night dew was condensing, the breeze was slightly cold, but the jungle was still in darkness, and the green was dyed with pitch black. Kakashi looked at Orochimaru whose expression was hidden in the darkness, and took a deep breath.

  The coldness invaded the chest cavity, and even the calm depression in the nerve line was washed away a bit, Kakashi's tone was astringent,

   "You are right, but ordinary ninjas are nothing more than that. Father should understand this. Why did he make such a choice?"

  Whether it is knowingly committing a crime, abandoning the mission to save his companions, or committing suicide at the end... This is completely different from Kakashi's understanding of his father in the past.

  Too weak!

  As a ninja, unable to bear the sacrifice of his companions to move forward, and was defeated by gossip and rumors, he chose the most cowardly way of confrontation.

   This is not the father in Kakashi's mind.

  "Sakumo's choice at the time was more complicated than that stunned young man with soil."

   Orochimaru seemed to be recalling the very long past, with a bit of embarrassment in his eyes, but he quickly came back to his senses, and said slowly,

   "Back to the previous question, you are not the kind of idiot who is only intoxicated by ideals. You should understand that the village cannot protect everyone."

   An idiot's face flashed in Kakashi's mind, and he nodded slightly.

   "You are not the only one who knows this truth, the senior advisors like Danzang and Zhuanju Xiaochun also know it."

  Orochimaru glanced at Kakashi, and said calmly, "Then, as Hokage who leads them, what choice did you make?"

  Where the leaves dance, the fire is also alive!

   This short poem engraved in the Ninja School and the Memorial Monument came to mind, and Kakashi suddenly understood something.

   "Sacrifice to protect."

  Oshemaru repeated it heavily, with a serious expression that had not been seen for a long time,

   "The first Hokage established the ninja village, and the second Hokage established the law, but it was the third generation that really developed Konoha to the present."

   "Sacrifice to protect, this is what he relies on to achieve his current achievements."

   "In fact, there is no problem with this approach. If you can't protect everyone, then protect some people. This kind of thinking should be taken for granted."

  Kakashi thinks so too. The more he knows, the more he can understand the difficulties of the village's high-level people. If he were him, he might not be able to do better.

  Looking at Kakashi's attitude, Orochimaru shook his head,

   "But there is a problem here. It's been a long time. Over the past few decades, including the old man, the high-level people in the village have gotten used to the justice of'sacrifice'."

  “They forget that the so-called sacrifice is a method of choosing the lesser of two evils and doing it as a last resort.”

   "Instead, use 'sacrifice' as a means."

  Kakashi's heart was shocked, his eyes kept changing, but he suddenly understood why he was so depressed.

   "So, do you understand?"

  Oshemaru looked at Kakashi and said slowly, "Before that, there was a period of time when the village mercilessly used ninjas as consumables in exchange for human lives in order to gain greater benefits."

   "Suo Mao's mission happened during this period. He discovered the filth behind it, so he chose to give up the mission."

  Kakashi's expression remained unchanged, but he clenched his fists tightly.

   "Different from Obito, this is not how important the rescued companion is, but Sakumo's resistance to the village's high-level ideas."

  Oshemaru spread out his hands, and said lightly,

   "In the end, you also know that the failure was complete. Not only the village, but even the rescued ninja accused him in turn."

   "Because he sincerely agrees that if he can get benefits in exchange, he should sacrifice himself."

   "The whole village is obsessed with the justice of sacrifice, completely forgetting that if the higher-ups are not greedy for greater benefits and issue such tasks, no one will be sacrificed."

  "Villagers, ninjas, the concepts in their minds are stubborn, rigid, and unbreakable. After realizing this, Sakumo chose to commit suicide."

  "It wasn't because of the failure of the mission, it wasn't because of gossip, the suicide itself was a resistance."

  Kakashi was stunned in place, his nasal cavity was a little sore, but he didn't know what it was like in his heart.

  "Suo Mao's actions were beyond everyone's expectations. The senior officials in the village couldn't bear the loss of a film-level powerhouse like this, so they kept reflecting."

   Orochimaru’s expression was a bit complicated, he slowed down his voice,

   "After this incident, although the concept of 'sacrifice to protect' is still the same, except for the root, when issuing tasks, the higher-ups are a little more scruples, and they dare not be as unscrupulous as before."

  He patted Kakashi on the shoulder, "That's why you can hear Uchiha Obito say those innocent words."

   "Usually, it's not even a choice."

   "Although it is not obvious on the surface, and the reputation has never changed, your father Sakumo Hatake is a great ninja."

   "He did not hesitate to die, for the village, to implement what sacrifice is to protect!"

  (end of this chapter)