"Did Mr. Shuo Mao really commit suicide because of this kind of thing?"

It was after the funeral, and Ayane approached Shiraishi alone and asked about it.

In Ayane's opinion, it is impossible for Shuo Shigeru to commit suicide because of the boring question and answer of which is more important than his companions and tasks.

Shuo Mao, who I know, would never be such a man.

This is also where Ayane is puzzled, and she hopes to get answers from Shiraishi.

"What do you mean?"

"The cause of Mr. Shuomao's death."

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Shiraishi said with a glance at her.

"I don't feel worth it for Mr. Shuomao."

Ayane didn't feel very well, and let out a long sigh.

"Mr. Shuo Shige, he is not suitable to be a ninja, he is just one of the tragic products of this ninja era."

For Shiraishi's words, Ayane was a little overwhelmed and looked at him in amazement.

"The question you are questioning has no answer in the first place. The task is professional ethics, and the companion ...... It is a human choice. Either one is the right answer, or all of them can be wrong. The key is how the upper echelons define it. ”

"But Mr. Shuomao gave up the task and made the village lose ......"

Speaking of which, Ayane spotted the problem.

It's even more confusing.

What is the mission of Shuomao?

What did the village lose?

The upper echelons did not give any explanation, but left the villagers to their imagination freely.

That is, from the very beginning the question of which is more important, the companion or the task, this question does not exist.

Admittedly, Ayane knew that Shuo Shigeru attached great importance to his companions, but since the entire mission was based on a scam, it didn't make sense to choose which one.

Ayane understood what Shiraishi meant.

Both of these answers are both correct and both false.

It doesn't matter which one you choose, what matters is how the upper echelons define it.

Today it can be a companion greater than a task, and tomorrow it can be a task greater than a companion.

In the eyes of the upper echelons, this is just a political battle over the election of the fourth Hokage.

There is no other meaning.

With the bond as the core, everyone is the will of a family member - the will of fire, and unwittingly, it has become a political tool for the high-level to compete for power and control the voice of the village.

No longer as a village of faith and soul.

The villagers were unaware of this, and were involved with a hippie smile.

There is no more desperate truth.

Ayane shuddered a little.

She could imagine what the despair that Shuo Mao was facing.

It's just a ridiculous political fight.

The choice of tasks and companions has never been a problem.

Shuo Mao didn't commit suicide because of this kind of problem at all.

He just saw a village that had completely deteriorated.

"When did it start?"

The root cause of this decision will definitely not be because of this incident.

The seeds were planted a long time ago, but to Ayane's confusion, it was when Shuo Shigeru was disappointed in the village hierarchy.

Seeing the confusion on Ayane's face, Shiraishi sighed and asked:

"Ayane, you don't think that Mr. Shuo Shigeru doesn't know anything about that mission a few years ago, do you?"

Ayane's face was stunned.

She knew that Shiraishi was talking about the mission incident that had clashed with Root four years earlier.

"Mr. Shuo Mao, he ......"

"How could a person like him not understand Orochimaru's abnormal appointment. Because of the injury, he recuperated in the village for two months, what injury can make a person recuperate for two months? If it's really that serious, just quit the battlefield, and returning to the battlefield will drag others down. ”

Shiraishi picked up a leaf from the ground and fiddled with it in his hand as he said this to Ayane.

"Did you start to question it at that time? I thought the three of us had passed the acting test. ”

Ayane smiled bitterly.

"There is no problem with acting, if the three of us didn't return to the battlefield alive at that time, but lacked arms and legs, and tried to dress up miserably, Mr. Shuomao would not be suspicious."

Shiraishi held the leaves tightly in his hands, looked at the gloomy and dreary sky, and whispered these words.

"The so-called protection of companions is not to choose between companions and tasks, but to protect everything that must be guarded, which is the core bond of the will of fire. It has never been a tool in the service of political struggle, or even something used to persecute and fool fellows. ”

Shiraishi guessed that Shuo Mao must have learned something, whether it was what Sanshino revealed to him, or whether he learned about it through other channels, it didn't matter anymore.

A ninja named Hachiki Shuo Shigeru is a ninja who walks away, and his life ends here.

And when he decided to leave, the will of fire that he obeyed in his heart also completely collapsed.

"I still can't imagine what kind of mood Mr. Shuo Mao had to commit suicide."

"There is no need to imagine, because for those of us who do not believe in the will of fire, we cannot experience that kind of despair."

"Will the higher-ups come to their senses?"

At the end, Ayane questioned.

"If it had been understood, there would have been no political struggle. That's why I said that Mr. Shuo is not suitable to be a ninja, he is too pure and ideal. He's fit to be a teacher, to teach and educate people, not a ninja. ”

This is also where Shiraishi feels sad for Shuo Mao.

It's just that he is such a pure ideal, he is a powerful ninja, and he also threatens the layout of the fourth Hokage.

The high-level people really didn't want to force Shuomao to death, but this method was the most unacceptable one for Shuomao.

He knew that Ayane couldn't bear it, but it was Shuo Mao's own choice.

It's something that no one can stop.

The moment his faith was shattered, Konoha White Fang was already dead.

"Yes, now I can only hope that there will be a great one in Konoha in the future, the Hokage who discovered this bad cycle."

Shiraishi isn't sure either.

Among the current Konoha high-level, can you really cultivate such a Hokage who is not blinded by the lust for power and has the courage to reform all this?

Therefore, Shuo Mao's will to die is clear, and Shiraishi is pessimistic.

However, Shiraishi was not very interested in this.

His path didn't lie with Konoha from the beginning.

Whether Konoha will have the Hokage that Shuo Shigeru expects in the future has little to do with Shiraishi.

The story that belongs to Konoha White Fang ends here, but his life has just begun.

◎

"Shiraishi Senpai, Companions, and Missions...... Which is important? ”

Back at Sakumo's tomb, Kakashi was the only one left standing.

Shiraishi and Ayane walked here, and when they heard the question Kakashi asked, their hearts sank.

"When Mr. Shuo Mao made his choice, he never regretted it."

"But he died......"

"Death is only a relief, it does not represent a mistake."

"Really?"

Kakashi muttered these words and walked away like a walking corpse.

"Why don't you tell him what happened?"

Ayane looked at Shiraishi incomprehensibly.

"Taking care of Kakashi is not just a request from Mr. Sakumo, but it is too easy for a child whose life values are not complete to go to extremes. Use his own eyes to see everything about this village. ”

When he learns to question, he can understand why Shuo Mao died.

Rather than dwelling on what tasks and companions this level of boring Q&A.

Even if Shiraishi says it now, it will only backfire and expose Kakashi to the darkness of Konoha too early, which will be detrimental to his later life.

Shiraishi believes that the top management of Konoha will definitely be his best help.

He doesn't even need to make any arrangements, the higher-ups will take the initiative to help him do it.

In this matter, Shiraishi's confidence in these high-level leaders is even more than his confidence in himself.

Come to think of it, these people have never let themselves down.

Isn't that the best proof of that?

And the opportunity will soon come.

Shuo Mao's suicide gave them a headache too.

After all, such a valuable and important combat power was lost.

"When he goes out on a mission, I will send someone to follow him secretly. As for the truth of the matter, let's wait until he understands something. Maybe we don't need to explain it, but he will take the initiative to understand it one day. ”

At the age of six, he became a shinobi, and his talent as a ninja is unquestionable.

What he lacks is the life experience to face the world, and a pair of eyes to see through the essence of things.

Ayane also thinks it's a better solution.

By the time Kakashi asked which question was important to the mission or his companions, Ayane had already understood that he must have misunderstood something and was stuck in a dead end.

He didn't realize that his father, Shuo Mao, had chosen to commit suicide because of this.

There are some things that will be more effective for him to wake up and question the village than to simply preach.

Now he probably won't listen to anything, and no matter how much he says, it's a meaningless act.

"Then, I should go back too, Hinata will leave it to you."

"Don't worry, I'm in charge over there."

Saying goodbye to Ayane, Shiraishi headed back towards the Uchiha clan.

At the moment when the funeral was about to end, Ruri came back first.

It can be seen that she is in a bad mood now, and even the work of the garrison has been thrown aside, and she is upset.

"The funeral is over, there's no need to be so sad, right? Why, are you still sad about Mr. Shuomao's affairs? ”

Ruri, who was sitting in the hallway, heard the words in her ears and turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.

"You seem to be quite calm."

Shiraishi walked to Ruri's side and sat down, gently holding her palm, and looking at the scenery in the courtyard with her.

"Mr. Shuo Mao does not want anyone to be sad about his death, whether it is us or others, it is his own choice. He never held a grudge against anyone, and he loved the village and the people more than anyone else. ”

"I know. That's why I hate this kind of boring political struggle, not only at the top, but also with the old guys in the clan, and so do the idiot villagers. The older a person gets, the more experienced he is, will he become such a pitiful state? ”

After saying such words in one breath, Liuli let out a long breath in the corridor, which showed that her mood was not calm.

She never imagined that Shuo Mao would die with such a resolute attitude.

"The times have chosen ninjas, and ninjas have chosen precisely this way of survival."

"Choice?"

Ruri lowered her head, and after a moment's consideration, gently rested her forehead against Shiraishi's chest.

Shiraishi could also feel the heat on Ruri's body through his clothes, and gently touched her snow-white cheeks with the palm of his hand.

Then he put his hand on one of Ruri's black hair, and stroked it carefully and gently.

Her hair was of good quality, dense and jet-black, and very straight, carefully alienated every day.

Anyway, she's a girl.

"I'm not a child."

Ruri felt the movement in her hair, her brows furrowed, and her voice was dissatisfied.

didn't sweep away Shiraishi's palm that was playing with her hair.

He said not to be dissatisfied, but in fact, the body was already very honest.

"There's still something to do with the garrison today, right?"

"I took a leave of absence in the morning, and there was nothing important to go anyway."

His forehead lifted from Shiraishi's chest and began to rest on his thighs, and he lay defenselessly on the floor of the hallway, closing his eyes and preparing for a lunch break.

Shiraishi looked at Liuli's unguarded state at the moment, although it was good to be able to see her sleeping face up close, but he always felt that something was missing.

If you think about it, isn't there something missing on the other thigh?

At this time, the face of another girl came to mind.

“…… I don't know why, I suddenly feel a faint unhappiness in my heart? Do you know what this is? ”

"This is your delusion, you must be too tired today, I'll call you again when it's time for dinner."