章 140: Chapter no.139
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"Though the situation inside the hideout is relatively unknown, our mission remains the same. Eliminate every shinobi we come across, recover any and all of the research we may find, retrieve the DNA sample, completely destroy the base of operations as well as any evidence left behind, and investigate the town after the base is taken care of." Naruto relayed the direct orders that had been given to him earlier that day. He suddenly stopped and gave Natsuki and Narumi a serious look. "...And by eliminate, that means no survivors left behind. Do you understand?"
Naruto saw that Satsuki and Mikoto gave him a quick nod in response, but continued to glance at the two other kunoichi to see if they had come to terms with what they had to do...He didn't like what he found. He found himself frowning because the two of them looked absolutely appalled by what they had just been told.
"I-I thought we were only supposed to eliminate the threat they posed, not kill them in cold blood!" Narumi yelled, breaking the silence that had filled the forest. Had there been any enemy shinobi in the area, they would have surely been drawn in by that outburst.
"I agree with Narumi! They can't be exterminated just because someone has a problem with them...I-I can't do this! How would we be able to call ourselves shinobi of Konoha when this mission goes against everything that Konoha stands for?!" Natsuki argued. She didn't scream it like her sister did, but her argument wasn't lacking in passion.
Naruto could only sigh at the childish beliefs they were clinging to. If they weren't ready to take a life, then they shouldn't have become shinobi at all. Although being Minato and Kushina's children, they probably glamorized the occupation for them and promised them that being a shinobi was about protecting their village and their precious people, nothing more. What a fine mess they had left him with.
Naruto shifted his line of vision from the two Uzumaki-Namikaze children to Mikoto and Satsuki. He merely nodded his, signaling that the briefing was done and that it would be best for him to deal with this alone.
Mikoto, seeing Naruto's gesture, chose to take the initiative. "Come on Satsuki-chan, why don't we get get some rest? Tomorrow will be a long day and we'll need to be at our full strength." Mikoto spoke as she faced her daughter and got up off her log.
She didn't receive a verbal response, only a nod from Satsuki, after which they walked into one of the two tents that had been prepared to get some rest for the night. They had already assumed that Natsuki and Narumi would have a problem with this aspect of the mission, so their sudden outbursts were not so surprising. They would leave Naruto to take care of the girls.
Once the two female Uchiha had left the clearing, Naruto reopened his eyes and faced the two remaining kunoichi with a look of absolute seriousness.
"...I can understand how you feel, actually it is expected for genin only three months out of the academy to hold these kinds of beliefs...That aside, do not, I repeat, do not use Konoha as an example of harmony, righteousness, and peace...You really think that Konoha has done no wrong...? How naïve and utterly foolish. Shinobi from Konoha don't have the right to talk about morality after all the pain and hatred they've inflicted upon the world...Not just other villages, but its own inhabitants as well...If you can't understand my words, then it only means that you haven't seen the true face of Konoha." Naruto wasn't going to sit there and listen to nonsense all night, especially from two children who didn't know the first thing about the reality of the world they live in, nor have ever experienced true pain.
The harshness of Naruto's words made the two kunoichi falter a little, mostly because they didn't know what he was referring to...and that was what scared them. However, they still believed that they were in the right when it came to this mission.
"T-Tou-san would never allow missions like this to take place...He may not be the Hokage anymore, but he still holds the same power and influence that he did while he was in office!" Narumi continued to argue.
Though it seemed that her sister wasn't as passionate as she had been before. Natsuki seemed to be in deep thought and even more withdrawn now. Perhaps she was able to comprehend the kind of things that her sister was too stubborn to realize.
"Minato is considered to be a butcher and a monster by Kumo and Iwa, you think he got that reputation by merely defeating his enemies?" Naruto asked rhetorically. He really wasn't good at these kind of things, so it was best to be straightforward. "These missions are nothing new, they've been going on since the birth of the shinobi system and even far before it. Your father assigned countless missions just like this one, and ones even more inhumane than this. Your mother and him probably went on countless ones such as this when they were younger...I'll be honest with you, as shinobi, you've been sheltered and pampered because you were the children of the Hokage and because your own mother was your sensei...On my first real mission outside of the village walls, I had no other choice than to kill dozens of shinobi from Yukigakure that were working for a corrupt Daimyo and I've had to take even more lives after...This is the case with most shinobi, but Kushina has been mothering you and most likely forcing Kakashi-san to do the same because she doesn't want her 'babies' to lose their innocence or something of that nature."
Naruto took a breath to bring himself out of his rant. If he wanted to get it through their thick skulls he would need to remain calm and rational. If they were as naïve as most of the others in their graduating class, appealing to their belief that they should only take another person's life if their comrades were in danger should do the trick.
"Look...I don't care if you hate the idea of killing or hate me for making you follow through with this mission, but if you refuse to to eliminate the shinobi you come across tomorrow it will cost the two of you your lives as well as the lives of your teammates...And I will not stand for you putting my teammates, the people I care about, in harm's way for your own selfish reasons...These people we're going to be dealing with, they aren't like the shinobi you've come across on your escort missions. They will be ruthless, inhumane, cruel, and use every advantage that you give them. Things won't be finished after you simply defeat them, they will get back up and come after you, perhaps even taking themselves along if it means killing you in the process. If you have even the slightest bit of hesitation, you're as good as dead."
The two girls didn't even try to argue what he was saying now, it was the truth and they knew it. Perhaps they had known this all along and had try to fool themselves into believing in their own fantasies. Or perhaps it was the academy teachers and their parents who led them to this line of thinking. Either way, they couldn't run from reality any longer. This was the life they had chosen.
After a long silence, one of them finally spoke up.
"...U-Um, Nii-san? What's it like...you know...taking a life?" Natsuki was obviously still uncomfortable with the idea of ending another human's life, but she had finally started to settle down and come to terms with what they had to do.
Naruto was a bit unsure of how to answer, his case wasn't exactly normal, but he supposed the two of them needed to hear his experience to be able to relate to how close all shinobi are to death. "...My first kill, I didn't really react the way any normal person would after ending a life. I didn't have time to feel remorse because we still had a mission to finish and if I had lost my composure at that moment, then the country may still be under the rule of a corrupt tyrant...Even after though, I never felt any remorse...Many would describe me as bloodthirsty or a monster, but I think my mindset regarding human life is really screwed up because of the circumstances of my childhood...I never really wanted anyone to know this but I suppose it may help you understand my way of thinking...Because I never really had parents who were there for me or even showed that they cared for me, I had always felt unwanted and worthless...It made me question if my existence mattered at all in the first place or if anyone was happy that I was born...I think it's because of those beliefs that I grew up with that I can't see the worth of a human life...My experience only illustrates that every person sees the world in a different light...Don't assume that every person will have the same views of the world that you do. Personal beliefs and ideals are derived from our past experiences, if you don't share those experiences, then your interpretation of reality may be different than another's."
The expressions on the Uzumaki-Namikaze girls' faces grew pained after hearing what exactly shaped his views on the world. Though in this case, hearing the experience of their brother did help them understand that even if they didn't want to take another life, they had chosen this duty by becoming shinobi. They had always assumed that the person killing was the bad guy, that the one holding the bloody kunai was a monster and that the one dead on the ground was the victim, hearing that everything wasn't as black and white as they were led to believe really struck them deeply.
There was one simultaneous thought running through their heads as they thought about their brother's experience, 'Even if everyone calls you a monster, even if you hate yourself, I'll always be by your side.'
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