The messengers departed without delay.
Ninjas from each village transmitted the information back to their homelands at the fastest possible speed, urging their respective Kage to head for Konoha personally. Soon after, the main forces set off toward the Land of Fire alongside Minato Namikaze and the Konoha delegation.
Almost all of the younger generation, however, remained behind—staying within the bounds of the Sacrificial Shop.
When the dust settled, the Mission Hall felt strangely hollow.
Orochimaru left quietly as well, disappearing sometime after completing his affairs, as if he had never been part of the tension that nearly tore the hall apart.
The remaining Konoha ninjas sat in a loose circle, voices lowered, expressions heavy. On the other side, Mei Terumī and the Hidden Mist group browsed mission information as if nothing had happened.
Only one sound refused to fade.
Asuma's stifled sobs echoed intermittently through the vast hall, small but painfully clear.
Qian Renxue stopped in her tracks.
She turned, eyes cold, irritation flashing briefly across her face as she looked at the grieving young man.
"Why aren't you taking missions?" she asked flatly. "What are you sitting here crying for?"
The Spirit Masters nearby stiffened. Several exchanged glances, unsure whether to intervene.
Kakashi lifted his head slightly, voice calm but distant. "This is Konoha's internal affair. You don't need to involve yourself."
Qian Renxue laughed—soft, sharp, humorless.
"Crying and collapsing like this," she said, her gaze narrowing, "you're no different from trash."
Something in her eyes shifted, as though an old memory had been dragged into the open.
Asuma suddenly stood up.
His eyes were bloodshot, his voice shaking—not with weakness, but rage.
"The one who died was my father," he shouted.
"He was the Hokage. The pillar of our village!"
He glared at her. "What right do you have—someone who's never lost anyone important—to lecture me?!"
The hall fell silent.
Qian Renxue answered with a single sentence.
"How do you know I haven't?"
The words were quiet.
They struck like a blade.
Conversation died instantly. Even the Hidden Mist ninjas nearby subconsciously drifted closer, curiosity and unease mixing in the air.
Only Xie Yue and Gao Feng, who knew fragments of her past, stepped forward.
"You're too emotional today," Gao Feng murmured, placing a hand lightly on her shoulder.
She didn't shrug him off.
She simply ignored him.
Her gaze swept across the hall—over slumped shoulders, hollow eyes, broken convictions.
"In our world," Qian Renxue began calmly, "the greatest human force is called Spirit Hall."
Gao Feng frowned but did not stop her.
"The one who founded it was a supreme expert. A man who called himself a priest of the gods. His strength was enough to suppress the entire continent."
Her voice remained level.
"He spent his life enforcing what he called the Rule of Light—maintaining order, purging those Spirit Masters who abused their power."
She looked directly at the ninjas.
"Not like your clans. Not like your national systems."
She continued, each sentence precise.
"He ordered Spirit Hall to awaken Spirits for every commoner—free of charge. Even in the most remote villages, even in barren wastelands, Spirit Masters crossed mountains every year just to give people a chance to change their fate."
"Those with talent were educated for free.
Those without talent still received monthly subsidies—no loyalty required."
She paused.
"Tell me. Is such a man a hero?"
Tsunade frowned, disbelief evident. "Maintaining order, education, subsidies… without demanding allegiance? That sounds less like a ruler and more like a saint."
Her gaze swept the Spirit Masters behind Qian Renxue. None objected.
"If that's true," Tsunade said slowly, "then yes. He deserves the title 'Emissary of Light.'"
Qian Renxue nodded faintly.
"Later, he had a son."
Her tone cooled.
"When that son came of age, the old man withdrew, handing Spirit Hall entirely to the next generation."
"The son was talented—but arrogant. He tried to prove himself by launching wars."
Her eyes sharpened. "Elite Spirit Masters died in droves. Other forces rose. The continent descended into chaos."
"And the former hero?"
"He secluded himself. Cultivated. Said nothing. Did nothing."
She looked back at Tsunade.
"Is he still a hero?"
Tsunade hesitated.
Kakashi answered first. "No. If he handed over power but failed to guide his successor, then watched the consequences unfold—he bears responsibility."
Qian Renxue neither agreed nor disagreed.
"After that," she continued, "the son adopted a gifted girl. Trained her personally. Intended her as Spirit Hall's heir."
"He knew this."
"He remained silent."
Her voice turned cold.
"One day, that son raped her. Forced her to bear his child."
Silence slammed down on the hall.
"He learned of it," Qian Renxue said evenly. "And still did nothing."
"Tell me. Was he a hero then?"
Tsunade's anger exploded. "Raising such a beast and allowing him to roam free—how could that man still call himself human?!"
Behind Qian Renxue, Ning Rongrong stiffened, exchanging shocked looks with the others.
"But what if that girl betrayed Spirit Hall first?"
The question cut sharply.
Qian Renxue's eyes turned glacial.
"She was infiltrated. Manipulated by another faction."
Her voice was steady. "In your terms—it would be like a Hokage's chosen successor being seduced by an enemy spy, intending to defect for love."
"That man, in fury, committed an unforgivable act."
She paused. "Afterward, he spent his life trying to atone."
"How would you judge him?"
No one answered immediately.
In the Ninja World, betrayal over romance was almost absurd—so foolish it bordered on incomprehensible.
"Traitors should be killed," Ning Rongrong said sharply. "But that never justifies such a crime."
The Yu family brothers felt a chill crawl up their spines.
Only now did they begin to understand how close their clan had come to annihilation.
Qian Renxue went on.
"Later, that son sought power to please the woman he wronged."
"He was ambushed. Crippled. His strength destroyed."
Her lips curved faintly. "Then that same woman killed him—devoured his soul. He will never reincarnate."
"And the old man?"
"He watched."
"He neither saved his son nor punished the murderer."
"He helped that woman ascend the throne."
Her gaze swept the hall.
"How do you judge him now?"
No one could answer.
The Yu brothers' faces darkened. Any thought of revenge dissolved before it could form.
"He later watched that woman destroy Spirit Hall with her ambition," Qian Renxue continued. "Suppressed all dissent. Forced a continental backlash."
"And again—he allowed it."
Tsunade murmured, uncertain, "Was he… letting cause and effect play out?"
"Later," Qian Renxue said quietly, "that woman died too."
She spoke without emotion.
"The man who seduced her publicly announced his marriage. She realized—after twenty years—that her life had been built on a lie."
"She killed him the same way."
"Then she ended her own life."
"Only then did the old man bury her—and support his granddaughter as the next Supreme Pontiff."
She looked straight ahead.
"Now tell me. How should he be judged?"
Tsunade stared at her. "You're…"
"Yes." Qian Renxue nodded.
"I am the product of that sin."
"That man was my grandfather.
That beast was my father.
And the woman who lived in a lie… was my mother."
The hall went dead silent.
Even Asuma forgot to cry.
"So you let all your enemies go?" Yuhi asked quietly.
"Grandfather killed only the assassin," Qian Renxue replied. "He spared the forces behind everything."
She glanced at the Yu brothers. "Their uncle was one of them."
They wished the floor would swallow them.
"Why?" Kakashi demanded, anger flaring. "Why didn't he intervene? Why no revenge?"
"Because of the Rule of Light," Qian Renxue answered calmly.
"Absurd!" Kakashi slammed his fist into a pillar. "He watched his family suffer for a creed?!"
"My grandfather once told me," she said softly, "that the Rule of Light was never meant to bind others."
"It bound only himself."
She met their gazes, unflinching.
"To force your beliefs on others is no different from tyranny."
"So he never interfered. Not with my parents. Not with me."
"Even when I abandoned my duties, wasted my talent, and infiltrated an enemy force—he allowed it."
She exhaled slowly.
"Your Konoha has the Ninja Code. The fire will."
"If you believe in it—uphold it with your own hands.
If you don't—then act honestly, and bear the consequences."
"No one is born with sin. No one is always right."
Her voice settled into stillness.
"All we can do… is choose our path, and walk it to the end."
[am writing a marvel gacha novel on my patreon please support]
_____________________
https://[email protected]/mrSOMEONE01234? [replace @ with a]
>>>>>I'm a student, and I'll try my best to keep uploading chapters regularly <<<<<
thanks for your support
[[[[Please at least visit my patreon so I can have some traffic]]]]]