Once they had finally calmed down completely, the two sat together, letting the silence settle before the weight of reality crept back in.
Sure enough, even when it comes to love, you eventually have to face the music.
"Do you really have to leave Konoha?"
Gisei Shiraishi frowned, thinking it over carefully.
If his Blood Contract Cursed Seal actually worked, then staying in Konoha might not be an issue. He could stir up trouble from the shadows, manipulating others to do his dirty work while he lived a quiet, unassuming life. It seemed like a solid plan.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice hesitant. "It's fine if I don't leave. But you have to understand... I hate this place. Even if I live a quiet life, I'd prefer to be literally anywhere else."
Anna Takemoto probed gently, "Can you tell me what exactly you want to do?"
Gisei hesitated. "I want to destroy the Will of Fire. I haven't found a way yet, but that's the goal."
"The Will of Fire? How do you destroy something spiritual like that?"
"Simply put? I want to make Konoha collapse on its own."
Anna's eyes widened. "How is that even possible?"
"Why is it impossible? I'm looking for a way. If I can really pull it off, maybe the entire structure of the Five Great Nations will shift. We wouldn't be confined to one small village anymore."
Anna couldn't wrap her head around it. Her world was small—it only contained her clan. She simply couldn't comprehend the vastness Gisei was talking about.
Gisei thought for a moment before continuing. "This path is difficult, and a lot of people are going to die. You say you like me, but you definitely won't like my methods."
"So, I'm advising you to stay far away from me. Someone like me..."
Anna smiled bitterly. "Even if you were rotten to the core, I wouldn't leave you. But why do you have this idea of destroying Konoha?"
Gisei returned the bitter smile. "Some people are broken from the moment they're born..."
He pulled his grandfather's notebook from his chest pocket and handed it to her.
Anna flipped through it, her expression turning thoughtful. "Is this also why you won't compete for the position of Hokage?"
"I'll tell you the truth. If you want to compete for Hokage, you must have the resolve to let every ninja in your clan die for it."
"How is that possible?"
"Why isn't it possible? To ensure the Hokage's position isn't threatened, the village systematically weakens the ninja clans. Not just us—even the clans that loyally follow the Hokage get the same treatment."
Anna's face turned pale. "If all the ninja clans died out, who would protect Konoha? The Hokage wouldn't do something so stupid."
"Konoha no mau tokoro, hi wa mata moeru. Hi no kage wa mura o terashi, mata konoha ga mebukru." (Where tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The shadow of the fire will illuminate the village, and tree leaves shall bud once again.)
After reciting the Third's most famous poem, Gisei's eyes became dangerously sharp.
"All the ninja clans will become rotting leaves under the great tree that is Konoha. And then the 'new buds'—the civilian ninjas—will rise rapidly to replace us."
"This is the hypocritical true face of the Will of Fire. We just happened to arrive a little early for the funeral. Why should we become rotting leaves to fertilize their tree? It's unfair."
"My clan is already left with nothing but the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Your clan will be next. And the others will follow."
"Maybe we won't be totally exterminated, but where does that leave the people who already died? That's what I can't stand."
"When people die, everything is gone. They trade their lives for the success of a meaningless village, just to get a few cheers from bystanders. If you cried on the street about it, people would probably just gather around to watch the show."
"Even if everyone else approves of that kind of death, I won't."
"I don't crave understanding, and I don't need comfort. But I know exactly what I'm doing, and I know what I want."
Anna didn't know what to say. She could only hug him, whispering, "In the end, you're still holding a grudge over the deaths of your clansmen and relatives."
Gisei sneered. "Calling it a 'grudge' isn't quite right. It's just... they all died with such inspiring righteousness that I simply can't bear the weight of it."
"That sentiment is too heavy. It's been crushing me for years, keeping my back bent. If I don't do something about it, I'll never be happy."
Anna finally understood why Gisei was so cold to them.
He didn't want to accept any more "gifts" from his clansmen. It made him feel uneasy, so he kept pushing them away. That resistance had only grown stronger as he got older.
By now, it had almost become a nightmare for him.
He was an ordinary person, but the "gifts" brought by their deaths forced him to be something else. A selfish guy just wants to be free. But before he could repay this massive debt, freedom was impossible.
People always make things difficult for themselves.
Anna hugged him tighter. "If that's the case, why don't you just fight for the position of Hokage? That would also do right by them."
"Don't worry. Whatever you want to do—even if it's a coup—I'll follow you."
"Coup? Hokage?" Gisei scoffed. "Do you know what a 'system' is?"
Anna hesitated. "Are you talking about Konoha's power structure?"
"Exactly." Gisei nodded, a sneer curling his lip. "The greatest advantage of a system is stability. That means no matter who becomes Hokage, the things that need to be done won't change."
"Even if a coup succeeds and I become Hokage, I'd have to do the exact same things they do. What difference would there be between that version of me and the Third? Or Danzo?"
"The drama of the dragon slayer becoming the dragon... it's utterly boring."
"If I became that kind of person, I wouldn't even have the right to visit their graves. I would disgust myself."
Anna looked thoughtful. "Is this... moral cleanliness?"
Gisei's face darkened. "So what if it is? I'm carrying around this stinking sack of skin—shouldn't I at least keep the inside clean instead of letting my heart get covered in dust?"
Anna smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescents, and pecked him on the cheek. "You really are the best."
"I have something even better."
"You're still young. Say that when you're an adult."
Gisei: "..."
Seeing his depressed expression, Anna looked delighted.
"Then what do you plan to do? There has to be a starting point, right?"
Gisei frowned, thinking. "I really haven't found a solid method yet. But there are definitely things I can do."
Anna perked up. "What things? Can I help?"
"Provoke a Ninja World War. The more intense the fighting, the better. Ideally, fight until villages are wiped out and nations are destroyed."
Gisei's eyes shone brightly, contrasting with his calm face.
"Although I can't figure everything out yet, doing this is definitely not wrong."
"People who don't experience pain won't wake up from their dreams. Illusions eventually shatter in the face of reality."
"I want to make these guys crash and bleed until their heads break. Only when they're kneeling in despair will they finally reflect on their mistakes."
Imagining the chaos, Gisei smiled—a look full of genuine menace.