"Outstanding Beyond the Ordinary…"
If he remembered correctly, wasn't this the passive ability used by some black-stockings, ball-playing onee-san?
This ability left Haori extremely excited. With it, the evolution of his eyes would no longer be a problem!
The reward from the main quest genuinely shocked him, though it was a pity that completing main quests was no easy matter.
From the moment he obtained the system until now, he had only completed a single main quest.
He had even thought that there was only ever one main quest.
"At least it's done. With this ability, I can aim higher now."
Haori secretly rejoiced. Through side quests, he had obtained skills from other ninja.
That was how his eyes had been able to steadily accumulate progress, upgrading to two tomoe, and now they were already nearing their limit.
With this ability, he believed it wouldn't take long before he awakened three tomoe, and he wouldn't need to worry too much about what came after.
"It's just that this new main quest is really a bit…"
Looking at the brand-new main quest, Haori didn't quite know what to say.
He seemed to remember that the original phrase should have been 'I shall raise your wife and children', right?
Was something wrong with this system? Killing someone and then abducting their wife—wasn't that a little too—
"Good thing it didn't make me raise Uchiha Itachi!"
Thinking of Itachi, Haori felt the system really was considerate. He had no desire to raise a white-eyed wolf.
Calling the Uchiha's two greatest traitors "super turncoats" was, admittedly, somewhat problematic.
Uchiha Shisui was genuinely foolish—so foolish that he actually told Konoha's top brass about his Mangekyō ability.
And he even told Danzo.
How could that not make the leadership uneasy? How could it not make Danzo tempted?
Though his intentions were good—he wanted Konoha to believe that he could use Kotoamatsukami to control the Uchiha—
The problem was, would someone like Danzo—who had violated every page of the Will of Fire except the cover—ever trust an Uchiha?
That kind of naivety was astounding. Still, it couldn't be denied that Shisui was someone who placed the clan and the village together.
Otherwise, after being ambushed by Danzo and realizing that neither he nor his clan were trusted by Konoha, he wouldn't have dropped everything onto Uchiha Itachi's shoulders and chosen suicide.
As for Uchiha Itachi—
"Like father, like son. Those two are sardines laughing at fermented tofu—neither of them is any good."
Because Shisui's first attempt to forcibly change the clan's thinking was too crude, Itachi chose the second option.
An even cruder one.
If I kill the entire clan, won't the conflict between clan and village disappear?
"He probably thinks everything he did was right. No matter what anyone else says, he wouldn't listen."
Aside from those two, there was actually a third Uchiha traitor—Uchiha Obito.
Although Haori sympathized with Obito's experiences, that man was undeniably selfish.
Rin died, and he wanted the entire world to be buried with her—and the first ones he struck were Minato Namikaze and his wife, who had trusted him deeply.
Paying back grievances and settling scores was one thing, but even though it hadn't happened yet, Haori couldn't accept that kind of behavior.
Besides, his relationship with Obito wasn't good to begin with, because—
"Haori!"
Lost in thought, Haori suddenly heard someone calling his name. He looked up to see Nohara Rin walking toward him.
"It's Rin. Are you here to find Obito?"
Haori quickly composed himself and replied with a smile.
Nohara Rin was his classmate, and their relationship was fairly good.
After all, good-looking people tend to get along well.
Haori's academy grades weren't great—not so bad as Obito's free fall to last place, but still unimpressive.
Unfortunately for the grading system, he happened to be handsome.
In truth, no matter the profession, looks were always combat power.
Two people take photos—one ends up in a fashion magazine, the other on a missing-person flyer.
"Yeah. Our rest rotation is over. We've got another mission,"
Rin nodded, but when it came to missions, she sighed softly.
"When will the war finally end…"
After you finish this mission, it'll end,
Haori muttered inwardly, but there was no way he could say that out loud.
After some thought, he smiled and said,
"Actually, war will never end."
"Eh?"
Rin clearly hadn't expected that answer and didn't know how to respond.
"As long as there are people, there will be conflicts of interest. And once interests clash, things escalate."
Haori strolled forward unhurriedly. After a moment of silence, Rin followed alongside him.
"Whether it's clans or villages, it's just different forms of the same thing."
"So… there's no way to eliminate war?"
Rin's mood sank a little as she sighed.
"No. Unless we wipe out everyone to prevent future wars."
Haori tilted his head, very deliberately taking a jab at Obito.
"Or maybe use some kind of genjutsu to lock everyone inside and let them enjoy their own private worlds?"
"No, that's not okay. Your thinking is too extreme,"
Rin pouted and shook her head.
"You can't think like that, Haori."
"Of course not. Because I know what I want to do—and what I should do."
Haori blinked and smiled.
"War won't stop, but everyone has their own beliefs.
Protecting one's homeland, guarding the people one wants to protect, or living up to those who sacrificed their lives to protect us—
These beliefs are what support us in continuing to fight. For their sake, war isn't quite so terrifying."
As for whether he truly believed this about Konoha or not, Haori knew one thing—
These were the words he had to say.
What he didn't say was one more thing: for his own life.
For his own life, no matter what he faced, he would fight with everything he had.
"Is that so…"
Hearing this, Rin's mood instantly improved. The way she looked at Haori subtly changed.
War might indeed be unavoidable—even in the future—but for the sake of one's beliefs, it didn't seem quite so frightening anymore.
"Thank you, Haori. Then… what is the belief in Haori's heart?"
"Me?"
Haori nearly blurted out: My life is the most important thing!
Instead, he tilted his head, thought for a moment, then looked at Rin and smiled.
"Of course, it's protecting what I want to protect—and the people worth protecting."
"You really are…"
Rin lowered her head slightly, but before she could say anything more, she realized that Haori had already taken her hand and was leading her outward.
"Haori, this—"
"We're heading out on a mission. Of course we should put it into practice."
Haori held Rin's hand and kept walking forward without looking back.
"Let's take it as a blessing—a wish that we can all return smoothly and safely.
As for informing Obito, I'll have someone pass the message along. Don't worry."
Rin nodded lightly, then smiled and followed Haori as they walked away together.
The sun dipped toward the horizon, stretching their shadows long across the ground.
Meanwhile, somewhere else—
Obito was already seeing red.