( 15 February- year 13 AK )
( DAIKI )
I had prepared them as best as I could, but I knew very well that nothing truly readies you for your first kill. I would have spared them the gruesome task, if not for the mess that the chunin exams were going to be.
In the manga Konoha hosted only Suna and Oto, the first an ally, and the second a newborn village, and there weren't many chunin hopefuls. However I had kept track of the person of interest in the future.
As one of the Twelve I had access to the records of the chunin exams, and were expected to point out a Guardian candidate if I spotted one.
Kurotsuchi still had to attend a single exam, likewise Samui, Omoi and their redhead teammate. I had no doubt they would be brought in Konoha, the last years had been lackluster on every side, Kumo had to show that despite its loss of the jinchuriki it was still strong, and for whatever reason Onoki had kept his cards close to the chest.
I watched carefully from the branches as my genins steeled themselves and poured death over the group of bandits I had selected this mission for. It was a C-rank like many others, and I had to stare down Iruka to have it. It was a sweeping mission, nothing more, nothing less. Find and kill, simple.
And still, I was saddened by the inevitability of the whole thing. I did not doubt that even in the manga their team had faced a similar mission. Hell, from what I know, the only one who never killed was Naruto. I realized.
Faster than anyone could see, I flickered inro the fray, knocked one man out and returned to my position with him on my shoulder.
I observed their technique and their expressions. Choji wore his determination on his face while he broke bones a made organs implode, Ino looked almost feral in the way she whirled through the three men who circled her, stupidly believing her the easy target.
Shikamaru's face was blank, while he used with the least effort necessary his shadow to make the four he was dealing with falter at the right moment before plunging kunais in vital points.
I nodded, they had learned well. I gave them the same suggestion my sensei had given me: 'You'll want to freeze. Don't.'
It wasn't helpful, but again, nothing really was.
I had let them come up with a plan, Ino scouted ahead entering the mind of a bird, and they choose to attack just before dawn, when the men slept sounder and so that they could see if any of the targets awoke and tried to either escape or jump them from the dark.
"The wheel turns..." I muttered to myself when they finished. My genins were just standing there, either looking at their own hands or staring with hollow eyes in front of themselves.
I hopped down the tree and stared at my genins, snapping my fingers to gain their attention: "Clean yourselves at the stream and go back to the camp, I'll clean up here."
I looked at them go before turning my attention to the battlefield. My genins had started well, but one of the bandits awoke and raised the alarm, forcing them to actually fight. One less thing to worry about.
In a single mission, each of my genins experienced both silent assassination and open butchering.
I looted the bodies for what little they were worth, but I didn't find encrypted messages or anything worthy of mention.
I grabbed my still alive bandit and flickered with it to our camp. Now the hard part.
"You've been adequate." I started. "You should be proud to have served your village." and I didn't miss the way their heads trembled, unsure between nodding and refusing my praise.
"There are several ways to deal with killing humans." I started speaking noticing the curious gazes sent at my prisoner.
"Many think nothing of it, is to kill or be killed. Others simply focus on the fact that somehow it protects the village, and as such, killing bandits or nuke nin makes you some sort of hero."
I sat down and started a campfire with a single tiger seal and a flare of fire natured chakra, gesturing to the kids to settle down. Storytime.
"There were once two brothers." I started.
"They were orphans you see, but that didn't matter, because at the orphanage they had all they needed. And growing up with the stories of their heroic Kages, they choose to become ninja too and protect their village from the rest of the world.
When they started attending the academy, they no longer were required to do menial tasks in the orphanage, and they were even fed more food, after all children that train to become ninja need a lot of energy.
The older brother however was used to take care of his younger sibling, and as such he willingly shared his extra food with the other orphans, and kept washing the dishes after dinner, or helping the younger children around.
The younger brother instead was determined to become strong enough to protect the village, and so, he ate all he was offered, and spent his free time training, learning, improving.
When the time came the younger brother made genin, the older failed, and instead of entering the genin corps, he chose to keep an eye on the other orphans that didn't find it in them to become ninjas.
To gain some ryo and help those too old to live in the orphanage and maybe saving something for himself for when he would turn an adult, the older brother worked as a helper in the market district. When the new caravans came in, he helped them with moving the merchandise, and when they needed to go, he helped them loading the carriages.
In the meantime the younger brother kept working hard as a genin, and since genins are legally adults he moved out of the orphanage. While the two brothers loved each other dearly, like often happens, they drifted apart, both staying loyal to their dream of protecting the village. One with missions as a shinobi, the other with the self-imposed mission of helping others like him.
After some time, the older brother was offered a job in one of the caravans. He could travel with the merchant, keeping up his good job of moving the merchandise, since he had grown so skilled at it.
And since the older brother knew a lot of trustworthy children in the village, the merchant was more than happy to return to that village more often. After all, trustworthy well-meaning people, young or old, are difficult to come by.
And while his younger brother became chunin, taking higher-paying missions which earned more prestige and money to the village, the older brother started working with the merchant, making sure that the merchant felt safe and welcome in the village, and that he would spread the word.
So both brothers brought prestige and money to the village, that so had more and better resources to take care of his citizens. The older brother soon grew strong and respected, and the merchant accepted other young children from the village who the older brother had convinced to work with him.
After all, trustworthy well-meaning people, young or old, were difficult to come by.
One day, the caravan was attacked by a group of bandits along the way, the merchant killed. The kids that the older brother had convinced to work with him, decided to join the bandits instead of dying.
And so, to protect those kids from the evil bandits, the older brother too joined them, since he had grown big and strong from the years spent loading cargos, and he would make sure the kids would not be treated unfairly.
He wouldn't steal or harm anyone, only make sure that the younger kids would not be mistreated.
And while the younger brother was promoted to jonin, the bandits noticed that none of the people from the village ever killed or stole. Since they were not stupid, as a rule, only those who earned it could eat the fruits of their work.
So, the older brother stole from the caravans, since from working for so long with them he knew their favorite routes.
Some of the merchants would not give up their merchandize even under the threat of death, and so, since otherwise, the responsibility of it would have fallen on the younger children that he brought with himself from the village, the older brother killed the merchants. So they managed to eat and stay alive.
One day the attacked a caravan, like they had grown accustomed to. But the merchant leading that caravan had purchased the services of a recently promoted jonin to protect himself and his caravan.
The younger brother tore through the bandits like a knife through wet paper. And neither of the two brothers recognized the other."
I rose from my seated position and grabbed the still unconscious form of my prisoner. I wrapped an illusion around him, turning his hair as blonde as mine and lightly twisting his features so that he would look almost like my twin.
With a sharp twist, a crack filled the clearing, the bandit with a broken neck falling to the ground was the only sound that could be heard. The horror and disgust covering my team's faces.
"When you kill a human, you kill a human. Nothing more, nothing less. The ones you killed today had mothers somewhere, each of the men you butchered today had dreams, hopes, even friends. Maybe someone who depended on them." I looked at them sternly.
"You, as my students, will not hide behind pretty and empty words or titles. You killed them, not because I ordered you to, not because the mission required it, not because fate forced you to. You chose.
And I want you to remember this moment, I want you to remember the story of the two brothers every time you kill."
I kicked away the dead body, sending it hurling beyond the clearing and through the undergrowth, before sitting down again.
"And every time you kill, you'll know that is because you willingly choose to do so. Even when the mission requires it, you'll be aware of what exactly are you taking away, and you'll feel like you feel now.
But you'll do it anyway. Because as I already told you, your life is yours, and so are the choices you make and their consequences." I spoke.
I took out a cigarette, eager to soothe my nervousness with some random chakra manipulation.
"Now tell me, are you proud to be a shinobi?"
...
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