Southern coast of the Land of Hot Water, at night.
During dinner, for the first time, Minato did not refuse the wine Shinji offered. He remained silent, drinking glass after glass, letting the alcohol pour down his throat.
No matter how much he drank, it never seemed enough because his mind was still clear!
His thoughts kept returning to the nearly five hundred demons he had vanquished out of a sense of justice and their deathly stares, as if they were looking at a demon.
Because of his act of heroism, over a million lives across two countries vanished...
He had wanted to save people, but the result was more deaths. Who is the real demon? Them? Or himself?
"Teacher Killer, Master Minato seems off today. Not only did he change his clothes, but he's also so..."
Karin didn't finish her sentence, perhaps because she couldn't find the right words to describe Minato's current state.
Whether it was self-destruction or trying to numb himself, it didn't seem quite right.
"Well, well, men... No, anyone will have moments when they just want to drown themselves in alcohol. You'll understand this someday."
Shinji didn't mind, refilling Minato's sake once again, while pondering if today Minato would accept his invitation to have some fun. Given Minato's escapist demeanor, the likelihood was high! If he agreed, which place should he take him to?
It had to be a high-end establishment, considering Minato's status as the former Fourth Hokage. A low-end place wouldn't do him justice.
"Teacher, have you ever had such moments?" Haku asked.
Shinji replied matter-of-factly, "Of course. But unfortunately, I know that unlike alcohol, tears, or rain, it can't wash anything away. Whether it's sadness, regret, or pain, the temporary numbness only makes one's senses sharper afterward. So, when you reach drinking age, don't overindulge. Got it?"
Karin: "Yes—"
"Mm."
Haku nodded lightly, smiling. Nearby, Kimimaro also nodded slightly.
"Hey, that's the last bottle of good sake! Why are you wasting it all? Don't joke around! Pay me back now!"
Seeing his teacher, who had just advised them not to overindulge, now angrily holding the sake bottle, Karin, Haku, and Kimimaro exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
"Mr. Anri, why didn't you tell me back then?"
Shinji paused, then put down the bottle and released Minato's collar, sitting back down.
"Little Minato, you've asked a very interesting question. It makes me feel like your evil is becoming more pure."
"No! I'm not blaming you! I just..."
Seeing Minato's conflicted and pained expression, tightly gripping his glass, Shinji resumed his role as a life coach.
"Calm down. No one said you did anything wrong, and even I didn't say it was your fault."
"But if it weren't for me, those people..."
"Don't worry about it. Even if you hadn't acted, someone else might have, and the result would be the same."
"No, it's not the same! It was my self-righteousness..."
Minato's glass creaked under his grip. Shinji, seeing Minato's pain, thought for a moment.
"Little Minato, judging right and wrong is meaningless. Asking who the real demon is, is also meaningless. Let me give you a simple example to understand.
Imagine the village raided by those people is a rabbit, and the raiders are wolves. You, the observer, feel the wolves' predation is too cruel, so you kill the strongest wolves.
What you don't know is that there's a wild boar herd on the same mountain, not friendly with the wolves. The boars take advantage of the weakened wolves and wipe them out.
So now, you're feeling guilty for the wolves' destruction. Isn't that funny?"
"Master Minato is being self-destructive over something so trivial," Karin muttered.
"They're... not animals!"
Minato suddenly became agitated, his tone startling the three kids.
"True, but not much different."
Shinji shrugged, not saying more. His goal was to deepen Minato's regret and pain, molding him into what he needed.
He deliberately left out how the wolves' destruction could disrupt the natural food chain and ecological balance. Minato had to figure this out himself. How long it would take for Minato to realize that ultimate good and ultimate evil are indistinguishable would depend on him.
"I just... I just wanted to save people..."
Minato grasped his head, pained and helpless. He couldn't understand why a good intention led to such a result.
The guilt was suffocating. Even a former Fourth Hokage couldn't bear the weight of a million lives. He couldn't face it calmly and often wanted to escape.
Atonement? Minato had thought about it but couldn't find a suitable path. Suicide? Too light—a single life couldn't compare to a million.
Seeing it was enough, Shinji timely suggested, "By the way, Little Minato, there's a new place in the nearby town. Want to check it out? You've finished the sake, so why not?"
For the first time, Minato hesitated at such an invitation.
"Teacher Killer..." Karin looked disdainful.
"You three clean up the table. Practice chakra extraction in your rooms and supervise each other."
Saying this, Shinji stood up and looked at Minato again. Minato hesitated, wanting to drink more but...
"Mr. Anri, I'll just drink."
"Sure, sure."
Shinji nodded, then put an arm around Minato's shoulder, whispering in his ear, "The first time a man goes to such a place, he always says that. I did too."
"Uh..." Minato was dumbfounded.