GBP Chapter 1 Goodbye Konoha, Chapter 1 is here
Chapter 1 Goodbye Konoha, Chapter 1 is here
"That kid, Mori no Kazuya, reported your achievement. The Hokage's office already has a record of it. As is customary, killing a Jonin, completing the mission, and adding to the previous missions accumulated, will at least qualify you for promotion to Chunin."
"But Lord Danzo knows. Root has suffered great losses recently and needs to replenish its ranks with fresh blood, especially those with potential."
"Your ability to kill a Jonin proves your strength. Lord Danzo is very interested in unconventional combat power. Moreover... our Aburame clan needs to maintain good relations with Root."
"Lord Danzo has specifically requested you. Report to Root tomorrow."
As Yu Nu Zhicheng left the clan chief's courtyard, the clan chief's words echoed in her mind.
He never imagined that after disguising himself for over a decade and remaining an invisible figure for just as long, he would still be unable to escape the fate of being drawn into the roots.
You Nu Zhicheng is eighteen years old this year. After her parents died when she was four, she lived alone.
He started school at the age of six and his grades were consistently in the lower middle range. He was neither one of the top students nor one of the worst performers. He was like an invisible person, and sometimes even the teachers in his class would overlook his existence.
He drifted through life until he graduated at the age of twelve. He never led a team of Jonin, only Chunin. He was unremarkable when completing missions and had no special characteristics.
He remained a genin (low-ranking ninja) until he was eighteen. If it weren't for this incident where he accidentally killed a jonin (high-ranking ninja), probably very few people in the village would know of his existence.
Unfortunately, despite all his precautions, he couldn't prevent it. He now regrets it, regrets his soft heart at the time, which led him to kill the Sand Village Jonin on the battlefield and save the ninja he was paired with.
As he stepped outside, a gentle breeze brushed his face, bringing him to his senses.
He should have left long ago. He didn't like killing people, nor did he like doing tasks that he instinctively resisted.
He only wanted to live the life he desired. The living environment in Konoha was not suitable for him. However, life here made him feel oppressed, as if he was constantly being watched and kept on edge, unable to relax.
The gathering place of the Aburame tribe is always very quiet.
It wasn't the kind of peaceful and tranquil quiet, but rather a quiet that seemed as if sound and air had been sucked away.
Insects crawl inside the wooden houses, swim in the blood vessels of the tribesmen, and reproduce in unseen corners.
They devour excess sounds, excess emotions, and excess vitality.
His home was on the very edge of the clan's territory, a single-story wooden house backed by a grove of withered bamboo that never saw the sun.
It is 700 steps from the clan ancestral hall, 1200 steps from the training ground, and 300 steps from the nearest house.
Behind the wooden house was a large vegetable garden, the vegetables on it were lush and green, just ripe and unharvested. He had been cultivating this land for many years, and now he was about to leave. He didn't know who would end up getting these vegetables.
"It's time to go." He packed all the valuables into the scroll, took one last look at the wooden house, and showed no reluctance whatsoever.
At the entrance to Konoha Village, Shisei Aburame was waving a forged mission card around, trying to swindle people. The card looked very real, but it couldn't withstand close scrutiny. However, the ninja guarding the gate still let him through because he had fallen for the trick.
It was an illusion created by the scent emitted by insects, which could make those who were less powerful than him subconsciously overlook certain details.
"Hey! Zhicheng-kun, haha, I'm here."
Just as Shisei Aburame was about to turn and leave, a shout came from behind him.
He turned around instinctively, and sure enough, it was Mori no Kazuya.
He was wearing a brand-new Chunin vest, and even with a bandage on his left hand, his smile was still bright and sunny, like a shining sun.
"Zhicheng-kun, I've finally found you. Look, my new vest, personally awarded by the Hokage. I'm a Chunin now."
I was originally planning to invite you to receive your Chunin certification together, but for some reason, the Hokage didn't mention you when promoting Chunin. I think the Hokage values your strength and wants to promote you directly to Special Jonin.
"Are you in the same team?" The guard at the gate asked, somewhat puzzled. He had a conflicted look on his face, as if something was struggling to break free.
"We're in the same team." Aburame Shicheng pulled the man to her side and told him, "We have an urgent mission. Come with me out of the village."
Kazuya was stunned: "Now? But I don't have any equipment with me."
"No need, I have some."
Aburame Shisei didn't give him a chance to react and directly took him out of the village. Kazuya didn't resist at all and was taken out of the village by the force of Shisei's hands.
The lie was crude, but Kazuya believed it without even resorting to other means.
He's always like that.
Over the past five years, Kazuya has been like the protagonist in a shonen manga—passionate, sunny, and kind-hearted; while he has been like the unsung background figure behind the protagonist.
Everyone else ignored him, but there was always one person who saw him and regarded him as the most reliable support.
She believed in him unconditionally and trusted him, and then, relying on this unconditional trust, she brazenly barged into his life.
But what followed were missions, wars, achievements, Danzo, and elders.
One thing leads to another, like a pre-written script that you can't escape.
After Aburame Shisei awakens his memories, he always feels a sense of alienation from the ninja world, as he always feels that the ninja world is not real.
So for more than a decade, he has stayed away from people and lived a solitary life, not wanting to have anything to do with anyone, which happens to fit the persona of the avocado who is alienated from people.
But the world is indeed real.
Since he was forcibly dragged in, he has discovered that people are alive, their blood is hot, and they will die if they are killed.
Even though he harbored a natural aversion to being assimilated into the ninja world, he rarely killed anyone, even when on missions.
But I don't know when it started, he was able to kill without batting an eye.
He seems to have been assimilated now.
Just like his passionate and sunny teammate Kazuya, who can shove a kunai down someone's throat without batting an eye one second.
The next second, covered in blood, clutching his head, he chuckled foolishly and bowed in apology.
The reason for the apology was simply that he had acted too slowly and startled the employer.
Kazuya originally hated killing, but he always had reasons that he had to kill.
Gradually, he became able to switch between killing with equanimity and laughing.
But he could never do it.
He knew that Kazuya was the true ninja.
But he is a fake, never has been, and never will be.
You Nu Zhicheng pulled the person forward, running faster and faster, getting further and further away from the village.
Recalling the memories of the past five years, regret welled up in his mind again.
I should have known better than to intervene and save them in the first place. The bonds of Konoha are indeed a bit terrifying.