Chapter 24 Hesitation

Madara could feel the cold blood flowing slowly along the blade towards his palm, and the man's slowing heartbeat could also be clearly felt along the blade.

Madara frowned and retracted the dagger, raising his hand to shake off the blood on the blade. The lifeless body behind him could no longer stand without the support of the blade, and fell to the ground with twisted limbs.

Along with the sound of the body falling to the ground, the little girl broke free from the woman's hand and ran towards Madara, hitting him with her little fists one after another, "Bad guy! Bad guy! Don't hit my dad! Wuuu, why do you come to bully us! Bad guy! I'll hit you! Wuuuu, daddy, get up quickly, I will help you beat the bad guy away, get up quickly! Wuuuu!"

The woman finally came back to her senses from her fright, knelt on the ground and begged with a choked voice to at least let the child go.

Ban lowered his head and looked at the crying and screaming little girl, then raised the knife in his hand again. However, as he looked at the girl's eyes that were filled with anger and stained with tears like obsidian, he could not bring the knife down.

[Should we let them go? No, if we just let the children go...]

But before Madara could form any thoughts, blood appeared on the girl's neck. Her young face was filled with anger and surprise, as if she was blaming someone. Her obsidian eyes had completely lost their luster.

Before the girl's head rolled to the ground, the woman's pleading voice also stopped abruptly. Instead, Uchiha Kenji's slightly deep voice sounded, "I was wondering why you took so long to come in... It turns out that you met a woman and a child."

Ban lowered his head and looked at the lifeless little body. His voice sounded dry and stiff. "…I'm sorry. I hesitated."

"It's okay, it's okay. This is your first time to kill someone with a knife. You'll get better slowly." Uchiha Kenji shook off the blood on the knife, walked over and put out his hand to block Madara's eyes, preventing him from staring at the corpse. "If you really feel uncomfortable, go to the gate of the bandit camp to help guard it. Ling and I will clean up the mess."

Madara just nodded blankly and walked out stiffly. His mind was still in a mess until Ling and Uchiha Kenji walked towards him with blood on their clothes.

It was not until the rolling heat wave hit him that Madara shifted his gaze to the two people who were releasing fire-attribute ninjutsu to destroy the scene.

Ling coughed a few times, reached out and fumbled for a sealing scroll, and his fingertips slid through the spell to bring out two cans of water in bamboo tubes. His voice was a little dry, "Xiansi? Madara?"

"Ah, thank you." Uchiha Kenji took the cup of water and threw one to Madara, his voice equally dry, "Fire Style is convenient, but it's a bit tiring for your throat."

Ling took out another bottle of water and after taking a few sips, he said, "Secretary Xian, how is the fire?"

"No problem. Judging from the wind direction tonight and the location of the village, there is no threat to the forest. We can retreat now."

"Well, let's go. I remember that the mission to steal intelligence is in a city not far away. We will go there to rest tonight... no, during the day today." Ling turned to the direction of Madara, "How about it? Madara, can you still lead the way?"

"...Yes, I'm fine." After saying that, Madara wanted to walk to the front to lead the way, but when he passed by Ling, his wrist was grabbed, "...Brother?"

"You're not in a good state. I think we need to talk... Change of plan. Find a suitable campsite nearby."

Without waiting for Ban to refuse, Ling bit his right thumb, drew a horizontal line on the palm of his left hand, and pressed it on the ground after forming seals one by one. "Spiritual summoning technique."

As white smoke rose, a black-winged crow appeared in front of the three people. After using its wings to cover its head in a very humane way for a while, it flapped its wings and flew to Ling's shoulder. "It's really a bad experience to be spiritualized in your sleep... What do you want me to do?"

"Sorry, Yata," Ling tilted his head slightly, "Can you help me find a suitable place for camping nearby?"

"No problem," Yata nodded, "but I think we need to discuss the working hours later."

"Okay, when I finish the mission and come back, I'll bring Tripod with me and we'll discuss it. I'm counting on you now."

"Don't worry, just follow me!"

"Xian Si, I'm counting on you too."

Uchiha Kenji glanced at Madara who was still a little dazed, and without further ado, the three magatama in his eyes quietly opened and looked at the Yatagarasu hovering in the sky, "Okay."

Ling took Madara to catch up with Uchiha Kenji, "Madara, what happened?"

"No, nothing." Madara finally came back to his senses and followed the two's pace, but he was still unhappy in his heart, "I just had some hesitations that are not in line with my identity as a ninja..."

"Are you against killing people?"

Madara shook his head, but quickly came to his senses and said, "No, although it is a little awkward, it is not to the point of resistance... I just, just... I don't know if this is the right thing to do."

"Let me explain," Uchiha Kenji slowed down his pace a little, "In short, this guy had some sympathy for women and children, and couldn't act cleanly. He was a little shocked when he saw me kill someone."

"Is this so..."

Hearing Ling's voice, Ban pursed his lips unconsciously, and his thoughts became confused again.

[I must have disappointed my brother, right? I can't even complete a mission of this magnitude on my own... As a ninja, I must completely get rid of these useless things in the future—]

"It seems that our Madara is a kind child."

Ban looked at Ling in astonishment. After seeing the gentle smile on his face, the frustration and tension in his heart were greatly relieved, but his words were still filled with doubt and self-blame, "Brother, you don't have to consider my feelings. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

If it weren't for Kenji, I would have probably let the mother and daughter go... Then, the mission might be considered a failure, right? This kind of behavior should be punished."

"I'm not defending you, but there's really no need for that," Ling said with a smile, "Rather, Ban's performance is already very good. He didn't vomit or cry, and he was able to reflect on himself in time... For the first time to carry out a killing mission, it's already very good.

And in my opinion, Madara's kindness towards women and children shows that he has the potential to become a truly strong man."

[Although I said this yesterday, I still want to reiterate that the content of this book is purely fictional and serves only the plot. The behavior of the characters in the book does not represent the author's worldview. Please do not imitate the behavior of the characters in this book and speculate on the author. ]