CH_163

"Have you ever thought that Captain Kenji… might not come back?" Tōji deliberately stepped ahead of Neru, putting a pace of distance between them so she couldn't see his expression.

"I have. If I hadn't, wouldn't that mean I don't believe in your precognition?" Neru answered with complete composure.

"He really isn't coming back." Tōji looked up. The night sky was exactly the same as last year's—sparse stars flickering uncertainly, as if they might go out at any moment.

"Mm…" Neru also looked up at the sky. Her response was a little hesitant.

"I'm not used to this feeling." Tōji unconsciously slowed his pace, leading Neru through empty streets and alleys that still had streetlights.

"Me neither." Neru shifted her gaze from the stars to the insects swarming under the dim glow of the streetlamps. "Good thing the war era is over. If everyone's careful, probably no one will be mourning for you and me like this."

"Hard to say. Maybe I've had another premonition—that I won't be coming back either." Tōji turned to look at Neru.

"You…" Neru met his eyes. "There's no need to jinx yourself like that."

Tōji's seriousness lasted only a moment before it turned into a smile. "This time I'm just guessing. I hope the day never comes when you have to mourn for me."

"It won't. I'm not even that close to you. Besides—aren't you the type who's good at dodging disaster?" Neru didn't fully buy that Tōji was just guessing. The slight furrow of her brow betrayed her thoughts.

"I figure—if my guess does come true, probably no one can shield me forever. A year or so at most." Tōji thought of Orochimaru's abilities, then Danzo's influence. "Mainly because I'm too weak myself. Ever heard the saying 'weakness is the original sin'?"

"That's why it's better to be from a big clan—you get protection, even if you're a bit weak yourself…" Neru was still on that same line of thinking.

"No—maybe even someone as strong as the Uchiha could…" Tōji suddenly realized he shouldn't say it. "…Even as strong as the Senju, they couldn't necessarily protect every clan member."

"The Itoi clan has always survived by relying on the patronage of other major clans." Neru rarely argued with Tōji, but she did now.

"That's because no stronger enemy has set their sights on your clan." Tōji showed no mercy. What he was thinking was—even the Uchiha clan couldn't withstand the attention of a true big shot.

"There's a limit to how strong you can make yourself. Relying on external forces is the only way—isn't that right?!" Neru didn't mind Tōji's arguing. She and Tōji shared the same principle: debate, but don't quarrel.

"Suppose one day, you're targeted by a relentless powerful figure—or a massive organization. What would you do?" Tōji had no answer himself, so he wanted to hear Neru's.

"The enemy you're describing—do they control the heavens? What organization could be stronger than the Konoha guarded by two Hokage?" There was still strength in Neru's words when she said this.

Tōji found it strange—when had this girl become so trusting of Konoha? Or rather, she'd always quietly believed in the strong…

"There will come a day when no one can protect me." Tōji sighed.

The secrets he knew were practically a massive treasure to some people. It was just that a small fry like Tōji couldn't reveal the treasure's value.

An innocent man's only crime is possessing the jade.

Tōji was that innocent man—so unless he was at the end of his rope, he had to keep his secret well hidden.

But the chip he'd originally kept for a desperate comeback had suddenly turned into a death warrant. The only method he could think of right now was to tell this secret to another big shot who could temporarily protect him.

And that big shot was Namikaze Minato.

"You didn't actually go and provoke someone, did you!" Neru was starting to genuinely believe Tōji had gotten himself into serious trouble.

"Not yet. But it's probably coming soon…"