Chapter Seventy-One Retrospect

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  "That... was something the Third Hokage had me do, the Third Hokage was always wise, but this one thing he did was wrong!" Old Lady Araki at first didn't seem to want to say it, but once she started talking about it, her whole body became indignant.

  "Right, a monster that has killed many people. My children and grandchildren were all killed by that monster, and even our village was destroyed in the hands of that monster. The Third Hokage is really muddle-headed, this kind of monster should have been killed long ago, don't you think?"

  "But the third generation didn't even kill that monster, and instead told me to take good care of it. How can I let a monster live in my house? What if it suddenly goes on a rampage and kills people?! But the third generation's orders cannot be disobeyed, so I had no choice but to ask someone to build a small warehouse behind the house and lock that monster inside." Araki Obasan wore an expression of self-satisfaction at having done something good.

  "What... what about that monster? How did you... raise it?" Asked Juroku Ya first, this similar background made her speak out unintentionally.

  "It's locked in there, and I'm afraid that monster will come out and hurt people. So, I used iron chains to bind its four limbs. I really don't want to see that monster, only when it can't be helped do I take some food to give to it. Alas, that monster's life is really long!" At the end of her words, a hint of regret appeared in Ah-Jiu's tone.

  "What a pity that monster didn't die! Hehe." I said with a smile.

  "What... what does he look like?" Bai was unwilling to describe him as "that monster".

  I looked at him for a while and saw him biting his lower lip tightly, but he didn't say anything.

  "What a monster would look like, disgusting blonde hair and eerie blue eyes that open and close, really hateful. Ah, of course, white... I'm not talking about your left eye, your left eye is very beautiful, just like the color of the sky after clearing up, completely different from that monster's eerie blue eye." Araki Obasan thought for a moment, recalling the characteristics of the monster she vaguely remembered, only to remember halfway through that the pretty child she liked so much also had blue eyes on the left side, and hurriedly tried to make amends.

  "What about him later?" Bai continued to ask.

  "I raised it for less than two years, and that monster would start talking. I was so scared that I hastily asked the Anbu to throw the monster back to the Third Hokage. Later, the more I thought about it, the scarier it became, so I set fire to all the places where the monster had stayed before. I heard that the Third Hokage gave that monster a big house, but it seems like the monster left Konoha three years ago. I truly hope that monster won't come back to Konoha, or else it's better for it to die outside."

  Arai's aunt felt our silence and thought that we were scared by what she said about "that monster", so after apologizing, she went to the kitchen behind the dining room to wash dishes.

  "Don't worry, that monster should have died long ago and won't come back to Konoha. Don't worry." Obachan Araki added as she turned her back on us.

  "Ah, come on! That monster should have died a long time ago, shouldn't it? Heh heh." I said mockingly, "Why aren't you guys saying anything, Shiraki, Kira, Juroku-ya? Won't you really be scared?"

  "If you're still smiling... How can you smile like that? It's really too much for you to laugh at 'that monster'!" The sixteenth night was very puzzled as to why I could still smile, she didn't think those things were funny, and yet I smiled at "that monster", it was really too much. She kept thinking that the adults, her background, and "that monster" were so similar, maybe "that monster" was even more pitiful, and I could laugh at "that monster".

  "I was too much! Haha, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at him. Haha." I still couldn't help but laugh out loud, it's just too funny.

  "How can you still be smiling! It's completely unacceptable!" The sixteenth night insisted on defending "that monster".

  "Shut up, Tian Lie!" The usually calm and gentle expression on Bai's face had sunk, his usual warm smile completely gone.

  "Sixteen nights, if you don't shut your mouth, I'll kill you!" Kumaoro also opened his mouth for the first time since entering.

  "Never mind, it's just a small matter, don't be so angry, Bai Jun, sixteen nights is still a child." There's really nothing to be angry about.

  "But..."

  "That..."

  Hakase Mokuba seems to still have some reluctance to argue.

  "I say, let it be!" Bai Hejun knew that once I started speaking with "I say", it meant this matter was to be done as I said, without any room for negotiation or bargaining.

  Arai Oba-san, who had washed the dishes and returned to the dining room, didn't notice the sudden heavy atmosphere between the four of us, and simply said: "Kids, are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?"

  "Ah, Aunt Arai... I'm a bit thirsty, could you help me make a cup of milk? The kind made with powdered milk, thank you." I broke the silence by speaking first.

  "Ah, I'm thirsty too, is there any juice?" asked Rokuya on the sixteenth night.

  "No need to bother, just give me milk like an adult's, thank you." This is Bai.

  "I also want to drink juice," said Kimaru.

  "No way, you need to drink milk, you have to supplement your calcium." I vetoed Junmaro's proposal, Junmaro's hemophilia requires a lot of calcium to form bones.

  "Wooo..." Junmalu looked at me with those abandoned puppy eyes again.

  You're using this trick again, how despicable! Every time you use this trick, I fall for it every time. Isn't Kimura supposed to be cool and handsome? How can he do something like this?! "Just this once." It's been almost half a year since I last had juice, let me treat him to some! Kids usually love sweets, right?!

  "Thank you!"

  Arai Obasan quickly prepared drinks for us. We thanked her in unison and started drinking, after all, we were really thirsty.

  Arai's aunt had prepared just the right amount, enough for us to finish in one go. Just as Arai's aunt was about to clear away the cups, we discovered that there was still one cup left unfinished.

  "What's wrong? Little friend, isn't the milk good to drink?" Ahara Obasan looked at me strangely as I stared at the half-drunk glass of milk.

  "What's wrong with milk? White." Junmaru asked another person who was drinking milk.

  "There's nothing unusual about it, just regular milk." Bai didn't notice anything different about the milk he had just drunk.

  "It's really delicious, compared to what I used to drink, it's a completely different level of stuff!" It turns out that it can actually be made this good.

  "What did you used to drink? What was it like?" asked Juroku-ya with some curiosity.

  "Did I drink this before? Some things are hard to understand, Arai... Auntie, may I have a cup of milk?" I asked the owner of the house and got permission.

  Before I left, I couldn't help but ask another question, "Excuse me, have you always used this kind of milk powder?"

  Arai's aunt, although she didn't understand the black-haired and quiet child, asked this question, but still answered truthfully, "Yes, it has always been this brand."

  "Ah, it's like that!" I didn't say anything else, just recalling the taste of the food I ate every day nearly four years ago.

  I brought out the finished product, took a sip in front of them and said: "Well, it's about this taste, right? I really miss it, it's been eight years since I last had it, want to try some?"

  I saw all three of them nodding, so I poured each of them a small cup.

  Bai Hejun and Gunmaru both drank in one breath, their faces slightly solemn, and asked: "Dai, Ruzan, what do you mean by 'very nostalgic'?"

  "How long have you been drinking this stuff?"

  "I grew up drinking this... to sustain myself, how long did I drink it for? Probably over two years? Should be around the age of two or so? I don't really remember." How would I even remember something like that so clearly.

  "What is this thing, can it be drunk? It's scalding hot, has lumps, and is so thin!" The Sixteenth Night took a sip and almost spat it out.

  Arai's aunt picked up the unfinished part of Juroku-ya with some curiosity, took a sip and said: "This milk, the water is too hot and it hasn't been stirred, that's why it's like this. Isn't this more troublesome than just making normal milk?"

  "Right! It's more troublesome than regular milk." I suddenly felt a pang in my heart, I couldn't stay here anymore, I was tired. "Arai... aunt, I left my umbrella at Ichiraku Ramen, I'll go get it, see you later." I made up an excuse on the spot.

  I caught a glimpse of Shirakawa-san, who seemed to be following me, and shouted: "Let me be alone for a while! Please!" I didn't want to use a commanding tone, at least not now.

  I stood at the door and said the last sentence to Ahara Obasan, "Thank you, and I'm very sorry."

  Then he rushed out of the door.

  Sorry...... Jiuyou whispered a sentence.

  There's nothing for us to apologize about, Jiuxiao. Without you, a dead person doesn't need an apology at all.

  The rain grew heavier, with large raindrops falling rapidly to the ground, producing a loud "patter" sound. The entire scene seemed to be shrouded in a white veil, misty and hazy, not only covering up the dirty and filthy things on the ground but also blocking my path forward.

  In the heavy rain, I advanced recklessly to a place with sparse human habitation, and the transformation technique on my body seemed to be slowly washed away by the rain...