Chapter 264
Hinata said a little embarrassedly: "This method must be contacted by me first!"
Although he wanted to get the mark Hinata left on him, Orochimaru saw that Hinata was unwilling to say it, so he stopped forcing her.
As long as his strength can be improved, Orochimaru believes that he can solve this hidden danger sooner or later.
"Uncle Snake...then let's stop here today?" Hinata asked tentatively.
After finding the location of the Ryuchi Cave, Hinata was not so anxious. If the snake wine is really effective, Hinata can come back to kill the snakes in the Ryuchi Cave at any time.
The only thing she is afraid of is that Myoboku Mountain and the Wet Bone Forest will come to interfere...
And after meeting the Six Paths Sage last time, Hinata always worried that the Six Paths Sage would secretly make trouble and destroy her plan.
Forget it...
"Uncle Snake, good night, see you tomorrow..."
Hinata can only take one step at a time now. When she becomes stronger in the future, she will directly find the Six Paths Sage and seal him, so as to avoid this old guy coming out to ruin Hinata's good deeds in the end!
Chapter 405: Eating, a natural sin
Hanging up the call with Orochimaru, Hinata was not sleepy at all even though it was late at night.
Among the three holy places, the Wet Bone Forest lineage was alone and all the little slugs were the incarnations of the Slug Sage. The toads of Myoboku Mountain also seemed to be at peace with the world. Apart from providing Jiraiya with information about the child of prophecy, they basically did not interfere with the affairs of the ninja world.
The Ryuchi Cave was extremely aggressive. Anyone who failed to practice fairy arts in the Ryuchi Cave would become their food.
Each time the Ten Thousand Snakes were summoned, they would ask Orochimaru to provide him with a sacrifice.
Although the law of the food chain in nature is that higher organisms eat lower organisms, Hinata, as a human, still felt a little uncomfortable.
People must eat to live, and "eating" itself is a kind of killing.
In Hinata's previous life, many people advocated the declaration that "humans should love animals", but animals such as pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese always appear on human tables, and no one has ever complained about them.
Cats and dogs are loved by humans as pets because humans' lonely hearts need to be filled and humans need companionship, so the term "pet" came into being.
As far as Hinata knows, in the ancient times of the previous life, it was forbidden to slaughter cows. In some dynasties, slaughtering oxen for farming would violate the law and even cost one's life.
This is human nature.
When cows are needed to plow the land, the prohibition of killing cows will be written into the law.
But when humans do not need cows, cows are raised in groups by humans, slaughtered in groups, and then processed by chefs and placed on the table for everyone to use.
For humans, the importance of a thing is actually only a matter of "need" and "no need".
When it is needed, it is regarded as a treasure, and when it is not needed, it is discarded as a worn-out shoe.
Pets, protected animals, and rare animals are precious because they are needed. As for those animals that are not needed, no one will care about their life or death.
Hinata knows that the snakes in Ryuchi Cave are different from humans, and it is normal for them to "eat people".
But Hinata, as a human, cannot accept this fact.
The toads in Myoboku Mountain also eat insects. If insects have the same wisdom as humans, do you think they will hate toads?
"Eating" is a sin, but it is natural... because if you don't eat, you will definitely die.
When facing Urashiki before, Hinata was very reluctant to transform him into a chakra fruit and eat him, probably because Urashiki's appearance is similar to that of humans!
This time facing Ryuchi Cave, even though Hinata knew that their wisdom was no less than that of humans, she did not feel any resistance in her heart.
The reason why Hinata couldn't sleep was precisely because of this incident.
Hinata was reflecting on whether her mental state when facing Urashiki before was a bit hypocritical.
To be fair, Urashiki, as an alien, is completely different from the humans in the ninja world. Even in Urashiki's opinion, he may not think of himself as a 'human'.
After crossing into the ninja world, Hinata has never shied away from the matter of 'killing'.
To become a ninja, you must kill.
Hinata once felt that killing was different from eating people. Hinata could eat all animals in the world without any psychological burden, but she could not accept eating people.
In Hinata's previous life, she especially liked to eat fried chicken, but when she thought of the tens of thousands of chickens in the chicken farm, they were destined to be eaten by people since birth. Humans hatched them from eggshells, raised them up, and finally put them on the dining table.
But no matter how uncomfortable she felt, would Hinata never eat again?
In Hinata's previous life, perhaps because life was too good, there were always some people who thought that slaughtering animals was very cruel, but they ate meat more deliciously than anyone else.
"Uncle Snake..."
Hinata contacted Orochimaru again.
Orochimaru: "..."
"I have a very serious question to ask you, about life..."
Hinata got straight to the point, and her tone was not as joking as before, but asked seriously: "What do you think of all things in this world? What is human beings?"
"You killed so many people in human experiments. In the Ninja World War, every ninja killed people. The fourth generation, who was called a hero by Konoha, killed countless people."
"Is it just because the meaning of killing is different and the starting point of killing is different, that some people can be forgiven and even praised as heroes, while some people should be labeled as 'evil'?"
Orochimaru rarely became interested. Rather than gossiping with Hinata, Orochimaru preferred to discuss the philosophy of life, especially the meaning of life.
"Hehehehe..."
Orochimaru's hoarse laughter was a bit sinister, and his tone was playful: "I really saw you right, Hinata Hinata...you are different from those people."
Hinata asked again: "Uncle Snake, what do you think of these things?"
Hinata was indeed a little confused. Although Hinata had killed many people after becoming a ninja, she didn't take it to heart afterward. But every time I think about these things, I feel a little confused inside.
Orochimaru's snake eyes flickered, and he said in a gloomy tone: "Life itself has no value, but as long as people are alive, they will definitely find interesting things, and call them ideals and strive for life."
"The reason why you have these troubles is because your mind is still bound by rules. Those who create the rules use the rules to constrain you to achieve the goals they want to achieve."
Hinata retorted: "But if there are no rules in this world, wouldn't it be chaos?"
Orochimaru sneered, his tone disdainful, even mocking: "For people like us, what's the difference between peace and chaos?"
"The Hokage wants to protect Konoha and the Land of Fire. That's because the Hokage has enjoyed the rights, so he has to assume the responsibility of 'protection'."
“And ‘responsibility’ is something that is imposed on you by others!”
Speaking of this, Orochimaru's tone was slightly cold, as if he thought of something unhappy.
"The eldest lady of the Hinata family..."
"You enjoy the status of the eldest daughter of the Hyuga family, so you have the heart to protect the Hyuga family. Maybe it's the bond, or maybe you don't want to lose the privilege of being the heir of the Hyuga family..."
"You think it is your responsibility to protect the Hyuga family, but for Danzo, perhaps it is his responsibility to control or even destroy the Hyuga family."
"You are bound by responsibilities and rules...do you really have the courage to get rid of these?"
Hinata was silent for a long time after hearing this. Orochimaru's words seemed outrageous, but they also made sense.
As long as you are not bound by rules or responsibilities, there is actually no difference between chaos and peace.
I'm still me, and that's enough.
But humans are social animals, and their lonely hearts need filling. Being alone is the most terrifying thing in the world.
Hinata asked curiously: "Uncle Snake, are you lonely?"
"Lonely...maybe!"
Under the moonlight, Orochimaru stood quietly in the woods, surrounded by darkness like ghosts. The bright moonlight reflected on Orochimaru, as if he was standing on the opposite side of the entire world.
There is a huge gap between people and the world.
Chapter 406: Uncle Snake, we can take action
Orochimaru's way of living is undoubtedly selfish. He will not bear any responsibility, so he can do anything without any scruples.
Killing people, doing human experiments, provoking wars... these things may just be 'interesting' things to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru doesn't need anyone else, and no one needs Orochimaru... The only surprise may be Jiraiya!
But Hinata is different. Hinata has responsibilities that she must bear. At first, others may have imposed it on Hinata, but when the bond was formed, Hinata became willing.
"Are you afraid of losing or being alone?"
Orochimaru hit the nail on the head. He understood Hinata's mentality at this time very well, because he once had such a mentality.
The first time he killed someone, the first time he did a human experiment, the first time he saw a test subject die on the experimental table... Then he was discovered by the Third Hokage, defected from Konoha, and wandered alone in the ninja world.
When Orochimaru was desperate to pursue his ideals, he was also confused, but in the end Orochimaru was determined on the path he chose.
As time goes by, I feel like it doesn’t matter anymore, but when I recall the past occasionally, I still feel a little nostalgic.
It's just that the longer time goes by, the weaker this feeling of nostalgia becomes, but it is also more worth cherishing.
Orochimaru can kill the third generation, as well as Jiraiya and Tsunade. Orochimaru would shed tears when killing them, and would occasionally miss the past after killing them.
But that's about it.
"Actually, if you live a long time and see a lot of death, these things are nothing."
Orochimaru believes that Hinata can understand him and also pursues immortality as his ideal. Sooner or later Hinata will become a person like him.
The current reluctance is just because Hinata has not seen the departure of her companions and relatives.
After all, there are only a few people in this world who can give you warmth.
Hinata was silent. Hinata admitted that she was indeed afraid of losing her bonds and being alone, so she willingly took on the responsibilities imposed on her by others.
"The bond between people... is really wonderful!"
Hinata felt a little emotional. After getting along with someone for a long time, she would regard the other person as an important person to her and invest her feelings towards the other person.
Because I am afraid that the feelings I have given will be hurt, I have to protect the other person even if I risk my life.
Orochimaru said coldly: "Emotions are the most selfish things in the world, so the most unacceptable thing for us is betrayal. If you give, you must get something in return!"
"The bond...is nothing more than an exchange of emotions."
"When people live, they must have a purpose. People without ideals will lose the motivation to live. But different ideals will lead to different ways of living."
Hinata nodded slightly.
Hinata completely agrees with Orochimaru's statement. Bonds are the exchange of emotions, and protecting bonds is also an ideal.
What about Hinata herself?
Hinata fell into deep thought, what kind of life should she choose?
When facing Urashiki, Hinata did not transform Urashiki into chakra fruit in order to appease her conscience.
But now that I think about it, to appease my conscience is actually also a kind of selfishness.
"Everything we do is really just for ourselves."
Hinata said from the bottom of her heart: "We want to protect because we don't want to lose, not really for each other."
After a pause, Hinata said with some confusion: "Uncle Snake, in your opinion, what kind of person is the third generation who died fighting for Konoha?"
"For Konoha?"
Orochimaru sneered and said coldly: "No matter how selfless a person is, in the final analysis, it is his own choice."
"Those seemingly great things, those who sacrifice their lives for others...are only praised by others because they bring benefits to others."
"But who knows what they were really thinking before they died?"
Hinata sighed silently in her heart, she seemed to understand a little, but she seemed to not understand a little.
After all, Orochimaru's way of life is not suitable for Hinata, and Hinata doesn't want to become someone like Orochimaru.
"Uncle Snake, I am much greedier than you!"
Hinata spoke firmly and chuckled: "I want to fulfill my ideals and protect the people I want to protect. I will accomplish this within the rules."
"Being bound by rules may cause me to lose a certain amount of freedom, but I am actually willing to shoulder these responsibilities and enjoy the joy of shouldering them."
"Even if I can't be as free as you in this life, and even want to be like you from the bottom of my heart... But I am very greedy and don't want to lose anyone!"
Orochimaru listened to Hinata's words quietly, imagining what he would be like now if he had not left Konoha.