"Shiranui is a place where the weak prey on the strong...In Shiranui, ability and status are directly linked..."
A look of memory gradually appeared on A-Machi's face.
"The more outstanding a ninja is, the higher his status will be in Shiranui and the more rights he will enjoy."
"On the other hand, a weak ninja can hardly move in Shiranui..."
"In Shiranui, there are four classes in total. A cruel class promotion and demotion system is implemented."
Atachi held out four fingers.
"The four classes from top to bottom are - jounin, chunin, genin and... karma."
"Those who perform well will have the opportunity to be promoted in class. A genin will be promoted to a chunin, or a chunin will be promoted to a jounin."
"On the other hand, those who perform poorly will be demoted from jounin to chunin, or from chunin to genin, or... they will be demoted to karma..."
"Ku is the most special class in Shiranui..."
A wry smile appeared on A-Machi's face.
"A person who has been demoted to dirt, no matter what great contributions he makes in the future, will never be able to gain class advancement."
"That is to say - once you are demoted to a karma, you will never be able to stand up again for the rest of your life. You will only be a karma for the rest of your life..."
"Male ninjas who are demoted to the rank of Ku will no longer have any tasks assigned to them. They will only be able to do chores, dirty work, tiring work, and hard work in the village throughout their lives."
"As for the female ninjas who were demoted as Ku... Ayi, you said that you once had a companion who was born in Shiranui. He told you what would happen to the female ninjas who were demoted as 'Ku' in Shiranui.
treatment?"
"No..." Ogata shook his head, "He didn't say that."
"Didn't he tell you... Really... I really don't want to tell with my own lips what kind of treatment a female ninja who is demoted as a ninja will receive..."
After sighing lightly, A-Machi then smiled bitterly and said:
"There are two endings for a female ninja who is demoted to the rank of Ku."
"One is to be sent to the 'Flower House'."
"The name 'Flower House' sounds nice, but it's actually just a free tour..."
"A free game exclusively for upper, middle and lower ninjas to enjoy..."
"The kunoichi who is sent to the 'Flower House' will have to be a free prostitute in this arcade for the rest of her life until she dies..."
"There is another outcome, which is to be used as a prize and rewarded as wives to those male ninjas who have made great achievements."
"This is better. At least you only have to face one man. You don't have to go to the Flower House and entertain different men every day..."
"It's just that... after being assigned to a meritorious male ninja as his wife, she will not be allowed to leave Shiranui for the rest of her life..."
"Ayi...guess what class I am in Shiranui now?"
"... Genin." Ogata said softly, "Am I right?"
"Correct answer." A-Machi smiled sweetly, but there was a bit of sadness and bitterness in her smile, "To be more precise, it's because of her lack of ability and merit that she might be demoted to a useless genin at any time.
, the genin among genin..."
"That Soutaro and his brother Seitaro were originally the chuunin of my Shiranui tribe."
"Because I committed some things and was afraid of punishment, I defected to Shiranui 2 years ago."
"I haven't received any news about them since they defected to Shiranui. I didn't expect that they would become prisoners and be taken to this island..."
"Before the two brothers defected to Shiranui, they were very fond of causing trouble for us genin and Zu."
"After going back and forth, they gradually recognized me as a genin who has been a dabbler for ten thousand years..."
"I... don't want to be reduced to dirt..."
A-Machi slowly tightened his arms and hugged his legs a little tighter.
"Even if you can never become a jounin or a chuunin, or you can only be a genin for the rest of your life, it doesn't matter, as long as you can avoid becoming a Kuu..."
"So I cherish my mission this time..."
"Ayi, I should have told you, right? How did my mission of 'investigating cannibals' come about..."
"The emergence of this mission is purely a whim of our leader..."
"Because I learned that there are unkillable cannibals haunting Butterfly Island, and I was curious about it, so I sent me over to have a look..."
"A mission born out of pure curiosity..."
"So for the leader, and for Shiranui as a whole, success or failure of this mission doesn't matter at all..."
"This kind of inconsequential task that just satisfies the leader's curiosity is best left to an insignificant and half-baked ninja like me."
"It's like asking your own dog to help eat the stool you just pooped..."
"Because of this, my mission was full of randomness from beginning to end... I decided on a whim to come to Butterfly Island to have a look, but they didn't provide any helpers to support me, nor did they provide any weapon support.
...There is nothing, I am the only one here to carry out this task..."
"But... even if I know that this task is the lowest level, I still have to work hard to complete it and do my best to complete it."
"Because... this may be the last chance to save me from being demoted to a ninja and prove that I am still useful as a ninja..."
"So... I especially cherish this opportunity and this task... After taking over this task, I secretly made up my mind to complete it beautifully."
"...Ayi, don't I look particularly ugly..."
"The master just threw a smelly poop to you, and you, the dog, had to eat it happily. You had to hold your nose and eat the poop cleanly in order to gain the master's favor..."
Although A-Machi's movement was very subtle, Ogata still noticed it keenly - when he said this sentence just now, A-Machi quietly stretched out his finger and wiped the corners of his eyes.
After pursing his lips and staring at A-Machi silently for a while, Ogata slowly walked up to A-Machi and knelt on the ground.
"Ahachi." Ogata pointed to his right, "Look this way."
"what……?"
"Stop asking so many questions and look this way."
Although he was full of doubts in his heart, Atachi finally chose to do as Ogata said and looked in the direction Ogata pointed.
Because he looked to Ogata's right side, Atachi showed the right side of his face.
After Ogata stared at the right side of Omachi's face for a while, he changed the direction of his finger and pointed it to his left.
"Atachi, look here next."
"What on earth are you going to do..."
While Omachi was muttering in annoyance, he continued to follow Ogata's instructions and looked to Ogata's left side, revealing the left side of his face.