Chapter 17
The moon was already high in the west when Zixu returned home. A few crows perched on the branches, unwilling to be alone. Their pale red eyes gleamed in the darkness as they watched passersby below. A gust of wind swept through, startling the crows into flight, their sharp cries echoing in the night.
"Change is harder than you think. They've grown used to being ruled by ninjas. Even if they complain, they won't put up real resistance. Instead, they numb themselves and convince themselves this life is good. Simply put, it's 'institutionalization.'"
Zixu thought of a movie he had seen before. These civilians weren't just afraid of change—they lacked the courage to face it. Making them understand that they had to fight for themselves, that they couldn't rely on ninjas forever, was as difficult as getting feudal survivors to accept a modern democratic society.
"This isn't something that can be accomplished overnight. Making weapons and tools is easy, but changing people's beliefs is the hardest part."
Unable to find a solution, exhaustion overtook Zixu. As soon as he lay down, he drifted into sleep.
And in his dream, he was once again alone at sea.
Towering waves rose into the sky, forming an enormous wall of water that blocked out the sun. The gray-black ocean stretched endlessly, mirroring the stormy sky above. It was truly a scene of dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.
The waves shifted and twisted, their shapes constantly changing. From within the water, massive serpents emerged. The smallest of them was as tall as a four-story building, their fangs dwarfing even a full-sized bus. Yet, compared to the towering water wall, even these monstrous snakes were like mere earthworms before an ancient tree.
And then, there was Zixu.
A lone figure in this hellish seascape.
For anyone else, this sight alone would have been enough to make them faint from sheer terror. The overwhelming scale of the creatures was like a waking nightmare—good news for anyone with trypophobia or megalophobia.