Death doesn't matter.

[Yox]

It was an average day in Ta no Kuni.

What had the last seven years truly meant to me? My thoughts wondered as I sat alone within a dark room in the abyss of Otogakure. Darkness surrounded me, continuing to creep at me from the everlasting shadows that enshrouded this place. Many negative emotions fluxed within my mind. I became tempted to do things that I would never dream of doing. Otogakure was unhealthy; it changed the man I was and the man I was supposed to be.

Seven years of torment. Had it all been worth it? My life had deteriorated whilst living in these underground caverns. Sure, I ventured out into the world above from time to time. But I spent the majority of my life down here with the other villagers. The darkness did things to you, things that made you realise who you really were. Mind games tormented me from time to time. It was often difficult to differentiate between dream and reality. I hated it; not knowing whether or not mysterious figures within the shadows were real or simply phantoms of my wandering mind.

I had to leave this place. There were things that I still had to accomplish before I died. 

Hidden away from the world had its benefits here and there. The village was left in peace most of the time. Raiders rarely breached our tunnels. It was rather difficult to first locate the entrance to the tunnels, and then to navigate your way through them. Many took one look at the winding darkness below and immediately turned away. Once you became lost down here, it was unlikely that you'd ever reach the surface again.

However these benefits did not out-weigh the cons. I was one of the only ninja of Otogakure. I had no relationships with anyone around me. The little shinobi kept to themselves. We were all branched out amongst the caverns of the village. None of us ever congregated and decided to work together. We needed a leader, someone to unite us under a structured rule. I even came to wonder whether or not our life was better under the Minakami grip. Had destroying Tenjin no Sato really been worth it in the end? The way things were now made me feel like there had been many mistakes in the past.

I had to look toward the future though. By this time I had made my way through the tunnels toward their entrance. I slowly stepped out of the archway, moving atop a hill that looked across the rice fields of the land. The sun had just risen over the horizon, and the day began to unfold. The shinobi world out there was waiting for me. I was not going to waste away here for the rest of my life. I grabbed my forehead protector and removed it from my head. From there, I began to walk.

I did not stop...

Exit.