Alive.

Only by living can we have everything.

But......

What does it mean to be alive?

It's worth thinking about.

Why you want to be in this world, what you need to do in this world, and what you want to get are all questions that need to be considered.

Qingming is also thinking.

While traveling, he was thinking about all kinds of questions, so he didn't have the heart to enjoy the scenery along the way, so he could only hold Hinata's hand and move forward.

It's good to have her.

But Hinata Hanabi is different from him, she left Konoha for the first time and came to the outside world, she is full of curiosity about everything and wants to understand the world well.

There is no hurry.

So when you stop and go, you rarely meet anyone else on the road, so sometimes, it feels like there are only two of them left in heaven and earth.

There are also flowers, birds, fish and insects.

Afternoon.

In a forest, Qingming and Hinata Hanabi sat down to rest, the ground was covered with a layer of withered yellow leaves, and when they looked up, the leaves of the trees were almost gone.

Occasionally, a gust of wind blows, and a few leaves drift into the distance, or the end of the world, or the cape, or just a corner not far away.

The little girl stretched out her hand, grabbed a leaf that fell in front of her eyes, and then looked at the yellow leaf placed on the palm of her hand, as if in a daze, and seemed to be thinking.

Then, turn your head to look at Qingming.

"Brother Qingming."

"Huh?"

"Why do these leaves turn yellow, red, or something like that in the fall?"

She asked.

But Qingming didn't answer her, although he knew the answer, but sometimes, he knew the answer, but he didn't know how to say it.

I struggled for a long time.

Then, looking up, there were only a few dead yellow leaves left above.

"Because they've grown up."

"Huh?"

"When you grow up, you lose that vibrant color, you turn yellow, and you end up falling to the ground, rotting in the dirt, and returning to nature."

Qingming said so.

When he was done, he retracted his gaze and shook his head with emotion on his face.

"It's the same with humans."

“？”

The little girl didn't quite understand.

Look at Qingming, then look at the leaves in your hand, and then throw the leaves to the ground, the ground is full of withered yellow leaves, and once you throw them in, you can't find them again.

Ignoring this, I just looked up and looked around, it wasn't so leafy, so my vision was less obstructed, and I was able to see a lot of places.

"There's a fruit tree over there."

She found out.

Some excitedly pulled Qingming's clothes, and then without saying anything, he jumped up and ran towards the fruit tree, perhaps wanting to taste it.

The tree was not tall, and she had already started ninja training, and her physical fitness had also become very strong with the help of Qingming, so it was no problem to pick a few fruits.

So Qingming didn't pay attention to it, just sat in place, looking down at the dead branches and leaves under his feet.

Long.

"Brother Qingming."

Hinuga Hanabi over there suddenly shouted.

Turning his head, he found that the little girl was squatting a few meters away from the fruit tree with her back to him, raising a small hand and waving it, as if trying to let him pass.

Maybe something was discovered?

Perhaps.

He stood up directly, stretched his waist, and walked towards the place where Hinata Hanabi was, and soon walked behind the little girl, yawning and looking at her.

Hinata Hanabi crouched there, looking at the ground in front of her with wide eyes.

"Huh?"

Qingming also looked over, and at a glance he saw a ...... covered by a few sparse fallen leaves

Corpse.

A human corpse.

"It's dead."

There was no need to check, Qingming was able to tell whether the person lying on the ground was dead or alive, it was estimated that the death time was not long, and no obvious wounds were seen.

How did he die?

Well, this question is not important at all, anyway, I don't know, it's not a police officer or anything like that, Qingming is not obligated to investigate the cause of a stranger's death.

On the contrary, it was Hinata's performance that surprised him a little.

"Aren't you afraid?"

When a corpse was found, she didn't scream, but instead observed intently, which did not look like a seven-year-old girl, who was more than seventy years old.

"Don't be afraid."

Hinata Hanabi shook her head, still not taking her eyes off the corpse.

Qingming looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because Brother Qingming is here."

"Me?"

"Well, I'm a firefighter, as long as Brother Qingming is there, no matter what kind of thing happens, I won't be afraid, because Brother Qingming will protect me."

“……”

Qingming tilted his head and looked at the little girl squatting on the ground.

She......

That's pretty good.

"Brother Qingming."

"Huh?"

"Why did he die here?"

She wondered.

After all, this place is not in front of the village and behind the store, it is really a bit strange that a person would die here, maybe he was killed by someone and then directly abandoned in the wilderness?

"He was killed."

Qingming shook his head.

Then, without planning to say anything more, he stretched out his hand directly to the little girl who was squatting there.

"Let's go."

“？”

Hinata Hanabi turned her head and looked at him with a puzzled face.

"Just gone?"

"Or else?"

Qingming asked rhetorically.

"It's just a corpse, there's no need to care, in this world, there are so many such corpses, so many that you can't count them, there's no need to care."

“……”

The little girl frowned and did not speak.

In spite of?

Although it's not unreasonable, I can see it all, and it doesn't seem to be reasonable, although it won't be clear about the identity of the other party, the cause of death, the murderer or something.

"At least bury him."

She said.

However, Qingming refused her offer, leaned down and grabbed her hand to pull her up, and then turned around and walked directly to her next destination.

"There's no need."

"Why?"

"There is no why, no need is no need, you have to remember, in this cruel world, even if it is a good thing, don't do it casually."

“……”

The little girl did not speak.

Just looking back at the corpse that was getting farther and farther away from him, only some fallen leaves would cover the corpse's body, and other than that, nothing.

Retract your gaze.

"I still don't understand, the world of adults is really complicated."

"Perhaps."

Qingming held her with one hand and picked at her ears with the other, maybe she didn't feel very comfortable, and she didn't know if it was because of the little girl's words or something else.

"All in all, it's okay for you to continue to be a little girl, it's better to be a little girl all the time, and it's better to never go into the world of adults."

“？”

The little girl blinked and looked at Qingming.

But this time she didn't say much, just grabbed Qingming's hand and followed him to continue walking, anyway, in the next few days, she would continue to follow Qingming.

But perhaps it's time to take a fresh look at the world.

……

Children always want to grow up early, and they want to become the adults they want to be as soon as possible; Adults always miss their childhood and want to go back to their carefree childhood.

But it's just a thought, it's pointless.

Yes, too.

After all, in this world, 99.9% of things are meaningless, just like what Qingming did, all of them are meaningless.

It's also as if Kobayashi-kun spent time and energy writing this chapter, and book friends spent time reading this chapter, which is also meaningless.

And then what?

And then no matter what, life goes on, as long as it's not dead, it's like Qingming and Hinata Hanabi going on, although it doesn't make much sense.

If you unfortunately die, it will be like that unknown corpse, lying there motionless, and finally dust and dust will return to dust.

That's all.