not that any of her words would undo the disaster the pair of them had permitted.
Poor things, feeling so strongly and so directly that they are responsible and accountable for the evils of the world. A nigh-absolute dictator went and did something deeply evil, because no one found a lesser evil or positive paradigm that would convince him that his (admittedly benevolent) goals could be reached more efficiently, and they think it's on them.
This is one of the known bugs of utilitarianism, it can excuse anything for a supposed, calculated greater good - that's how Asuma and Shikamaru seem to work, and I get the feeling they're unhappy about it but feel compelled. I'm not saying to get rid of morality, but our goal is to save the world forever and Kei and Snowflake are necessary for that - I hope they get to adopt an approach to the world that doesn't break them before we can succeed.
She should have bound Hazō in a dungeon
Mari: My, how the tables have turned since Hazō wanted to tie Kei up. But this isn't the first time you've thought of doing that as a way of working out a problem or other, is it Snowflake?
Snowflake: o////o
instead of allowing him to shift his attention to gemstones and estate beautification and other problems that weren't so easily solved by the Hokage murdering five hundred innocents.
I think the Hokage's way of murdering five hundred innocents would also destroy gemstones and beautiful estates, so you know...
Anyway, what is the point of survival of there is no beauty to it? Snowflake has, paradoxically, not experienced the Land of Snow, much less through the eyes of a Mori, but that might change Kei's perspective. On estate beautification, not... yeah.
What kind of person cared more about a single individual in front of them than about five hundred strangers in another country?
No one has the mental and emotional capacity to care for everything and everyone. Her moral imperatives are commendable but this is what breaks a person. The Mori "know the numbers" and leave it at that, and I suspect that is for a reason.
She needs a hug so so much.
The sudden burst of dysphoria barely slowed her down as she pulled the pink ribbon out of her hair and headed for the door.
OOF
"Oh, nonsense," Takahashi-sensei touched his forehead in an Isanese gesture of dismissal. "The Nara have Shikamaru. The KEI has Ami. The Gōketsu have Mari. What value could someone of your talents possibly think you were adding versus the value of five hundred lives only you could save?"
Kei baby nooooooo ;n;
"Because… I do not care enough."
Inaccurate self-assessment as always, but ooouuuch. This is sure not to end in tragedy or anything.
Now, tell me, Kei. Do you think it is reasonable or just that such a person should continue to be alive while Akane, whom she killed with her apathy, is dead? While I and my family, my clan, my entire people, whom she killed with her apathy, are dead?"
"...It is not."
... Is this a second-level plot by you, devious QMs, to expose Snowflake's erstwhile thoughts? Highlight that Kei's death would hit us readers harder than Isan's?
Your point is made and we
will cry
"Unfortunately," she informed Takahashi-sensei, "suicide is not an option."
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
"A futile effort," Takahashi-sensei said. "It has already crushed you, and will grow no lighter. How can someone like you possibly hope to have a future?"
This respected teacher is beginning to speak suspiciously like a familiar foe.
Neither the kami nor the ancestors nor the Will of Fire possess the omniscience needed to stand over us in judgement and state for a fact whether a given atrocity was truly necessary. Even history cannot judge us, for it cannot see what exponential ripples a different decision would have given rise to. As none have the power to vindicate us, we do not seek justice. We seek efficiency.
Oh thank the Sage. This avoids the most dangerous pitfall of utilitarianism, though it does not eschew all of them.
Thank you for this chapter, though my poor lacrymal ducts feel like Hazō's eyes trying to record Pain's array - constantly trying and failing to do their job, not sure if it's the right moment to start or not.
It was beautiful, in the sense that an explosion is beautiful, or in the way that a break-up song is emotional, or a bleeding cut is stimulating.
[X] [Conclave] Interlude: Team Downfall (yes, at the Conclave somehow. Maybe the Rats have found the Doofus Scroll)
