The girl then went on to talk about trying to defend Riku and the crew, talking about how they just want attention, and feel like they haven't gotten any kind of respect if any sorts.
Ziren let out a sigh. "For what I'm about to tell you, let's first start off with balance. What is it? Ying and Yang. Light and Darkness. Fire and Ice. What I am saying, is that there will always be two opposing sides. Whether they be small, or great. Going into more detail, we will start off with someone who you probably don't know about. You see, before the 'crew' there was someone else. A dark shinobi who lived in the Leaf. His name is Dokuso Maru. He is of demonic heritage, and he lived up to it too. For the longest time, he has been one of the most troublesome of shinobi, even at the age that the kids in the crew are now. Instead of actually taking action against him, he would usually just get a slap on the wrist, sometimes even rewarded if he feels a small bit of remorse for just a few seconds. He was once a Chunin level ninja because of it too. All seemed to be looking good for him. But as days went by and turned to weeks, turned to months, and years, he has gotten worst and worst. Gone unchecked, thinking all he was going to get was a slap on the wrist for the things he has done."
Ziren stood up and stretched. "Attempted murder in Leaf, destruction of government property, driving students mentally insane, attempted murder on international land, destruction of government property on international lands, arson, corrupting the young minds of Konoha, burglary, theft, and disrespect to all who he encounters, kidnapping" the man paused, "That is only as much as I can remember of Maru. There is no doubt, much more he has done and more that he probably is doing right now.
He then pointed at himself, "I did say that there is balance, a Ying and Yang kind of thing. So I'll use myself for an example, since I too have skeletons in my closet." He took a small sip from his cup of tea. "Destruction of government property. Not getting rid of a threat to the Village until things got out of hand. Hurting a fellow Leaf Ninja so bad that they had to be taken into the hospital. Fighting on international lands."
The Medical Ninja stopped, and then said, "You may not see the differences now, but now let me get into the details. During a student tournament that Maru had signed up for, he fought a shinobi of excellent talent. But the dark ninja had one thing on his mind. To kill all of the students taking part in the tournament. If that student was skilled enough, Maru would have at least killed one before anyone else could step in. Destruction of government property in Leaf and driving one student insane. This is where I come in. I was taking one of his classes, when he used a Genjustu that drove me insane. Made me have an entirely different personality. One that was filled with anger and bloodlust. The other me lashed out in anger, trying to get out of the Genjustu, when it threw a paper bomb, Maru decided to make things worst by destroying more parts of the infrastructure after that has happened. Then, in Tea, he has met his rival once again, the student that has beaten him so long ago. Tried to kill him again, while doing so, blew some stuff up, set a building on fire. He stole from countless places in Tea. The crew? They are the product of Maru talking to them. Corrupting their minds. Though distant, he was the one that corrupted Nitish, who didn't help when it came to making sure the crew stayed out of trouble. Disrespect to all he encounters, there is no need to really go into details for that speaks for itself. And then the kidnapping. I chased Maru around when he kidnapped my girlfriend, wife now. Now for the rest of the stuff I have done wrong. That threat to the Village? It was my brother. I don't expect you to really get why, but when I was born, in Cloud, he had a mercenary kill my parents. I was taken in and the mercenary followed close behind, killing the people who took me in. This scar on my arm was my last encounter with the mercenary when I was thirteen and alone. Anyways, my brother had found me in Leaf. Wanted me dead. He would try any way he could to kill me, even hurting the ones close to me. I didn't do anything until he burned down my previous house, in which case, the next thing of my wrongdoings come up. A fellow ninja, one I would consider a friend, seen what happened. He tried to follow me, but I didn't want him to get killed by my brother. So I incapacitated him, so he won't follow. It was a stupid, idiotic decision on my part and I have paid the price for it tenfold. The fight I had on international lands? I fought alongside the previous Hokage against guess who. Maru. He had rudely pulled on a little girls ears, and once me and the previous Hokage beat Maru, in an attempt to keep some of his darkness, he put the Cursed seal on the girl."
He let that sink in. "The difference between me and Maru, in this Ying and Yang situation. I was willing to change for the better. He wasn't. At a time, I even tried to understand him, get why he was doing the things he was doing. I myself come from a clan that is known for their sinister use of blood. That, and I carry the powers of darkness. Though even with both in mind, I have been pulled out of the long and lonely road filled with corruption."
Ziren looked over at the girl, a sad look in his blood filled eyes. "The crew follow closely in Maru's footsteps. Though only a small portion of them have actually met him. This is why the leadership is so hard on the newer generation, especially those of troublemakers. They learned their lesson when it came to Maru, of not being as harsh on punishments on him was a mistake. They don't want more Maru's running around."
The crew in question. They have blown up parts of the Academy, disrespected other people, and have stolen on international lands. I personally had a talk with one of them, Katsu. I was willing to try and understand his point of view, but he was ignorant to try and see things from my own. Just like Maru. They do act like family, yes. But they sure don't treat the rest of Leaf as family. In the end, I know this sounds harsh, but they are in it for themselves and each other only. Even with that said, if they ever do find themselves in danger, say a Frost shinobi corners them, I would gladly jump in and save them, and not give a second thought."
"So yes, it is good to give chances, but one would need to draw the line when enough is enough. For their destructive behavior, they could have killed some other students if the teachers didn't act fast enough to evacuate the building when they blew up parta of the school. As I said. It is all Ying and Yang. Sometimes, it depends on who they are as a person."
When Kenshin had said to talk to Mikasa on the matter of if he can take on something else, Ziren nodded. He listened to the Sennin speak.
"At the end of the day, they will either learn from experience, or keep getting into trouble. If they choose that, then they will have a long hard road ahead of them. Maru? Well, he was given a chance to stay and prove himself to the Leaf that he is a proud shinobi. But in the end, once given that chance, he chose to be exiled. A mercenary without a home. Someone that nobody can trust. Someone who will eventually learn life the hard way when it flashes before their own eyes. I didn't want that for Nitish. I don't want that for anyone inside the Village, not even the crew. But they chose their path, and if they are unwilling to change course, then that is the path that will have a grim end."
Ziren was being real here. The girl had asked some hard questions, and for that, only hard answers would be needed. Kenshin had called Ziren to talk to Nitish, and since the Chigokai had experience from his own mistakes, he had at least made the Uchiha listen for just a moment before disaster had struck.
The Medical Ninja hopes that his words are having the same effect on the girl, at least helping her understand what he was trying to say.
