The orange-haired boy stared at the warm food in his hands.
He could not believe it was real.
“I… I am Yahiko,”
He said, his voice shaking.
He pointed to the girl with the pale blue hair.
“This is Konan.”
Then, he pointed to the quiet boy with the red hair hiding his eyes.
“And this is Nagato.”
The three children opened the boxes.
The warm, sweet steam hit their freezing faces.
They did not wait another second.
They started to eat.
They ate so fast, stuffing the warm rice and grilled meat into their mouths.
Large tears began to fall from their eyes, mixing with the cold rain on their dirty cheeks.
It was the very first time they had eaten fresh, hot food in months.
Dale watched them cry.
His heart ached heavily.
He stood up from the mud and looked at Tsunade.
“I cannot just leave them here to starve,”
Dale said softly, but his voice was firm.
“I want to bring them back to the Leaf Village with me.”
Tsunade smiled a gentle, understanding smile.
Dale came from the modern world.
His fundamental world view was different from theirs.
She knew he had a big, kind heart.
And that was why she fell in love with him in the first place.
Nawaki would do the same as him.
“I do not mind at all,”
Tsunade said.
“We have plenty of room in the Senju estate.”
But Orochimaru shook his head.
His pale face was very serious.
“You are being foolish,”
Orochimaru warned him, his voice smooth and cold.
“This war has created thousands of orphans just like them. If you keep helping every crying child you meet, they will eventually become a massive burden. You cannot save everyone.”
Dale looked down at the three children.
They were eating peacefully, finally feeling safe.
“I know I cannot save everyone in the world by myself,”
Dale answered, looking back at the pale ninja.
“But I can start somewhere. I am going to open an orphanage in the village. I want to build a safe place for children who have lost everything.”
Orochimaru let out a long, quiet sigh.
He uncrossed his arms.
He knew Dale was too stubborn and too kind to change his mind.
“Everyone has their own path,”
Orochimaru said softly.
But then, Orochimaru’s yellow eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
He stepped a little closer to Dale.
“But be warned, Dale,”
Orochimaru hissed, his voice dropping to a dark, serious whisper.
“If you open an orphanage, you will gather many young, lost children. They will have no families to protect them. And that means, one day, you will definitely clash with Danzo.”
Dale’s eyes sharpened instantly.
He remembered the dark, scary old man with the bandages from Lady Mito’s funeral.
“Danzo loves war orphans,”
Orochimaru explained darkly.
“He takes them into the shadows. He breaks their minds, strips away their emotions, and turns them into his own secret weapons. If you build a home full of children, he will come knocking on your door.”
Dale did not look afraid.
Instead, his eyes turned completely cold.
Bright blue lightning sparked wildly across his fingers, hissing loudly against the falling rain.
“Let him come,”
Dale said, his voice flat and absolutely merciless.
“If that old snake ever tries to touch my kids, I will show him exactly why I am an S-rank threat.”
The three children stopped eating.
Yahiko slowly lowered his empty box.
He looked at Dale with wide, fearful eyes.
They had heard everything Orochimaru said.
“We… we cannot go with you,”
Yahiko said, his voice quiet but stubborn.
Dale tilted his head.
“Why not?”
Dale asked gently.
“We heard the pale man,”
Yahiko pointed at Orochimaru.
“He is right. We are just weak kids. We will be a heavy burden. And when things get too hard… you will leave us behind. Everyone always leaves us behind.”
Konan grabbed Yahiko’s sleeve tightly.
Nagato looked down at the muddy ground.
Dale saw the deep fear hiding in their eyes.
He understood exactly how young minds worked.
They were not trying to be brave.
They were just terrified of being abandoned all over again.
They would rather stay in the cold rain now than feel the sharp pain of being thrown away later.
Dale let out a soft laugh.
His blue lightning completely disappeared, and his warm smile returned.
“I understand,” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Dale said, sitting down in the mud right in front of them.
“You are afraid of being abandoned again. That is a very scary feeling.”
The three children nodded slowly.
“But what if I told you a secret way to fix that?”
Dale asked, leaning closer.
The children leaned in, too.
They wanted to know the secret.
“If you are afraid of being abandoned,”
Dale told them softly.
“Then you just have to train hard and become incredibly strong. Become so strong that no one can ever abandon you even if they tried!”
Jiraiya burst out laughing.
He slapped his own forehead.
“What kind of crazy logic is that, Dale?!”
Jiraiya laughed loudly.
“You cannot tell starving kids to just become strong! That makes absolutely no sense!”
But Jiraiya was completely wrong.
He stopped laughing when he saw the kids’ faces.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were not confused.
Their eyes were wide, shining with a sudden, bright hope.
“So…”
Yahiko whispered, his small hands turning into tight fists.
“If we become super strong… can we force the people who want to leave us to stay?”
“Exactly,”
Dale smiled proudly.
“If you become powerful, you get to make the rules. You become so strong, so useful, and so important that leaving you behind would be the biggest mistake of their lives. No one abandons a strong ninja.”
Konan looked at Yahiko.
Nagato peeked through his red hair and nodded.
They actually loved the idea.
It gave them a goal.
It gave them power over their own sad lives.
If they were strong, they would never have to be helpless victims again.
Yahiko stood up straight.
He wiped the tears and mud from his face.
“Okay!”
Yahiko said, his voice suddenly full of fierce determination.
“We will go with you! We will eat your food, and we will let you train us! And we are going to become so strong that you will never, ever be able to abandon us!”
Dale chuckled.
He reached out and gently ruffled Yahiko’s orange hair.
“It is a deal,”
Dale promised.
“Now, finish your food. We are going home.”
Jiraiya watched Dale carefully.
He scratched his head in confusion.
He leaned closer to Tsunade.
“Is he actually serious?”
Jiraiya asked quietly.
“He is really going to take them all back and raise them?”
Tsunade smiled a very soft, loving smile.
She had been with Dale for years now.
She knew him better than he knew himself.
“He is completely serious,”
Tsunade answered softly.
“But why?”
Jiraiya whispered.
“He already has Kushina and his Genin team to take care of.”
Tsunade looked at Dale’s gentle face as he talked to the three kids.
“Because Dale was an orphan, too,”
Tsunade explained.
Jiraiya’s eyes widened slightly, and he went completely quiet.
“He knows exactly what it feels like to be alone in the dark,”
She continued, her voice full of deep understanding.
“He had the exact same fear of being abandoned when he was young. He knows their pain. But he fought hard and overcame it.”
Tsunade watched Dale gently wipe the cold mud off little Konan’s face.
“He sees himself in them. He beat his own fears, so he is going to help them do the same.”
Dale truly loved children.
Watching him act so gentle, patient, and protective made Tsunade’s heart skip a beat.
She knew, without a single doubt, that he would become a wonderful father in the future.
Just thinking about starting a family with him, and birthing his babies one day, made a deep, warm happiness bloom in her chest.
They were going to have a beautiful home.
They were going to be so happy together.
But then, a freezing drop of rain hit Tsunade’s cheek.
She looked up at the dark, gray sky of the Land of Rain.
Her happy smile faded just a little bit.
They could dream about a warm, beautiful future, but the harsh reality was still right in front of them.
Unfortunately, this terrible war was not going to end anytime soon.
Dale turned to Tsunade and wrapped his arms around her one last time.
“Please be careful,”
Dale whispered softly against her ear.
“Don’t take any unnecessary risks. I will be waiting for you at home.”
Tsunade smiled and rested her hand on his cheek.
“I will be fine. You just focus on taking care of our new family members.”
Dale nodded.
He looked at Jiraiya and Orochimaru, giving them a firm nod of respect, before turning back to the three shivering children. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
He placed his hands gently on their small shoulders.
“Hold on tight,”
Dale told them.
*Pop.*
In a sudden flash of bright blue light, the cold, muddy Land of Rain completely vanished.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato opened their eyes.
They were no longer standing in a dark forest.
They were standing inside a massive, beautiful wooden house.
The air was dry and smelled like sweet tea and warm wood.
It was the Senju Clan compound.
“Woah…”
Yahiko whispered, looking around at the clean floors and bright lights.
He was afraid to even step on the clean wood with his muddy feet.
“First things first,”
Dale said kindly, clapping his hands together.
“You three need to get out of those cold, wet clothes. The bathroom is right down the hall. Take a long, hot bath. I will get some clean clothes ready for you.”
The three orphans nodded shyly.
They had not felt hot water in months.
A little while later, they walked back into the living room.
They were completely clean.
They were wearing fresh, soft shirts and pants.
The clothes were a little too big for them, but they felt incredibly warm and safe.
Suddenly, loud, quick footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Big brother Dale!”
A young girl’s voice shouted.
Kushina stomped into the living room.
Her bright red hair was a little messy, and she had a massive pout on her face.
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Dale.
“You left me alone with a Shadow Clone again!”
Kushina complained loudly.
“I was reading my book to you for a whole hour before I realized it wasn’t the real you!”
Dale let out a loud, warm laugh.
“I did not trick you,”
Dale said with a big smile.
“Remember our deal? I told you that if you could tell the difference between my true body and my clone, I would give you a special reward. I guess this means you lost again.”
Kushina’s pout grew even bigger.
She stomped her foot on the floor.
“It is not fair!”
She whined.
“Your clones are way too perfect! They even eat the snacks exactly like you do!”
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato stood frozen near the wall.
They looked at the loud, energetic girl with the bright red hair.
They felt very nervous.
They were strangers in her beautiful home.
What if she did not want them here?
Kushina suddenly stopped complaining.
She blinked and finally noticed the three skinny kids standing nervously in the corner.
“Oh,”
Kushina said softly, dropping her arms.
“Who are they?”
Dale walked over and stood gently behind the three orphans.
“Kushina,”
Dale said, his voice turning soft and serious.
“I found them in the Land of Rain. They have no home and no family. I brought them back to live with us.”
He pointed to each of them.
“This is Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. I am going to be training them, too.”
Then, Dale looked down at the three nervous orphans.
“And this is Kushina Uzumaki,”
Dale introduced her.
“She is my little sister.”
Yahiko swallowed hard.
He stepped forward a tiny bit, ready to apologize for being in her house.
But he didn’t get the chance.
Kushina’s pout completely vanished.
Her eyes lit up like bright stars.
“New family?!”
Kushina cheered loudly.
She ran right across the room and opened her arms wide.
She grabbed all three of them into a giant, tight, and incredibly warm hug.
“This is so awesome!”
Kushina laughed happily, squeezing them tightly.
“Welcome to our home! You guys are going to love it here! Dale makes the best food, and now I finally have more people to play with!”
Konan blinked in shock, and then a small, shy smile grew on her face.
Nagato peeked through his red hair and actually smiled too.
Yahiko let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
They were not a burden here.
They were not just unwanted orphans.
For the first time in their entire lives, they were truly welcomed.
XxxxX
Miso: Dale has fully absorbed god seal and accidentally went to another world with Tsunade after their wedding…
They decided to stay for their Honeymoon!
But what world is that?
XxxxX