Night had fallen over Amegakure beneath its seemingly endless curtain of rain.
The damp air was filled with the smell of fish and mildew.
Chiya was hiding inside an abandoned seafood warehouse.
Several streams of rainwater leaked through the damaged roof, splashing onto the waterlogged wooden floor.
He leaned against a row of rusted metal shelves.
His Mangekyō Sharingan had already been deactivated, but his heightened senses kept him alert.
The backlash from the Mangekyō Sharingan had finally caught up with him.
Chiya felt as though his entire body had been taken apart and put back together incorrectly.
When I sparred with Tsunade before, all I got was weak legs.
But using the Mangekyō a few times feels like someone completely drained me dry.
Despite complaining internally, Chiya had gained a much deeper understanding of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Right now, he needed time to recover.
And this place was sufficiently hidden.
At least for the moment.
However, less than ten minutes after he closed his eyes to rest—
The sound of footsteps suddenly mixed with the rain outside.
Chiya’s eyes snapped open.
His body flickered.
Without making a sound, he disappeared into the shadows behind the shelves.
Creak.
The rusted metal door was slowly pushed open.
Three small figures furtively slipped inside.
Under the dim light coming through the window, Chiya finally saw their faces.
A boy with spiky orange hair walked in front.
Behind him was a thin red-haired boy whose bangs covered part of his face.
The last was a young girl with short blue-purple hair and bright eyes.
“Yahiko…”
“Nagato…”
“Konan?”
Chiya’s pupils contracted slightly.
He hadn’t expected to encounter the future founders of the Akatsuki here.
As Chiya was still processing the unexpected encounter, something happened.
“Ah!”
Yahiko stepped into a puddle.
His foot slipped, and he fell forward.
In a panic, he grabbed the metal shelf to steady himself.
Instead, he pulled the entire shelf over.
CRASH!
The deafening sound of the collapsing shelf echoed through the silent warehouse.
Rusty fishing equipment scattered across the floor.
“Which little thief is stealing my goods?!”
The owner’s furious shout immediately came from outside.
Heavy footsteps rapidly approached.
Chiya’s eyes sharpened.
He made his decision instantly.
He formed a hand seal.
Two Shadow Clones appeared.
Before Yahiko and the others could react, the clones had already grabbed them by the shoulders.
“Don’t make a sound.”
Chiya whispered.
“Body Flicker Technique!”
Whoosh!
He disappeared from the warehouse.
A second later, the furious shopkeeper kicked the door open.
The beam of his flashlight swept across the empty warehouse.
All he found was the collapsed shelf and scattered equipment.
“What the hell…?”
The shopkeeper muttered suspiciously as he looked around.
Meanwhile, Chiya had already brought the three children several hundred meters away to an abandoned sewer.
Under the dim lighting, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan sat on the ground, still shaken.
They stared at the unfamiliar shinobi before them.
Konan was the first to recover.
She cautiously stepped in front of the other two, protecting them.
“Who… who are you?”
Chiya put away his kunai and smiled faintly.
“That’s a question I should be asking you.”
“What are three brats doing in a seafood warehouse in the middle of the night?”
He crouched down so that he was at their eye level.
The damp sewer was quiet except for the steady dripping of rainwater in the distance.
“You three…”
Chiya deliberately softened his voice.
“Were you trying to steal food?”
Although Yahiko’s legs were still trembling, he stubbornly raised his head.
Anger flashed across his young face.
“The last time we bought fish from that man, we got sick after eating it!”
“We had stomachaches and kept throwing up!”
“We worked so hard to save that money, and he cheated us!”
“Yahiko!”
Konan hurriedly tugged at his sleeve.
Nagato remained silent.
The red-haired boy lowered his head.
Beneath his bangs, his Rinnegan shifted uneasily.
Chiya glanced at Nagato.
He understood immediately.
So the Rinnegan hasn’t fully awakened yet.
But even now, that hidden pressure was faintly perceptible.
Chiya suddenly reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out three soldier pills.
“Here.”
“Eat these.”
He handed one to each of them.
Soldier pills certainly weren’t delicious, but they could at least put something in their stomachs.
The three children stared at them in surprise.
Konan reacted first.
She cautiously sniffed the pill.
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“I-Is that… a soldier pill?”
The three children brightened.
But then they seemed to remember something.
They forcibly restrained themselves from swallowing immediately.
“Why… why are you helping us?”
Yahiko remained cautious, although his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.
Chiya pointed toward the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector.
“I’m just passing through.”
As he spoke, his face suddenly went pale.
He coughed.
Konan’s expression changed.
“You’re injured!”
She hesitated before pulling a faded handkerchief from her worn sleeve.
“We… we won’t take your food for free.”
“We can help you…”
“Konan!”
Yahiko tried to stop her.
But Nagato gently pulled him back.
It was the first time the red-haired boy had spoken.
His voice was barely audible.
“He… doesn’t mean us any harm.”
Chiya shook his head.
Then he suddenly asked:
“Do you have any other companions?”
All three children’s expressions darkened.
“No.”
“They’re all…”
“Dead.”
Silence descended upon the sewer.
Chiya looked at the three dejected children.
They looked almost like children who had been caught doing something wrong.
Their frail bodies were wrapped in worn-out clothes still covered with dust from the warehouse.
Konan had a fresh scrape on her knee.
Nagato’s wrists were so thin that the outline of his bones was visible.
Everyone was an innocent child once.
Then—
[Mission Triggered: Steal Konan.]
[Reward: Paper Person Technique or one random Bloodline Limit.]
Steal Konan?
Chiya stared at the tiny girl in front of him.
She couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old.
This system is seriously getting ahead of itself.
I’d have to raise her for ten years before this mission even makes sense!
After complaining internally, Chiya looked around.
“How about this?”
“From now on, the three of you can come with me.”
He crouched down and brought himself to their eye level.
“Before long, I should be able to take you away from the conflict and war ravaging the Land of Rain.”
Yahiko’s eyes lit up for an instant.
But he immediately became cautious and took half a step backward.
He pointed toward the Konoha symbol on Chiya’s forehead protector.
“We can’t go with you.”
“Master Jiraiya said that once he finishes his mission, he’ll come back for us!”
Chiya’s eyes flickered.
So at this point, Jiraiya has already begun teaching them.
“Ah…”
“The White-Haired Toad Sage.”
“Since that’s the case, at least let me take you home.”
The three exchanged glances.
“Okay!”
Under their guidance, Chiya soon arrived at the place they called home.
It was a half-collapsed wooden shack.
The leaking roof had been covered with scraps of cloth in a desperate attempt to keep out the rain.
Several moldy cushions were piled in one corner.
A few crude hand-drawn portraits were crookedly attached to the walls.
They weren’t drawings of Jiraiya and the three children.
Chiya guessed they were probably their memories of what their parents had looked like.
“You three eat this?”
Chiya frowned.
He kicked aside an empty can.
Several ants crawled out.
Yahiko’s face turned red.
“We… we were actually going to—”
“Wait here.”
Chiya suddenly turned around and walked outside.
The three children looked at each other.
Less than half an hour later—
Heavy footsteps approached from outside.
Chiya returned carrying a wild boar over one shoulder.
A string of freshly caught fish hung from his waist.
Fresh mud covered his boots.
“What are you waiting for?”
He threw down a bundle of firewood.
“Start a fire.”
As the night deepened, the long-abandoned shack gradually filled with the smell of roasting meat.
Chiya disinfected his kunai with alcohol and skillfully cut the wild boar into pieces.
Under his instructions, Konan crouched beside him and helped skewer the meat.
Nagato silently added firewood.
Yahiko stared eagerly at the sizzling meat, watching the fat drip into the flames.
“Why are you helping us?”
Konan suddenly asked quietly.
“You’re injured yourself…”
Chiya turned the meat over.
The firelight cast shifting shadows across his face.
“Because…”
He paused.
“I’ve been hungry before, too.”
The words touched something inside the three children.
They could hardly imagine that the powerful shinobi standing before them had once experienced the same kind of hunger.
After eating until they were full, exhaustion finally overcame their vigilance.
Yahiko and Nagato fell asleep against the wall.
Konan stubbornly fought against her own drowsiness, staring blankly at Chiya as he repaired the leaking roof.
“You don’t have to stay awake.”
Chiya looked down at the girl, whose eyes were already struggling to remain open.
“Go to sleep if you’re tired.”
Konan stubbornly shook her head.
Her short blue-purple hair reflected the warm glow of the fire.
“You hunted for us…”
“You even repaired our roof…”
Her voice grew quieter.
“Thank you, sir.”
Chiya repaired the final hole and climbed down.
He crouched in front of the girl and looked at her serious expression.
Then he reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a scroll.
“Take this.”
Konan carefully opened it.
Inside was a basic chakra cultivation method along with several simple ninjutsu techniques.
“Until Jiraiya returns…”
Chiya lowered his voice.
“You and your companions should at least learn how to protect yourselves.”
“Now go get some rest.”
Konan lowered her head and accepted the scroll.
She found a clean spot beside the wall and sat down.
Her hands tightly gripped the scroll.
Something unusual flickered within her eyes.
She looked up at Chiya.
Then softly asked:
“Sir…”
“What is your name?”
Chiya looked at her.
“Uchiha Chiya.”