"Learn from the Konoha ninjas who fought alongside Hanzō today!" Yahiko said firmly.
"Konoha ninjas…"
Nagato shuddered.
In his mind, he instinctively recalled the Konoha ninjas who had killed his parents.
He immediately shook his head and looked at Yahiko in horror. "No! They will kill us!"
"They won't!"
"They have the strength to fight alongside Hanzō. Their power must be incredible!"
Even now, the battlefield from earlier kept replaying in Yahiko's mind.
"I hate Hanzō!"
He thought of leader of Ame, frowned deeply, and his eyes were full of disgust.
"He's the one who turned Ame into a battlefield like this. In any case, I want to become a student of the strong."
Yahiko turned resolutely in the direction of the mountain pass from earlier. He was completely determined, ignoring everything else. He was no longer listening to anyone's advice.
"I'm going after those people!"
He looked in the direction they had left, the light in his eyes flickering with fire.
Nagato saw his firm attitude and said nothing, remaining silent.
Shiratori comfortingly patted Nagato on the shoulder.
Konan asked worriedly, "But even if we catch up to those Konoha ninjas, what if we get killed?"
"Then we'll find the ones who killed us. Anyway, I've already made up my mind."
Yahiko clenched his fists tightly. Then he looked at Shiratori beside him and asked, "What about you? Are you really willing to just live like this forever?"
"..."
Is he trying to recruit me now?
Shiratori shook his head, just as Yahiko hoped.
Of course he wasn't content. He wanted a big bed, a big house, fancy meals... And power. Great power.
Because only with power would there be no constant threat.
Seeing Shiratori's reaction, Yahiko beamed. Looks like he was thinking the same thing!
"Then let's go find them!" he said excitedly.
Shiratori nodded.
With more people, there would be more affection points to collect. For Rika to grow up healthy, he was willing to climb mountains and cross rivers to find Jiraiya. He'd even go looking for Hanzō the Salamander.
Let alone Jiraiya and the others.
Without enough strength, going to Jiraiya was definitely safer than confronting Hanzō.
Although Nagato and Konan were worried about the danger on the road, they still chose to follow behind Yahiko and Shiratori without hesitation. They followed the original path in search of the future Sannin. But when they reached the mountain pass where the battle had taken place, it was completely deserted.
The light in Yahiko's eyes dimmed all at once. He lowered his head in disappointment, lips tightly pressed.
Nagato and Konan looked at him with concern.
Shiratori knew that they would eventually meet Jiraiya and the others, so he reached out and gently patted Yahiko on the shoulder, comforting him: "Let's find a place to rest for the night. We'll go look for them again tomorrow. We're bound to find them eventually."
Yahiko's obvious disappointment faded slightly, and he regained a bit of energy. When he turned around and saw the fatigue on their faces, he nodded guiltily. "Alright."
They continued walking deeper into the mountains. There was a better chance of finding a cave suitable for overnight shelter there. They didn't know how far they had gone, but sure enough, they saw the entrance of a cave ahead.
"We can spend the night in that cave."
Konan pointed at the cave not far away, a look of joy on her face.
Shiratori looked up at the night sky, deep and dark, clearly, they couldn't go on much longer or they'd risk encountering wild beasts.
They walked toward the cave. This cave was bigger and deeper than any they'd stayed in before. Once inside, they couldn't see a sliver of light.
It was pitch black.
Yahiko was very good at making fire. Before long, the wood beneath his hands began to smoke, and the flames grew larger, gradually lighting up their eyes.
A warm campfire rose up.
Shiratori and the others sat around the fire, nibbling on bread.
---
At the same time, just tens of meters away, on the other side of the cave, Jiraiya and his two companions were leaning against the stone wall.
He was munching on the biscuits from his bag.
Tsunade was treating his injuries.
Orochimaru stood nearby, watching them, and said, "The situation should be stable for a while now."
Tsunade clenched her teeth, a look of frustration crossing her face. "That title he gave us... I never wanted it!"
Jiraiya gave a faint smile and said indifferently, "Whether the title is frustrating or not, at least it gives the war a chance to pause for a while."
Tsunade glared at him.
Although they didn't defeat Hanzō, they at least demonstrated the strength of Konoha, giving the village a brief breathing space.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's gaze snapped toward the darkness ahead. A kunai slid silently from his sleeve into his palm. The unhidden footsteps in the darkness made them instantly alert.
A small figure slowly emerged from the darkness and appeared before their eyes.
Looking at the three Konoha ninjas in front of him, Shiratori sighed inwardly, fate had inevitably pushed Nagato and the others to meet Jiraiya.
Shortly after entering the cave, he and his group had heard voices. He told Yahiko and the others to stay hidden while he came alone to investigate. The reason he was confident enough to do this was because he knew there was a 90% chance the people here were Jiraiya and the others.
Seeing that it was just a child, Jiraiya's tense expression relaxed a little.
Shiratori slowly walked toward them.
Tsunade frowned, just about to sternly warn him not to come any closer, when she was caught off guard by the bread in his hands.
He held out the bread to her.
Tsunade froze, lowering her eyes to stare at the bread the child was offering.
A flicker of surprise flashed in Jiraiya's eyes. Tsunade didn't accept it, and Shiratori continued to hold the bread out.
Until someone else took it from his hands.
Jiraiya accepted the bread and took a bite, it was dry and hard, but he understood it was probably a rare ration for this child.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade frowned, looking at him reproachfully.
What if the bread was poisoned?
She stayed vigilant, closely observing Jiraiya's reaction. After seeing him eat half the bread with no issues, she exhaled a subtle sigh of relief, her peripheral vision falling back on the child.
Jiraiya handed the biscuits from his own bag to Shiratori.
He accepted them and called behind him, "Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, you can come out now. They won't hurt us."
Tsunade and Jiraiya probably wouldn't, but Orochimaru was another story. His mindset was likely similar to the ninjas he had encountered after he crossed over: he believed that killing them was a way of ending their suffering.
However, with Jiraiya and Tsunade present, he wouldn't make any sudden moves.
Hearing Shiratori's call, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan immediately ran out and stood beside him, eyes fixed on the biscuits in his hands.
Compared to dry bread, biscuits were much more appealing to kids.
Shiratori divided the biscuits among them. Each of them took a piece and nibbled slowly.
One pair of wide eyes after another curiously observed Jiraiya and the others.
"They're all just children," Jiraiya said softly, looking at them.
"Don't let your guard down," Orochimaru warned him. "Even if they're young, they're still part of Ame."
His cold gaze fell on Shiratori and the others.
"Where are your parents?" Jiraiya asked, looking around and noticing no adult figures.
"They were killed by ninjas during this war," Yahiko replied, pausing his chewing. He stared straight at the three of them, and though his tone was calm, his words were cutting.
Jiraiya and Tsunade fell silent for a moment.