Chapter 162: Konan
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A slightly immature voice rang out, and raging flames surged toward Masahiko. Upon reaching him, the fire automatically parted into two streams, sweeping past both sides of his body.
" mastered quite well," Masahiko said with a smile, looking at the panting Nagato-kun before him.
Two years had passed since Masahiko accepted Nagato-kun as his disciple, and Nagato-kun's astonishing talent had fully revealed itself. At only seven and a half years old, he could skillfully use this A-rank Fire Release jutsu. If not for his young age resulting in insufficient chakra reserves and a lack of actual combat experience, he could easily be rated as a Jonin. Even so, he was definitely qualified to be a Chunin.
"Of course he can. If Kakashi—no, Kakadong—can become a Chunin at six, Minato won't be any worse than him..." Masahiko had dug his own grave. Two years had passed, and Kakashi had been born. Sakumo really listened to him and named the boy Kakadong. Now, every time Masahiko thought about it, it felt awkward.
"Sensei, did Brother Nawaki go back?" Nagato-kun panted a couple of times and asked.
Masahiko smiled. The generational hierarchy was all over the place, but he didn't care. "Your Brother Nawaki went back to snatch his wife."
Nawaki had trained with him for a full two years and made significant progress. Two years ago, he was barely a Special Jonin, but now he could count as an Elite Jonin, and he even had a specialty in defense. Now seventeen years old, Nawaki's Senju constitution had gradually matured due to development, and his progress was actually faster than before.
Of course, Masahiko didn't dare let Nawaki return alone. He sent a Shadow Clone to escort him, along with a little guy who had just graduated from the Whirlpool Ninja Academy, Shinnosuke Sarutobi. Although the Akatsuki hadn't made any moves in recent years, Masahiko wouldn't ignore them.
"What is Brother Nawaki's wife like?" Nagato-kun had trained with Nawaki for the past two years and they got along quite well, so he asked curiously.
"She's not necessarily his wife yet! If he succeeds in chasing her, I'll take you to see her later."
"But for now, how about I take you out to find a wife?" Masahiko teased.
Nagato-kun blushed and didn't answer.
Masahiko wasn't joking. When he accepted Nagato-kun as an apprentice two years ago, he gained a full 100 Witness Points. Masahiko then set his sights on "other people's apprentices."
With Nagato-kun secured, Masahiko first targeted Yahiko and Konan in the Land of Rain. Unlike the original story, due to Masahiko's influence, the course of the war had completely changed. Konoha had retired from the battlefield early with its mission accomplished. Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who should have been wandering around "gathering material," had gone to Mount Myōboku because he heard Tsunade started learning Sage Mode. It was completely impossible for him to go to the Land of Rain and accept these two disciples.
"Although these two aren't as important as Nagato, the two of them combined should be worth 100 Witness Points, right? That's free points!" Masahiko muttered, eager to make a move.
Previously, Masahiko didn't know when these two children started wandering, so he had been delaying. Now, calculating the time, it should be about right.
"Let's go, Nagato. I'm taking you to the Land of Rain." Masahiko greeted Izuko-kun, then took Nagato-kun to the Land of Rain.
Since being brought to the Uzumaki clan by Masahiko when he was less than five years old, Nagato-kun had never left the Whirlpool. His memories before age five were basically blurred, so everything about leaving the village with Masahiko this time was novel to him.
To satisfy the boy's curiosity, Masahiko didn't fly them through the sky. The two leisurely traveled, taking a full three days to reach the Land of Rain.
"Come on, I'll take you to see your former home first," Masahiko said with a smile.
After his Yin Attribute reached Level 9, Masahiko's travels became much more convenient. In the past, he had to conceal his figure; now, he could just walk out openly, even with Nagato-kun in tow.
The master and disciple walked forward. The Land of Rain hadn't changed... it was still as chaotic as ever.
The slums that Masahiko had completely destroyed three years ago had been rebuilt. Masahiko's jutsu wasn't like the indiscriminate gravity of the Rinnegan; he could actively control the magnitude of gravity in a specific direction. At that time, he was mainly targeting Black Zetsu.
Of course, it was impossible not to affect other places at all. A small portion of the civilians had still been swept up by his jutsu. Masahiko felt some guilt, but for the sake of sealing Black Zetsu, he could only say sorry in his heart.
The remaining civilians must have worked hard over the past three years. After all, Masahiko had destroyed all the houses, so rebuilding was a major task.
"These people really seem nostalgic, don't they?" Masahiko looked around and muttered. The slums were built exactly the same as when he last visited. He could even find "Yuna-kun's house," though other people were living there now.
After taking Nagato-kun to experience the scenery of his homeland, Masahiko led him to the relatively prosperous areas of the Land of Rain.
To find street urchins, one couldn't look in the slums; if orphans stayed there, they would likely starve to death. Of course, "relatively prosperous" was relative. They couldn't enter the capital of the Land of Rain... or rather the Village Hidden in the Rain proper; that was Hanzo's exclusive territory.
"Speaking of which, should I go say hello to the Demigod?" Masahiko chuckled inwardly. Hanzo had "curled up into a ball of fear" in front of him before, making Masahiko look down on him a bit. However, Masahiko ultimately decided to save the Demigod some face.
"Steamed bun shop..."
In the civilian district, Masahiko found a steamed bun shop with a mouth-watering aroma. Looking up at the sky, Masahiko's face darkened.
"Damn Land of Rain, where is the sun... I guess it should be noon. Want to eat something?" Masahiko was still hesitating when Nagato-kun pulled on his sleeve, pointing to a blue-haired little girl hiding not far behind the bun shop owner.
Masahiko paused. "Konan? Found her so easily? Then Yahiko shouldn't be far away."
The success of this trip far exceeded Masahiko's imagination. He originally thought it would be very difficult to find two children without chakra, but he didn't expect to find them so easily.
Masahiko looked around. Since Konan was here, Yahiko should be nearby. Judging by Konan's appearance, she should be the lookout for Yahiko, preparing to steal buns.
However, things developed contrary to Masahiko's expectations. Konan actually took action herself, "taking" two buns and running.
"Stinky brat, it's you again! Stop!"
The bun shop owner's shout rang out. Masahiko frowned. "Yahiko is so useless, letting a girl steal buns..."
He glanced at Nagato-kun and signaled with his eyes. "Young man, the time for a hero to save the beauty has arrived. The bun shop owner is just a civilian, don't hurt him."
Nagato-kun obviously didn't understand what "hero saving the beauty" meant yet. He confusedly saved Konan, who was about to be caught, without knowing how to display any "heroic spirit"... for example, spinning in the air while holding Konan and gazing into her eyes, or knocking down the shopkeeper cleanly in three moves, or something like that.
"This trip is going quite smoothly..."
Masahiko looked at the two children and sighed with emotion.
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