On the other side—
Kaien left the remaining matters to the phantom beast and allowed his consciousness to return to his true body.
"Mmm~"
"That was a pretty decent nap."
After quietly sensing his surroundings, Kaien opened his eyes slowly.
Altering Blue B's memories and extracting the chakra from the Eight-Tails had consumed a considerable amount of his ocular power and stamina. As a result, his eyes were still heavy with sleep, his exhaustion plain to see.
"You look worn out," a voice said.
At some point, A had walked up beside him.
He'd finished training a while ago, but after seeing Kaien asleep, he decided to squeeze in a few extra rounds while he waited for him to wake up.
Now that he had, he still looked half-asleep—at least to A.
"Without the ability to train, people get lazy. I think I'm getting lazy."
Kaien seemed more alert once the conversation started.
"You're done with training?"
"Yeah."
"Wanna head back?"
"Sure."
"Let's eat that beef you brought back for lunch."
"Sounds good."
...
Land of Rain.
This country had long since been torn apart by war—its streets in ruins, its buildings crumbling, and refugees scattered everywhere.
Though the war was over, the scars it left behind remained. Countless people were still trapped in hatred, countless others mourning the loss of loved ones.
The last three surviving Konoha shinobi on their way back to the village saw the consequences of war with their own eyes—but there was nothing they could do. This was the Land of Rain. They had no right to interfere.
However, in a cave where they'd stopped to rest, they encountered three unexpected children.
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
At first, the trio didn't pay the kids much attention—until they kept following Jiraiya and the others, refusing to let go. It wasn't until Tsunade and Jiraiya reluctantly shared some food with them that things finally calmed down.
Tsunade remained on edge. When Konan took out a paper flower from behind her back, Tsunade immediately prepared to activate her chakra defenses. Jiraiya, noticing in time, reached out to stop her.
That moment, however, caused Nagato to reveal something unexpected.
In his rush to help his friends, Nagato moved just enough for Orochimaru—who had been quietly observing— to catch a glimpse of his eyes.
The Rinnegan.
The atmosphere turned heavy again.
Jiraiya was visibly shaken, lost in a sudden flood of memories.
It was Orochimaru who broke the silence.
"An unexpected variable. We should just kill them all."
Those eyes... They did resemble the legendary Rinnegan.
Yet Orochimaru didn't seem particularly moved by the mythical significance.
The Rinnegan—one of the Three Great Dojutsu.
Konoha already possessed two of them.
After witnessing Kaien's Mangekyō Sharingan, Orochimaru had compared it to the Byakugan.
The result was clear: the Sharingan was vastly superior. The only real strength the Byakugan offered was reconnaissance.
But the Rinnegan?
Should he kill this child and bring the eyes back to Konoha for study?
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. The chance to dissect the mysteries of the Rinnegan was too tempting.
Still... that red hair...
Could this child be a survivor of the Uzumaki clan?
Orochimaru hesitated. His lingering Will of Fire wouldn't let him cross that line—not yet. Especially not when the boy might be an Uzumaki.
After a moment of internal struggle, Orochimaru suppressed his killing intent and left the decision to Jiraiya.
After all, he wasn't the one who shared food with these kids.
"I've decided to stay here in the Land of Rain and train them."
Jiraiya seemed to come to a resolution as he spoke to his teammates—an unexpected one.
"That boy with the Rinnegan... He might be the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage spoke of."
"In the prophecy, I was told I would become the master of a student who could either bring salvation or destruction to the shinobi world. And it would be my responsibility to guide him down the right path!"
His face was filled with something deeper than conviction—responsibility.
The Child of Prophecy, the one he had been searching for... was right in front of him.
"If that's what you've decided, we'll leave it to you," Orochimaru said casually.
Right now, he was far more interested in the Sharingan.
The fact that Kaien's evolved Sharingan could allow him to battle someone like Chiyo head-on... that sudden surge in power was too intriguing to ignore.
Just how wide was the power gap between the stages of the Uchiha's eyes?
Single tomoe, double tomoe, triple tomoe—and the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Why did the Sharingan, unlike other kekkei genkai, have such a clear hierarchy?
It was the only known bloodline limit with such a distinct power ladder.
Obtain the eye, and you obtain the corresponding strength.
The more Orochimaru thought about it, the less he cared about the Rinnegan.
Compared to the Sharingan, the Byakugan was practically worthless in battle. And as for the Rinnegan... maybe it was just another overhyped myth.
At the very least, Orochimaru couldn't sense any real ocular power from the boy's eyes.
Not like Kaien.
Kaien's presence was far more overwhelming.
And just like that, with only a few words exchanged, the children's fates were sealed.
Jiraiya chose to stay and train them, while Orochimaru and Tsunade returned to Konoha to report back.
Privately, both Orochimaru and Tsunade were a little relieved.
Thankfully, they'd had their younger brothers and students pulled from the battlefield early. If they hadn't, who knew what irreversible consequences might've followed?
To them, these three orphans were insignificant.
In Konoha, they had people waiting for them. People who mattered.
They weren't about to stop for roadside weeds.
Only Jiraiya stayed behind, entrusting one of his scrolls to Orochimaru and asking him to deliver it to Namikaze Minato.
Then he turned his focus to the child who might just change the world.
Nagato stood quietly, watching it all unfold. He hadn't said a word.
His parents had been killed by shinobi wearing the same forehead protectors as the ones before him. If not for Tsuki, he likely would've died too.
(T/N: Tsuki -a name mc said to Nagato)
It was Tsuki who led him to his friends.
But now... she was gone.
Nagato felt a knot of worry twist in his chest.
Still, he remembered her words.
Don't show your Rinnegan to outsiders. Just let one white-haired man see it, and he will protect you.
That prediction had come true.
So... would the rest of her prophecy come true too?
That one day, he would become a god?
If he became a god... would he be able to reach that distant, untouchable moon?
Nagato clenched his fists.
Wait for me, Tsuki. I'll find you. I promise.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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