"Quick! Konan, hurry up!"
"The fire in the sky has gone out, those who were fighting the ninjas of the Land of Rain must have finished their battle and returned."
Yahiko grabbed Nagato with one hand and helped Konan, who had fallen to the ground, to her feet with the other. He ran frantically in the direction where the flames had erupted earlier.
"Yahiko… brother, why… why are we running so fast?"
"I… I can't breathe!"
Konan, holding the puppy in her arms, bent over and gasped for air.
Seeing Nagato's expectant face beside him, Yahiko hardened his heart, snatched the little thing from Konan's arms, and threw it onto the ground.
"Let the little one run by itself!"
"After those ninjas finish fighting, they will definitely leave the battlefield."
"We have to catch up to them before they return to their country."
"This way, we will have a chance to find ninjas willing to teach us!"
Konan glanced at the wagging tail of the little one following behind, bit her lip, nodded, and stumbled along with the two boys, running forward without stopping.
The puppy, with its four short legs, tumbled over every few steps on the muddy road, and soon the three of them were far behind.
Konan, tightly held by Yahiko, looked back with concern at the white dog that was almost out of sight, and could only silently pray in her heart:
"Little one, run faster!"
...
"Whoosh!"
"This large area, only here are there traces of people having passed through. If those ninjas are returning, they are very likely to pass this way."
"It seems we got here before them, that's great!"
Yahiko pulled the two of them behind a large rock far from the roadside. After carefully observing, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Yahiko brother, the little one didn't follow…"
Konan sat on the ground pitifully, leaning against the rock, fiddling with her fingers, looking as if she was about to cry.
"Don't worry!"
Yahiko pressed her little head and rubbed it, comforting her gently:
"Before meeting us, the little one could survive on its own, and it will surely be fine now."
"Once we become ninjas, we can find it again, we will definitely find it!"
Nagato was unresponsive to the conversation between the two. His heart was already filled with the fire clouds that obscured the sky.
"That kind of power…"
"Just looking at it seemed countless times more powerful than what my eyes released. If I could learn to use that ninjutsu… the power used by ninjas, it's called ninjutsu, right?"
"If I could be guided by the powerful ninja who unleashed such ninjutsu…"
Nagato's heart was full of longing.
Longing for power, longing for revenge, longing for a future where he could bring peace to this crying nation…
This opportunity, perhaps it was already within his reach!
...
"Sniff sniff…"
"Roar…"
The ninja dog with yellow fur sniffed twice, suddenly lowered its body towards a large rock in the distance, and let out a threatening growl from its throat.
"Oumaru, did you find something?"
Inuzuka Oki's expression tensed, and he looked in the direction of Oumaru's gaze vigilantly. The Konoha ninja squad was awakened from their victory joy by the ninja dog's warning. After a commotion, they all assumed a fighting stance towards the direction of the distant rock.
"Lord Orochimaru, Oumaru seems to have detected a hidden enemy, should we…"
Inuzuka Oki soothed his partner and asked Orochimaru. At the same time, Inuzuka Oki's body tensed, and signs of fangs growing from his mouth had already appeared.
Orochimaru squinted and sensed for a moment, then suddenly raised his eyebrows and waved his hand at the vigilant Konoha ninjas around him.
"No need!"
"Oki, you and Shibi take your companions and return first. I'll handle this place myself."
Inuzuka Oki's expression relaxed, and he slowly withdrew his beastly aura. He nodded, gathered with members of the Hyuga and Aburame clans, and left Orochimaru and the other two, returning to the Konoha camp in formation.
"Heh heh, destiny, it's truly a peculiar thing!"
"Are you the one pushing from the shadows, Black Zetsu…"
A strange look flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, and his thoughts churned.
The Rinnegan, within reach!
With a regretful sigh, Orochimaru finally withdrew his idea of making the Rinnegan his own.
Under Black Zetsu's potential surveillance, Orochimaru was not confident he could snatch the Rinnegan from Nagato's eyes from Uchiha Madara.
He did not yet have the means to deal with a complete Susanoo.
Then, let him keep it safe for a while longer…
"Orochimaru, why did you stop?"
Tsunade followed Orochimaru's gaze to the rock and asked in confusion.
Jiraiya was also bewildered.
Was there an enemy or not? If there was no enemy, why did they stop? If there was an enemy, why did they let the Konoha ninjas leave?
Could it be…
The enemy hidden here could only be dealt with by the three of them working together?
Jiraiya thought wildly, and the more he thought, the more it made sense, and his fighting spirit immediately surged.
"Haha, it's time for Lord Jiraiya to show his skills again!"
Jiraiya thought to himself.
"No need to hide, come out!"
Orochimaru waved his hand casually and, just like his past self in his memories, threw a kunai towards the rock.
"Clang!"
With a crisp sound, the kunai was deeply embedded in the rock where the three little ones were hiding.
Yahiko, who was hiding behind the rock, trembled in surprise. He gritted his teeth and sprang out from behind the rock with a whoosh.
"We have no ill intentions, please don't kill us!"
Konan followed behind Yahiko, trembling, clutching Yahiko's clothes nervously, not daring to even lift her head.
"One, two…"
Orochimaru counted silently in his heart, waiting for the most important child to appear.
Finally, Nagato, with his long red hair, walked out from behind the rock and slowly stood beside Yahiko, shielding Konan behind him.
"Three!"
The first two were not particularly special, but when Nagato walked out from behind the rock, Tsunade's eyes widened instantly.
Looking at Nagato with red hair, then at Orochimaru with a smile, a strange thought suddenly popped into her mind.
"This Orochimaru, could he be a legendary Vortex bloodline trap?"
"How can he encounter ninjas with red hair everywhere? Are the Uzumaki clan's bloodlines already ubiquitous?"
Thinking randomly, Tsunade poked Orochimaru's soft waist and secretly gave him a questioning look.
"This one too?"
Orochimaru nodded, and before Tsunade could show a triumphant smile, he gently shook his head.
"Yes, that's right."
"But…"
"This child is a bit special…"
Tsunade was stunned and asked in confusion:
"Special? How is it special?"
Orochimaru shook his head, signaling Tsunade to wait before speaking.
Nagato, through the gaps in his long hair, saw the ninja headbands on the three people's foreheads, and his pupils instantly dilated.
"It's… them…"
"The same symbol as the ninjas who killed them…"
Rage instantly ignited in Nagato's heart, and the pale purple ripples in his eyes trembled, his powerful eye power almost bursting out.
A wave of power slowly rose within Nagato, the unique power of chakra gently stirring the airflow around him, slowly lifting his red hair that fell in front of his eyes.
Nagato was startled and quickly suppressed the hatred in his heart. Rather than anger and hatred, Nagato subconsciously chose to hide his peculiar eyes.
His red hair fell down again.
Although it was only an instant, the strange patterns in Nagato's eyes did not escape the sight of the three powerful Jonin.
Orochimaru already knew, so his expression did not change.
Tsunade had never seen the Rinnegan, and having only heard the name from Orochimaru, she merely thought this child of the Uzumaki clan had strange eyes.
Jiraiya, deeply influenced by the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, was stunned when he saw those eyes with their unique patterns.
"That is…"
"The Rinnegan…"
"Child of destiny, could it be you?"