Chapter 69: Only with Power Can You Laugh at Strength
At the end of Konoha's year 38, a squad consisting of Tsunade, Dan Kato, and Kokuto suffered heavy losses in a conflict with the Hidden Sand. Only Tsunade returned to the Konoha camp. Both Dan Kato and Kokuto were missing in action.
"Tsunade," Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had just arrived at the front lines, asked, "what happened?"
Tsunade's eyes were vacant. She just shook her head.
"Tsunade," Jiraiya said, his heart aching, "pull yourself together."
Tears suddenly welled up in her empty eyes. She forced a smile. "You're right. I have to pull myself together."
On the northern border of the Land of Rain, Nagato and his family were trekking through the mountains.
The last incident had convinced them to leave. Now, they were on a long and difficult journey.
Dozens of meters underground, two strange, white, humanoid creatures were talking.
"There won't be any problems this time, right?"
"No. That group of bandits will be here soon."
Their previous plan to have Konoha ninja kill Nagato's parents in front of him had failed. It had taken a lot of effort to arrange this new "coincidence."
As the two White Zetsu were talking, another white, goofy face poked through the dirt wall of their tunnel.
"You scared me! What are you doing here?"
"No, what are you doing here?" the newcomer asked, even more confused.
"Why should we tell you first? You tell us!"
"I'm tracking that big mercenary."
"..."
On the surface, Nagato's family had just crossed a mountain ridge when they were stopped by a group of seven or eight ragged bandits.
"Well, look what we have here," one of them sneered. "Looks like we're eating well tonight. Kill the man, keep the woman. And the kid... tch, a boy? We'll sell him later."
Seeing no escape, Nagato's father, once again filled with a surge of desperate courage, charged at them. "Run!" he shouted. "Don't worry about me! Just run!"
But he was quickly beaten to the ground.
Nagato's mother grabbed him and tried to run, but she was grabbed by the hair and thrown to the ground, taking him down with her. The other bandits closed in, leering.
"Nagato, run! Don't look back!"
Seeing that it was just a woman and a child, the bandits eagerly reached for Nagato's mother, ready to tear off her clothes.
It was a predictable scene. If nothing unexpected happened, Nagato would witness the brutal murder of his father and the violation of his mother, feel the pain, and spend the rest of his life carrying bags of rice.
But there were no "if's" today.
Time seemed to slow down.
"M...o...m..." A twisted expression was frozen on Nagato's face.
Just as the bandit's hand was about to touch his mother's chest, a size 12 boot slammed into his face. With his superhuman dynamic vision, Nagato could see the man's face contort and a tooth fly out.
Everyone froze. Even Nagato's father, who was in the middle of a scuffle with another bandit, stopped, one man in the middle of a punch, the other in the middle of being punched.
"Uh... this..."
The tall man in the straw raincoat spun around, kicking the surrounding bandits away. He then threw a kunai, impaling the bandit who was fighting Nagato's father.
The remaining bandits fled. The tall man clapped his hands and then, as if just noticing them, said, "Are you alright, ma'am? Oh! It's you three! What a coincidence."
Nagato's parents were in a daze, their hearts pounding. They were speechless.
It was Nagato who, with a child's quick wit, bowed to the tall ninja. "Thank you, sir! Thank you for saving us again!"
The tall man waved his hand and laughed. "I was wondering myself, what a coincidence. It's almost as if someone arranged it. There's a bounty on these bandits in the nearby village. I never thought I'd run into you here."
Underground, the White Zetsu smacked their lips, speechless.
Perhaps because this was their second chance encounter, the tall man was more familiar. He ruffled Nagato's red hair with a large hand.
"Funny, isn't it?" he said. "How a life-threatening crisis can be resolved so... dramatically?"
Nagato nodded shyly. The scene had been a bit comical.
Seeing his relaxed expression, the tall man's smile faded. "And do you know what would have happened if I hadn't shown up?"
Nagato's smile vanished, his face instantly turning pale.
"Your father would have been killed. Your mother would have been violated in front of you. And you would have been sold as a slave to some noble, to live the rest of your life in misery."
Just thinking about it sent a chill down Nagato's spine.
"You are too weak, boy," the man said. "And you, ma'am. Your husband has no lack of courage, but in this godforsaken ninja world, he cannot protect you. Are you heading for the Land of Iron?"
"Yes, sir," Nagato's father said quickly. "We heard it's a neutral country, with no ninja."
The tall man shook his head. "Who says there are no ninja? They just don't have their own village. A neutral country is a magnet for all sorts of scum. And do you really think all samurai are good people? Goodbye. And next time, don't try to save money by walking. Find a merchant caravan. It's safer."
With that, he turned to pursue the fleeing bandits, waving goodbye without a second thought.
But Nagato, thinking of his family's helplessness in the face of the ninja and the bandits, thinking of how easily this man had resolved a situation that would have destroyed his family, no longer wanted to hide behind his mother and watch in fear as tragedy unfolded.
He suddenly fell to his knees. "Sir! Please, teach me! Teach me how to protect my family! How to not be bullied by bad people!"
The tall man stopped and turned back with a smile. "To be able to ask that question, it seems you're not completely stupid. The greatest misfortune in this world is to be weak. The weak cannot protect their families. They are at the mercy of others."
He held out his right arm, his hand large, his arm strong. He swung it, and the air whistled.
"If you want to protect yourself, to protect your family, you must rely on this! Boy, do you know what this is?!"
"It's muscles!" Nagato chirped. "Only with muscles!"
The tall man: "..."
Nagato's father: "..."
Nagato's mother: "..."
"It's power! Only with power can you laugh in the face of this godforsaken ninja world! All suffering is caused by a lack of power! Child, master power, and you can laugh at strength!"
A flash of inspiration, and Nagato bowed his head to the ground three times. "Sir! Please, accept me as your student! Teach me to be a ninja!"
Underground, the three White Zetsu: "Uh... this..."