In a small town in the Land of Rain.
Yahiko spoke earnestly to a merchant: "Uncle! We really know ninjutsu! We can definitely escort your goods, and our fees are low, only half of what adult ninjas charge!"
The merchant looked over the three children, around 10 years old, and said, "If you're hungry, I can give you some leftover soup, but as for delivering goods for me... forget it."
Yahiko formed hand seals and used a Water Wave.
A decent-sized stream of water shot into the air before falling back down.
The waterfall-like stream reached its peak and then fell back with kinetic energy, crashing onto the street.
The tiles on the merchant's eaves were shattered, clattering down.
"What are you doing!" the boss shouted, looking at his destroyed eaves:
"I would never entrust my goods to you three!"
"Fix my eaves, or I'll hire Rain Ninja to deal with you little wandering ninjas!"
Konan sighed.
The three of them had learned ninjutsu from their teacher Jiraiya for over two years. Now, while they considered themselves fairly skilled, firstly, they lacked official Rain Ninja status, and secondly, they were too young. Making a living by taking on missions was still very difficult.
The three of them were also unwilling to become like some wandering ninjas who, after learning a jutsu or two, resorted to robbery and theft.
The three found a ladder, climbed onto the roof, and began repairing the eaves.
Konan passed up wooden stakes and tiles from below, Nagato climbed up and down delivering materials, and Yahiko crouched on the roof doing the repairs.
It was a somewhat sorry sight.
Konan suddenly remembered the terrifying events that happened when Teacher Jiraiya left.
Two groups had fought. Masked ninja from Konoha who initially tried to capture them were then driven off by an old man.
The old man said many things they didn't understand to the three of them, then let them go.
After finally repairing the eaves, the three began looking for their next mission opportunity.
At the town entrance, there was an area specifically for wandering ninjas to pick up missions.
Bosses would come here to select suitable wandering ninjas.
At noon, when the other wandering ninjas had gone to eat, Yahiko and his two companions still guarded the mission area.
An elderly man, quite advanced in years, walked slowly to the town entrance.
He waited a bit, seeing no wandering ninjas nearby except for the three children.
Yahiko immediately approached him: "Grandpa, do you have a mission? Don't be fooled by our age, we are strong ninjas who know ninjutsu, much stronger than those who only know taijutsu!"
The old man said, "I have some things to deliver to the next town. You three are too young; you probably can't even carry my goods. Don't cause trouble. Where are your parents? Your elders?"
Yahiko's expression fell. "We're all orphans. We have no parents."
The old man's face filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were orphans."
Yahiko immediately rushed to a large rock by the roadside, lifted it with effort using chakra, and brought it before the old man.
"We can use chakra, we can move heavy objects!"
The old man thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I'm an orphan too now. I'm 70 years old, haven't called out 'Mom' in over 20 years."
"Seeing your plight... and my goods aren't that valuable anyway, I'll let you deliver them."
"3000 Ryo, for a trip to the next town. Are you willing?"
"Willing!"
The three followed the old man to a shop. Four wooden boxes contained many bottles filled with homemade alcohol.
Yahiko and the other two set off happily.
3000 Ryo was enough for them to eat for a week.
After walking a dozen steps, Nagato glanced back at the old man.
His bangs concealed his Rinnegan.
In the distance, Yōkō instantly frowned. Did Nagato see something with his Rinnegan?
Nagato only glanced briefly before turning to catch up with Yahiko.
Compared to a slight sense of oddity, the temptation of 3000 Ryo was greater for Nagato.
Relying on their own ninjutsu to survive was Yahiko's insistence, and Nagato would support Yahiko.
A while later, Uchiha Mizukiku body-flickered to Clan Leader Uchiha Kane and Squad Leader Fox.
"Clan Leader, mission accomplished. I used a genjutsu to lure those three out of the town."
Uchiha Kane nodded and said, "Let's go. Set an ambush halfway and capture all three."
"Take them back to the village and have the Yamanaka clan interrogate them for information on Uchiha Madara."
"If we can bring back an Uzumaki remnant from this mission, it will count as a result."
Uchiha Kane felt pleased. The intelligence from the Anbu was really just right.
They could complete the mission without much danger.
The Uchiha group left first to set up the ambush halfway.
Yōkō crouched and pressed his fingers against the ground.
He wanted a tiny piece of skin on his fingertip to merge with the network of organic matter underground using the Ephemeral Technique, to scout for any White Zetsu nearby.
But on second thought, he stopped the attempt.
He had stumbled upon White Zetsu by chance in Konoha Village; White Zetsu was observing Uchiha Obito.
At that time, with tens of thousands of people in Konoha, White Zetsu couldn't pinpoint who he was.
But using the Ephemeral Technique now might make it easier for White Zetsu to identify him.
Yōkō waved his hand and led the two squads, White Ram and Kika, to follow.
In the heavy rain, Yahiko and the other two carried the boxes, walking slowly forward.
Yahiko carried two boxes, while Nagato and Konan each carried one.
Not only did Yahiko carry more, but he was also energetically talking about something nonstop.
Among these three, Yahiko had the strongest charisma and presence; he was the leader of the trio.
No matter how tough, no matter how difficult, Yahiko was always positive, constantly thinking of ways.
Soft or hard, he kept striving to make their lives better.
Nagato was always silent.
The Rinnegan was a significant burden for Nagato at this time.
As for Konan, she was a gentle girl now, very obedient.
Amidst Yahiko's optimistic plans for the future, four figures suddenly rushed out, charging towards Yahiko's trio.
Uchiha Mahiru, Uchiha Kirika, and the other two charged out.
Though called a Special Jōnin squad, all four had Three Tomoe Sharingan. Due to the village's prejudice and suppression, they couldn't become full Jōnin.
Four pairs of crimson Three Tomoe Sharingan stared intently at the red-haired Uzumaki Nagato.
Two of the Uchiha ninja began forming hand seals.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A massive fireball shot out. The rain falling on it instantly turned to steam.
Further away, Uchiha Kane and Yōkō watched Uzumaki Nagato.
The reconnaissance squad was responsible for guarding the perimeter further out.
Hyūga Koe was very nervous, wondering if they would encounter the legendary Uchiha Madara.
That was the powerful rogue ninja who could rival the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage!
Yōkō's expression changed.
From the ground near Nagato, ten White Zetsu suddenly emerged!
One White Zetsu complained:
"Konoha ninja again? The original plan was to hide in the darkness, never letting anyone know."
"But now, Konoha keeps coming after us again and again. Such a hassle."
Uchiha Kane saw the white figures and thought, Are these the subordinates of Uchiha Madara that Fox mentioned?
***
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(End of Chapter)