A timid voice reached their ears.
Kadoya narrowed his eyes, gaze falling on the girl in tattered clothing standing at the mouth of the cave.
From the moment she entered, he had already recognized her identity, Konan.
Her appearance was distinctive, about four or five years old, with blue hair. But unlike the cold, composed woman she would one day become, this child trembled under the firelight, hesitant and meek.
Their eyes met briefly, then she quickly looked down.
"Um… could you ninja-sama give us some food?" she asked again, her voice fragile.
At that moment, Saiguu narrowed her gaze toward the little girl, surprise evident on her face. They were already near the battlefield, and encountering wandering orphans here was rare.
Nawaki cast a glance at Kadoya. He didn't say a word, but Kadoya understood the message instantly.
This is a risk.
Indeed, they were in the middle of a battlefield, pursued by enemies' shinobi. If information about their location leaked, then their effort would all go to waste.
The safest option was to kill these children. Pity was a luxury a ninja could not afford, especially when potential threats, no matter how small, could endanger their own survival.
Even if the other party were innocent orphans.
After all, Kadoya has led his genin team to take down nearly a hundred Amegakure and Iwagakure shinobi. Evidence by how many heads are currently lying inside one of his scrolls.
The heads were not only to show that they had killed so many enemies, but also for him to check on the Black Market later on to see if any of them had a bounty he could cash in on or not.
Nawaki, assuming Kadoya was hesitating, shifted forward slightly, ready to act.
Kadoya stopped him with a hand on the wrist, a shake of the head. "They're just wandering orphans. It's fine."
Nawaki blinked, caught off guard. Then he nodded slowly and sat back down.
But Kadoya's decision had nothing to do with sudden mercy, nor a desire to change this part of the future. His mere presence had already distorted the timeline.
The real reason was that these children were too deeply entangled with future events. Just outside the entrance, hidden behind the rocks and Konan's shadow, Nagato and Yahiko were crouched in silence. To move against one meant engaging all three.
Plus, Kadoya wanted to make good use of them now that he had stepped onto the stage.
But… could they really kill Nagato?
Or rather, could Kadoya kill Nagato?
Probably, even if Nagato was Madara's little pawn.
Which meant that Madara might be watching them right now.
Attacking was simply not an option. Kadoya didn't see the point in killing Nagato, and taking his Rinnegan only to be attacked and hunted down by Madara later on.
He wasn't strong enough to dance with that old man yet.
A ninja needed perception. They needed to know when to act, when to fold, and when to wait in the shadows.
Without overwhelming strength or protagonist-level plot armor, offending the wrong people would only lead to an unmarked grave.
Besides, Kadoya already had plans for them, so he wasn't going to make them his enemy. Not yet.
"We just finished dinner," Kadoya said, voice calm as he looked at Konan. "You're welcome to join us."
"Huh?" Nawaki shot him a bewildered look.
Kadoya… don't tell me you're abandoning Minato for a little girl now?!
His mind spiraled into nonsense, confused by the unexpected act of generosity.
"Eh?" Saiguu blinked, equally surprised.
The cave's temperature suddenly dropped. The air grew colder, the warmth of the fire barely cutting through it. Nawaki exhaled and saw his breath fog in front of him.
Konan's tense face brightened with relief. She had been a moment away from fleeing.
She turned toward the entrance. "Yahiko, Nagato, Chibi, come quickly!"
An orange-haired boy dashed in first, his steps quick and excited. A red-haired child followed behind him, quiet and reserved, long hair partially obscuring his face. In his arms was a small yellow dog, tail wagging and tongue lolling at the smell of food.
"Um, my name's Yahiko," the orange-haired boy said, stepping forward with wide eyes. "Thanks a lot. We haven't eaten a real meal in days."
He was around four or five, cheerful despite his condition. He reminded Kadoya a little of Nawaki, youthful, naive, still untouched by the cruelty of war.
Konan bowed politely. "I'm Konan."
Yahiko elbowed the redhead gently. "Don't mind him. He's shy around strangers. His name's Nagato."
Kadoya nodded. "I'm Kadoya. This is Saiguu. And that's Nawaki."
He stood up and stepped aside, motioning for them to sit.
The three children bowed politely before sitting at the edge of the table. The chairs groaned under their slight weight, worn wood barely holding.
"Whoa… it smells amazing!" Yahiko's eyes lit up. "I haven't smelled anything this good in forever!"
Kadoya narrowed his eyes slightly. "By the way… how did you find us?"
He didn't buy the idea of it being mere coincidence. Their enemies had combed this region for days and found nothing. Yet these orphans showed up right when his team had dropped their guard.
Yahiko and the others froze at the question.
"U-uh, I'm sorry!" Yahiko suddenly stood up and bowed deeply. "We were looking for you!"
"…Hmm?" Kadoya's eyes sharpened.
Yahiko pointed straight at Nawaki. "We saw him stealing food in town last week! We recognized he was a ninja and figured he might be hiding nearby. We know the terrain really well, so we just searched every cave until we found you!"
Team 7: "…"
Nawaki's expression darkened instantly.
Kadoya slowly raised a hand and facepalmed.
Saiguu, without a word, began sharpening her knife a little louder than necessary.
Nawaki, you absolute idiot. How could you sell out your team like that?!
Seeing the sharp reactions, Konan immediately bowed. "We're sorry, ninja-sama! We didn't mean to cause trouble!"
Kadoya let out a long sigh.
So that's how it is.
These three hadn't met Jiraiya yet. They weren't looking for a legendary teacher; they had simply spotted Nawaki, a young ninja, and assumed he might be approachable.
They were hoping to learn ninjutsu.
Seeing the anxious looks on the children's faces, Kadoya waved his hand lazily. "It's fine. Just eat."
The tension melted slightly, and the cave filled with the sounds of slurping soup, clinking bowls, a blade being honed, and the rhythmic tapping of Kadoya's fingers on the table.
Konan, sipping her soup quietly, stole curious glances at the three older ninja.
That black-haired boy… long hair, sharp features, calm yet unreadable. He looked handsome, and his presence felt strange, emitting both a sense of warmth and coldness at the same time. Like a contradiction wrapped in a human shell.
In Minato's words, when trying to describe Kadoya: "You're the most reliable and unreliable person I know."
The girl beside him was beautiful, with a cold, elegant aura… but her cooking was undeniably warm and delicious.
As for the brown-haired boy…
He seemed… like an idiot.
So Konan naturally ignored Nawaki.
Meanwhile, Yahiko and Nagato ate like they hadn't tasted real food in weeks, which was probably true, their eyes sparkling. Chibi, their little yellow dog, wagged its tail wildly, yipping at the scent of meat.
"Delicious! Can I have another bowl?"
"Me too!"
"Woof! Woof!"
As they ate, none of them noticed what was going on at the corners of the cave.
Four pairs of hands appeared, one in each corner, forming precise hand seals. Moments later, dark sealing runes etched themselves into the walls, glowing faintly with black light before vanishing.
Kadoya's rhythmic tapping continued, slow, steady, hypnotic. The others didn't realize it, but his illusion had already begun to take hold.
An illusion of Kadoya sat at the table, tapping idly, smiling faintly, eyes half-lidded.
Meanwhile, the real Kadoya moved quietly behind the scenes, hidden from their senses, testing the limits of his genjutsu.
"Now then… let's begin the experiment," he murmured to himself.
He approached Konan, holding a small vial filled with a faintly glowing pink liquid. As he moved closer, his hand accidentally brushed a strand of her hair.
Konan paused. She lowered her bowl and gently tucked her hair back into place with her fingers.
Kadoya frowned.
He poured a tiny drop of the pink liquid into her bowl, then stepped back silently, watching.
Konan blinked once, stared at the soup. She hesitated for a moment.
Then, slowly, she brought the bowl to her lips and drank.
Her brows furrowed slightly at first, sensing something off… but then her expression softened. She smiled faintly.
"This soup is really good," she said. "Can I have some more?"
Kadoya exhaled.
"I failed on touch, smell, and taste huh?"
He slipped the vial back into his inventory, then turned toward the illusion of himself still tapping at the table.
"My current genjutsu is still just so-so," he muttered. "I've only managed to manipulate vision and sound…"
One of his goals was to recreate a genjutsu with the effect of manipulating all five senses.
This was his incomplete version, Genjutsu: Kyoka Suigetsu.
…
"Wow… I think I might cry," Yahiko groaned contentedly, leaning back as he rubbed his full stomach. "Konan, you seriously need to learn how to cook like this!"
Nagato and Chibi both nodded in silent agreement, the little dog wagging its tail with a satisfied yip.
Konan, however, nudged Yahiko gently and gave a subtle tilt of her head toward Kadoya.
She'd been watching. She was certain now.
The other two listened to him. Followed his lead.
Kadoya stepped outside, the soles of his sandals pressing into the wet grass, soft and soaked from the unrelenting rain. His gaze, cool and relax, briefly met Konan's.
She flinched, face flushing pink, and quickly lowered her eyes, avoiding contact.
The rain grew heavier, merging with the rustling of distant trees and the low rumble of thunder.
Yahiko stepped forward hesitantly, his body tense, voice unsure.
"Um… please teach us ninjutsu."
Another thunderclap echoed above, as if underscoring his words.
"…Teach you ninjutsu?" Kadoya echoed, his voice calm, neither amused nor dismissive.
The black-haired boy didn't seem surprised at all, nor was there any mockery in his tone.
Looking at Kadoya's calm and composed demeanor, Yahiko was momentarily stunned.
The water droplets on the grass beside the cave slipped down one after another, creating beautiful ripples in the puddles on the ground.
A sudden impulse surged in Yahiko's heart, the urge to convey his feelings to someone, an emotion he had never experienced before.
Mustered by an unseen force, Yahiko blurted out his thoughts.
"I have a great dream, and that is to conquer the world!"
Yahiko's face went red. "I-I mean… I know it sounds stupid. Unrealistic. But if I can stand at the top, then maybe I won't have to suffer like this anymore. I'll be able to protect my friends. I want to make a world where no one has to go through what we've been through."
His voice cracked near the end. He looked away, embarrassed.
"…Of course, I know I'm still weak," he added quickly. "I'm not asking for anything big. I just… want to get stronger."
Yahiko lowered his head, his face burning red.
Without receiving an immediate response, he could only hear the sound of the rain and wind.
Kadoya said nothing, his expression unreadable.
Yahiko looked up, anxious. Their eyes met.
That still, quiet gaze unnerved him. Like Kadoya was staring through him, weighing his soul.
But Yahiko didn't back down.
He clenched his fists. "So… if possible, please teach us ninjutsu."
The rain carried his words away like a whisper.
Yahiko's heart pounded as his chest grew hot.
He later reflected on this moment, realizing that he had likely been affected by the bleak, rainy atmosphere of the Land of Rain. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have voiced such an embarrassing request to a young man he barely knew.
Yahiko regretted his outburst.
But at the same time, there was a sense of pride in his honesty.
Kadoya inhaled slowly. Then he said, calmly, without a hint of sarcasm. "Come to Konoha with me."
The three froze.
Konan and Nagato's eyes widened.
"What…?" Yahiko asked.
"Become my children," Kadoya continued, expression cool as ever. "Live in Konoha. Only then can I teach you ninjutsu."
He threw them a bone, one that he knew they would never accept.
To follow him would mean abandoning Amegakure. Turning their backs on their own homeland before they even had a chance to fight for it.
Peace could not come from foreign lands. Their dream had to start here. On their own soil.
The silence hung heavy between them.
Finally, Yahiko gave a weak smile.
"…Thank you for the food. And for your kindness."
Konan bowed slightly. Nagato did the same. Chibi barked quietly and padded over to their side.
Without another word, the three turned and walked into the rain.
Kadoya didn't try to convince them; his plan is already set in motion, and the seed has been planted.
Using a part of the Love Potion on Konan, Kadoya planned to turn her into one of his allies.
With these three kids, Nagato is out of the question. The boy probably didn't even remember he is an Uzumaki, and trying to pull him to his side early on would only cause trouble for him.
It might lead to the Ghost of The Uchiha to come and have a chat with the Spirit of The Uchiha. It will be like an old ghost coming over to lecture the young spirit.
Yahiko is a foolish idiot who want peace, and becoming the strongest, so bascially Nawaki 2.0. He dies because he naively trusted the wrong people. At least he didn't die from an explosive tag. Oh, wait... he died from a kunai stab. Never mind then.
So that only leaves Konan as the last person worthy of Kadoya's investment.
Now the seed has been planted, all he has to do now is to wait. Whether later Konan would become an ally or an enemy, that is his future self's problem.