"We have many people poisoned now, so we must hurry back to Konoha as soon as possible," Tsunade said, taking out the antidote that Lady Katsuyu, the Slug, had delivered. "I now have the antidote, and I can quickly prepare a large batch."
"How long will your antidote last?" Jiraiya asked, frowning as he glanced behind him at the pale, terrified faces of so Konoha ninjas. He feared that if they collapsed, they might never rise again.
"If we don't fight, it will last long enough to get us back to the village alive," Tsunade replied, confident in her dicine. But she knew if another battle broke out, the poisoned Konoha ninjas would have little chance of survival.
"Then let's set off imdiately."
"Sakumo, please take care of them. We're still injured," Orochimaru said politely to Sakumo's group.
"Understood," Sakumo replied with a nod.
Duy, Shinku Yūhi, and the other surviving Jōnin also nodded in agreent.
"Let's go," Kawakaze said to Tsunade as the group followed the main contingent. Sakumo and the others led the way.
As they advanced, the damage from the battle was evident: destroyed hos, the lifeless bodies of civilians, and orphans wandering aimlessly. Despite being on the victorious side, Konoha's forces felt no pride—it was their actions that had caused this devastation.
After a brief rest that night, the Konoha troops resud their journey. The poisoned ninjas' conditions did not worsen, and, as Tsunade had assured, the antidote pills were effective.
The following day, Kawakaze and his group of four lagged slightly behind the main force, eating dried food as they walked. Rain began to fall, quickly turning into a downpour. The group took shelter under a bridge.
"The weather in the Land of Rain really does change suddenly," Kawakaze remarked, pulling a sealing scroll from his ninja gear. From it, he retrieved kitchen utensils reserved for Sakumo, then lit a torch and placed a pot over the fire.
"Jiraiya, hand over the rabbits you caught."
"Or do you plan to eat them all by yourself?"
He had just finished preparing the al and was hurrying to ask Jiraiya for more ingredients. Yesterday, he had seen Jiraiya catch two plump rabbits and stash them away.
"You're so observant. Do you have any sake?" Jiraiya added impatiently.
"That's more like it. Let's eat until we're full before moving on. Dried food isn't very appetizing, and it doesn't look like the rain will stop anyti soon," Kawakaze said, preparing the al.
"You always carry this stuff on missions?" Tsunade asked, her curiosity piqued. "Is this what a proper ninja does?"
"Not really. I just occasionally forget not to bring it," Kawakaze admitted, scratching his head in mild embarrassnt.
"Haha," Orochimaru chuckled. Kawakaze really is sothing else.
"Orochimaru, do you have any non-venomous snakes I can eat?" Kawakaze asked casually while cutting up the rabbit at with his kunai, his tone teasing as he plotted against Orochimaru. Snake at, after all, was delicious.
"I never keep non-venomous snakes," Orochimaru replied, still smiling but visibly annoyed. His face darkened slightly. He had never t such an audacious freeloader before.
"Tsunade, can your antidote pills counteract venomous snake at?" Kawakaze quipped, clearly not giving up.
Tsunade rolled her eyes, exasperated by his antics, and ignored him.
"Fine, I'll settle for rabbit at. I'm not that greedy," Kawakaze sighed, feigning disappointnt. He finished preparing the rabbit, pulled out seasonings from a small box, and set up four sets of bowls and chopsticks along with four small bottles of sake. After covering the pot, he waited for the food to simr.
If Sakumo saw this, Kawakaze thought, he'd probably have a heart attack. Kawakaze never cooked when Sakumo was around—it was always his older brother who handled the als.
"Haha, as long as there's sake," Jiraiya said, settling down cross-legged opposite Kawakaze, eager to eat.
Tsunade, not one to care about appearances, joined them without hesitation, sitting down beside Kawakaze. Orochimaru eventually followed, and the four of them ford a casual circle around the pot.
After a short while, Kawakaze lifted the lid, releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma into the air. Everyone felt their hunger intensify.
"Let's eat," Kawakaze said, raising a sake bottle and taking a sip. The others echoed his satisfaction, their voices blending in contentnt as they began their al.
Just as they were eating and chatting, a small figure slowly erged from the shadows. A boy, around ten years old, with ssy orange hair and a gas mask slung over his shoulder, approached hesitantly. His face was dirty, and he looked malnourished.
Kawakaze froze mid-bite. His thoughts turned to Yahiko—the boy who would one day beco a key player in the story of Pain. He wondered how much had already changed because of the chaos they'd brought to the Land of Rain.
Yahiko walked cautiously, his expression a mixture of fear and determination. He had recognized the Forehead Protectors of Konoha on the ninja. These were the invaders—the ones who had devastated his holand. Among them was soone he knew had killed Hanzō of the Salamander. There was no mistaking it.
But his hunger overpowered his fear. He couldn't ignore the delicious sll of the food, and his younger companions were starving, too.
"Who are you?" Tsunade asked, her bowl still in her hands. The others had noticed the boy earlier but hadn't paid him much attention.
"Can you spare so food for us?" Yahiko timidly held out his hand, his hunger overriding his fear.
"Where are your parents?" Jiraiya asked, his gaze serious as he studied the boy. He had a lingering suspicion that he might et the child the Toad Sage had foretold, though he wasn't certain this was the one.
"They were killed by a ninja in this war," Yahiko replied flatly, his voice devoid of emotion, as if he had grown accustod to such loss.
"You have two companions, right? Call them over," Kawakaze said, grabbing a large bowl. He filled it with half a rabbit, so broth, and soaked dry food before setting it aside.
"Kawakaze, even if he's just a child, he's from Agakure," Orochimaru warned, his sharp instincts always alert.
"It's fine, I know what I'm doing," Kawakaze replied, exchanging a knowing glance with Orochimaru. Seeing no imdiate threat, Orochimaru returned to eating his al, silently observing.
Yahiko eyed the large bowl of food next to Kawakaze, swallowing hard as hunger gnawed at him. Gathering his courage, he turned and called out, "They don't seem like bad people."
Kawakaze looked curiously in the direction Yahiko had called. Monts later, a boy with red hair partially covering his eyes and a young girl with light blue-violet hair appeared, running toward Yahiko. They stopped abruptly as they reached him, hesitant.
"Who's going to take it?" Kawakaze asked with a small smile, lifting the bowl.
Without a word, Yahiko, clearly the leader among them, stepped forward and took the food. But as the three turned to leave, Kawakaze's voice stopped them. "Don't go. I'll need that bowl back."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at Kawakaze, perplexed. It was just a bowl, after all, and Kawakaze's actions were often puzzling—just like when he had taken an interest in Might Duy.
"Okay," Yahiko muttered, his grip tightening on the bowl. Rembering the terrifying scene of Kawakaze beheading Hanzō, he reluctantly sat on the ground not far from the group. The three children imdiately began eating ravenously, using their hands to tear into the food.
"I feel sorry for these kids," Kawakaze remarked, taking a bite of at himself. A dangerous glint crossed his eyes as he mulled over a plan so audacious that even Lord Madara might lose sleep over it.
"So?" Tsunade asked, taking a sip of sake, curious about what was brewing in Kawakaze's mind.
"I plan to take them back as my disciples," Kawakaze said nonchalantly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "It'll also be good to get Minato so friends."
He used Minato as an excuse to mask his true intentions, knowing the boy's kind deanor would make the plan more palatable to the others.
anwhile, Minato and Nawaki were taking shelter from the rain with Sakumo at another location, chewing miserably on their ager dry rations. The two were having a good conversation, oblivious to the fact that their sensei, while enjoying a hearty al, was using them as a convenient justification for his sches.
If they had known, neither of them would have been able to smile so easily.
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