Blood splattered. The Iwa-nin stared wide-eyed and collapsed heavily to the ground.
The remaining three were seized with panic and began forming hand seals.
"Earth Style, Earth Flow Wall!"
"Water Style, Wild Water Wave!"
But before their jutsu could take shape, three "Chiyas" suddenly appeared behind them.
These "Chiyas" were Shadow Clones that had been deployed in advance.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Three quiet sounds rang out. The throats of the three Iwa-nin were cut open at the same time. Blood gushed out. Their eyes went wide in disbelief as they fell.
In just a few seconds, all five Iwa-nin were dead.
After dismissing his Shadow Clones, Chiya shook the blood from his kunai and turned to walk toward the three.
He crouched down and checked their injuries.
Seeing that everything was just surface wounds, he felt at ease.
Chiya took out bandages and applied ointment.
He wrapped each of them simply and efficiently.
The fear still lingered in Konan's eyes, but the moment she saw Chiya, tears she had held back finally came flooding out. She threw herself into his arms.
"Chiya-nii..."
Chiya gently stroked her head, feeling the slight trembling of the small Konan in his arms.
'It looks like this one truly frightened them.'
'What happened today was probably the closest any of them had ever come to death in their lives.'
Yahiko pressed a hand against his chest, which still ached dully, and clenched his teeth.
"Those bastards. If Chiya-nii had not arrived, we would have already..."
Seeing this, Chiya's expression turned somewhat serious.
"This place is no longer safe. We need to leave immediately."
Konan wiped her tears and steadied herself before stepping out of Chiya's arms.
Chiya swept a glance over the bodies of the Iwa-nin. He knew well enough.
Within the territory of Amegakure, there were as many as four or five hundred Iwagakure ninja.
"Do not go back to that wooden house for now. We are moving somewhere else."
Hearing the commanding tone in Chiya's voice, all three nodded seriously.
"I will clean up here. You three wait for me under those trees over there."
The three of them nodded obediently and ran over.
Chiya looked at the ninja bodies on the ground not far from where he stood and moved to them in an instant.
He summoned five black body bags from a scroll and loaded the bodies in one by one.
Chakra surged through his hands. He shouldered all five and carried them to the deep part of the river.
He weighed the bags for a moment. The weight still did not seem enough.
He found some large rocks and stuffed them into the bags.
"Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash."
Five splashes rang out one after another.
The five Iwagakure ninja sank downstream and disappeared from the surface in no time.
The crimson three-tomoe Sharingan opened once more.
He swept his gaze across the battlefield and erased all traces of their chakra. Only then did he walk to where the three were waiting.
Yahiko and Nagato were a little curious and looked toward the direction Chiya had come from.
"Follow me."
Chiya paid no attention to their small curiosity.
He raised his head and looked at the overcast sky. It would not be long before heavy rain came again.
He walked forward at a quick pace.
Konan followed right behind him with a resolute look on her face.
Then came Yahiko, and last was Nagato.
The group walked for about half an hour before stopping at the entrance to a mountain cave.
The area around the cave opening was covered in withered branches. The soil around it showed no signs of any recent activity.
Even droppings were almost nowhere to be seen.
By Chiya's judgment, this place had no large animals living in it.
Chiya had the three wait at the entrance while he went inside himself.
Inside the cave, there were only old, small animal claw marks. There were no fresh claw prints, footprints, or any other signs of animal activity.
"Come in."
Once everything was confirmed safe, Chiya called the three inside.
"We rest here tonight."
Chiya lit a small fire. The orange-red glow of the flames fell across the four faces and drove the dampness away from their bodies.
He took a few pieces of hard rations from his ninja gear pouch and handed them out to the three.
Konan took the rations and carefully broke them apart, sharing them with Yahiko and Nagato.
"Thank you..."
Nagato said in a quiet voice. His red hair hung over his eyes, and his expression was unreadable.
Chiya sat cross-legged and looked over the three of them.
"After I left, how have you been getting by?"
Konan quickly swallowed what was in her mouth and spoke softly.
"Jiraiya-sensei came back, but only stayed for a few days. He said the front lines were urgent and that orders had come in from the village, so he left in a hurry."
Yahiko beside her clenched his fist. There was frustration in his voice.
"Jiraiya-sensei was planning to teach us new jutsu, but he left before he ever got to it. If we had learned those jutsu, we would not have ended up in such a mess today..."
Chiya glanced at him, then continued.
"So how did you end up running into Iwagakure ninja today? Had you encountered them before?"
The three looked at each other and then all shook their heads together.
"We had never run into them before. We only came out today to catch fish. Because Jiraiya-sensei left, the food we had stored up was used up, so..."
"Those Iwa-nin appeared out of nowhere. When they saw me using chakra to control paper, they decided we were descendants of Amegakure ninja and tried to get us to tell them where the ninja outposts were and where the food supplies were kept."
"I honestly do not know when this war will ever end."
"..."
The three spoke one after another.
Chiya listened carefully.
Once he had a full picture of the situation, he understood how everything had come about.
He looked at the three of them. His tone was gentle.
"This war is almost over. Sunagakure and Amegakure have both sent peace petitions to Konoha. Peace will return here soon."
Konan's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Yes. When that happens, you can come with me to Konoha."
A trace of hope appeared on Konan's face. But Yahiko's brow furrowed.
"Go to Konoha?"
He shook his head. His voice was firm.
"No. I want to stay in Amegakure."
Chiya looked at him.
"Why?"
Yahiko clenched his fist. A firm light burned in his eyes.
"I want to change this place. I want Amegakure to have no more war, no more hunger. If even we leave, who will change it?"
Chiya was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Yahiko to carry this kind of resolve.
He turned to look at Nagato.
"What about you?"
Nagato kept his head down. His fingers ran over the rations without thinking. He was silent for a long time before speaking quietly.
"I... I do not want to go to Konoha either."
His voice was very soft, but Chiya caught the resistance in it clearly.
In an instant, Chiya understood.
Nagato's parents had been killed by Konoha ninja.
In the original story, when Nagato was young, Konoha ninja had broken in and his family had died at their hands.
That hatred, even if it had not yet erupted at this moment, had already been buried deep in his heart long ago.
Chiya did not press him. He only nodded.
"I respect your decision."
Konan looked at Yahiko, then at Nagato. She hesitated for a moment and said quietly.
"Then... I will not go either."
Yahiko was startled. He turned to look at her.
"Konan, you do not have to force yourself. I know you want to leave Amegakure and go with Chiya-nii."
Konan shook her head. A faint smile came to her face.
"We are comrades. I will not leave you behind."
Chiya watched the three of them. A quiet feeling rose in his chest.
'They were still only children, yet they already carried so much.'
'Yahiko's ideals, Nagato's endurance, Konan's gentleness...'
'This bond between them is perhaps the very beginning of what would one day become the Akatsuki.'
"Since you have decided to stay, I will not force you."
Chiya took out three scrolls from his ninja gear pouch and handed one to each of them.
"These contain records of some basic jutsu. You can practice following them. At the very least it will give you a quick foundation and let you protect yourselves."
Yahiko took his scroll. Gratitude flashed through his eyes.
"Chiya-nii, thank you!"
Nagato quietly accepted his and said softly.
"...Thank you."
Konan held the scroll tightly to her chest. The rims of her eyes turned slightly red.
"We will definitely become strong!"
Chiya smiled faintly and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"I believe you."
"And I believe you will change Amegakure."
The campfire slowly dimmed. The night grew deeper.
Chiya watched the three fall asleep. His gaze settled on Nagato.
'His Rinnegan does not seem to have awakened yet. Should...'
Should he destroy those eyes?