The Girl Selling Paper Flowers on a Rainy Day

Several more days passed.

Orochimaru continued dragging Gojo Yoru from place to place, and it had been a long time since Yoru had seen any sign of human habitation. But compared to the scrolls of Ryūchi Cave, this hardship was nothing at all.

That day, Orochimaru brought Gojo Yoru to a cave in yet another snowy mountain.

"Release—"

Finding a rock face marked with a mysterious symbol, Orochimaru formed hand seals and pressed his palm against it. As tadpole-shaped incantations spread outward, the rock beneath his hand sank inward, like opening a hidden compartment. Reaching inside, he pulled out a scroll small enough to hold in one hand, then unrolled it to read.

By now, Gojo Yoru was used to this scene. He had no idea what those scrolls said, but he could guess they were intelligence reports left by Konoha spies stationed in various countries. Orochimaru's job was to wait for the spies to deliver information to designated drop points, then retrieve it.

This time, though, Orochimaru's demeanor seemed off. He stood in place, reading the scroll over and over. Unfortunately, Yoru didn't have the Observation Haki from that pirate world next door, so he couldn't sense Orochimaru's emotional fluctuations now.

Nearly ten minutes later, Orochimaru finally put away the scroll, took out another one from his person, placed it back in the hidden compartment, and restored the rock face to its original state.

"Let's go."

Orochimaru led Gojo Yoru out of the cave and left the snowy mountain region that same day. Even more unusual was that Orochimaru didn't walk this time—he used Body Flicker the entire way, dragging Yoru along. After leaving the snowy mountains, which should have been the Land of Iron, he kept using Body Flicker to travel.

Eventually, the two arrived at a small town. After nearly a month, Gojo Yoru finally saw a place where people lived, and he felt a bit dazed.

Orochimaru took Gojo Yoru to a shop and said to the owner, "Two sets of raincoats and conical hats."

"A thousand ryō, thank you for your patronage."

After buying the rain gear, Orochimaru led Gojo Yoru out of the town. On the road, Yoru took his own set of rainwear and couldn't help asking, "Teacher Orochimaru, is our next stop the Land of Rain?"

"We're already in the Land of Rain." Orochimaru's gaze was deep. "Our next stop is... Amegakure Village."

Gojo Yoru couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly. Amegakure—this little place left an impression on Yoru second only to Konoha, the birthplace of the protagonist. Aside from the First Shinobi World War, this place never lacked screen time. It was one of the main battlefields of the Second Shinobi World War. Though it didn't participate in the Third, it was still manipulated by Shimura Danzō into attacking Yahiko's three-man Akatsuki, which led to Nagato's descent into darkness. After that, it became Akatsuki's headquarters, the site of Pain's descent. Even in the Fourth Shinobi World War, Amegakure had its moments—the Rain Ninja all joined the fight.

Now, the leader of Amegakure was Hanzo of the Salamander in his prime, regarded by shinobi as the pinnacle of the ninja world. Though not one of the Five Kage, he was unquestionably a Kage-level powerhouse. What was Orochimaru planning to do by taking him to that man's territory?

But the Second Shinobi World War hadn't broken out yet, and Amegakure hadn't declared war on Konoha, so Gojo Yoru didn't dwell on it.

Amegakure Village was a settlement of steel buildings. Because of the year-round rain, the most common sights were giant drainage pipes. Pedestrians on the streets, whether locals or outsiders, almost all wore raincoats and conical hats. Only the patrolling Rain Ninja wore breathing masks on their faces.

As the crossroads of the three great nations—Wind, Fire, and Earth—Amegakure had no barrier. Hanzo of the Salamander, who aimed to let small nations stand against the great ones, also didn't enforce Closed-door Isolation. Because the village's assassination techniques were highly developed, it was a favorite haunt of criminals and underworld organizations. So now, Amegakure was a den of mixed breeds in the ninja world, open for anyone to enter and leave freely.

Orochimaru, disguised with Transformation Jutsu, led Gojo Yoru—who had only removed his genin headband and wore no disguise—into Amegakure, then instructed him, "Free time from now on. Stay safe."

"Uh... yes."

Gojo Yoru couldn't quite figure it out. If Orochimaru wasn't going to bring him along this time, why drag him into Amegakure? Wouldn't it have been better to have him wait outside? But as a good kid, Yoru obediently nodded.

So Gojo Yoru split off from Orochimaru. Walking alone through the rain curtain, he saw a culture and customs completely different from Konoha's.

The villagers were simple and honest, but compared to the bustling Konoha, the conditions here were worlds apart.

Most shops were just crude rain shelters.

Restaurants and stores were few and far between, with almost no one investing here.

Many of the outsiders on the streets were vicious thugs; if not for the patrols of Rain Ninja and the deterrence of Hanzo of the Salamander's reputation, order here would likely be in chaos.

Passing through an alley, Gojo Yoru suddenly stopped, drawn by the scene at the entrance.

There, a simple little rain shelter was set up, but the vendor was a girl a few years younger than Gojo Yoru.

Short, straight blue-violet hair and amber eyes—though much more childish than the young woman in his memory, Gojo Yoru recognized her at a glance.

One of the three youngsters of Amegakure, the future White Tiger of the Akatsuki Organization—Konan.

At this moment, Konan was sitting on a small stool, her cheeks resting on her hands.

As if sensing Gojo Yoru's gaze, Konan looked over, a glimmer of hope appearing in her eyes.

Gojo Yoru walked over and examined what Konan was selling, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Because she was sitting, Konan looked up and got a clear view of Gojo Yoru's face, momentarily stunned.

Such beautiful eyes, and he's very handsome too, with skin so pale... Is he a foreigner?

Snapping out of it, Konan picked up a bouquet of flowers and said softly to Gojo Yoru, "Big brother, would you like to buy some flowers? They're only ten ryo."

"Selling paper flowers in the heavy rain—what were you thinking?" Gojo Yoru finally couldn't help but complain.

"So that's it, no wonder no one buys my flowers." Konan looked as if it had just dawned on her, which in Gojo Yoru's eyes was no less than a character collapse.

But seeing the girl's naive and innocent appearance, she clearly hadn't yet suffered the ravages of war, meaning her parents were probably still alive.

As for her selling flowers at this age, it was all too normal.

After all, some people dared to stroll through empty, snowy streets at the age of three.

Gojo Yoru had also lived independently since he was three, and the village hadn't interfered.

"I'll take everything on your stall. Go home early."

Out of goodwill from the Original Work, Gojo Yoru took out a hundred ryo and placed it in front of Konan, but only took one dyed blue-violet paper flower.

Then, Gojo Yoru vanished into the Rain Curtain.

By the time the girl came to her senses, she could no longer find that figure.

But she remembered those ice-blue eyes and that fair-skinned, handsome face.