Future God

The massive explosion destroyed the Armory, but it was also like kicking over a hornet's nest.

The entire Amegakure erupted, alarm sirens piercing the rainy night. Countless Amegakure Ninja held torches, blocking all major roads, making escape exceptionally difficult.

"We can't go this way either."

At a dark, damp junction in the sewers, Uchiha Fugaku withdrew his probing gaze, his expression grim.

"There are patrol teams with summoning beasts ahead. That madman Hanzō actually recalled troops from the outer defense lines."

"After all, we blew up his lifeline."

Nishikawa Tetsu leaned against a moss-covered wall, glancing at the map in his hand.

After the intense movement and mental strain, all three had expended a great deal of energy.

"With this level of blockade, it's impossible to leave the village directly," Nishikawa Tetsu analyzed calmly. "The most dangerous place is the safest. The upper levels and exits are definitely heavily guarded. Conversely, the lower-class slum we just passed through, with its complex terrain and dense population, will be the most difficult to search."

"We have to go back there again?" Uchiha Fugaku frowned, clearly remembering the stench and filth of that place.

"If we don't go back there, we'll just be playing hide-and-seek with Hanzō in the sewers," Namikaze Minato said with a wry smile.

"Senior Fugaku, let's listen to Tetsu."

In a dark corner of the sewer, Nishikawa Tetsu held a clump of foul-smelling mud and looked at Uchiha Fugaku.

"Senior Fugaku, just a little more," Nishikawa Tetsu pointed to Fugaku's face, which, though worn, was still clean. "Here, and your neck. Too fair, they'll think you're a ninja who's been overfed."

Fugaku leaned stiffly against the wall, his brows knitted into a tight knot. Staring at the clump of mud, his body instinctively recoiled. "...Do I really have to smear it on my face? I can tolerate the clothes."

"You must. Hanzō's nose is very sharp." Before Nishikawa Tetsu could act, Namikaze Minato, grinning, reached into the mud pit.

"Senior, if you can't bring yourself to do it, I'll help you!" Minato's face was already covered in black ash, only his white teeth showing. He looked both comical and sincere.

"Don't touch me!" Fugaku slapped Minato's hand away in disgust. He took a deep breath, as if making a life-or-death decision.

He closed his eyes, his expression of heroic sacrifice more solemn than facing an army of thousands.

"I'll do it myself."

Fugaku grabbed a handful of mud and smeared it fiercely onto his proud face. To make it convincing, he even messed up his hair like a bird's nest.

After finishing, he opened his eyes and saw Minato and Tetsu stifling their laughter.

"Laugh if you want," Fugaku said with a plastered face, annoyed. "But I'm putting this down on the 'BBQ tab' too. If you two don't stuff yourselves full then, don't even think about leaving the BBQ restaurant."

"Yes, Captain," Minato saluted, holding back his laughter.

Half an hour later.

They evaded several search parties and slipped into a half-collapsed, abandoned Temple.

It was located on the edge of the slum, its crumbling walls hidden by giant banana leaves, making it a natural sanctuary.

"We're safe for now."

Uchiha Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief and was about to find a place to sit and recover his Chakra.

"Who?!"

He spun around sharply, his Kunai instantly unsheathed. His Sharingan eyes locked onto the area behind a broken stone statue in the corner of the Temple.

"Come out! Or die!"

Killing intent instantly permeated the entire Temple.

Namikaze Minato and Nishikawa Tetsu also quickly entered combat readiness. At this moment, any unexpected event could expose their whereabouts.

"Don't... don't kill us!"

A childish but stubborn voice came from behind the stone statue.

Immediately after, three small figures emerged, trembling.

They were three children.

The one in front was a boy with orange hair. Though skinny as a monkey, he tightly gripped a rusty dagger, his gaze fierce as he shielded the other two.

Behind him was a little girl with light blue hair, fearfully clutching the boy's clothes.

And standing at the very back was a silent boy with bright red hair, his bangs long enough to cover his eyes.

"Kids?"

Uchiha Fugaku blinked in surprise. Then, his killing intent did not dissipate; instead, it became even more vigilant.

"Orphans from Amegakure? Why are you here?"

"This is our home!" the orange-haired boy shouted through gritted teeth. Though his legs were trembling, he didn't back down an inch.

"Get out! We found this place first!"

"Huh? Your home?" Fugaku sneered, about to step forward and scare them away.

"Wait, Senior."

Nishikawa Tetsu, who had been silent, suddenly reached out and stopped Fugaku.

His gaze swept past the orange-haired boy, then the blue-haired girl, before finally locking onto the red-haired boy.

Especially that iconic red hair of the Uzumaki Clan.

Yahiko, Konan, Nagato.

Nishikawa Tetsu's heart leaped.

He hadn't expected to encounter these three people, who would change the future of the ninja world, at this point in time, while on the run.

And beneath the red-haired boy's long bangs lay the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths, the Rinnegan.

"They're just three orphaned wanderers, senior." Nishikawa Tetsu lowered his voice, his tone calm.

"Killing them or driving them away would attract attention from patrols. It's better to let them stay here; they can help us keep an eye on things outside."

"Tetsu's right." Namikaze Minato looked at the three gaunt, drenched children, who were about his own age, and the suppressed sympathy in his heart surged again.

He crouched down, sheathed his kunai, and offered a smile as gentle as he could manage:

"Don't be afraid, we're not here to take over. We're just borrowing this place to hide from the rain."

"Liar! Who believes the lies of Great Country ninjas!" Yahiko still held his dagger, bristling like a startled kitten.

"You just blew up that big house, didn't you? I saw it! You're bad guys!"

"We're not exactly good people."

Nishikawa Tetsu stepped forward and took out three compressed rations and a bottle of water from his backpack.

He ignored the dagger in Yahiko's hand and placed the food directly on the stone slab in front of the three children.

"But this is real."

The aroma of the food instantly filled the noses of the three starving children.

Gulp.

Someone's stomach rumbled.

Yahiko swallowed, his fierce gaze collapsing in the face of the food.

But he still eyed Nishikawa Tetsu warily, making no move.

"It's not poisoned."

Nishikawa Tetsu broke off a small piece himself, ate it, and then shrugged.

"As you are now, you have no value that would make me bother poisoning you."

Although the words were harsh, they eased Yahiko's caution.

"Eat!"

Yahiko grabbed a ration, first sharing it with Konan and Nagato behind him, then ravenously devouring his own.

Watching the three gaunt children eat like starving wolves, Namikaze Minato sighed, his eyes filled with pity.

Uchiha Fugaku leaned against the doorway, maintaining his guard, and observed coldly, "Giving them food is a waste. They won't survive this winter in this country."

"That's not necessarily true."

Nishikawa Tetsu said with a meaningful tone.

He walked over to the red-haired boy—Nagato.

Nagato ate slowly, his head bowed, his red hair like a curtain obscuring most of his face.

"Your hair is beautiful."

Nishikawa Tetsu suddenly spoke.

Nagato's body stiffened abruptly, and his eating stopped.

Growing up, this red hair had only brought him mockery and bullying.

He slowly raised his head, and through the gaps in his hair, his pale purple eyes with their circular patterns flashed in the shadows for a fleeting moment.

Though it was only an instant, Nishikawa Tetsu saw clearly.

It really was the Rinnegan. That old geezer Madara was fast.

Nishikawa Tetsu was deeply shaken inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.

He took a candy from his ninja pouch—he had bought it in Konoha, originally intended for a sugar boost.

"Here."

Nishikawa Tetsu handed the candy to Nagato.

Nagato hesitated, then extended his dirty little hand and took the candy.

"Thank you..." his voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"You're welcome." Nishikawa Tetsu looked at the boy with the divine eyes, then lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear, "Protect your eyes, and protect your companions. In this cruel world, this is your only capital for survival."

Nagato suddenly looked up, gazing at Nishikawa Tetsu with confusion.

He didn't understand why this stranger would say such things, but he could feel that the other person seemed very serious.

"Alright, rest is over."

Half an hour later, the sounds of searching outside gradually faded.

Uchiha Fugaku stood up. "It's time to go. Under the cover of night, we must move to the outer areas."

The three of them tidied their gear, preparing to leave.

Before they departed, Yahiko suddenly called out to them.

"Hey! Konoha ninjas!"

Yahiko wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming with a light called ambition.

"One day, I will change this crying country! I will make the Land of Rain stop raining! Then, I won't have to steal your bread anymore!"

Uchiha Fugaku scoffed dismissively. "Dream on."

Namikaze Minato, however, turned back and smiled. "Keep at it. I'll be waiting for that day."

As for Nishikawa Tetsu, he simply took a deep look at the three children.

"Changing a country isn't done by shouting slogans, nor by a rusty dagger."

Nishikawa Tetsu pointed to his head. "If you want to change the world, first survive, then read more books."

With that, the three of them vanished into the rain.

In the Temple, Yahiko clenched his fists, staring in the direction the three had left, silent for a long time.

Nagato, on the other hand, tightly gripped the candy, his purple eyes showing a strange new light for the first time.

In the rain.

"Tetsu, why did you say that to those kids just now?" Minato asked as they ran.

"Just a whim," Nishikawa Tetsu replied.

"Attention! Strong Chakra reaction ahead!"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice suddenly interrupted Nishikawa Tetsu's thoughts.

"It looks like Hanzō's Elite Guard!"