Parting is Imminent

Ye Wuji sat outside the house, listlessly folding paper roses. On the other side, Konan was also boredly playing with a piece of paper in her hands. Beside her crouched a dog named Hua; it seemed to belong to Nagato, but from Ye Wuji's observations, the dog liked Konan best and was always following her around.

It was nearly noon. After Yahiko and Nagato had left, Ye Wuji had spent the beginning of the time training, but as half the day passed without them returning, he saw the worried look on Konan's face and set his training aside. He had originally wanted to keep her company and talk, but seeing that she wasn't in the mood, he stayed silent, simply remaining by her side.

Just as Ye Wuji was about to fold another paper rose, Konan suddenly moved. Seeing the smile on her face, Ye Wuji knew that Yahiko and Nagato must have returned.

Sure enough, not long after, two figures appeared in Ye Wuji's line of sight: Yahiko and Nagato. Both of them were wearing smiles, looking as if something good had happened.

"Konan, the war is coming to an end. We can go back," Nagato said happily.

"That's right. Once the war is over, we can go back home. We really owe a lot to Lord Hanzo this time. He challenged Konoha to a decisive battle to settle everything once and for all. Regardless of the outcome, this war should be over," Yahiko added with a smile. "Still, I hope Lord Hanzo wins. I believe he can; after all, he is the guardian deity of Amegakure. For so many years, no one has been able to defeat him. Although Konoha is quite powerful, they are still a bit inferior to Lord Hanzo, unless they use swarm tactics."

"Mm," Konan nodded, then said, "Then Master Jiraiya should be there too. With his skills, he might be one of those fighting Hanzo. I wonder if something will happen to him."

At the mention of Jiraiya, the three of them fell silent. Yahiko was the first to speak: "Although Master is very strong, he is still a bit too young. Besides, Master Jiraiya is from Konoha, and there's nothing we can do about that. But with his abilities, even if he can't win, saving his own life shouldn't be a problem."

As Yahiko said this, he glanced cautiously at Nagato. Regarding this topic, Nagato said nothing at all, silently walking into the house. Watching Nagato leave, Yahiko said to Konan, "Try not to bring up Konoha in the future. Although Master Jiraiya saved us and taught us some ninjutsu, Nagato's parents died at the hands of Konoha people. You need to be mindful of that, Konan. And you too, Ye, you must also be careful. Don't mention Konoha in front of your brother Nagato, understand?"

"I understand," Ye Wuji nodded in reply.

"Ye is the best, so smart and handsome. You'll definitely be very impressive when you grow up," Yahiko praised Ye Wuji upon seeing him nod.

"Alright, Konan, go get something to eat. I think everyone is hungry. You haven't eaten yet either, right? We can talk about anything else after we eat."

After the four of them finished their meal, Yahiko gathered everyone together. "Now, let's discuss what we should do next. We definitely want to go back; after all, that is our home. But should we go back now, or wait a while until the war settles down?" Yahiko started.

Konan followed up: "I think it's better to wait until the war is over and the ninjas from those countries have withdrawn. Even though the war is ending, no one knows what might happen next."

Yahiko and Konan continued to discuss. From their conversation, Ye Wuji learned that the village where they lived seemed to have always been in the middle of the battlefield. Even now, there were still many ninjas from various countries there. Although ninja wars didn't have much to do with ordinary people, the number of civilians caught in the crossfire every day was staggering.

Throughout the discussion between Konan and Yahiko, Nagato remained silent. In the end, Yahiko made the decision. His reasoning was: "This war has caused many casualties, and there must be many orphans. During the war, countries would take care of some of them to show off their strength and the magnanimity of a great nation, giving them a bit of food. But now that it's the end of the war, regardless of who wins or loses, they will leave the Land of Rain and return to their own countries. They certainly won't care about these orphans anymore. Furthermore, while the victors might be better, the defeated side usually has no discipline at this time. This period is likely the hardest for the orphans, which is why I've decided to go back now—to save as many as we can."

Upon hearing this, although Konan was somewhat reluctant—as in her eyes, the two people in front of her were the only ones who mattered, and she didn't care about the lives of others—she had been helped by these two during her most difficult times. However, seeing that Nagato also agreed, she said nothing more. As long as it was something the two of them wanted, Konan would support it, even if they wanted to destroy the world.

The three of them quickly reached a consensus and decided to leave early the next morning. Arriving a little earlier might mean saving one more person.

So, the early prototype of the Akatsuki is about to be established? After all, the early members of the Akatsuki seemed to be war orphans, though they were later killed by Zetsu and the others.

"Ye, come with us. You don't have any family now, so let's stay together and look out for one another," Yahiko said to Ye Wuji after the decision was made.

After that battle, Ye Wuji had recounted his background in this world. Therefore, facing Ye Wuji, who was also an orphan and the youngest among them...

Hearing Yahiko's sincere words, Ye Wuji felt moved. He thought to himself, If I stay with them, perhaps I can influence them so they won't be used by Madara and the others. Although that was what he thought...

Ye Wuji knew this wasn't realistic. Not to mention how Madara would deal with anyone other than Nagato, the Third Shinobi World War would break out in just a few years. By then, Amegakure would once again be a primary battlefield.

Ye Wuji understood his own weight. In his current state, he might not even survive until the Fourth Shinobi World War. To oppose Madara and the others, Ye Wuji knew that what he needed most was strength.

Since he lacked the strength, Ye Wuji could only avoid the vortex of war. Therefore, facing Yahiko's invitation, he shook his head and said, "I won't go with you. I want to leave this village; I don't want to stay here anymore."

Hearing this, Konan and Nagato were about to say something, but Yahiko stopped them. Yahiko smiled and said, "Alright then. Konan, Nagato, go prepare your things."

Hearing this, Konan and Nagato looked at each other and walked out.

Once they were gone, Yahiko said to Ye Wuji, "Ye, do you hate war too?" That was the first thing Yahiko said. Regarding this, Ye Wuji really didn't know how to answer.

To be honest, although Ye Wuji had been an orphan since he was young and had suffered a lot, he didn't really know how to define war. In his past life, so-called wars were only seen on television or in books. In reality, his generation—or those who had experienced war—had passed away one after another, and those who followed had never experienced it. Many said war was tragic and killed many people, like World War II, which supposedly killed tens of millions, but those were just numbers.

Moreover, due to technological development, many of his generation had completely forgotten the hardships of war. Influenced by various films and media, some even looked forward to war. Because of the old director of the orphanage—who, while not having fought in a war, had lived through that era—Ye Wuji's descriptions of war were much more realistic than those on TV. So, accurately speaking, Ye Wuji was anti-war, but since he hadn't experienced it himself, it wouldn't be wrong to call him a neutral party.

As for the deaths in war, Ye Wuji hadn't experienced them in his past life. In this world, although he hadn't experienced the war itself, he was indeed a victim of it. However, Ye Wuji knew that war was inevitable; the best he could do was to limit it to a few people and not involve ordinary people. That was the best kind of war in his mind.

But when it wasn't something one experienced personally, no matter how much others said, some would remain indifferent. He remembered in his past life, he had found a decent job—decent for him, at least. It was guarding a warehouse filled mostly with goods from Japan. His job was just to record shipments when people came to pick them up; he didn't need to move anything, and the pay was good. Unfortunately, he lost that job after only two days.

It was the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. On TV and in the streets, many were commemorating the day, which was very important in China. Although Japan never acknowledged it, that didn't stop the Chinese people from remembering. That day, many people gathered on the roadside to commemorate it, blocking the warehouse entrance and preventing shipments. The boss came, but he wasn't stupid; seeing the crowd, he waited for them to disperse. The shipment was urgent.

The boss muttered, "What's the point? They do this every year, delaying my profits. Besides, it was only three hundred thousand people. China has so many people; if you ask me, dying a few more times would just relieve the population pressure." The boss said this in a low voice. Ye Wuji was the only one nearby. The boss didn't seem to fear him, but he didn't expect that while Ye Wuji said nothing, he grabbed a club from the side and struck the boss on the head. Ye Wuji didn't stop, continuing to beat the guy with the club until others reacted. The guy was beaten beyond recognition, with a broken arm. The boss's subordinates wanted to grab Ye Wuji and call the police.

Ye Wuji said one thing to the beaten man: "Are you sure you want to call the police? This time it was just me beating you. Do you believe that if you call the police, I won't be the only one who wants to beat you?" It was that one sentence that ensured Ye Wuji faced no consequences for his only act of violence.

However, he lost the job. Afterward, he didn't say anything to anyone. After all, he wasn't the only one who thought that way. Sometimes he saw people online saying that so many years had passed and China was still hung up on it. To some, it was just a few hundred thousand people, and if you didn't kill over a hundred million in modern times, you weren't even a protagonist.

Unfortunately, he heard that the guy who said that never got to go online again. He heard that one day while walking on the street, his hands and mouth were destroyed. Although Ye Wuji didn't approve of such violence, for people like that, it was exactly what they deserved.

While Ye Wuji was lost in these thoughts, Yahiko watched him. Seeing Ye Wuji silent, Yahiko assumed he hated war because he was a victim of it—a common occurrence in every world. Yahiko thought Ye Wuji had such a reaction, which was why he didn't want to go to places where war existed.

"Alright, don't think too much. Our Ye is a strong person. Go get some rest; we'll be parting ways tomorrow." Having misunderstood Ye Wuji, Yahiko said no more.

"Mm." Things having reached this point, Ye Wuji didn't know what else to say. He had wanted to say something, but then thought of something else and walked toward the door. His hands were clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into his skin, but he walked out as if he didn't notice.

"It seems Ye is still very troubled by the death of his parents," Yahiko said.

"Yeah, to encounter such things at such a young age. Compared to him, we are a bit better off. But if he's like this, will there be any problems?" Konan appeared in the room with Yahiko and spoke.

"It shouldn't be. Ye is stronger than we imagine. Before he met us, didn't he live alone? But come to think of it, the person who taught Ye ninjutsu seems to be from Konoha too. Do people from Konoha like doing this kind of thing?" Nagato asked.

"Maybe the death of Ye's parents has something to do with them. Konoha likes to compensate for things they've done, don't they?" Nagato added.

"Nagato, don't say that. Master Jiraiya is still a good person, and that matter has nothing to do with him," Yahiko said in a stern tone.

"Hmph, if they hadn't started the war, would Ye have lost his parents? They are always the ones participating." Saying this, Nagato walked out with a serious expression.

"Are we really going to let Ye go alone? This is still a war zone. What if he runs into enemies?" Konan asked Yahiko.

"It's fine. I'll give Ye a route. Although nowhere is completely safe right now, there are still many peaceful places. I'll have Ye go there. Actually, if our home wasn't here and we didn't have things to do, we could have gone there too." Yahiko said. Seeing Konan still wanting to say something, he continued, "Don't worry. After the war ends, there should be a few years of peace. By then, we can let Ye go to Konoha, find the person who taught him ninjutsu, and live as an ordinary person. Wouldn't he be safe then? Besides, once we finish our work, we can go visit him. Alright, let's go. You have time to prepare some things for Ye."

Hearing this, Konan finally reacted and ran out excitedly.

"Ye, since you call me brother, I have to prepare some gifts for you. I hope you like them," Yahiko muttered to himself.