Decision

Night fell, and a torrential downpour began outside the cave.

It was not yet the cold season, yet a bone-chilling frost permeated the air.

Even deep within the cave, with a campfire burning, Chiba could not help but shiver uncontrollably.

For a moment, Chiba felt a sense of relief; if not for being taken in by Yahiko and the others, heaven knows how he would have survived such a frigid, rainy day.

After all, he had long since lost his bedding and raincoat while fleeing, leaving him with no means to cope.

Just as Chiba was staring blankly at the heavy rain outside, Yahiko walked over.

Having scavenged a tattered coat from somewhere, Yahiko tossed it in front of Chiba and Konan.

"You two cover yourselves with this tonight."

With that, Yahiko retreated back into the corner.

While Chiba was still stunned, Konan had already stood up.

"Yahiko, why don't we take turns? I'll swap with you in a while."

Chiba noticed something then: the size of the coat was barely enough to wrap around two people, let alone three. It was clearly the item Yahiko and Konan had been using to keep warm every night, and now, Yahiko had given his share to him.

This meant that on such a freezing night, Yahiko had nothing left to keep himself warm.

Chiba was deeply moved and said earnestly, "Why don't you two use it? I..."

Yahiko waved his hand impatiently, cutting them off.

"Enough talk. Do you think my body is as frail as yours? With this level of temperature, I'm not cold at all."

As he spoke, Yahiko deliberately flexed his arm, which was indeed sturdier than Chiba's or Konan's, acting as if he truly wasn't cold.

"There's no need for any swapping; that would only make it so no one gets a good night's sleep."

"But..."

"No 'buts.' If you two actually get sick, that would be the real trouble. I don't have the money to hire a doctor to treat you, nor do I have the spare time to look after you. Just sleep obediently; we have to get up early to work tomorrow."

With that, Yahiko turned on his side, ignoring Chiba and Konan, and drifted off to sleep on his own.

In the middle of the night, Chiba suddenly opened his eyes.

"Achoo!"

Even in his sleep, Yahiko couldn't help but tremble, sneezing repeatedly.

Looking at the involuntarily sneezing Yahiko and the quiet Konan holding him, a flurry of thoughts silently welled up in Chiba's heart.

No one knew how complicated Chiba's feelings were at this moment.

To be honest, according to his own plan, Chiba hadn't wanted to invest too much emotion into Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

Because Chiba understood better than anyone what kind of hardships lay ahead for them.

Although they might become incredibly powerful in the future, even standing at the very pinnacle of the Ninja World, there were far stronger and more terrifying enemies waiting for them in the shadows.

Almost every major villainous boss in the entire Ninja World was their natural adversary.

Otsutsuki Kaguya, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito—these super bosses, capable of easily destroying the world and single-handedly opposing the entire Ninja World, were all eyeing them.

Perhaps Naruto and Sasuke, the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, would eventually defeat these bosses and bring peace to the world.

But that peace would have nothing to do with these few; they would have long since been killed by those conspirators.

To stand alongside them meant facing the most immense pressure this world had to offer.

The weight of that pressure was enough to drive one to despair.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Chiba's goal had been to blend into their group, learn ninjutsu over the next few years, and then find an excuse to leave the Land of Rain and abandon them.

Undoubtedly, objectively speaking, this was the most sensible plan.

After all, this was likely the only place in the entire Ninja World where Chiba could learn ninjutsu, and slipping away once he had mastered it would avoid getting caught in such a terrifying vortex.

Yet, could Chiba truly be that cold and heartless?

Even though he kept warning himself that he had to be ruthless to survive, a voice in his heart kept refuting him.

Chiba had overestimated his own capacity for indifference; on the very first day, a massive breach had been torn in his emotional defenses.

Before his plan had even truly begun, Chiba was already doubting whether he would ever be able to leave them.

Suddenly, just as Chiba was lost in thought, Konan abruptly opened her bright, sparkling eyes.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Gently touching Chiba's cold feet with her own, Konan seemed to understand something.

"Still feeling cold?"

As she spoke, Konan softly lifted Chiba's feet and tucked them into her embrace, shivering involuntarily as she did so.

"Hehe, not cold anymore, right?"

"Mm, I'm not cold anymore."

Chiba turned his face away instinctively; in the darkness, he didn't want Konan to see his expression clearly.

He really wasn't cold anymore. Especially not in his heart.

"Hehe, if you're not cold, hurry up and sleep. Later, we'll sneakily take turns replacing Yahiko without letting him know."

"Mm."

On this freezing night, they might not have had a warm house, nor enough clothing to ward off the chill, but they possessed each other's body heat.

Faintly, a decision finally took root in Chiba's heart, even though this decision might mean making an enemy of the world.