Growth

Although they had two more mouths to feed, life wasn't as difficult as they'd imagined.

With more people available to work, they changed up the way they stole.

"Hey, you mangy dog! Get out of here!"

While the stall owner was chasing Little Dot away, Chiba and the others quietly appeared behind him. They pulled out a large sack and frantically stuffed all kinds of fruit from the stall into it.

By the time the stall owner realized what was happening, Chiba and the others had already grabbed the sack and run off together.

"Haha, there's so much! This'll feed us for days!"

"Nice work, Little Dot."

"Here, this is your reward."

"Woof—"

All of them were grinning from ear to ear.

For them, simply being able to eat their fill might have been the greatest happiness of all.

Without them realizing it, more than half a year had passed since Nagato joined them.

At first, they'd always get beaten up and often went hungry. But over time, they gradually managed to escape that situation.

They were no longer as anxious about finding food, and they were getting beaten up less and less.

Part of it was because their thieving skills had steadily improved. More importantly, their bodies had grown increasingly agile and strong.

Half a year of sprinting for their lives every day and taking beatings hadn't been for nothing.

Even Chiba, who had been rather scrawny, had built a strong physique. The exceptionally gifted Yahiko and Nagato had already begun to show their physical advantages, making much faster progress than Chiba and Konan.

Sometimes, Chiba couldn't help wondering.

Perhaps this was where they'd laid the foundation for becoming strong someday.

Having to grow more nimble and quick just to survive, and enduring beatings and nursing their injuries day after day, might not have been any less effective than the training those other children their age received as ninja.

If there was one thing they lacked, it was probably chakra.

That night, Chiba and the others sat down with Yahiko to enjoy a lavish feast.

Every kind of food covered their simple table. Just looking at it was enough to whet anyone's appetite.

They hadn't been short on supplies lately, but a meal this lavish was still a rare treat.

The reason for the feast was simple: it was Nagato's birthday.

"Happy birthday, Nagato!"

"Let's dig in!"

Everyone was brimming with excitement.

But Nagato, the guest of honor, seemed unusually quiet.

"Nagato, what's wrong?"

"I... I miss my mom and dad."

A hint of sadness suddenly appeared on Nagato's face.

"On my birthday, Mom always used to make my favorite grilled fish."

As he spoke, Nagato looked at the grilled fish in his hands, and his expression grew even sadder.

"No one else can make it taste the same."

The others fell silent.

A deep sadness came over each of them. Suddenly, even the food that had seemed so delicious was hard to stomach.

"Drip. Drip."

In the silence, Nagato was the first to break down and cry.

Before long, Konan was overcome with emotion too. She silently covered her mouth and sobbed.

Chiba turned his face away without thinking.

After another moment of silence, Yahiko suddenly sprang up and yelled.

"Why are you crying? I hate people who cry! Only weaklings shed tears. Tears are completely useless!"

With that, Yahiko ran outside alone.

"Yahiko."

Chiba froze for a moment, then hurried after him. Konan and Nagato quickly grabbed an umbrella and followed.

They hadn't gone far before they saw Yahiko kneeling alone in the rain.

At that moment, he was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Yahiko..."

Tears and rainwater streamed down Yahiko's face.

The sight left Chiba and the others stunned.

No matter what happened, Yahiko always seemed incredibly strong, and he hated it when other people cried. They had never seen him cry like this before.

"Damn it! I swore I'd never cry again. Tears are worthless!"

That was what Yahiko said, but he couldn't stop the tears.

"Yahiko..."

Chiba watched him in silence, suddenly thinking of someone.

In Naruto, Kakashi once said this about the protagonist, Naruto:

He had cried enough already, so he understood better than anyone what it meant to be strong.

Yahiko was a lot like Naruto, and Chiba could more or less understand how he felt.

He, too, had once cried his heart out over and over. But in the end, he'd realized that tears were useless, so he'd chosen to stop crying.

"Yahiko..."

Chiba gently placed a hand on Yahiko's shoulder.

No matter how strong and mature he acted—more like an adult than an actual adult—Yahiko was still just a six- or seven-year-old boy.

He could pretend he didn't care all he wanted, but when something hurt, it still hurt.

It was clear that Nagato's words had brought back memories of his parents. Even someone as strong as Yahiko had finally been unable to hold back.

"This is so embarrassing. I told you not to cry, but here I am crying nonstop."

Yahiko choked out the words.

"Not at all. I think you're really strong, Yahiko."

Chiba, Konan, and Nagato kept trying to comfort him.

It was a long while before Yahiko finally calmed down.

As Chiba watched the others in silence, his feelings grew complicated.

Perhaps all that pain and hardship was what had allowed them to grow strong enough to survive in such a chaotic era.

Strong in body, and strong in spirit.

Maybe it was because of all the pain they endured today that they would one day reach such heights.