Dream

At night, in the darkness, everyone had their eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep.

The sorrow brought by Nagato earlier had yet to dissipate, and they remained immersed in that melancholy atmosphere.

Suddenly, Yahiko asked a question.

"Nagato, Konan, Chiba. Do you have any dreams?"

"Dreams?"

They were slightly stunned, then shook their heads one after another.

"None? I, however, have a grand dream."

"That is, to conquer the world."

"Conquer the world?"

Nagato looked at Yahiko with slight surprise.

"Yes, conquer the world. I don't want to end my life just like this. If I could stand at the very pinnacle, we wouldn't have to suffer like we do now. Besides, if I just keep drifting along like this, I fear I wouldn't have the face to see my deceased parents. I don't want them to see me living in such a pathetic state."

As he spoke, Yahiko suddenly stood up.

"If I could stand at the summit of the world, everything would be within my control, wouldn't it? In such a position, I could do whatever I wanted."

Speaking of his ideal, a clear light of longing shone in Yahiko's eyes.

"Is that so?"

Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko: "It feels... like a god, doesn't it? Could you also eliminate war?"

"Of course. When that time comes, I will personally end this chaotic era, terminate all wars, and bring true peace to this world. If I can achieve that, there would be no difference between me and a god."

"A god, huh."

Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko, a trace of yearning also appearing in his eyes.

Chiba watched Yahiko, whose eyes were shining, feeling conflicted.

He hadn't expected Yahiko to have such thoughts already.

As far as he knew, Yahiko should have only clearly proposed this dream to Nagato and Konan after encountering the battle between Hanzo and the Sannin, saying something similar.

He hadn't expected that perhaps due to his own arrival, Yahiko had voiced this dream ahead of schedule.

And judging by Yahiko's current demeanor, this must have been his dream for a very, very long time.

I should say... as expected of Yahiko.

Chiba muttered silently, his mood becoming increasingly complicated.

He hadn't expected that Yahiko had awakened the ideal and ambition to change the world at such a young age.

It was just that this path was destined to be filled with thorns and bloodshed; one careless step could cost them their lives.

"Nagato, do you have any dreams?"

A moment later, Yahiko asked again.

"I... I don't think I do."

Nagato thought seriously for a moment and realized he didn't seem to have anything he particularly wanted.

"What is this? How can a person not have a dream?"

Saying this, Yahiko looked at Chiba: "What about you, Chiba?"

"Me?"

Chiba was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "My dream, I suppose, is that we can live together happily like this forever, never to be separated."

Chiba said this with a hidden meaning.

No one knew better than him just how heavy this seemingly simple dream truly was.

To realize this dream, the difficulties faced might even exceed those of Yahiko's dream.

Konan looked at Chiba, tilted her head to think for a moment, and then nodded vigorously: "This should be my dream too. As long as we can all be together like this forever, that's enough."

Nagato scratched his head gently and suddenly realized something.

"It seems... my dream is this as well."

"What is this?"

Yahiko said unhappily: "How can something like that count as a dream? We were always going to be together forever anyway; there's no need to 'achieve' that."

Chiba was slightly stunned, but a moment later, he spoke again: "In that case, I'll just take your dream as my own, Yahiko."

"Anyway, we don't have any grand dreams, so we can just follow you along this path, right? If one day you become a god, we'll be able to live a good life, won't we?"

"Yeah, yeah." Konan and Nagato also nodded vigorously.

"We've decided too. From today on, your dream, Yahiko, is our dream."

"You guys... really, you can't be that lazy. How can you just borrow someone else's dream?"

"Hee hee, your dream sounds pretty good, Yahiko. If one day you stand at the peak of the world and become a god, then we'll never have to go hungry again, right?"

"Hey, Chiba, I'd say you're lacking ambition. Is this really all you want to achieve once you become a god?"

"Haha, let's put it another way then. Since you said yourself that you'll be able to do whatever you want by then, if we have any dreams at that time, you'll surely be able to help us realize them easily, right, Yahiko?"

"Hmm, that's more like it."

Hearing Chiba say this, Yahiko finally nodded in satisfaction.

"When the time comes, I'll do this: first, I'll provide a place for all orphans to eat for free, and then..."

As Yahiko continued to talk, Konan and Chiba chimed in with playful additions, while Nagato simply listened quietly, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

To others, this might just be the laughable fantasy of a group of ignorant children, but... is it really just that?