Dream

At night, in the darkness, the four of them lay awake, their eyes shining as they struggled to fall asleep.

The sadness Nagato had brought with him earlier still hadn't faded, and they remained immersed in that sorrowful mood.

Suddenly, Yahiko asked a question.

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

"Dreams?"

The others paused in surprise, then shook their heads.

"None? I have a great dream."

"To conquer the world."

"Conquer the world?"

Nagato looked at Yahiko, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, conquer the world. I don't want my life to end like this. If we could stand at the very top, we wouldn't have to suffer like we do now. And if I just muddle through life like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to face my dead parents. I don't want them to see me living in such a miserable state."

As he spoke, Yahiko suddenly stood up.

"If we could stand at the top of the world, we'd be able to do whatever we wanted, right? From a position like that, we could do anything."

As Yahiko spoke of his ideals, a yearning light clearly shone in his eyes.

"I see."

Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko. "It sounds... just like being a god. Could you end war, too?"

"Of course. When that time comes, I'll put an end to this chaotic era with my own hands, stop all wars, and bring true peace to the world. If I can do that, I'll be no different from a god."

"A god..."

Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko, a hint of longing in his eyes as well.

Chiba watched Yahiko's shining eyes, his feelings complicated.

He hadn't expected Yahiko to have this idea already.

As far as he knew, Yahiko had only clearly shared this dream with Nagato and Konan—and said something similar—before their battle with Hanzo and the Sannin.

He hadn't expected that, perhaps because of his arrival, Yahiko would reveal this dream ahead of time.

Judging by how Yahiko was acting now, this must have been his dream for a very, very long time.

I guess I should say, as expected of Yahiko.

Chiba murmured to himself, his feelings growing more complicated by the moment.

He hadn't expected Yahiko to awaken to such an ideal and ambition—to change the world—at such a young age.

But that road was already destined to be filled with thorns and blood. One wrong step, and he could lose his life.

"Nagato, what's your dream?"

A moment later, Yahiko asked again.

"I... I don't think I have one."

Nagato thought carefully for a moment and realized there wasn't anything in particular he wanted.

"What do you mean? How can someone not have a dream?"

As he spoke, Yahiko turned to Chiba. "What about you?"

"Me?"

Chiba fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke. "My dream is probably for us to live happily together just like this forever, and never be separated."

Chiba spoke with an unspoken implication.

No one understood better than he did how much weight this seemingly simple dream carried.

The difficulties they would face in making it come true might be even greater than those posed by Yahiko's dream.

Konan looked at Chiba, tilted her head, and thought for a moment before nodding firmly. "That should be my dream, too. As long as we can all stay together forever, that's enough."

Nagato lightly scratched his head, as if he'd suddenly realized something, too.

"Maybe... that's my dream, too."

"What do you mean?"

Yahiko said unhappily. "How can that count as a dream? We're already going to stay together forever. There's no need to make that happen."

Chiba paused in surprise, then spoke again a moment later. "In that case, I'll make your dream my dream, Yahiko."

"Anyway, we don't have any huge dreams of our own, so we can just follow you, Yahiko. If you become a god someday, we'll get to live well, too."

"Mm-hmm." Konan and Nagato nodded firmly as well.

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

"You guys... honestly. You can't be that lazy about it. How can you just borrow someone else's dream?"

"Hehe, your dream sounds pretty great, Yahiko. If you stand at the top of the world and become a god someday, we'll never have to go hungry again, right?"

"Hey, Chiba, don't you have any ambition at all? Is becoming a god really just about that?"

"Haha, then let me put it another way. You said you'll be able to do whatever you want by then. So if we have any dreams of our own, you'll be able to make them come true easily, right, Yahiko?"

"Mm, that's more like it."

Only after hearing Chiba say that did Yahiko nod in satisfaction.

"When I get older, I'll do this... Hmm, first I'll give every orphan a place where they can eat for free. Then..."

As Yahiko went on, Konan and Chiba kept chiming in with their own playful suggestions, while Nagato listened quietly, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

To anyone else, this might have seemed like nothing more than the laughable fantasies of a group of naive children. But... was that really all they were?