Guidance

Yuehua Ai wasn't good at communicating with others or expressing his feelings. The emotional strain and complicated thoughts in his heart had kept him in a constant slump.

Although he seemed perfectly normal, Yuehua Ai still felt a deep divide between himself and this unfamiliar world—and the innocent boys who lived in it.

The mindset that came with seeing others as players and NPCs made it hard for Yuehua Ai to truly fit into this world. His way of thinking was still that of his former self, the lonely Lu Beichen. He yearned for affection yet feared it; he wanted to form bonds, yet also wanted to sever them himself.

Because life and the world were so unpredictable, he was always afraid that the feelings he gave would only bring him emotional pain in return.

The loss of his parents, followed by Yahiko's death in the future, had turned the innocent Nagato into the fearsome Pain. Yet deep down, Nagato was still that sensitive, simple boy. Afraid of being hurt, he had merely built a thick wall around his heart.

Yuehua Ai's heart was much like Nagato's would be in the future. They were both sensitive, but had later raised defenses around themselves.

After Pain was born, Naruto's persistence during the destruction of Konoha had helped Nagato find himself again. As for Yuehua Ai, witnessing everyone's unyielding spirit in the face of the rogue ninja had quietly broken down the barrier between him and the others.

Whether it was the courage to face a powerful foe or the bonds between comrades, the answers the boys gave when faced with life-or-death choices had deeply shaken Yuehua Ai.

Though the world he had lived in before was peaceful and people felt secure, they were somewhat cold toward one another and trust was scarce. More often than not, people were brought together by self-interest rather than affection.

The Naruto World was far from beautiful. War ravaged the land, everyone lived in fear, and death and bloodshed were everywhere. Many people lived in dire circumstances. Yet in this world, which had nothing going for it apart from its supernatural powers and was inferior to Earth in his former life in every other way, Yuehua Ai had somehow found something that transcended life and death. It was built on trust and perseverance, and it spoke of an unyielding spirit. It was the bond between comrades, and not even the coldest death could sever it.

Before, Yuehua Ai had watched the bonds between the boys from the sidelines and felt little about them. He'd thought they were nothing more than ordinary friendship. But after everything he'd been through, he finally understood the boys' feelings.

There was one thing about the Naruto story Yuehua Ai knew that had always puzzled him: the bond between Nagato and Yahiko. Nagato had once told Naruto that there were two unbearable sorrows in his life. One was his parents being killed by Konoha Ninja, and the other was Yahiko's death.

Yuehua Ai could understand the pain of losing one's parents to some extent, but he had never felt much about losing a comrade. No matter how good a friend was, they were still an outsider in the end. There were plenty of hardships in life. What did losing one friend matter?

That was what Yuehua Ai had always believed. But after fighting rogue ninja alongside the boys and witnessing Yahiko risk his life without hesitation, he felt entirely differently. He finally understood what Yahiko meant to Nagato and Konan.

Yahiko wasn't a perfect leader, but he was an excellent one. He was determined, decisive, and optimistic. Though passionate, he was never reckless. Once he set his sights on a goal, he charged ahead, and he was willing to risk his life for his comrades. His only flaw was that he trusted others too easily, which later led to him and his friends being ambushed by Hanzo and Danzo and ultimately forced into a desperate end.

He wasn't a perfect leader, but it was that very imperfection that made Yahiko someone others wanted to follow.

He had impeccable judgment and a strong sense of responsibility. His confident smile inspired trust, and his unshakable resolve won people over.

The main reason Nagato and Konan had survived in such chaotic times was Yahiko's leadership. Yahiko might not have been as powerful as Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, but he had always been the boys' pillar of strength.

In Nagato and Konan's hearts, no one could take Yahiko's place. That was why, after Yahiko's death, Nagato became Pain to carry out Yahiko's ideals.

After facing life and death together, the boys and girl had come to understand the bonds between them. Yuehua Ai had finally unlocked the shackles around his heart, too. He knew he was no longer Lu Beichen. Everything from his previous life had vanished when he died. In this life, he was Yuehua Ai, and he had companions by his side worth cherishing.

The boys had all been badly hurt while fighting back against Xiangyuan, the rogue ninja they'd encountered without warning. Fortunately, none of them was in danger of losing his life.

Yuehua Ai had begun extracting chakra instinctively at an early age, so he was in excellent physical condition. His recovery was much faster than an ordinary person's. Although Xiangyuan's attacks had left him badly shaken, his recovery was good enough that he was mostly healed in less than three days.

Nagato and Konan had suffered even less than Yuehua Ai, with only a few superficial injuries that barely affected their ability to move. Their injuries were nothing serious, but unlike Konan, Nagato was in poor spirits. He tried his best to hide it, but Yuehua Ai could see through him.

Yuehua Ai felt that Nagato needed some help working through what was troubling him.

Yahiko had suffered the worst injuries of them all. He had several broken bones and had even sustained severe internal injuries. He wasn't bleeding internally, but his condition was still far from good.

Fortunately, Yuehua Ai had studied medicine extensively in his previous life. Although his specialty was at the cellular level, he was still quite capable of setting bones and stitching wounds. They lacked medicine, so Yahiko's recovery was slow, but he was steadily getting better.

For the past few days, Nagato and Konan had taken care of everyone while they recovered. There weren't many valuable things left in this abandoned city, but as they expanded the area they searched, they'd managed to find a few supplies—enough to keep the boys alive.

Perhaps because Natural Energy or chakra existed in this world, people here were generally stronger than those on Earth in Yuehua Ai's previous life.

"An injury to the bones takes a hundred days to heal" was a saying that had long been common in his previous life. Advances in medicine, modern equipment, and new techniques had greatly reduced the time needed for treatment, but a typical fracture still took nearly two months to heal completely.

Things were different here. Yuehua Ai knew exactly how badly Yahiko had been hurt, since he had set Yahiko's bones himself. Based on his experience, he thought it would take at least a month for Yahiko to regain his ability to move. But to his surprise, in less than a month, Yahiko's injuries were almost healed.

Yahiko still sometimes felt a dull ache, but Yuehua Ai's examination showed that his bones were healing very well. As long as he avoided particularly strenuous activity, he should be fine. And his internal injuries had healed even better than his broken bones, despite internal injuries being more serious.

The damage to Yahiko's lungs and other organs had finally healed after a month. The spasms, pauses in his breathing, and coughing up blood or passing blood in his urine had all stopped completely. Based on Yuehua Ai's observations over the past few days, Yahiko would be completely free of his injuries in just a few more days. Judging by his still-optimistic attitude, it wouldn't be long before everyone set off again.

But before they continued searching for the Sannin, Yuehua Ai had one important matter to take care of: helping Nagato overcome his inner turmoil.

The rain fell as it always did, but today it was unusually light, the drizzle drifting down like floating willow fluff. The boys were sheltering in a small building that had only partially collapsed. Most of its rooms were still in fairly good shape, and they'd been staying there for nearly a month.

Yahiko's injuries had improved, and he was in far better shape than when he'd been lying there looking half-dead. Now that he was feeling better, he had begun thinking through and planning their next steps again.

As for Konan, once everyone's injuries had improved, the pressure on her had eased. She'd gone back to focusing on the paper in her hands, examining and playing with it as she tried to fold it into new shapes.

Nagato sat alone on the rooftop balcony, gazing at the still rain. Only when his companions weren't around did he seem so troubled.

Yuehua Ai walked onto the balcony. He was a small boy, and his steps were light. Nagato was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice Yuehua Ai arrive.

"Nagato!" Yuehua Ai patted him on the back, and Nagato immediately jumped.

"Ah! ...It's you, Ai." Nagato spun around and, seeing Yuehua Ai, visibly relaxed.

Seeing Nagato so startled amused Yuehua Ai.

"Nagato, you've had something on your mind all these days, haven't you?"

"Ah! ...How could I..." Nagato started to deny it, but when he saw Yuehua Ai's utterly unconvinced expression, he lowered his head. After thinking for a moment, he changed his answer.

"...Well, I'm just worried about Yahiko's injuries..."

Yahiko was practically recovered already, and Nagato was using an excuse that ridiculous to brush him off? Yuehua Ai pursed his lips.

"I don't believe you. That might fool Konan, but you can't hide what's on your mind from me."

Yuehua Ai gave a mischievous smile. Before Nagato could deny it, he continued:

"It's about what happened that day, isn't it? That ninja who attacked us. You're worried about your eyes, aren't you, Nagato?"

Nagato trembled and stared at Yuehua Ai in disbelief.

"You... how did you know?"

Yuehua Ai spread his hands. "It was easy!"

"I'm a celestial being, you know. I've seen all of history and know the past and future. No secret can escape me, especially not a little worry like yours!"

Seeing how pleased Yuehua Ai looked with himself, Nagato found it rather amusing. He wanted to reach out and pat Yuehua Ai on the head, but stopped as soon as his hand began to move. After spending so much time together, he knew Yuehua Ai didn't like people patting his head. Well, Konan was an exception.

Nagato smiled. Yuehua Ai was always surprising, but he didn't believe for a second that he was some kind of celestial being. Still, he was very clever to figure out that Nagato was worried about his eyes.

Seeing Nagato's disbelieving smile, Yuehua Ai felt a little embarrassed, too. The whole celestial-being thing really had been a bit much. After all, he was only an ordinary transmigrator who knew a little about the story.

Yuehua Ai irritably smacked Nagato. He might have overdone the act, but Nagato didn't have to be so dismissive! He was feeling a little annoyed now.

Yuehua Ai gave a couple of huffs. "Seeing all of history and all that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I really do know plenty of secrets. At the very least, I know a lot about your eyes, Nagato. Otherwise, why would I have said I envied your eyes when we first met?"

"What? You mean, Ai, you really..." Nagato froze. He stared into Yuehua Ai's eyes, his expression full of hope and worry.

Yuehua Ai met Nagato's gaze calmly. Hearing the disbelief in his voice, he folded his arms and gave him a confirming look.

"I'm telling the truth. Your eyes, Nagato, are the legendary Rinnegan..."