Preparations Before Departure

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!" Yahiko gritted his teeth, slamming his fist into the stone wall of the cave again and again. He paid no mind to the blood trickling from his hand; compared to the physical pain, the scars being ripped open in his heart cut to the bone.

Night had fallen, and Yuehua Ai and the others had long since returned to their hideout near the village. In the dim cave, a small oil lamp flickered.

"Why? Why is it always like this? We are always losing things, and yet I remain so powerless..." Yahiko clenched his fists, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Yuehua Ai's injury, the death of the Little One, Nagato's weeping, Konan's helplessness, and the terror of the war—it all gnawed at Yahiko's soul like a venomous snake. He recalled that night several years ago, when the rain had been particularly heavy. He had stood frozen in the downpour as the ground turned crimson with blood. His village had been slaughtered by rogue ninjas; everywhere there was blood, fire, and fallen figures. Among them were his parents, his neighbors, and his friends. When war arrived, everything beautiful and everything he cherished was torn to shreds as easily as flowers in a storm.

Back then, he could only tremble in a dark corner, praying and praying, feeling nothing but his own powerlessness. Yet today, that unbearable scene had nearly played out before his eyes once more.

He loathed his own incompetence. Thinking of his dream to conquer and change the world, how could he continue to live like this, scraping by in the village day after day? Although they had nearly lost their lives today, witnessing that battle and seeing the two sides involved had ignited a bold idea within him. Perhaps this was the only opportunity for them to gain power, change their lives, and determine their own fate!

Yahiko walked to the cave entrance. A breeze ruffled his hair, and the damp, mist-filled air hit his face, feeling deeply uncomfortable. His gaze pierced through the curtain of rain, staring into the gloomy sky as a sense of insignificance washed over him. Yahiko's eyes grew steady, his face set with an unprecedented resolve, and his determination became firmer than ever before.

"Nagato, stop crying. You cry every time we suffer a setback, but crying doesn't change a thing!" Hearing Nagato's faint sobs, Yahiko stood still at the entrance, his eyes fixed on the distance as he spoke without turning his head.

"Crying, just like this country..." Yahiko reached out, letting the rain fall into his palm, "...not only will it never stop, but it is completely meaningless!"

"If the wars of this world cannot end, then I will become the god of this world. I will become the master of war!"

"I want to change this country and change its fate of weeping. Saying these things is useless; we need power!"

Konan's mouth parted slightly, while Yuehua Ai, standing beside her, lowered his head in thought. The trajectory of fate was unfolding along the path he knew: first the chance encounter with the battle between Hanzo and the Sannin, and now, Yahiko's decision to pursue power.

Because of their shared experiences, Yuehua Ai understood the boys' mindset well, though the concepts of war and family didn't resonate with him as deeply as they did with the youths. Having lived two lives, Yuehua Ai had faced a brutal struggle for survival from the moment he was born in this world, and combined with his extraordinary experiences in his past life, he had become somewhat indifferent toward life and death. To him, what mattered most were the bonds he shared with these youths; with bonds, there was less loneliness, and loneliness was far more terrifying than death.

Yuehua Ai could not help but support Yahiko's decision, as this was a crucial turning point for the future. Moreover, he had his own pursuit of power, and the decision Yahiko was about to make was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Power..." Nagato stopped his tears. He looked up at Yahiko's back and murmured.

Yahiko turned around and shook the rainwater from his hand. "Yes, power... I am going to learn ninjutsu!"

"Ninjutsu? From whom?" Nagato asked, confused.

"From the Konoha ninjas who fought Hanzo."

"Eh!" Konan gasped in surprise.

Yuehua Ai thought to himself, As expected...

"I went to the place where they fought. There were no bodies there..."

"...If they could fight Hanzo and survive, then they must be incredibly strong!"

Yuehua Ai nodded inwardly at Yahiko's analysis. They were the Sannin, after all; how could they not be strong? In a few years, the title "Legendary" would be prefixed to their name.

Then again, for such powerful Sannin, if the plot continued as scheduled, the strongest among them, Jiraiya, would eventually be killed by his own student, Nagato. It was truly...

Thinking of this, Yuehua Ai cast a strange look at Nagato, musing that it wasn't that Jiraiya wasn't strong enough, but that the power of the Rinnegan was simply too broken.

Nagato did not notice Yuehua Ai's strange gaze. His body trembled slightly, though not from the cold. Whenever he thought of Konoha ninjas, he remembered the night his parents were killed by them. In the flickering light and shadow, the Konoha forehead protectors and the leaf emblem burned into his mind like an eternal nightmare.

"But—"

Before Nagato could finish, Yahiko interrupted him with firm words: "I hate Hanzo..."

"...It is because of his incompetence that Amegakure has become a battlefield for the great nations. It is because of Hanzo's weakness that... that so many tragedies have occurred."

Veins bulged on Yahiko's clenched fists. He had always held a grudge against Hanzo. As the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo had not only failed to provide shelter for his village but had allowed it to become a war zone through his weak policies. Yahiko could never understand or forgive these actions.

Yahiko walked over to the others. "In any case, I must become a student of the strong. I have decided to go and find them."

"B-but, what if we catch up to them only to be killed?" Though she agreed with Yahiko, reality was often cruel, and Konan couldn't help but consider the possibility that they might be killed if they followed.

Yahiko smiled indifferently. "If we are killed, then that is fate. And isn't death a form of release? Regardless, I have made up my mind."

Yuehua Ai was speechless at Yahiko's irresponsible attitude. Once you've made up your mind, as your companions, neither Nagato nor Konan nor I could possibly let you go alone.

What an unconventional way to force our hands, Yuehua Ai thought, watching as Yahiko reached out his hand toward them.

Nagato looked at Yahiko, said nothing, and placed his hand on top of Yahiko's. Konan smiled gently and did the same.

"Ah, well..." Feeling the gazes turn toward him, Yuehua Ai groaned. A bunch of jerks. Is this what you call asking for an opinion? Though he felt resentful, he figured that sticking with the Child of Prophecy wouldn't be a bad idea.

Yuehua Ai sighed, reached out, and placed his small hand on top of Konan's. Hmm, warm, soft, and smooth. Actually, this isn't so bad! ╮(￣▽￣")╭

Looking around and seeing the affirmative expressions of the others, feeling the support of his companions, Yahiko revealed a knowing smile. This, this is really good. Relaxing, Yahiko snuck a final glance at Yuehua Ai. Wait, is it my imagination? What was that strange expression on Little Ai's face? It felt lecherous, and so... sleazy.

Once the decision was made, it was time for action. The next day, the group spent the morning clearing out the base. Aside from keeping some non-perishable food, Yahiko took everything else of value to town to trade for the supplies they needed for their journey.

Blind action was ill-advised. Trying to find a few ninjas in the vast, chaotic battlefield was not only dangerous but like looking for a needle in a haystack. With his mature mind, Yuehua Ai was not as naive as the youths. Although he knew the general direction of this world through the anime, he was not the type to entrust his future to fate.

Before searching for the Sannin, they needed to make many preparations. If they didn't want to run around the dangerous battlefield like headless chickens, they first needed a plan and a mapped-out route.

When Yuehua Ai presented his insights, the others thought for a moment and agreed wholeheartedly. Although Yuehua Ai still looked like a child, his actions and ideas at critical moments were always unexpectedly mature and effective.

Considering they would likely be heading deep into the battlefield, Yuehua Ai felt he needed to understand the current trends and developments of the war, and he also needed a general grasp of the geography of the various battlefronts.

In the afternoon, after careful deliberation, Yuehua Ai divided the tasks for their upcoming actions. Considering their personalities, Yuehua Ai decided to go to town with the more socially adept Yahiko to gather intelligence on the war, while Konan and Nagato were responsible for preparing the remaining supplies for the road.

After a tense afternoon of preparation, the group reunited at the base that evening. This would likely be their last night there.

Everyone had completed their tasks well. Nagato and Konan had successfully obtained four protective suits. The environment in the Land of Rivers was harsh; besides the relentless rain, the wilderness jungles were often filled with miasma. Therefore, unless one lived their whole life in established settlements, these protective suits were as vital as food for anyone traveling in the wild.

That Nagato and Konan managed to get four such suits went without saying—it was easy to imagine how difficult the process must have been. The youths had nothing of equal value to trade, so they had been forced to use some "extraordinary" means—like stealing, or, er, "borrowing"...

Yuehua Ai and Yahiko's harvest was equally significant. While inquiring about the war from refugees, they were lucky enough to find a topographical map of the Land of Rivers in the hands of one of them.

After much effort and persuasion, they had managed to copy the map. Although it wasn't very detailed, it was precious to Yuehua Ai. At the very least, based on the intelligence gathered from the refugees and combined with this map, he had a very intuitive understanding of the war's progression. He had escaped the awkward situation of "feeling the elephant in the dark." With the map for comparison, many unclear or ambiguous pieces of information were explained, and many hidden details gradually became clear. This was far better than anything he could have imagined out of thin air.

After organizing his thoughts, Yuehua Ai spread the copied topographical map out before the group. As they leaned in to look, Yahiko realized that compared to when it had first been copied, the map was now covered in numerous new markings. Beyond the basic terrain, villages, and routes, there were many arcs drawn in red ink with arrows, as well as a multitude of crosses scattered across the map. Beside most of these red crosses were written notes of varying lengths.

"The main participants in this war are the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and our own Land of Rivers, with our Amegakure serving as the primary battlefield. According to the intelligence gathered, when the war first broke out, the fighting was concentrated mainly where we border the three great nations—specifically here, here, and here. These were the three largest battlefields in the early stages, which is easily confirmed by the earliest refugees who fled the area." Yuehua Ai tapped the three circled spots on the edge of the map, explaining and analyzing for the group.

Seeing the young ones nodding like chicks pecking at grain, Yuehua Ai continued his analysis. "Because our strength is relatively weak, the early stages of the war were dominated by the infighting between the three great nations. After a year of conflict, once Konohagakure gained an absolute advantage, our Amegakure was gradually drawn into the war. Consequently, the battlefield began to shift eastward from these three locations."

The three locations Yuehua Ai pointed to now were quite far from the initial major battlefields he had identified, and these spots were situated near the borders where the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth met. The Land of Fire lay to the east of Amegakure, so when Yuehua Ai spoke of the battlefield shifting eastward, he meant that the center of the conflict was gradually drawing closer to the Land of Fire.

"Although there was a trend of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind joining forces to resist Konohagakure, it seems some internal issues arose within the Land of Earth. They suddenly withdrew the majority of their forces at the height of the fighting, which caused the alliance between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind to collapse. Facing the Land of Wind alone, Konohagakure achieved an absolute victory. Later on, as the victor was decided, large-scale battles gradually decreased, and the war devolved into regional skirmishes. This is why we feel the situation is relatively calm where we are living now."

Based on memories from his past life, Yuehua Ai still had a vague impression of the internal issues within the Land of Earth. It seemed that the Land of Lightning had suddenly invaded the heartland of the Land of Earth, forcing them to withdraw most of their strength from the Amegakure battlefield to defend their own territory. Therefore, the reason Konohagakure was able to easily defeat the Land of Wind during the Second Shinobi World War was, in general, thanks to Kumogakure pinning down the Land of Earth; otherwise, Konohagakure might have had to pay a much higher price to achieve victory.

Yuehua Ai swept his gaze over the group, noting their strange expressions, though he didn't pay them much mind. The formulation of this plan concerned his own life and future destiny, so he could not afford to hide his capabilities at a time like this.

Finally, not wanting to provide a detailed analysis, Yuehua Ai pointed directly at a large red cross and several red lines on the map. "This is the battlefield closest to us, and the battle we witnessed earlier between Hanzo and the Konoha ninja also took place in this vicinity."

"These lines are the paths leading to other battlefields. Although Konohagakure has achieved a strategic victory, they are still very likely to provide support for those smaller, regional skirmishes. The three ninja we are looking for possess the strength to fight Hanzo, so they are likely tasked with battlefield support. They are probably moving between various fronts, making them very difficult to track down. Only by following these routes will we have the greatest chance of encountering them."

"Lastly, this is here—the main route for retreating from Amegakure back to the Land of Fire. The war has entered its final stages, and based on what we know, it is only a matter of time before Konohagakure achieves total victory. If we cannot find them on these battlefields, our only remaining hope is to wait here like a rabbit waiting for a tree stump."

As his voice trailed off, Yuehua Ai pointed to a spot heavily marked on the map.

"Uh, does anyone have any questions..." Seeing the group staring blankly at him, even Yuehua Ai found it a bit difficult to bear.

Yahiko let out a long breath. "I really want to see what your little brain is made of; this analysis is truly incredible!"

Nagato nodded in deep agreement with Yahiko's words. He sometimes truly wondered if a monster's soul was hidden inside Yuehua Ai's small body.

"Little Ai, you're really amazing!" As for Konan, she didn't think too much about it; she simply felt that Little Ai was truly adorable and incredibly smart.

Yuehua Ai pretended not to hear Yahiko's comment, and he didn't care about Nagato's astonishment, but when Konan voiced her praise, he nodded with a smug sense of satisfaction.