A Little Boy?! I'll Take Him!

"I really envy you. You're so young, yet you've already got a title all your own!"

After a day of fierce fighting, the four members of Konoha's northern front team were now sheltering from the rain in a cave.

Thinking about how Qi Luna still had more than half a year to go before her eleventh birthday, yet had already earned a title of her own, Jiraiya felt a strange mixture of emotions.

"It's just a meaningless title we got from trading favors. If you like it, you can have it."

Qi Luna wasn't bothered by Jiraiya's teasing. She simply gazed calmly at the campfire before her, poking at the flames.

At her unruffled tone, and the crackle of the fire, the other three couldn't help but smile.

Unlike in the original story.

Thanks to Tsunade's increased strength, yesterday's battle hadn't ended with her falling into a trap and Jiraiya getting injured while saving her.

So there was no risk today of Jiraiya, as an injured teammate, holding the squad back and attracting the Rain ninja's pursuit. Nor was there any reason for Orochimaru to consider abandoning him.

And with Qi Luna watching their backs and scouting the area for ambushes, they didn't have to stay on edge every moment.

The atmosphere was therefore quite harmonious.

"Come on, don't be so cold. Once this mission's over, yesterday's battle alone will earn you enough merit to become a Chunin, maybe even a Special Jōnin. Cheer up!"

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Jiraiya leaned back and stretched. He stared blankly at the cave ceiling, seeming to relive yesterday's dangerous battle.

"Jiraiya..."

"Who's there? Where are you?! Show yourself!"

Tsunade had been about to say something, but Orochimaru suddenly shouted toward the back of the cave.

Out of instinct, Jiraiya and Tsunade immediately tensed up as well, warily watching the depths of the cave, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Only Qi Luna remained where she was, entirely unfazed by the others' tension.

They're here!

"Snake Uncle, Big Brother Jiraiya, Sis Tsunade, there's no need to attack. They're just a few children who haven't even learned to mold chakra. They must have been hiding in the cave from the rain before we got here."

At Qi Luna's words, the three finally relaxed, though their hands remained on their ninja tools.

"Don't let your guard down. Even if they're just little mice, they're still from Amegakure."

Orochimaru held a kunai, but the hostility in his eyes had eased.

"Stop hiding and come out."

Tsunade lowered her guard too, even folding her arms across her chest.

Once the boy behind the stone pillar sensed that the three weren't as hostile toward him, he finally stepped out.

He was a boy with short orange hair who looked only five or six years old. Perhaps because he was malnourished, the tattered clothes hanging off him looked far too large. He also carried a helmet on his back, probably to keep out the rain or protect himself from poison.

"Who... are you?"

Tsunade looked at the boy, puzzled.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he slowly walked over to Jiraiya and held out his right hand.

"Please give me some of your food."

"Where are your parents?"

"They were killed by ninja in this war."

The boy's voice was low, his expression calm, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

Jiraiya and Tsunade's pupils shrank. They clearly hadn't expected that answer.

"Here, take these. I've still got some biscuits."

The boy didn't immediately take the biscuits Jiraiya offered. Instead, he turned and looked behind him.

"Nagato, Konan, come out. They don't look like bad people."

At their companion's call, two more children finally emerged from behind the stone pillars deeper in the cave. They looked to be about the same age.

One was a boy and the other a girl. The girl had blue hair, while the boy had red hair and a fringe that drooped over his eyes.

Their clothes were nearly identical to the orange-haired boy's. The only real difference was that the blue-haired girl's clothes were cleaner and fit her better.

Even their cheeks were rounder than the boy who'd called them out. It seemed he'd been looking after them.

As Tsunade watched in astonishment, the two children quickly took the biscuits from her and Jiraiya, then started to lead the orange-haired boy aside so they could share them.

"Hey, biscuits alone aren't very nutritious. Catch!"

Seeing the three children about to leave, Qi Luna quickly called out to them and tossed them a package wrapped in oiled paper, about the size of a first-edition Xinhua Modern Chinese Dictionary.

The orange-haired boy fumbled as he tried to catch the package Qi Luna had thrown, but missed. It landed gently on his head.

The boy didn't get angry. Instead, he carefully unwrapped the package to make sure what was inside was safe.

"Dried meat!"

The orange-haired boy gasped when he saw what was inside.

"Is... is this really for us?"

The red-haired boy sounded utterly disbelieving.

It had been a long time since any of them had eaten meat. The last time they'd come close to eating any was when Little Dot had starved to death.

But Little Dot had been their companion. No matter how scarce food had been, they couldn't bring themselves to eat him.

The three little ones swallowed hard. They exchanged glances, looked at the dried meat in the package, then stared at the red-haired young ninja who'd given it to them.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm still underage too, so I can't give you any alcohol! Besides, you're kids yourselves. What would you want booze for? And there's barely any dried meat in there. It won't make your stomachs burst even without alcohol, so go ahead and eat!"

Looking at the three little ones, Qi Luna couldn't help finding them adorable, but mostly she felt sorry for them.

Waaah, three clever, sensible, soft and sweet little cuties at such a young age. I want to take them all home!

"Qi Luna, what nonsense are you talking about? What does eating meat have to do with drinking alcohol? When we eat barbecue, you only drink juice, don't you?"

"Besides, I asked you for this dried meat earlier and you wouldn't give me any. Yet you gave it all to them. You really are overflowing with sympathy~"

As he spoke, Jiraiya stepped up to the three children, picked up a piece of dried meat, and started eating it without a care.

"Mm, not bad."

"Jiraiya, you idiot! It's Qi Luna's stuff. She can give it to whoever she wants. What business is it of yours? You've really outdone yourself, stealing food from little kids!"

Angry, Tsunade punched Jiraiya on the head, generously giving him another "big bump."

"Enough, Tsunade."

Orochimaru had put away his kunai and returned to sit beside the fire. He suddenly spoke up to stop her.

When Tsunade looked over, he gave her a meaningful glance.

Only then did she notice that the three little ones, who'd been at a loss over the package, had started sharing the dried meat.

Jiraiya's behavior had shown them that the meat in the package hadn't been poisoned or tampered with in any other way.

Once Tsunade understood, she reluctantly let it go and dragged Jiraiya back to the campfire.

A note:

In the original story, the part where Orochimaru considered killing the badly injured Jiraiya happened while they were being pursued by Iwagakure, and it definitely took place before the battle that made the Sannin famous. But I couldn't be bothered to add a whole Konoha-versus-Iwagakure storyline just for this section, so I changed it.

Also, the bit about eating meat without drinking alcohol making your stomach burst was just Xiao Zi joking. It's a reference to a story about Duke Mu of Qin from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

If any of you handsome guys and pretty girls are interested in the story, go look it up yourselves.