The Three Little Ones' Bond Ran Deep as the Sea

"If I said this was all a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"

White Zetsu flashed Orochimaru an awkward yet nervous smile.

"I believe you."

Orochimaru smiled and nodded considerately.

I believe everything you say, but that won't stop you from becoming my test subject. Be good and come with me.

"Sensei, why...?"

Inside a hidden cave, Yahiko knelt on the ground as tears streamed endlessly down his cheeks.

He could never have imagined that his teacher's friend would suddenly appear, attack Nagato, and gouge out Nagato's eyes.

That alone would have been bad enough, but the other party had even kidnapped all three of them.

What devastated Yahiko most was that the moment he woke up, he saw the teacher he respected most—Jiraiya.

Like Yahiko, Konan sat blankly on the ground, her face covered in tears. Nagato lay on the ground like a corpse, completely motionless.

He was not dead. He had merely fainted and had yet to wake up.

Jiraiya had awakened Yahiko and Konan. As for Nagato, it was better to let him remain unconscious for now!

Otherwise, once the child woke up, he would surely feel awful.

"Your teacher didn't want this either."

Jiraiya looked at his two disciples with a bitter smile. "According to the village's investigation, Nagato's eyes never belonged to him. Someone called Madara Uchiha transplanted those eyes into Nagato and used the Uzumaki bloodline to nourish them."

"Madara Uchiha is a menace to the Shinobi World. In order to deal with him, we had no choice but to take those eyes first."

To soothe his two disciples, Jiraiya immediately explained the matter of Nagato's eyes. He was afraid they would think Konoha had done this specifically to target them.

Or that they had deliberately come to seize the Rinnegan.

"Damn it!!"

After staring