Images flickered rapidly across the Sky Screen, skipping the little details of daily life and laying out only the most pivotal events.
Amid the Land of Rain's ceaseless downpours, the peaceful little life that the three orphans-Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan-had struggled to build was utterly torn apart by war.
In that sudden attack, Explosive Tags flew everywhere, blasting rubble and dirt into the air. Searing flames swallowed the entire stretch of ruins where they had hidden.
The three children nearly perished in the inferno, with not even intact bodies left behind.
Having narrowly escaped death, Yahiko looked at the ravaged earth, the endless warfare, and the rain that never stopped falling, and finally understood one thing.
In this Shinobi World, weakness and kindness could never earn them the right to live in peace.
If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to protect the only companions he had left, he needed power.
Yahiko's gaze hardened with resolve. He decided to learn ninjutsu and grow stronger, so he would never again be at anyone's mercy.
Gentle-natured Konan followed Yahiko without the slightest hesitation.
Quiet, reserved Nagato stayed close behind them.
With nothing to their names but a single desperate determination, the three war orphans asked around and traveled far, finally finding the Sannin, who had remained in the Land of Rain after the fighting had just ended.
The image on the Sky Screen froze at the moment they first met the Sannin.
Faced with the three mud-covered children, each of the three reacted differently.
Orochimaru lowered his gaze slightly and glanced over them. His tone was level but chilling as he proposed killing them.
Looking at the three pitiful children, Tsunade felt a flicker of sympathy. She had no intention of harming them, but no desire to take them in, either.