"You guys are Konoha ninja, right?" Yahiko asked, looking at the headbands on their foreheads.
His gaze lingered on their headbands with a hint of hatred.
Yahiko certainly hadn't forgotten. Besides Hanzo, there were also Konoha ninjas who turned Amegakure into a battlefield.
The war between them had killed countless people in Amegakure.
Nagato kept his head bowed. He was afraid that if he raised his head, the hatred in his eyes would be exposed. The tragic deaths of his parents constantly echoed in his mind.
The image of Konoha ninjas approaching him with kunai was hard for him to forget.
Haruki looked at the headbands on Jiraiya and Tsunade's foreheads.
Although he had watched Naruto, he didn't remember the headband patterns of the various Ninja villages in Naruto very clearly. He only knew the general plot of Naruto and its main characters.
Details like headband patterns and mask patterns, he had long forgotten completely.
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances, neither of them answering.
In the silence, Yahiko actually already knew the answer. Yahiko pressed his lips together tightly.
For some reason, the request to ask them to teach ninjutsu couldn't be spoken. It was as if an inexplicable pride was supporting him not to show weakness in front of these people.
"I'm going to kill these children." A hoarse voice abruptly rang out.
Jiraiya and Tsunade simultaneously looked at Orochimaru, who had spoken, in astonishment.
Orochimaru's tone was extremely flat, as if he was talking about a trivial, commonplace matter not worth mentioning. But it was precisely such an understated tone that made others even more furious.
So easily deciding the fate and most precious lives of others. This could no longer be considered mere arrogance.
"I've seen many war orphans, and their fates are all very tragic." Orochimaru noticed Jiraiya and Tsunade's shocked gazes and calmly replied.
His gaze fell on Haruki, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, as if he had already seen their tragic second halves of life.
"Instead of sinking into the pain of war, it's better to just kill them here."
He said coldly, "It's better for these children too."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, an extremely sharp and cold killing intent, almost materializing, fiercely rushed towards Haruki and the others.
Haruki: "…"
Who asked you to do us a favor? Can you ask for our opinion? Is this the arrogance of the strong?
It was precisely because he didn't want to fall into such a situation that Haruki wanted to work hard to become stronger.
Noticing the trembling Konan, Haruki stepped forward, blocking her.
Nagato lowered his head, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth.
It's like this again. Their fate is being decided so easily again.
Do they not have the right to live?
[Ding!]
[System detected Orochimaru's killing intent value +5000]
Haruki: "…"
He was grateful that it wasn't just them and Orochimaru here, but also Jiraiya and Tsunade.
If it weren't for Jiraiya and Tsunade, Orochimaru might have really killed them, under the pretext of "ending their suffering."
[Ding!]
[Killing intent value collected: 11000. Activating Cursed Spirit No. 001 — Extreme Evil Curse, King of Curses, Sukuna!]
[Sukuna (11%)]
Haruki's pupils suddenly dilated. He abruptly pulled Yahiko and Nagato all behind him. He looked at Orochimaru in front of him with righteous indignation.
Let all the killing intent come at him alone. He was willing to bear this extreme emotion.
A blue light screen, visible only to him, unfolded again before his eyes.
In the pop-up personal information page, Sukuna's avatar in the [Cursed Spirit Illustrated Book] was lit up.
Below the avatar was the number 11%, symbolizing that Sukuna was in the initial stage.
Haruki excitedly clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He stared at Orochimaru with growing excitement.
A little more!
Let the storm rage even more fiercely!
He could bear it.
Orochimaru: "?"
Is this leading child angry?
Orochimaru didn't feel any emotion because of the child's anger in front of him.
Human cognition is limited.
Orochimaru knew very well that for this group of children struggling to survive, they obviously didn't know how difficult the future would be.
But he had already seen the future of countless children like them. It would definitely not be much better than now. Therefore, ending their suffering here was his true compassion for this group of children.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Jiraiya immediately looked at Orochimaru and frowned, saying, "Stop! Orochimaru!"
His serious gaze made it clear to both Orochimaru and Tsunade. Jiraiya would absolutely not let Orochimaru kill these children.
If Orochimaru didn't want to fall out with Jiraiya…
Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru. She knew that with Orochimaru's personality, he wouldn't fight Jiraiya for these children. In Orochimaru's eyes, they weren't worth it.
Jiraiya looked at the four children in front of him, then at Tsunade and Orochimaru, and a look of hesitation flashed across his face. But it was only for a moment. Soon, the hesitation in Jiraiya's eyes was replaced by determination.
"You and Tsunade go back first, I'll take care of these children for a while." Jiraiya made up his mind and said to Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya disapprovingly, frowning slightly. Although the war had temporarily come to an end, still…
Tsunade glanced at the children, then turned to look into Jiraiya's eyes.
Jiraiya gazed at her unblinkingly, with deep trust in his eyes, and Tsunade sighed helplessly, slowly lowering her gaze.
Alright.
She understood Jiraiya. She knew that once he made up his mind, no one could change it.
...
"Consider it an atonement."
Jiraiya's words echoed in the minds of Tsunade and Orochimaru, who had already left Amegakure.
Tsunade's heart was filled with complex emotions.
Unlike Tsunade's feelings, Orochimaru only felt that Jiraiya was intensifying the suffering of that group of war orphans.
Once deprived of ninja protection and re-entering the cruel world of war, the children would only find it harder to survive and would resent Jiraiya, who had once taken them in and protected them.
Unless…
Jiraiya taught them ninjutsu and made them ninja. But not everyone has the talent to become a ninja.
Orochimaru only hoped that Jiraiya would not regret it in the future.
...
Amegakure.
A small wooden house appeared by the boundless sea. The small wooden house was situated on a hillside near the sea. The hillside was covered with green grass up to a person's calves, rippling like green waves in the wind.
At this moment, the small wooden house was filled with warmth. The overhead light shone warmly on everyone. That bone-chilling cold finally disappeared from Yahiko and the other orphans.
Haruki and Yahiko sat around a round table. On the low table in front of them were various delicacies made from seafood.
Grilled fish, escargot in sauce, steamed abalone, steamed crab…
The entire table was covered with a bounty of seafood. All of it was Jiraiya's handiwork alone. Haruki and the others were only responsible for helping behind Jiraiya.
Jiraiya sat opposite Haruki. He smilingly distributed the chopsticks. Hands clasped together.
"Let's eat."
Yahiko and the others eagerly reached for their chopsticks.
Haruki looked at this table of natural and unpolluted seafood feast, beaming.
Seafood is good. He just loved eating seafood.