Night had fallen.
When Amano Ren regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was a burning campfire. Two people sat beside it.
His stomach growled in pain. He was so hungry his entire body felt weak, and there wasn't a single part of him that wasn't aching.And… the rain? It seemed to have stopped?
That, at least, was good news. He could no longer bear the clammy discomfort of being soaked.In truth, the rain hadn't stopped—they had simply left the Land of Water and crossed into the borders of the Land of Fire.
"Give me something to eat."
Ren turned his head toward the man who had bound him with snakes. He was blunt and unreserved. The fact that he was still alive meant they hadn't planned to kill him—so he dared to ask for food.
Orochimaru had already noticed the moment Ren opened his eyes. Hearing the boy ask for food so directly, he gave a slight smile and casually tossed a few biscuits in his direction.
Ren looked at the crackers that landed just a short distance from him. He struggled to reach out, picked one up, and placed it in his mouth without biting down.
His mouth and throat were parched. To even swallow that dry biscuit, he had to work hard to produce just a little saliva to soften it first.
Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru. She could tell from Ren's condition that even producing that tiny amount of saliva would be difficult. Swallowing a single piece of food must be painful.
She hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked over to Ren. He looked at her warily, but she crouched down and held out a large leaf, tilting one corner toward his lips.
Ren's eyes quivered slightly. Understanding her intention, he opened his mouth. Cool water trickled from the leaf into his mouth like sweet dew, instantly soothing his dryness.
He gave Tsunade a grateful glance before swallowing the softened biscuit and closing his eyes in satisfaction.
A single biscuit. A bit of water.
So precious. It might as well have been the elixir of life.
"Thank you."
If not for Tsunade's water, he might've taken hours to get that biscuit down.
Tsunade gave a faint nod and set the leaf aside. There wasn't much water left in it, but it was enough for Ren to finish the remaining biscuits.
Enduring his aching body, Ren shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, picked up the other two biscuits, and dipped them into the remaining water to soften them before quietly eating.
Crack.
In the silence of night, the only sound was the occasional pop from the burning fire.
They were in a forest. A dangerous place under normal circumstances—but to shinobi like Orochimaru and Tsunade, it wasn't worth worrying about. If they were in another country, perhaps they'd be more alert. But within the Land of Fire, setting up a few basic protections was enough.
"Where are you taking me?" Ren asked once his stomach was somewhat filled.
"To the Hidden Leaf Village," Orochimaru replied coolly.
"Hidden Leaf?" Ren frowned. "Is that where you traffickers offload your merchandise?"
"Traffickers?" Tsunade shot Ren a glance, her eyes tinged with anger, though she said nothing. Instead, she felt a twinge of sadness that the boy could speak so calmly about himself as cargo.
In times of war… there were far more tragic things than this.
Orochimaru responded indifferently, "The Hidden Leaf is our village," denying Ren's assumption outright.
Ren's brow remained furrowed. "Then why take me there? I doubt a starving child has any real value to people like you."
Orochimaru turned to him, and for the first time, a faint smirk tugged at the corners of his pale face.
"You're right. If you were worthless, you would've been a pile of rotting flesh by now."
The coldness of those words sent a chill through Ren.
Orochimaru continued, "So, find a way to prove your worth. Otherwise, you don't have the right to keep living. Remember—without me, you'd be a corpse in a few days."
Ren scoffed.
If he hadn't come across that little yellow dog, maybe he wouldn't have had the will to survive. But because of that dog, he did. He believed he could make it.
What he didn't realize, however, was just how perilous the place he had been in really was.
In this war-torn world, truly safe places were few and far between… and for powerless civilians, they were even rarer.
Orochimaru wasn't wrong. But Ren couldn't grasp that yet—because he didn't know anything about this world.
Tsunade rubbed her forehead as she listened to their exchange. She looked at the frail and bony boy—no more than six years old, by her estimate. His mental composure, though, was beyond belief. Just an ordinary child from a civilian family?
And yet… despite clear signs of malnutrition, he displayed an uncanny resilience. A normal child would've died from the last two days of travel. But Ren was still here, alert and upright.
Maybe Orochimaru had noticed that early on—and that's why he hadn't bothered treating Ren's injuries?
"Big sis, what's your name?" Ren asked, deciding it was time to build some rapport. She seemed easier to talk to than the pale man.
Tsunade snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "Before asking someone's name, it's polite to give your own first."
"…"
Ren was speechless. You two tied me up without saying a word, and now you want to talk about manners?
"I'm Amano Ren. You can call me Ren."
"Ren? That's a strange name." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, curious. "You made that up yourself, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
She had only been teasing—she didn't expect to be right.
This kid… Tsunade sighed inwardly. "My name is Tsunade Senju."
Your name's even weirder… Ren's eyelid twitched. He then looked at Orochimaru.
Tsunade followed his gaze and added, "He's called Orochimaru."
Ren gave a knowing nod, then quietly stayed silent.
"Your body doesn't hurt anymore?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.
"Huh? Not really."Now that he mentioned it, Ren realized the aching all over his body had significantly faded—enough that he could speak normally with Tsunade.
"Heh…"
Orochimaru looked at Ren, a glint in his eye.
At this point in his life, Orochimaru hadn't yet become obsessed with reincarnation techniques—he was simply intrigued by the unusual properties of Ren's body.
From the moment he first saw the boy, he had sensed that something was off. Despite being so frail, the child's body held an intense vitality. That strength was concentrated in his small heart—but even so, it was far from ordinary.
Still, even with such uniqueness, Orochimaru wasn't one to spare lives without reason. Ren had simply shown enough promise to earn a chance at survival.
"Let me take a look," Tsunade said.
She was surprised by Ren's sudden improvement and didn't hesitate. She pulled open his shirt, placed a hand on his chest, and released a soft green glow from her palm.
"The cellular activity…"
She was stunned as she sensed the surge of energy in his weak little body.
Maybe…
Maybe she had underestimated him from the very beginning.