Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Several hours later, a heavyweight ninja squad appeared in the forest where Baixing had earlier been surrounded by Seiu and his men.
At the front were Tsunade and Orochimaru, alongside a Hyūga jōnin leading the team. Behind them followed six Konoha chūnin—two of them medical ninja, one being Inuzuka Ume.
"Captain Baixing!"
Inuzuka Ume shouted into the surroundings, but no response came.
Though the rain had washed away most traces of the battle, Orochimaru still noticed faint reddish bloodstains on a green leaf lying in the mud.
"So… he still died in the end?" Orochimaru thought bitterly.
The rapid march and the sudden situation left Tsunade slightly short of breath. She looked toward the Hyūga jōnin, whose Byakugan was active.
"Where's the body? Have you found it?"
The Hyūga jōnin's expression was grim. He deactivated his Byakugan and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. There are no traces of a corpse nearby. There are only two possibilities."
"Either he was captured alive… or his body was taken away."
—After all, no matter how one looked at it, a genin couldn't possibly defeat the jōnin named Seiu that Hyūga Suzuka had described.
"There's one more possibility," Orochimaru added quietly. "That Baixing escaped despite being seriously injured. But… that chance is extremely slim."
He swept the area one last time, then closed his eyes. A single tear slipped down his face—
a tear that had originally been meant for Nawaki.
No matter what, once Baixing became his disciple, aside from ninjutsu fundamentals, he had never disappointed him.
—If only I had given him the Ryūchi Cave contract earlier. Even borrowing a snake summon, or reverse-summoning to the weaker regions of Ryūchi Cave, he might have had a chance to escape…
Baixing knew Summoning Jutsu, but had yet to find a suitable contract.
The team searched for another ten minutes. Apart from a few traces of Hidden Rain ninja activity, they found almost nothing.
—At the time, Baixing's shadow clone had wanted to fight a bit longer before finishing things off. After all, it was rare for a clone to "go out and play."
Unfortunately, Seiu didn't play fair—he went straight for the kill. He took a slash on his sword arm just to instantly destroy the clone with his other hand. The clone barely broke skin before dispersing.
Thus, Baixing was temporarily classified as missing.
The support forces at Cedarwood Forest Camp withdrew.
If, by the end of the war, there was still no information or trace, Baixing would be officially declared killed in action:
3.5 million ryō in wages3 million ryō in death compensationPlus all bank savings and property, transferred to the designated heir
When Hiruzen asked Baixing to name an heir, Baixing had written down Nono.
At the time, the gentle girl had even felt a little happy—thinking that her bargain-bin teacher wasn't that stingy after all.
But now—
She didn't want to see that money.
She just wanted Baixing to come back.
"Tsunade-sensei, you're lying to me, right?"
"Baixing-sensei isn't dead. He's not dead!!"
Inside the white military tent, tears streamed down the blonde girl's face as she clutched Tsunade's collar. Tsunade's battle armor was still damp with rain.
Tsunade said nothing. She could only pull the girl into her arms and gently stroke her hair.
Outside the camp, Orochimaru raised his head and stared bleakly at the dark, overcast sky.
"If weakness leads only to death… then what is the meaning of life?"
No one knew how much time passed.
In a town called Curtain Town, Baixing was actually enjoying himself quite a bit, leaning under an awning to stay out of the rain, eating freshly bought buns.
This was District Seven.
"Nagato! Konan! Run!!"
"You little thieves—caught you this time!!"
Baixing wore a simple sheep-pattern mask bought earlier using Transformation Jutsu. His hair was long and black, his clothes a summer-style Japanese robe tied with a white sash.
He took a bite of a Rain Country fish bun and looked ahead, where two bald vendors—one selling fish, one fruit—had caught Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato.
"Wait."
Stepping out from under the awning, Baixing picked up a nearby umbrella and walked over.
"I'll pay for whatever they took."
The bald fish vendor looked stunned. Then he noticed Baixing's unusual attire—and the short blade at his waist.
"Thirty thousand ryō."
"They've stolen from us several times already. That price is cheap."
"I see."
Baixing pulled out a stack of Rain Country bills.
Before the war, the exchange rate between Fire and Rain currency was 2.5:1.
Now it had skyrocketed to 5:1.
Food prices had surged even higher.
"Count it. The amount's right, isn't it?"
Before leaving on his mission, Baixing had already exchanged 100,000 Fire Country ryō into Rain Country currency, planning for a little vacation.
After more than a week, he still had about 200,000 Rain ryō left.
With fighting raging elsewhere, even "safe towns" were now under strict inspection.
Baixing, as a foreigner, registered as a wandering samurai upon entry. He wasn't using Transformation Jutsu, so he passed inspection easily.
Inside the city, he kept a low profile—moving only between inns and eateries, basically living like a shut-in.
A person like that raised no suspicion. After a day or two of observation, guards lost interest.
Baixing respected rules. He liked rules.
As long as rules existed, anyone could live relatively safely and freely in this world.
"Are you sure? These kids have nothing to do with you," the fish vendor said hesitantly. "They're just… unwanted orphans."
"It's fine," Baixing replied. "Consider it a good deed."
Before leaving, he asked, "Can people travel outside now? I heard Konoha ninja have pushed deep inside."
The vendor shook his head.
"Young man, best stay put. It's dangerous out there."
"Once you leave the safe zone, you could be attacked by ninja."
The fruit vendor snorted.
"Even inside the safe zone, if you're alone, ninja might rob you of food and kill you."
"I see."
Baixing glanced down at the three kids still clinging to him.
"What? I paid for you, and now you're still sticking around?"
"Well…"
Yahiko grinned, hugging a big watermelon.
"Can we invite you to our place?"
Baixing looked at the little yellow dog licking his foot.
"Perfect. I also want to see if it's possible to leave right now."
"I'm heading to the Land of Iron."
"Young man," the fish vendor warned, "you'd better hire ninja as escorts. It's chaos out there."
"No need."
Baixing slightly drew his short blade, confidence filling his tone.
"I'm used to traveling alone. Ninja aren't necessarily stronger than a samurai."
After passing through Curtain Town's gate, Baixing said nothing to the guards.
Wearing his sheep mask, one hand in his pocket, umbrella in the other, he walked on.
The guards recognized the mask-wearing show-off samurai—and the three orphans—so they ignored them.
The four traveled a long distance, reaching a mountain road.
Baixing walked between the three children, with the yellow dog trotting behind Nagato.
"Um… big brother samurai, what's your name?" Yahiko asked.
Baixing had already chosen an alias:
"Jiraiya."
—Sharing the name of a famous Konoha jōnin actually made Rain ninja even more certain he couldn't possibly be an enemy.
"Jiraiya…" Yahiko repeated.
"So what kind of work do you do?"
Baixing glanced at his short blade, then at Yahiko.
"Oh—sorry! I forgot," Yahiko said quickly.
"You're a samurai. What kind of work do samurai usually do?"
"I mostly take temporary guard jobs," Baixing replied.
Yahiko grew curious. "Aren't those usually ninja jobs?"
"If you hire ninja," Baixing explained,
"it's usually short-term protection for a specific objective. One mission alone costs at least twenty or thirty thousand ryō."
"Woooah—!" ×3
"With that much per job, we'd never go hungry!" Yahiko exclaimed.
"If we did five or six jobs a month, we could survive easily!" Konan added excitedly.
Nagato stayed quiet—he didn't really understand money—but Yahiko and Konan did. Just the fish and watermelon alone cost around two thousand Rain ryō.
Walking along, Baixing continued:
"Becoming a ninja isn't easy. You need chakra talent, resources, constant training—and once you're in, you're tied to a village."
"I'd rather be a samurai."
"How much do samurai earn then?" Konan asked.
Luckily, Baixing had researched this role beforehand.
"It's unstable. I'm a wandering samurai—I find my own work. I've earned as much as a hundred thousand once, and sometimes only a few hundred."
"On average, maybe a few tens of thousands a month."
"Less than ninja. Less stable."
"But the advantage is—"
"Freedom."
"…That does sound like too little," Konan sighed.
She'd briefly imagined asking him to teach them to become samurai—but with such income, survival would still be hard.
At that moment, far from the mountain road—
The Konoha assassination force had been completely wiped out.
Only Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru remained.
Just then, a kunai tied with an explosive tag was flicked away by Hanzō's scythe, flying—almost as if by fate—toward Nagato's direction.
The kunai was incredibly fast, arriving in an instant.
"Samurai Style: Flying Swallow Slash!"
The kunai was knocked away and exploded midair.
The blast caught the attention of Hanzō and the Three Ninja.
Hanzō's killing intent surged outward.
In an instant, the three children felt as if they were staring at a demon—frozen in terror.
"Konoha ninja?"
Seeing Baixing's unfamiliar appearance, Hanzō first suspected Konoha reinforcements.
But then he noticed the three children and frowned.
Why would an ambush involve children?
Baixing thought bitterly: Did that kunai really have to fly toward me? If it had gone a little further back, I could've pretended not to see it…
"Yes. Hanzō," Orochimaru said calmly,
"You're already surrounded by our reinforcements."
"Don't lie, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted.
"They're just innocent bystanders!"
He'd seen the pale faces of the children and instantly understood.
Tsunade stayed silent.
Hanzō quickly assessed the situation. Using civilians to create openings was something Orochimaru might do—but bringing children into it didn't make sense.
"Enough," Hanzō said at last.
"This war ends here."
"The final victor… is Konoha."
"I'll spare you this time."
"To survive against me proves your worth."
"From this day forward—
I, Hanzō, will call you the Three Legendary Ninja of Konoha."
As Hanzō finished speaking, Baixing stood motionless in the rain, short blade in hand, eyes calm behind his mask.
—So that's it. The birth of the Three Ninja.
What's next? Fighting Hanzō? Fighting the Three Ninja? Or…
"We don't need your pity! I can still fight!" Jiraiya roared.
"That's enough, Jiraiya," Tsunade said quietly. She knew continuing meant only death.
This time, Orochimaru was silent. His gaze drifted upward toward Baixing.
That man… his eyes feel strangely familiar…
Hanzō glanced toward the mountain road leading to District Seven.
If that man were an enemy ninja, he wouldn't be using such an obvious route.
In the end, the two sides parted calmly.
No one chased Baixing, no dramatic pursuit.
Wait… am I starting to crave fights now?
Is Saiyan blood affecting my thinking?!
On the road, Baixing pondered this seriously.
He also needed to train his tail properly. Using Life Return: Transformation, it stayed hidden—but if it became a weakness, that would be dangerous.
Sooner or later, he'd need to condition it—whether to keep it hidden long-term or even cut it off again.
"Awesome! Brother Jiraiya, that slash just now was so cool!" Yahiko exclaimed back at their home.
"If it weren't for you, we might've died," Nagato added, still shaken.
"Woof woof!"
"Poor Little One, scared, huh? Have some bread."
Konan tried feeding the dog, but it was too frightened to eat.
"Well, actually, it wasn't really—"
Tap, tap, tap.
Their dwelling wasn't in a safe zone—it was still part of a combat area.
Baixing turned, hand on his blade. "Who's there?"
"Don't misunderstand—we're not enemies."
Jiraiya raised his hands. Tsunade stood beside him, while Orochimaru fixed his gaze on Baixing.
"Who are you?"
"…My name is Jiraiya. Why?" Baixing replied after a pause.
"Eh?! Same name as me? That's funny!" Jiraiya laughed, scratching his head.
Then his expression turned serious.
"I actually came to apologize."
"My teammate almost got you involved earlier."
"So… as compensation, can you teach us ninjutsu?" Yahiko seized the moment.
Konan and Nagato looked at Jiraiya with hopeful eyes.
"Should we kill these children?" Orochimaru said flatly.
"..."
Baixing fell silent.
As expected of my teacher. Even harsher than me.
The children turned pale. The dog trembled.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya snapped.
Orochimaru remained calm.
"I've seen many orphans. Their endings are usually miserable."
"Rather than suffering through life, it's better to die early."
As he spoke, he observed Baixing carefully.
Aside from the eyes occasionally resembling Baixing's, nothing else matched.
"So ninja really are cruel," Yahiko said coldly.
"Then kill us—just like our parents!"
Orochimaru raised a kunai without hesitation.
Before he could act, Jiraiya and Baixing stepped in front of him simultaneously.
Baixing felt oddly confused—he hadn't planned to interfere.
So why did his hand itch to fight?
"…I understand," Orochimaru said at last, lowering the kunai.
"But Jiraiya, you know what this means."
Tsunade's silence said the same thing.
The war was over. Their role was finished.
"I know," Jiraiya sighed.
"I'll stay here for a while."
Then he turned to Baixing.
"You're a registered samurai of the Land of Iron?"
Baixing shook his head. "I don't qualify."
A sharp glint flashed in Jiraiya's eyes.
"That swordplay earlier was flawless."
"So… a wandering samurai?"
"Yes," Baixing replied softly.
Orochimaru asked him to remove his mask. Tsunade watched with anticipation.
But—
They were disappointed.
A mature-looking face, lean features, light stubble, and a thin scar on the lower left cheek.
"I thought you were someone I knew," Orochimaru said coldly.
"Seems I was mistaken."
"Farewell."
He turned and left without hesitation. Tsunade glanced at Baixing one last time, disappointed, and followed.
"What? You only met these kids today, and you're already leaving?"
Jiraiya had assumed Baixing was a friend of the children's deceased parents.
Instead, Baixing said he'd leave in a day or two.
Jiraiya couldn't bear to abandon the children to die here.
Even if he didn't teach ninjutsu, he could at least teach survival skills.
Baixing lay to the side, eating a slice of watermelon.
"I'm sorry. I'm a wandering samurai. I need to survive too."
"These kids just reminded me of myself when I saw them stealing."
"So I helped a little."
"I see…"
Jiraiya was utterly disappointed.
There went his plans of post-war relaxation and inspiration hunting.
Before the war ended, Tsunade had asked what he'd do afterward. He'd boldly said he'd search for the Child of Prophecy.
Now look at him.
Stuck taking care of three orphans.
And worse—
Neither the prophesied child nor that even more terrifying blond figure had shown any trace at all.
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