[On a rainy day.]
["Farewell… Father, Mother." Wearing a yellow raincoat, Nagato buried his parents, whispering softly in the rain.]
[Afterward, he staggered along a muddy mountain path, climbing step by step.]
[But his frail body—combined with days of starvation and the cold—finally gave out. He collapsed to the ground as a stray dog appeared from somewhere nearby.]
[His vision blurred. Darkness swallowed him for a moment before he forced his eyes open again.]
["Am I going to die here…?" Nagato murmured inwardly.]
[At that moment—]
[Konan appeared, holding a red umbrella. She stepped forward and offered him a piece of bread, her voice gentle: "Eat this."]
["…Can I?" Struggling to his feet, Nagato stared at the bread, asking hesitantly.]
[Inside a cave, Nagato looked at the bread in his hands, about to eat, when the stray dog beside him barked twice, staring at him.]
[Nagato broke off a small piece and placed it on the ground, saying softly, "Here… eat slowly."]
[Soon, both boy and dog ate the bread hungrily, while Konan watched with a bright smile.]
Naruto: "Nagato… was actually this kind?"
Hinata: "This… doesn't feel like the same person."
Senju Hashirama: "What a good child…"
Senju Tobirama: "Big Brother, this is the same person who destroyed Konoha. Wake up."
Senju Hashirama: "Ah… is that so? Hahaha…"
Mei Terumī: "Such a pitiful child…"
Fourth Raikage A: "He even shared his bread with a stray dog… hmm…"
Danzō: "A rare act of kindness cannot conceal the evil in his heart!"
Kushina Uzumaki: "You old fossil! Nagato was kind as a child—say one more word like that and I'll beat you!"
Tsunade stared at the screen, then at the devastated ruins around her.
"This gap… it's too big…"
A boy who shared food even while starving—
And the man who caused countless deaths.
How could they be the same person?
What happened in between?!
[Inside the cave, Yahiko looked at the Nagato Konan had brought back, frowning. "Konan, what's with this guy?"]
["Sorry… he looked like he was about to starve to death," Konan said gently.]
[Yahiko stepped forward, glanced at him, then said with mild dissatisfaction, "You even brought back a dog? Honestly… what's its name?"]
["Chibi," Nagato replied.]
[Thus began the meeting of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato—three war orphans.]
[They wanted to survive.]
[They became companions.]
Tsunade stared at Pain in front of her, then back at the screen.
"You are… Yahiko?!"
"This body once belonged to Yahiko. He was my best friend," Nagato said.
Naruto: "But… this body looks like it's already dead. So Yahiko…"
At that moment, everyone in Konoha realized—
The one leading the invasion… was Yahiko.
A war orphan.
A boy who once lacked food and warmth.
Could an ordinary person truly grow into someone capable of threatening an entire village?
From the screen, they didn't even seem to know any ninjutsu yet!
The scene continued.
["Amazing… there's so much food here!" Nagato exclaimed, staring at the stacked boxes inside the cave.]
[Yahiko sat atop one of the crates. "If you want to stay here, go get some food yourself."]
[Nagato asked, confused, "Uh… how?"]
["Steal!"]
["Steal? But… that's wrong," Nagato hesitated.]
[Yahiko's voice sharpened slightly. "Are you stupid? In a world like this, we have to find our own way to survive!"]
["Don't talk about morality. Whether it's stealing or anything else—if you don't do it, you die. Got it?"]
[Nagato froze for a moment… then nodded.]
[At a market, Nagato and Konan stood with their hands clasped, pleading with a fish vendor.]
["Could you give us just a little… please?"]
["Just a bit… please," Konan added softly.]
[The shopkeeper snapped angrily, "There's nothing for you! Get lost!"]
[Behind him, Yahiko stealthily grabbed a large fish and made his move, while Nagato and Konan distracted the vendor with their pleas.]
[This was how they survived—working together to secure food. But sometimes they were caught…]
[And when they were, they would be beaten and thrown into the trash.]
[Even so, they never gave up hope. After Chibi died, Yahiko decided to take Nagato and Konan to find a powerful shinobi—]
[To ask them to become their teacher.]
["What if they're already dead when you find them?"]
["Then we find whoever killed them—and learn from them instead!" Yahiko declared.]
[Afterward, they packed up what food they could carry and returned the rest to the shopkeepers they had stolen from.]
[From that moment on, they set out on their journey—]
[To find a powerful shinobi… and become his disciples.]