Chapter 12: A Possible Path to Becoming a Ninja (Part 1)
Sitting quietly on a large rock, Chiba was lost in thought.
It had been four days since Natsuki's words had dealt him a crushing blow.
In those days, after initially feeling lost and despondent, Chiba had finally calmed down.
Through constant reflection, he had begun piecing together potential paths forward.
While Natsuki's assessment was correct—becoming a ninja was nearly impossible for ordinary people, and even if they succeeded, they would likely be nothing more than cannon fodder—Chiba knew he wasn't just any ordinary person.
He carried within him knowledge of the next several decades of history.
In the world of Naruto, weren't there individuals from civilian backgrounds who became powerful ninjas?
The answer was yes—there were quite a few.
In the future, within this very Land of Rain, three shadow-level ninjas would rise to prominence:
Yahiko, who founded the Akatsuki organization, rose to challenge Hanzo the Salamander, a legendary "demigod," forcing Hanzo to seek external support and resort to underhanded tactics.
Konan, who developed a unique paper manipulation jutsu, capable of unleashing 600 billion explosive tags in a devastating attack.
Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan, who led a group of shadow-level ninjas and even destroyed the strongest ninja village, Konoha, single-handedly.
These three were all civilians born in the Land of Rain.
Their rise to power was largely thanks to their shared teacher: Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Jiraiya was one of the most powerful shinobi of Konoha—student of the Third Hokage, teacher of the Fourth Hokage, and later mentor to Naruto, the protagonist of the entire series.
While Jiraiya's personality was quirky and his antics often comedic, his impressive credentials were proof of his strength.
It was through Jiraiya's three years of dedicated training that Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato achieved their later successes.
Without a doubt, these three were fortunate. Whether it was out of guilt for the plight of the Land of Rain or simply coincidence, Jiraiya stayed in the Land of Rain at just the right time and took them on as his disciples.
But in Chiba's opinion, their rise wasn't just a matter of luck.
Nagato, in particular, was destined for greatness.
With the powerful Uzumaki clan bloodline, Nagato was chosen by some of the most dangerous villains in the ninja world—Madara Uchiha and Zetsu—to inherit the Rinnegan. He was meant to be their tool for collecting tailed beasts and achieving their ambitions.
Though Nagato himself was unaware, he had been a pawn in Madara and Zetsu's schemes from the very beginning.
To execute their plan, they wouldn't let Nagato remain an ordinary child.
Even without Jiraiya, they would have found someone else—"Jiraiya A," "Jiraiya B," or "Jiraiya C"—to teach him.
Under Zetsu's guidance, the right person and opportunity would have been arranged.
Yahiko and Konan simply benefited from being close to Nagato, gaining the chance to become ninjas as well.
Of course, they were also unfortunate in becoming pawns in someone else's game.
Whether being a pawn was a good thing or not, it was undeniably a fast track to becoming a powerful ninja.
Having lost almost all hope of becoming a ninja, Chiba couldn't help but be tempted by this possibility.
Judging by the current timeline—early in the Second Shinobi War—Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan likely hadn't yet set out on their journey to find a teacher. If Chiba could locate them now, joining them in becoming ninjas would naturally follow.
The biggest challenge, of course, was finding them.
The Land of Rain, though a small nation, was still vast. Searching for three children in such a large area was like looking for a needle in a haystack—practically impossible.
Especially now, with the country engulfed in war, traversing battle zones recklessly would be suicidal.
However, after combining the intelligence gathered by Natsuki over the past few days with his own knowledge, Chiba began to form a hypothesis.
First, from what Chiba knew, Yahiko and the others lived in a relatively peaceful town far from the frontlines.
This was evident from Nagato's flashbacks in the series. Their town had a bustling marketplace with bread, meat, and other goods being sold—clearly a sign of stability.
Such conditions would be impossible near battle zones.
Over the past two days, the refugee convoy had passed through two small towns near the frontlines. These towns were eerily desolate. There were no merchants, and most of the inhabitants had fled long ago.
The only people left were those too poor or physically incapable of leaving, such as elderly or infirm individuals.
From this, Chiba deduced that Yahiko and his friends likely lived in one of the few peaceful regions in the Land of Rain.
He also believed that Zetsu, no matter how confident in his schemes, wouldn't risk placing Nagato—his key pawn—in a warzone where he could accidentally be killed by stray ninja attacks.
Currently, the Land of Rain was embroiled in conflict with the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind. Was there still a peaceful area left?
The answer was yes.
Looking at the map:
The eastern border, where the Land of Fire attacked, was a battlefield.
The southern and southeastern borders, where the Land of Wind attacked, were battle zones.
The western and northwestern borders, where the Land of Earth attacked, were also embroiled in war.
This left only two relatively peaceful regions:
1. The narrow strip of land between the northern and northeastern borders.
2. A portion of the southern and southwestern areas.
Considering that Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha ninjas, it was likely that their town was in the northeastern region, far from the frontlines.
Coincidentally, this was also the direction Natsuki's refugee convoy was headed.
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