Chapter 37

*In a bar inside Konoha*

"I told you... If one of her teammates does or says something weird to her, I'm killing them." I said as I was emptying a cup of sake before putting it down

"Oy, Don't go and threaten my Genin team for that! I will prevent anything from happening anyway." he replied as he filled my cup again

This year Kushina graduated, which happened earlier than in the canon and she was now under Jiraiya's leadership.

Her teammates were a bald and tanned boy named Fuse and a blond boy with spiky hair and blue eyes named Minato...

'She's going to be closer with Minato than she was in the canon...' I thought as I was maybe too overprotective with her

They successfully passed Jiraiya's test although they have yet to go out on a mission... But judging by how tense the world is right now, they shouldn't go too far in case they leave.

Jiraiya then looked thoughtful and said "Also... Do Tsunade and you still want a child?" as he was looking at his reflection inside his cup

"...No. We both know that a war will start and how bad it would be for us if we had one." I replied as I was also relieved

"That's gr- I mean, that's the logical thing to do." he replied as he scratched his head embarrassed

I couldn't keep it to myself any longer and asked "Why are you so inclined on us not having a child?"

"What? That's not what I meant! It's just like you thought... Having a child around the time of war isn't a great choice." he replied as he tried to be honest

'I won't pry into his head for this' I thought as I sipped into my cup again

He knew that I didn't buy what he just said but was glad I didn't ask more about it.

'I will only get angry if he still stops us even when we want one'

After that, we talked about many different subjects, and one of them, in particular, was interesting.

"I have been training Senjutsu with the Frogs at the Mount Myōboku and even after years I can't do it..." Jiraiya said as he was red from the drinks

'Senjutsu uh' I thought before replying "It's difficult to master isn't it."

He looked at me weirdly and said "Of course it is! I'm not like you who has Wood Release and can use it without any difficulties!"

"I do have a hard time using it... But that's my fault." I replied before sighing

'I stocked Natural Energy since the day I was born and never used it for more than 20 years...'

When I released the seal which contained the Natural Energy, the burst was so great that even my body started to transform into a tree... I need to reduce the flow before using it as much as I want.

'I asked Shiromari if he knows a solution and he said that if I learned Senjutsu as his race teaches it, I could use Natural Energy to morph my body as he does'

Senjutsu has various ways of being taught and each one of them gives a different result.

So if I learned the way the Chameleon does it, I could change a part of me that would control the flow of Natural Energy within my body and allows me to use it with the strength given by Wood Release.

'I need to find the ruins of where Shiromari lived in the Land of Swamps... But that would be after the 2nd war and I could take care of Mōryō on the way'

We then talked some more until I had to go back home for the day and prepare for my quick trip to the Land of Rain tomorrow.

I tasked Shuzo to locate around the world possible survivors of the Uzumaki Clan, as some of them left before the assault.

I gave him this task because he wished to travel like I did when I was younger... Who knows, he might come back with a kid.

He will send me a message each time he finds something interesting.

Chizu was at the Land of Rain and located an Uzumaki family there, more precisely the child who had weird eyes, meaning that Nagato already got transplanted the Rinnegan.

But I will be patient before aiming for his eyes, at least waiting for Black Zetsu to not look over him as much as he does right now.

She then found Konan who was already an orphan and currently on her own.

She came back recently, only when she was sure that the girl she found was the one I looked for.

She knew that I wanted her as a future member of Origins and being devoted as she is, she never questioned me about my plans and how or why did I want this blue-haired girl in the organization.

As for Shikuro... He was still watching over a certain Land that I will be visiting during the war.

====================

*3rd POV*

"Come back here you thief!" A robust and yet fat middle-aged man yelled as he was running as fast as he could with a kitchen knife in his hand

*Pant Pant*

A young girl with torn and dusty brown clothes and dirty blue hair was currently running away with what seemed to be apples in her arms.

The young girl then turned in an alleyway but to her surprise, it was a dead-end caused by piled-up debris.

A frightened expression started to form on her face and as she wanted to turn back to quickly get out of this stalemate, the fat guy was already blocking her way as he tapped his knife.

The alley was too narrow for her to duck and escape him.

"It's over now kid." he first said while smirking before adding "Now what should I do... Cut your fingers so you never steal from me again or capture and sell you to people who would give a lot of money for young girls like you." as he slowly approached her

The blue-haired girl slowly retreated until she couldn't go further and fell on the ground, dropped the apples she was carrying, and raised her hands in front of her while saying "P-please don't harm me! I-I was just looking for something to eat for the w-week, I won't d-do it again I p-promise!"

She hoped that someone would hear her but the sound of the rain that was currently falling was too loud for anyone to listen.

"Don't worry I won't harm a potential valuable good that much... I can't say the same for the buyer though..." he replied which terrified the girl because his face wasn't that of some merchant but more of a criminal with the scar that runs through the side of it

He was now in front of her and slightly scratched the young girl by poking his knife on her cheek as tears started to fall from her eyes.

"They won't mind if I let a little cut would they..?" he said as blood dripped from the spot he just put the tip of his knife but it was getting quickly washed by the rain

The girl closed her eyes in fear but as she expected him to move his knife, nothing happened even after several seconds.

She slowly opened her eyes and was stunned by what she saw.

In front of her was a tall young man fully clothed in black with beautiful long white hair, a sharp and handsome face with blue eyes shining under the rain, and a wing coming out of his back.

He was currently standing on top of the fat man whose head was wrapped by a root while his hand was stabbed by his own knife.

The young man then looked at the blue-haired girl and said "Are you alright?" with a soothing voice as the girl only thought was 'An angel'

*1st POV*

"Are you alright?" I asked as my expression got softer before crouching in front of her

She just looked at my face without reacting so I asked again "Hey, are you alright?"

She then blinked several times before replying "H-hum yes... Thank you mister-" "Yuichi, Yuichi Senju." I said interrupting her before adding "You got injured right there, let me heal you." as I laid some fingers on her cheeks and started healing and drying her

"Warm..." she said before realizing something and added "W-why doesn't it rain around us?"

"I'm preventing it." I replied while smiling and removing my hand from her cheek

I then looked at her hair and saw a paper flower clipped on her bun which didn't seem to be affected by the rain from before.

'She unconsciously made her paper waterproof..?' I thought before asking "Did you make this origami on your head yourself?"

Her mood got better as she replied "Yes... I love doing Origami and started as soon as I can remember."

"It's beautiful." I declared which made her delighted before both of us heard her stomach growl

She got embarrassed and looked away shyly, while I took one of the apples that fell on the ground and said "You got in this situation because you were hungry?"

"Y-yes." she replied still averting her gaze from my eyes but looked at my hands

"Then I will give you something tastier, look." I said as the deteriorated apple in my left hand disappeared and a perfect and beautiful red apple materialized

She looked in amazement at what I just did and I gently took her hand and gave her the apple before saying "Here, you can eat it and I can assure you it's the best apple you will ever taste!"

'And it will restore you more than any other' I thought as it was made more nourishing than normal apples

She didn't hesitate a single instant showing how hungry she was and directly bite once into it... She then chewed and swallowed it before suddenly eating the rest of the apple like a little squirrel munching its food quickly.

When she finished I couldn't help but chuckle making her look at me again as I said "You don't have a home, do you?"

She looked a bit sad as she nodded her head and wished to say something but before she could I suggested "Say... Do you want to come with me? My instinct is telling me that you have great potential as a shinobi, and I will give you a new ho-" but I was also interrupted as she shouted "Please take me with you!" before I could tell her what I could offer

I then smiled and gave her my hand so we could get up, she took it without hesitating while showing me an adorable smile as she said "I'm Konan!"

"Nice to meet you Konan." I first said before adding "We will stop somewhere before the sun's fall so you can clean yourself as well as change your clothes."

"Nh." she answered as she couldn't look away from my wing until I made it disappear

We then passed by the still immobilized man without caring about him and left the alleyway.

The moment we could no longer see him, I made the root crush his head as I thought 'This guy was selling stolen goods and was associated with slavery in the black market, he doesn't deserve to live'

From an outsider's point of view, we looked like a random civilian and his daughter aimlessly walking forward, thanks to an illusion.

But for Konan, we were moving slowly towards a better place, with the rain flowing over our bodies without getting us wet as if a miracle was occurring.

What I didn't know was that the look in her eyes when she looked at me was already one of zeal.

We left the village only by walking and didn't take the road because it is highly regulated.

I saw that she got exhausted quickly but didn't want to tell me, so I asked "Are you sure you can walk further?" to which she replied "Y-yes...I can..." while panting

I sighed and decided to take her in a princess carry which wasn't hard considering how small she was while I was extra careful with my strength because she was malnourished and frail.

She was surprised and exclaimed "Please d-don't! I'm dirty..." as she hid her face with her hands

As I started to move swiftly between the trees I looked at her and said "Does it matter? I told you that you will come with me from now on and, well you interrupted that part, live with me, my wife, and another girl around twice your age."

She stopped being embarrassed and I could see a hint of disappointment which surprised me.

'She doesn't want to live with us?' I thought before her expression changed again and was that of determination

'I don't understand her at all...'

She will receive behavioral training as well as physical exercises from Chizu while I will take care of shinobi-related training.

'But like I did for the twins, I will focus on giving her some meat back on her bones' I thought

We moved and reached the Land of Fire where the weather was finally good and when I saw the sun quietly disappear on the horizon, I stopped to build a fully equipped house where we would be resting for the night.

She was once again amazed by what I did and once inside I ceased to carry her and said "There is a bathroom if you take the first door to the right in the corridor, you can go take a shower or a bath while I prepare dinner and some clothes."

"Nh." she shortly replied while going inside the bathroom

"If you need something tell me, alright?" I said with a caring voice as she nodded and closed the door

I then made clothes that would fit her using Wood Release and put them on the small table right in front of the bathroom so she could grab them from inside.

I moved back to the kitchen and started making dinner using some ingredients I took with me for the trip.

I'm satisfied by how she reacted and accepted my offer because she will surely become another trustworthy member of Origins.

I did what I could to give the best first impression, and her young age made this easier to do.

'But the result is bigger than I expected for some reason'

After quite some time, she came back from the bathroom with her new clothes on as dinner was ready.

She was looking better now, her short, straight blue hair attached with a bun and an origami flower clipped and her amber eyes stood out more than before.

The clothes I gave her, for now, were a simple navy blue kimono along with leg-warmers and sandals.

I then pointed at the empty chair that was in front of me so she would sit down here for dinner.

She was taking in the smell of the food that presented itself to her before I said "You can eat to your hearts content... But don't eat too much or too fast or else you won't be feeling good while sleeping."

She did listen to my advice and ate what was in front of her slowly.

'At last... Someone with manners like Chizu' I thought as a tear of joy was forming in my right eye

She seemed to love what I prepared, like everyone else who tried my dishes, but was able to stay calm while eating.

Once both of us were full it was time to go to sleep. The house had two bedrooms so I showed her where she would be sleeping tonight as I also gave her a pajama.

I bid her goodnight and moved to my own bedroom ready to sleep as well.

The fifth member of Origins was now recruited.