"I'm not exactly a bad guy, but I haven't done many good things either. I mean, I'm not a complete villain, but I'm not a saint either." Kaze stammered.
Yahiko: "..."
He thought he needed to observe this guy a bit more to figure out if there was something wrong with him or if he was just nuts!
After Kaze rambled on for a while, he looked at Nagato beside him and said, "Your name is Nagato, right? Do you know about your own lineage?"
Nagato first nodded silently, then shook his head.
Konan scooped up another bowl of chicken soup. While slurping it, she asked curiously, "Big brother, do you know about Nagato's lineage?"
Kaze didn't beat around the bush. He nodded slightly and said, "I believe Nagato should be of the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan from the Land of Whirlpools. The red hair is a sign of pure Uzumaki blood."
"The Uzumaki Clan..." Nagato murmured. He seemed to have vaguely heard it from his parents...
Kaze revealed his identity as a ninja from Konoha and glanced at Nagato's reaction at the same time, considering that Nagato's parents had been accidentally killed by Konoha ninjas.
However, the three kids didn't show any obvious signs of hostility.
Konan even blinked her big eyes and actively spoke up and said, "Big brother, are you really a ninja? You don't look much older than us!"
"Of course it's true." Kaze smiled and opened his ninja tool bag to show off his tools.
Yahiko and Nagato also craned their necks curiously to look at those sharp ninja tools.
But Konan's gaze was drawn to a talisman paper with the character "Explosion" written on it. For some reason, she felt a flutter in her heart.
"Although our countries are at war, Konoha is only defending itself and most of the people in the village love peace."
Kaze gave a short speech to persuade, then got back to the main topic.
"The Uzumaki Clan has a close relationship with Konoha. Now that I've come across one of their descendants who's out in the world, I naturally can't just leave him alone."
"Come back to Konoha with me, Nagato. And you two can come along too." Kaze looked at Nagato, then at Konan and Yahiko.
"Right now, the Land of Rain is full of chaos. It's really hard for you three kids to survive here. But in Konoha, you can go to school with kids your age and you won't have to worry about food and clothes... I can even take you out for barbecue once a week!"
"Bar... barbecue! Should we go to Konoha?"
Kaze's proposal was so sudden that the three kids looked at each other and hesitated.
Yahiko was even more straightforward and asked, "Big brother, why are you willing to take me and Konan with you?"
"Damn it, kids are so hard to convince. How did Orochimaru do it?!"
Kaze recalled for a moment and imitated Orochimaru's smile and said, "It's a family tradition in our family to help those in need."
"My father has funded a lot of orphanages and often taught me to be a kind person.
So, whenever I come across something I can handle, I always believe it's my duty to take action."
After hearing Kaze's words, the three little ones nodded silently. They could sense that Kaze was speaking the truth.
The big brother's dad, who was willing to sponsor a non - profit place like the orphanage, must be a great kind - hearted person, right?
"Um... Let's think about it," Yahiko said, then whispered with Konan and Nagato to discuss.
Kaze didn't say a word and just sat there quietly, waiting for the three of them to reach a decision.
As the firewood burned out, the fire flickered and grew smaller. Half of Kaze's body was hidden in the shadow.
He looked at the three helpless children and a strange thought arose in his mind.
"What if I kill Nagato here and destroy the Rinnegan? Wouldn't it also disrupt Madara Uchiha's plan?"
He didn't even have to do it himself. He just needed to secretly add something to the remaining chicken soup...
"Ding! The system detects that the host is facing an important choice. Here comes an option!" The system's voice interrupted Kaze's thoughts.
[Option 1: If killing one can save thousands, then let me be the bad guy! Kill the person and destroy the eyes to break the conspiracy! Completion reward: Killing power + 4.]
[Option 2: Killing is too brutal. Instead, seize the Rinnegan for myself! Seize Nagato's Rinnegan! Completion reward: Chakra + 4.]
[Option 3: A real man knows his limits. I, Kaze, may not be a gentleman, but I'm too disgusted to harm a child. Completion reward: Speed + 4.]
"Sigh..."
Kaze let out a long breath and finally chose Option 3.
After all, he was a man with principles. He just couldn't bear to harm a few three - or four - year - old children.
"I have the system. I'll surely become invincible one day. There's no need to do such things against my will!" Kaze thought to himself.
Moreover, if he could find a way to bring these three children under his wing, he could achieve his goal even better.
Just imagine, wouldn't it be fun to create a child - version Akatsuki in Konoha?
[Selection successful. Reward obtained: Speed + 4!]
[Congratulations to the host. Your speed has reached 25, promoting you to Jonin level!]
"Have I become so fast without even realizing it?" Kaze felt a bit emotional.
[The system detects that the host's killing power ≤ 15 and speed ≥ 25. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Hidden Achievement
Kaze: ???
System, do you think I'll uninstall you?
[Now issuing the achievement reward. Please pay attention to receive it!]
With a 'clatter', a kunai dropped in front of Kaze. The three little ones were so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't notice at all.
Kaze reached out to pick up the kunai. Immediately, a line of words appeared on the light screen in front of him.
[This is a magical kunai, forged from amethyst and white iron. It is said to be able to pierce the [Susanoo]]
Kaze: …
He suspected that the system was subtly mocking him and his father, but he had no proof.
Why on earth is this happening? Why!
Why does the world harbor so much malice towards the Shimura clan!
On the other side, the discussion among the three kids had come to a conclusion.
Yahiko raised his hand to interrupt Konan, who was trying to persuade him. "Konan, stop talking. Even though the Land of Rain has a whole bunch of problems, it's still my hometown!"
"I still choose to stay..."
Wham!
Kaze struck Yahiko on the neck with a hand chop.
In the horrified eyes of Konan and Nagato, Yahiko said nothing and simply fainted to the ground.
"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Kaze scratched his head in confusion.
He hoisted the unconscious Yahiko onto his shoulder, then winked at Konan and Nagato.
"Right, Yahiko just said he'd choose to go back to Konoha with us. You two heard that, right?"
Konan was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously and showed a smile.
"Yeah, Nagato and I both heard it. That's what Yahiko said."
The big brother in front of her always gave an absurd impression. But Konan could feel that he really meant no harm!
Nagato glanced at Kaze, hesitating to speak.
He felt that it seemed a bit wrong to do this, but then again... there didn't seem to be anything amiss.