Chapter 70: Disciples

A few days had passed since the night with Kurenai. Kael had not gone near Naruto’s parents’ house even once. Every time the thought crossed his mind, the system’s last warning flashed behind his eyes and he decided it was safer to stay away. He did not trust whatever new quest might appear the moment he stepped through that door.

His team was scattered. Sasuke had left with Itachi for some private training that would last at least a week. Sakura had gone on a short trip with her parents. For the first time since he had woken up in this body, Kael was completely alone in the village.

He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling and let the quiet settle around him. In his old life silence had been normal. He had spent entire days inside his room, curtains closed, screen glowing, talking to no one. Being alone had felt safe. Now the same silence felt wrong. He kept glancing at the door expecting someone to knock. When no one did, he felt restless instead of peaceful.

He sat up and walked to the mirror. The face looking back at him still belonged to Naruto, but the expression was different. The constant nervous edge he used to carry in his old body was gone. His shoulders were straighter. His eyes looked more awake. He ran a hand through the blond hair and muttered to himself.

"Look at you. A few months ago you couldn’t order food without shaking. Now you’re walking around a ninja village like you own the place."

He shook his head and decided he needed new clothes. The black jacket and white shirt had served him well, but they were starting to look worn. A short walk to the clothing shop would clear his head.

He dressed, locked the apartment, and stepped into the afternoon sun. The streets of Konoha were busy but calm. Vendors called out prices. Children ran past with training kunai. Kael walked with his hands in his pockets, still getting used to the feeling of not being completely alone in a crowd.

He turned a corner near the market and stopped dead.

Three figures stood a short distance ahead, talking quietly among themselves. Orange hair. Blue hair girl. Red hair and those unmistakable Rinnegan eyes.

Konan. Yahiko. Nagato.

Kael’s body moved before his mind caught up. His hand went to the kunai pouch at his side. Chakra flared under his skin. In the original timeline these three had become Pain. They had destroyed the village. He had watched the destruction on a screen years ago and still remembered the crushing weight of it. He would not let it happen here.

He sprinted forward, ready to strike first.

Konan turned at the sound of his footsteps. Her eyes widened in recognition, then lit up with pure delight. Paper wings unfolded in a soft rustle and she launched herself at him.

Kael braced for an attack.

Instead he got an armful of soft blue-haired woman. Konan wrapped both arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Her chest pressed against his face so completely that his mouth was suddenly full of warm fabric and the faint scent of paper.

"Ohhh my cute little brother is here to see his big sister!" she cried, squeezing harder.

Kael’s brain short-circuited. He made a muffled sound against her chest. Somewhere behind her he heard two male voices laughing.

Yahiko’s cheerful voice rang out. "Konan, you’re going to kill him before he can even say hello."

Nagato’s quieter voice followed, amused. "He looks like he is already regretting coming this way."

Konan finally loosened her hold just enough for Kael to breathe. She kept her hands on his shoulders and beamed at him.

Kael stared at her, completely lost. "Big... sister?"

"Aww, he finally called me big sister! Did you hear that, Yahiko? Nagato? He said it!"

Yahiko stepped closer, still grinning. "Don’t fight it, Naruto. She’s been waiting years to hear those words again."

Nagato stood a little behind them, hands in his pockets, the faintest smile on his face. The Rinnegan looked calm, almost soft in the daylight. Nothing about him suggested the god of pain Kael remembered.

Before Kael could form a proper question, a familiar booming voice rolled down the street.

"Alright, alright, give the kid some space before you squeeze the life out of him."

Jiraiya walked up with his usual white hair and red markings, looking exactly as Kael had always imagined him. The moment Kael saw him alive and smiling, something tight in his chest loosened.

Jiraiya stopped beside the three and clapped Kael on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger.

"Look at you. Last time I left you were still tripping over your own feet. Now you’re walking around like a proper shinobi. My youngest disciple is growing up."

Kael could only manage a stunned, "Old man..."

Jiraiya laughed. "Still calling me that, huh? Good. Means you haven’t forgotten who taught you the important stuff."

Konan finally stepped back, though she kept one hand on Kael’s arm as if she was afraid he might run. "We were just heading to the Hokage’s office to report. Walk with us. It’s been too long."

Kael fell into step with them almost automatically. The five of them moved through the village streets together, drawing curious looks from passers-by. Most people seemed used to seeing the Ame trio with Jiraiya. No one looked afraid.

As they walked, the story came out in pieces.

In this timeline Jiraiya had never left the three orphans in Amegakure. After the Second Great Ninja War he had brought them back to Konoha himself. Tsunade had been reluctant at first, but Jiraiya had refused to take no for an answer. The three had grown up as official Leaf shinobi under his direct guidance. Yahiko led small squads on border patrols. Konan handled intelligence and paper-based sealing work. Nagato mostly stayed in the research division, studying the Rinnegan under careful supervision, but he still went on missions when needed. There had been no Akatsuki. No Pain. No destruction of the village.

Kael listened in silence, trying to process it. Every time he thought this world could not surprise him further, it did.

Yahiko bumped his shoulder. "You’re quieter than I remember. Used to be you never stopped talking."

Kael managed a small smile. "Still getting used to some things."

Konan leaned in from the other side. "I like you better this way and you look much cooler now. The black jacket suits you. Much better than that bright orange disaster you used to wear."

Yahiko snorted. "Hey, I liked the orange. It was honest. You could see him coming from three streets away."

Nagato spoke without looking up. "It also made him an easy target during training. I hit him with more mud balls than I can count."

Kael actually laughed. The sound surprised him. "I don’t remember any of that."

Jiraiya waved a hand. "Memory gets fuzzy after big missions. Don’t worry about it. You’re here now, and that’s what matters."

They continued toward the Hokage mansion at an easy pace. The conversation stayed light and warm. Yahiko told a story about a recent patrol where Konan had folded an entire enemy squad’s weapons into paper cranes before they could attack. Konan pretended to be modest while clearly enjoying the praise. Nagato added dry comments that made everyone laugh harder. Jiraiya kept interjecting with exaggerated versions of old training stories, most of which seemed to end with someone falling into a river.

At one point Konan linked her arm through Kael’s again. "You really did grow up. Last time I hugged you, you only came up to my shoulder. Now you’re taller than me."

Yahiko grinned. "Careful, Konan. Keep squeezing him like that and people will start thinking you’re his actual sister."

"I am his big sister," she said firmly. "In every way that counts."

Nagato glanced at Kael. "She has decided this. Resistance is useless."

Kael raised both hands in surrender. "I give up. Big sister it is."

Konan’s smile could have powered the entire village. Yahiko and Nagato exchanged looks that clearly said they had seen this coming for years.

Jiraiya watched them all with open fondness. "This is why I brought them here. Look at them. Still thick as thieves after all this time. And now they’ve got their little brother back in one piece."

They reached the broad steps of the Hokage mansion. Jiraiya stretched his arms over his head. "Alright, time to go report to the old hag. You coming up with us, Naruto?"

Kael shook his head. "I was actually on my way to buy new clothes. These ones are starting to look tired."

Konan immediately looked him up and down. "Good idea. Get something that fits those shoulders properly. And maybe a few more black pieces. You look good in dark colors."

Yahiko pointed at him. "Don’t let her pick everything or you’ll end up with paper patterns on your sleeves."

"I would never," Konan said, offended.

Nagato’s quiet voice cut in. "She would."

Everyone laughed again. The sound felt easy and real.

Kael stepped back from the group. "It was good seeing all of you. Really good."

Jiraiya gave him another solid clap on the shoulder. "Don’t be a stranger. Training ground three is still free most mornings if you want to spar."

Konan pulled him into one last quick hug, this time careful not to smother him. "Come visit us soon, little brother. We missed you."

Yahiko offered a casual salute. "Stay out of trouble. Or at least get into interesting trouble."

Nagato simply nodded, the Rinnegan calm. "Take care of yourself, Naruto."

Kael watched them climb the steps together, Jiraiya’s white hair leading the way, the three former orphans walking side by side like they had always belonged here. The sight settled something deep in his chest. In the original story every one of them had died for a war that never needed to happen. Here they were alive, laughing, and calling him family.

He turned away from the mansion and continued toward the clothing shops with a lighter step than he had felt in days. The system was still quiet. No new quests had appeared. For once he was simply walking through the village as himself, carrying the strange, warm knowledge that some of the people he had cared about from the old stories were still here, still whole, and still calling him little brother.

The afternoon sun felt warmer than usual. Kael pushed open the door of the first clothing shop and stepped inside, already thinking about black fabric and the quiet promise of a world that had somehow become kinder than the one he remembered.

---

Give me power!!!