SPLASH—

  The rain had become a torrential downpour. Water pooled into rushing streams across the ground, and each step now had to wade through ankle-deep runoff.

  People with raincoats walked confidently down the street. The unlucky ones—without umbrel or coat—could only take giant strides through the flowing "rivers," legs swinging left and right as they sprinted home, soaking their pants with each spsh.

  “Phew, lucky, lucky. Thank goodness you brought an umbrel, Reina, or we’d be drenched right now,” Yahiko huddled beneath the oil-paper umbrel held above them by Hayami Reina.

  “Which way?” Reina asked, standing calf-deep in the floodwaters, eyes a little dazed.

  “Go straight ahead, take the second left, then keep going until you see a bar called ‘Cross-eyed Chicken.’ Turn right there. After that, you’ll see a stone hill up ahead—that’s where the cave is. That’s our secret base,” Yahiko rattled off in one breath.

  “…?” Reina handed the umbrel to him.

  “You hold the umbrel. I’ll just follow you,” he said simply. He hadn’t remembered a word of what Yahiko had said. Truth be told, his sense of direction was a little… off.

  “Oh, okay.” Yahiko reached out to take the umbrel.

  WHOOSH—snap!

  Just as Yahiko was about to grasp it, a sudden gust of wind ripped the umbrel from Reina’s hand and sent it soaring into the sky.

  “…Yahiko.”

  “…Reina.”

  SPLASH—

  “RUN!!!” Yahiko grabbed Reina’s hand and bolted through the rain.

  The fierce wind smmed against Reina’s face, smothering every attempt he made to shout. Rain shed down with the gale, pouring into his throat and drowning his voice before it could leave his lips.

  Yahiko—look over there, that shop’s selling umbrels! Let’s go “borrow” one!

  This mad dash through a storm... was the brilliant idiocy of our youth.

  …

  “Maiko, don’t worry! No matter the storm or the wind, I will never back down! That’s the depth of my love for youuuuuuu!” A square-jawed man stood dramatically against a wall, arms outstretched as he tried to shield the beauty behind him.

  “Ah! Daishi, my love… your passion is so steadfast, so fearless… but the rain’s falling from above—you’re not blocking any of it for me at all,” Maiko said gently, blinking through the downpour.

  “What? How could this be! Is this… is this the test the heavens have pced before me? O gods above! Take my life if you must—but spare Maiko from another drop of rain!” Daishi shouted toward the heavens.

  WHOOOSH—A gust of wind blew through, and a stray oil-paper umbrel nded neatly at Daishi’s feet.

  “AAAAAHH! Do you see that, Maiko?! My love has moved the heavens themselves! This umbrel is the proof!” Daishi wept tears of joy as he threw his arms around her.

  “…But, Daishi… the rain’s already stopped.”

  …

  “The rain’s stopped.” Reina pulled his hand free from Yahiko’s grip. Yahiko was stronger and faster than him, and he'd just about dislocated his shoulder being dragged around.

  “Huh? Already? That’s weird.” Since they’d been running under the eaves of buildings, Yahiko barely got wet.

  So… what was the point of that whole downpour?

  The two of them stared bnkly at the clearing skies, utterly confused.

  …

  Inside the cave

  “What’s taking Yahiko so long? Don’t tell me something happened to him?” The blue-purple-haired girl stood anxiously at the entrance, eyes fixed on the path ahead.

  “If… if he’s been captured, we need to go rescue him—immediately,” said the red-haired boy, voice trembling slightly, though his clenched fists showed his resolve.

  To them, the orange-haired Yahiko was more than a companion. He was the one who saved the blue-purple-haired girl, Konan, from a gang of traffickers. And Konan, in turn, had found and taken in the red-haired boy, Nagato, when he was alone in the rain.

  Without Yahiko, none of this would have started. The three of them would never have met. Yahiko was also the strongest among them, the most daring, the one who always made decisions.

  In this chaotic world, even though Yahiko was just a year older, he was their pilr—their everything.

  “Ah! Yahiko’s back!” Konan’s worried expression melted into joy, her eyes lighting up.

  “Yahiko, thank goodness you’re safe. Nagato and I were really worried—uh, who’s this?” she asked, staring bnkly at the gray-bck-haired "girl" who walked in behind him.

  “Hayami Reina,” Reina said, blinking his gray eyes as rainwater slid down his cheeks from his soaked hair. “Call me Hayami. Or Reina. Either’s fine.”

  The red-haired boy looked up from where he was arranging their meager supplies and turned toward him. “A new companion?”

  “That’s right! Reina’s our new teammate!” Yahiko said, clearly excited. “Don’t be fooled by how delicate she looks—she’s really strong. Even against big adults, she can hold her own. With her around, our team’s going to be unstoppable!”

  Konan blinked in surprise, giving Reina another once-over. She couldn't quite imagine this seemingly frail girl actually holding her own in a real fight.

  “She can really fight adults…?” Nagato murmured in disbelief. If only I could be that strong...

  “Oh, right—we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Konan.” The girl smiled brightly, her amber eyes sparkling as she gave a pyful blink.

  “I… I’m Nagato.” The red-haired boy spoke quietly. His bangs were so long they half-covered his face, making him seem withdrawn.

  Konan? Nagato? And… Yahiko?!

  Reina froze. The three figures before him began to overp with memories of their anime counterparts, triggering a storm of realization inside him.

  Naruto? I’ve transmigrated into the world of Naruto?!

  But Reina quickly calmed down. He began evaluating the situation, thinking about what to do next.

  Now that I know where I’ve nded, things are much easier. Ending up in Naruto might not be ideal, but it’s not the worst outcome either. Even if my memory of the timelines is a bit hazy, I still remember the main events. If I can leverage that, I might be able to connect with people who haven’t risen to power yet—but will become legends ter.

  His gray eyes gleamed as he looked at the three kids standing before him.

  That’s right—he was talking about the very trio in front of him. The “Land of Rain” trio. Right now, they were just a group of orphaned drifters, but in the near future, they would become students of none other than Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, and train under him for three whole years.

  Eventually, except for Yahiko—whose untimely death cut his rise short—the remaining two would become some of the strongest shinobi in the entire ninja world. Especially Nagato. Before the power-scaling of the series got completely out of hand, Nagato had been the powerhouse, the benchmark between Kage-level and something beyond.

  Even without looking that far ahead, just becoming one of Jiraiya’s students would be a huge win. With Jiraiya’s backing, Reina could potentially spend the rest of his life peacefully in the Hidden Leaf Vilge.

  As that thought settled in, Reina’s expression softened. The way he looked at the three became noticeably warmer.