Chapter 2 - Risk

"Hello, little ones.." A some what deep and yet clear voice came from the man's lips, it's sound traveling off the walls as the man stepped into the light of the lamp. Yet even as he did, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato remained stuck, as if the seen in front of them had paused this point in their reality. The silence filled the cave for minutes. The children, though lost, were still thinking in their own minds about how this man showed up without any signs, as if he appeared out of nowhere, while Nagato sat on the ground, Konan finally moved after seeing the man said nothing else, his large black eyes only looking over them as she found the will to step in front of Nagato.

"Konan.." Yahiko, whose tunnel vision made him only stare at the man, finally saw the smallest movements out of the corner of his eye, his mouth finally moving as he looked at his two friends. They were far closer to the man than him, and shock had frozen him even if he had grabbed the knife. It was held tightly in a small white-knuckled hand. What could he do, whether it was a shinobi or not? It was a grown man who had come in as if it was his own home.

"What do you want? Why did you come here?" Amidst the silence, Yahiko finally yelled out. What was the point of staying like this? The three of them, apart from a few fights with other kids, didn't have any combat skills or even knew how to use their chakra, seeing the man didn't move and only looked at them, he thought it best to say something, and hope that the other person wasn't here to kill them.

[Mc thoughts]

'A risk that is the best option, all three are just children at this point, no chakra, no Ninjutsu, or even clothes on their backs. What else could Yahiko do? fight and ultimately get them all killed or risk talking to see the others' intentions. While it is foolish to do so, even if the other party hasn't done anything, with no room to escape, what would you do when pushed against the wall.' My eyes fixed on to Yahiko, who had spoken up finally after minutes of silence, I couldn't help but think, even if it was foolish, it was still best given the situation. While Nagato did possess the rinnegan, he had no idea how to control it, and the extreme emotional distress used to activate it before would not come from just being scared.

"No reason.." Again, the man's voice spoke out, leaving the three even more confused. It was just the way he spoke, but the lack of anything in how he spoke, he had followed them home and now they sat unable to do anything just for him to plainly say there was no reason in it.

"Then why follow us? if you don't want anything, why come into this place for no reason?" Yahiko, who was now at a lose in what was even happening, spoke up with a strange look on his face. This man just happened to follow them, made his presence known, and then wanted nothing, from what they had seen in this war. It was never that easy.

"Why do you have a knife then?" The man said, pointing out his hand with one finger as he spoke to Yahiko, his head tilted slightly as he looked into the young boys eyes. The question seems to have caught him off guard as he looked at the knife for a moment, then to the man again.

"..." Yahiko was silent again. The answer was clear as day. Why else would he hold the knife pointed at the man if not to defent himself, but that should have been obvious, so why ask if knowing the answer. Even still, Yahiko couldn't say to kill the man could he.

"So you just randomly hold knifes? Or was it something else entirely? Even then, why haven't you done anything? Just like I haven't done anything, but I guess it's to be expected when defending yourself. Still, the three of you alone can't do anything. while it was smart, it was also foolish in the end. None of you could do anything as you are now. Left with only one or two options, you choose what was best for your situation, I find that rather interesting, but what would you do even if they didn't attack first? talk? or hide or abandon it all?" The man spoke in a disappointmented manner. Even if it was true, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

'Naruto would have rushed in head long, no matter how desperate the situation had called for, and out of all of them, Yahiko shared the same personality traits. Yet, Yahiko was not as stupid, I can understand Naruto's passion, but it didn't change anything, truly. I like his thinking, yet there is no way out, so why not take a chance.' The thoughts of rotated in never-ending cophony of noise. I couldn't help but feel Yahiko even as a child was smarter than Naruto. Well, that and Yahiko didn't have plot armor to save himself in situations like this.

"I didn't come here for any reason, but I will say you should be more cautious." The man looked over them again, his eyes straight and uncaring as he held up his hand, his long hair moving slightly with his movements as he raised one finger. "Never move without true understanding, even if you think you're safe, you have no chakra, so a hidden enemy is always a threat." The man then raised another finger as if giving lessons to the three young children. "Never assume the enemy is friendly even if they haven't done anything, using tunnels only big enough for a child or other means to hide or escape, rather than being dumbfounded at unforeseen events." The man spoke slowly to them, holding up another finger as he looked over the children again. "If you must fight, do not hesitate. Once caught, your life may truly be on the line, but that being said, there is risk in everything, yet even a Jonin can be killed if reckless." The man said in an even tone, his body straight as he looked over the children who were shocked even more at what this man was saying to them.

"..."

"..."

"..."

All three were at a loss on what to do or say. This man spoke as if he was not a hidden enemy, came into their home, and now was giving lessons to them about things they hadn't considered. What was more shocking was from the beginning to the end. The man hasn't moved an inch, and though scared Yahiko relaxed his hand on his knife, the man was right. What could they do in this situation? He was too far away, and the man clearly wasn't stupid enough to lower his guard for children.

"But that's enough of that. Are you all hungry?" The man said, his eyes differed to the hard bread on the table, tilting his head slightly as he held out his hand and as if magic, a table with a vast array of food, landed on the cave floor.