In a small town in the Land of Rain.
Three thin, homeless boys with differently colored hair were eyeing a bakery.
They were very hungry, and the freshly baked bread inside the bakery smelled incredibly good. They planned to pull off a big heist and steal some bread to fill their stomachs.
"Nagato, Konan, I will distract the bakery owner. You two take the chance to act..." A boy with spiky orange hair whispered.
"Yahiko, be careful. That bakery owner looks very fierce..." Konan said worriedly.
"Don't worry, I run fast. He won't catch me." Yahiko grinned confidently before walking straight out of the alley to begin the operation.
He swaggered into the bakery, pretending to buy bread at first, then grabbed two large loaves and ran.
"Hey! You didn't pay... Damn it!!!"
The bakery owner froze for a second before realizing what had happened. He immediately flew into a rage and chased out of the store.
"I got this bread with my own skills, why should I pay? Hahaha..."
Yahiko laughed and taunted while running. The bakery owner was so angry he lost his temper and chased after him without thinking.
"Nagato, hurry, I'll keep watch!" Konan urged anxiously.
"Okay..."
Nagato quickly ran into the bakery and grabbed as many of the biggest, easiest-to-carry loaves as he could.
"Hey, what are you sneaking around in front of my store for?" A plump middle-aged woman suddenly appeared.
Hearing her question, Konan visibly trembled in fear. This was exactly what she had been dreading.
This woman seemed to be the bakery owner's wife. Konan hadn't expected her to come home at such a critical moment. Nagato was still inside stealing!
"Ah... n-nothing!"
Konan yelped to signal Nagato, then blocked the woman to stop her from entering.
If Nagato got trapped inside, it would be over. Konan had to wait until Nagato came out before she could run.
"Why are you blocking me? Get out of my way, you brat!!!"
Nagato, who had heard the signal inside, turned pale with fright. Clutching a pile of bread, he rushed out.
At this moment, he was like a startled bird, running for his life the moment he left the bakery.
"Ah... you... thieves!!!"
The woman was sharp. She immediately figured out what was happening and screamed, grabbing Konan before she could escape.
"N-no... I'm not a thief, let me go!!!"
Konan was so scared she turned pale, tears falling.
"You damn thieves, still lying at a time like this! I'll beat you to death today, you little brat!"
The woman's face twisted with rage. Ignoring Konan's pleas, she raised her hand to slap her.
But just as her palm was about to strike, a slender hand caught her wrist.
At the critical moment, a "beautiful girl" with delicate features saved Konan.
"Who are you? Are you with this brat?" The woman demanded fiercely.
"You guessed right!"
The girl smiled sweetly, then tightened her grip, making the woman cry out in pain.
The woman let go of Konan's arm and tried to claw at the girl's face, but the girl pushed her away with one hand.
Seizing the chance, the girl grabbed Konan's hand and ran.
"Damn thieves! Two little wenches!!!" Seeing she couldn't catch the two skinny kids, the woman trembled with anger, cursing while panting.
Konan looked back at the woman who had stopped chasing and couldn't help giggling. She had escaped disaster again!
"Th-thank you, big sister!"
After running far away, Konan bowed while catching her breath.
Thanks to this big sister, she had avoided a beating today!
"It was nothing!" The girl smiled.
Seeing her sweet smile, Konan felt dazed for a moment.
"Little sister, can you take me to your friends? I need to talk to the red-haired one." The girl asked with a smile.
Actually, he could have just intercepted the red-haired thief earlier. But seeing this thin, terrified girl crying, he chose to save her first.
"Big sister, do you mean Nagato?" Konan asked in surprise.
"Yes, Nagato." The girl nodded emphatically.
Konan hesitated briefly but quickly agreed to lead the "kind big sister" to their hideout.
This big sister had just saved her. Konan didn't think she could be a bad person, so she took her to their "secret base."
At the secret base, Yahiko and Nagato were waiting anxiously, worried sick about Konan.
"J-just now, Konan seemed to get caught... but when I went back, I didn't see her... maybe she broke free..." Nagato said nervously.
At first, he had panicked and just run. When he realized Konan might have been caught, he went back but only saw the cursing fat woman. Konan was gone.
Thinking she might have escaped, he hurried to the base but only found Yahiko so far.
The thought that he might have abandoned Konan filled him with regret.
"What!!!"
"What happened? I distracted the owner. How did Konan get caught? What do you mean 'might have broken free'? Explain clearly..."
Yahiko pressed urgently.
"Yahiko, Nagato, I'm fine!!!" Konan's voice rang out just then.
Seeing Konan return unharmed, the two boys were overjoyed and rushed over.
"Konan, you're okay, thank goodness!" Nagato's anxious heart finally settled.
"This big sister Lily saved me!" Konan quickly introduced the girl beside her.
"Hello, I'm Lily. Nice to meet you!"
Lily's eyes darted around as if searching for something. After confirming only the three targets were present, he extended a "friendly" hand to the boys.
"Lily... big sister..."
Yahiko and Nagato exchanged puzzled looks.
"Hi, I'm Yahiko. Thank you for saving Konan."
Yahiko, the outgoing "social butterfly," grinned brightly and shook Lily's hand first.
Lily nodded without saying much, then offered his hand to Nagato.
Nagato lowered his head shyly, but out of politeness, he mustered the courage to shake hands.
"H-hello... I'm Nagato."
Nagato and Lily shook hands.
At this moment, Lily's eyes gleamed with barely concealed greed as he stared at the Rinnegan right before him.