Having agreed to Yahiko's strange request, Hyuga Yu only now completely realized that this world was entirely different from the Naruto world in his memories.
Or rather, Yu had originally looked at this world through a tinted lens. After his initial contact with Yahiko, he discovered that this founder of the Akatsuki was not as simple-minded as he had thought, nor was he an idiot who would mindlessly choose suicide under Hanzo's manipulation.
On the contrary, he was very intelligent and remarkably pragmatic.
He possessed almost all the finest qualities—a war orphan who never blamed others, stayed positive, encouraged and led his companions to survive, thought independently, and clearly distinguished right from wrong. He never forgot his country and its people at any moment. His decisiveness, critical thinking, leadership, and execution were all top-tier. Most importantly, he deeply understood the landscape of the shinobi world. Even with a power as world-endingly dominant as the Rinnegan by his side, the path he chose was still a realistic, step-by-step righteous road.
In developing the organization, he took no shortcuts, moving forward one steady step at a time. Through his ideals and actions, he attracted others to join voluntarily, gradually growing to a level where they could stand on equal footing with Hanzo's Amegakure.
The Land of Rain's attitude at this moment would determine the final outcome of the negotiations between Konoha and Iwagakure. Furthermore, the current timeline was completely different from the original story—
In the direction of the Land of Grass, Minato Namikaze had instantaneously slaughtered fifty Iwagakure elites, and his disciple Kakashi Hatake's action of destroying the Kannabi Bridge brought the Third Shinobi World War toward its end.
On the eastern front, Konoha had produced another figure—the "Heavenly Ninja," who was exaggerated enough to destroy an entire nation single-handedly.
The outcomes of these two battlefields completely solidified the overall structure of the Third Shinobi World War, making Konoha the biggest winner of this conflict.
Yahiko saw this clearly. He did not show any arrogance despite holding the power of the Rinnegan. In choosing the path to forge peace for the Land of Rain, he very calmly led the Akatsuki to lean toward Konoha's side.
This was completely different from the original storyline where Yahiko attempted to lobby among the three great nations and guide them toward a peace treaty.
Recalling carefully, Yu realized that in fact, Yahiko's actions in the original story weren't flawed either. He only initiated negotiations with Hanzo after the organization had grown and amassed considerable power; the strength of both sides was equal. As for Yahiko's actual inclination, the manga never explicitly stated it, and conducting peace negotiations with the three nations using the Akatsuki as the core was actually Hanzo's proposal.
Yahiko's mistake lay in blindly trusting Hanzo. However, with Hanzo and Danzo colluding beforehand and kidnapping Konan, he and Nagato had no choice but to show up, and no choice but to believe.
This man's only flaws were that he valued loyalty and relationships far too much, and that he lacked an understanding of the ultimate limits of the Rinnegan's power.
These two issues were actually one and the same. Because using the Rinnegan drained Nagato's life force, Yahiko, who deeply cherished his companions, did not fully comprehend the true terror of the Rinnegan. At this moment, his protective nature made him still regard Nagato as an elite Jonin who merely possessed all nature transformations and a few "Forbidden Jutsu."
Just like right now—
February 3rd, 2:00 PM, the sixth day after Hyuga Yu's battle with Hiruko.
The trio of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan traveled south with Hyuga Yu all the way from the eastern border of the Land of Rain. After walking for three days, they arrived at a small border town. Over the past few days, looking from a bystander's perspective, Yu witnessed firsthand how Yahiko negotiated with the ninja of the Land of Rain and persuaded them solely through his personal charisma—
Armed with a single sword, he single-handedly cut down more than ten rogue Rain ninja who were causing chaos in the area. Then, he pulled up the fallen rogue ninja one by one, warmly patted their shoulders, loudly proclaimed his ideals, talked about understanding each other's pain, and proposed drinking a cup of brotherhood wine, urging them to turn over a new leaf and contribute to the peace of the Land of Rain from then on!
Before he could even finish his speech, the group of Amegakure rogue ninja bowed down in reverence.
This scene made Hyuga Yu's eye twitch. Stripping away the filters from the original work about "creating peace" or the "Akatsuki Organization," yes, theoretically speaking, the current Yahiko was the biggest rogue ninja boss in the Land of Rain.
However, his "Talk-no-Jutsu" and ideological reformation of these rogue ninja were extremely successful. After being won over, every single one of them mended their ways and turned over a new leaf, to the point where his reputation reverberated like thunder across the eastern border of the Land of Rain.
The residents of the small town flooded out all at once, crowding around Yahiko's trio and bringing them food and water.
A few sharp-eyed residents immediately recognized the three. "Huh? Aren't these the kids who stole fish from my house back then?"
"I really didn't expect them to grow up so fast, and even become powerful ninja."
"They are the Akatsuki! The organization that's going to bring peace to the Land of Rain!"
"This is the final location."
"Once things here are settled, the entire eastern border of the Land of Rain will be under our control."
After handling the matters of the seventh district on the eastern border of the Land of Rain, Yahiko's trio brought Hyuga Yu to an abandoned safehouse located on the outskirts of the town.
The heavy snow that had blanketed the Land of Rain stopped the day before yesterday. Before the biting cold could dissipate, the country was once again shrouded by a continuous curtain of rain.
In the drizzle, amidst a weed-choked wasteland, a dome-roofed wooden shack covered in vines stood tall.
Yahiko led the group to the front door of the wooden shack, looking at the seemingly abandoned building with a hint of nostalgia.
He tore away the vines on the wall, pulled open the wooden door for Hyuga Yu, and smiled at him. "It's been abandoned for quite some time, but since we happen to be passing by, let's use it to rest and recover for now."
Stepping into the room, Yu saw that morning glory vines were growing rampant inside the wooden shack. On a nearby wall hung wooden frog plaques inscribed with the names of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. Nagato, who had walked inside, tilted his head up slightly. A flash of nostalgia crossed his eyes as he sighed with emotion, "I really didn't expect we'd return here. Everything started from this place."
Yahiko nodded, looking at the wooden frog plaques on the wall with a smile. "To pursue our dreams, we set off from here—but now, our organization has grown."
"Our dream is just a single step away!"
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu's eyes flickered, recognizing this as the hideout Jiraiya had built when training the three orphans. At this moment, the three wooden frog plaques hanging on the wall were not yet stained red with blood like in the original future storyline. It felt as if... there was still time for everything.
He looked at Yahiko and asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
Yahiko thought for a moment, then looked at Hyuga Yu. "We are already very close to the Land of Fire. Next, I'll probably have to trouble you, Yu-kun."
"We want to find Jiraiya-sensei."
"According to the intelligence we received, some time ago, Jiraiya-sensei led his team to participate in the first negotiations with Iwagakure. During that time, he attempted to infiltrate the Hidden Stone Village to negotiate with the left-wing factions within it, but unfortunately, the operation failed."
"Currently, Jiraiya-sensei should have returned to Konoha. Not many people inside Konoha know about our relationship with him, and we have no way to prove our identities to contact him through the Konoha ninja at the Land of Fire's border camp."
Yahiko then took down one of the wooden frog plaques from the wall and handed it to Hyuga Yu. "So, we need to trouble you to make a trip. Use this as a token. We hope that through your connections within Konoha, you can deliver this token to Jiraiya-sensei. Once he sees it, he should come here to meet us."
Hyuga Yu looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You plan to just wait here?"
Yahiko gave a helpless smile. "During wartime, all letters sent to Konoha disappear like stones dropped into the ocean. We can only rely on this clumsy method. We plan to stay here and wait for a week."
Yu narrowed his eyes and asked softly, "Aren't you afraid that once I return to Konoha, I won't come back?"
Yahiko chuckled, speaking dismissively, "Then at least I would have fulfilled my initial promise of escorting you to a safe place."
Hyuga Yu nodded. Only now did he truly confirm the character of the man before him, recognizing that Yahiko possessed the qualifications to cooperate with him.
Then, Yu asked another question: "What about after that? If the Land of Rain achieves peace as you wish, what do you plan to do next?"
Yahiko thought for a moment and said without hesitation, "I will dedicate myself to maintaining this hard-won peace. With the Land of Rain as the core, I will urge the surrounding great nations to maintain peace through dialogue!"
"The Land of Iron has already tried that path, and it's a dead end. Moreover, given the Land of Rain's geographical location, it's impossible for you to achieve that."
"No, what I want to establish is a country that can truly bring peace to the entire world!"
"Oh?"
"Just like the Sage of Six Paths that Jiraiya-sensei mentioned."
"Using Ninshu as the doctrine, we will spread our ideology to the world, guiding it toward peace and allowing people to understand one another!"
"Ultimately, we will eradicate all the wars in this world!"
Hyuga Yu smiled. Staring at Yahiko's smiling face, he asked flatly and emotionlessly, "Does this mean you are already certain that you will become the new master of the Land of Rain?"
Hearing Yu's words, Yahiko first glanced at Nagato, who was also looking at him, and then nodded with a firm expression. "If necessary."
Hyuga Yu looked at him, nodded, and calmly commented, "As expected—"
"Yahiko, you harbor grand ambitions."
"Harbor grand ambitions?" Yahiko scratched his head, looking at Hyuga Yu in some confusion. Yu said calmly, "Your true purpose goes beyond this, and your capabilities do too. If I help you today, Konoha might gain a terrifyingly powerful enemy in the future."
"What you are thinking of is by no means just bringing peace to the Land of Rain. Your final desire points toward—world conquest!"
"However, comparing yourself to the Sage of Six Paths without possessing his power... you will eventually be consumed by this arrogance."
Hearing this, Yahiko couldn't help but furrow his brows, looking at Hyuga Yu with a mix of uncertainty.
"However,"
Hyuga Yu suddenly smiled, reaching out to take the wooden frog plaque from Nagato's hand. "I can help you."
"Because this has nothing to do with me. This is your choice."
"As long as I ensure I get what I want, that's enough."
Yahiko stared at Hyuga Yu. "What is... the meaning of those words?"
"Literally."
Yu looked at him and smiled. "Since you are already mentally prepared to subvert a nation, have you thought about how you will face the impending storm?"
Yahiko's brows furrowed even deeper.
At this moment, Nagato's expression changed slightly. He suddenly raised his head and looked out the window, as if he had sensed something.
Inside the room, the atmosphere abruptly turned heavy.
Yet Hyuga Yu remained completely calm. He merely tilted his head slightly, looking out at the gloomy, drizzling sky outside the window. Sensing the number of gazes locked onto him with his sharp perception, he muttered to himself, "It's about time. It's been a few days; they should have found me by now."
"Tsk. This time... there are quite a lot of them."
Beside them, Konan finally couldn't help but stare at Hyuga Yu and ask, "What are you talking about? What should have found you?"
Yu looked at her without answering the question. Turning his head back to Yahiko, he waved the wooden frog plaque in his hand and chuckled, "I'll keep this for you for now, and hand it to Jiraiya when I get a chance to meet him. As for you... you still have to fulfill our initial agreement."
As his voice fell, the heavy thuds of footsteps treading through the rain suddenly echoed from outside the window.
Yahiko finally realized something was wrong. He stared intently at Hyuga Yu and asked in a deep voice, "Who... exactly are you?"
Yu didn't answer the question, merely raising a single finger toward him as he smiled cheerfully. "One month."
"You protect me for one month. When the time is up, I will return a peaceful Land of Rain to you."
Konan frowned, looking at the Byakugan youth in front of her. The boy's age was completely disproportionate to the weight of his promise. "What kind of joke are you playing?!"
But at that moment, "Yahiko, Konan, someone's here!"
Nagato's expression shifted drastically. He cried out urgently, raising his head to look at the roof.
Thud! Thud! Thud shreds!
On the roof, the sharp sounds of several kunai piercing into the wooden dome instantly rang out!
In that instant, Yahiko caught the scent of gunpowder from burning paper bombs!
His gaze narrowed. Throwing aside his questions about the true identity of Hyuga Yu, whose background clearly wasn't simple, he instantly drew the greatsword strapped to his back and pried open the floorboards. Jiraiya had once left an emergency escape tunnel inside this safehouse, and Yahiko's trio had used it once before to evade pursuers.
However, the moment the floorboards were pried open this time, a head appeared from below. It wore a crossed-out Takigakure forehead protector, a black face mask, and possessed eerie green eyes. The man looked up toward the opening, the corners of his mouth beneath the mask curling into a sinister arc. His emerald gaze swept across the four heads looking down, completely bypassing the yellow, red, and blue heads labeled as "0", and locking directly onto Hyuga Yu, whose long jet-black hair had the unit [200,000,000 Ryo] floating right above it.
"Heh... I've finally found you."
"Heavenly Ninja!"
Bang!
Hyuga Yu furrowed his brows and instantly slammed the floorboards shut with a loud bang!
He turned to look at Yahiko's trio, whose expressions were completely frozen, their minds clearly failing to process the situation yet. "What are you standing around for? Run!"
The next split second—BOOM!!!
On the ceiling, light and heat blended together, bursting into a brilliant white flash!
The roof blew wide open, letting the bright sky flood in!
Swift raindrops pierced through the drifting white smoke, pattering down into the room and tapping a continuous melody against the floorboards.
A circle of shinobi wearing distinct Amegakure uniforms, Hidden Rain forehead protectors, and wide-brimmed bamboo hats stood atop the roof, casting cold, sweeping glares down at the four people inside.
The leading Rain ninja curled his lips into a cruel smirk and roared fiercely, "To all units—"
"Leave none alive!"
————
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