The attacking ninja carried nothing on their persons to indicate any identity other than "Rain Ninja." However, given the tense internal situation of the Land of Rain at this time and the Earth Style jutsu they used, the attackers were likely ninja from Iwagakure.
Yahiko made this judgment.
On the way away from the frog wooden hut toward the center of the Land of Rain, Yahiko said to Hyuga Yu, "It seems Iwagakure has moved a step ahead of the Rain Ninja and thoroughly investigated your information. They chose to launch an attack on you at this time because, in my view—
"They want to coerce Hanzo, who is hesitating over the alliance, into joining forces with them."
"Under these circumstances, even if Hanzo shares our thoughts and leans toward the Hidden Leaf, since a feud has already been forged with you in reality, he will become more and more entangled with Iwagakure."
"And he might even make a worse choice at this critical juncture!"
Hyuga Yu nodded but didn't say anything in response. He calmly looked at Yahiko, gesturing for him to continue.
Yahiko continued, "With the Third Shinobi World War reaching this point, Iwagakure has fought successive wars against Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Konohagakure, expending a massive amount of military strength. However, they haven't achieved corresponding results on any of the three fronts."
"And now, Konoha has sent the Foundation to pressure them into admitting defeat and paying exorbitant war reparations. For Iwagakure, this is absolutely unacceptable."
"Therefore,"
"They won't make a single concession regarding the alliance with the Land of Rain."
"Today's attack is only the beginning. Next, Iwagakure will surely launch even fiercer assaults against you and us."
Hearing this, Hyuga Yu still just nodded calmly, as if he had long anticipated it.
Instead, he turned his head, looking at Yahiko with some confusion, and asked, "So? What are you trying to say?"
Yahiko took a deep breath, looked solemnly at Hyuga Yu, and asked, "I want to know—
"How do you view this matter? If you hadn't crossed paths with us by chance, what did you plan to do?"
"And now, after cooperating with us, what do you plan to do?"
Yahiko gritted his teeth slightly, his expression growing serious. "I know, Tennin, you don't seem to agree with our organization's code of conduct. To ninja from major nations like you, my ideas probably seem a bit too naive. But this is the path we have always stuck to, and I have never regretted it."
"We will definitely act in our own way, so I must know your thoughts. This concerns how we will cooperate going forward!"
Yahiko was very earnest. He had his own insights into Akatsuki's philosophy and course of action. Even if he hadn't met Hyuga Yu, he would still have acted according to his own will.
However, the road to mutual understanding was arduous. But as long as they interacted, got along, and bared their hearts to each other, they would eventually achieve this goal.
Yet, even after spending several days with Hyuga Yu and coming to understand his resolve, Yahiko still felt a sense of haze when looking at this fourteen-year-old boy Tennin—like catching the reflection of the moon in the water or a flower in a mirror.
What was Hyuga Yu thinking? How did he intend to act? Would ideological conflicts breed friction between him and Akatsuki, causing him to abandon their cooperation? And could he accept Akatsuki's next plan of action?
He couldn't guess any of it.
At this moment, hearing Yahiko's question, Hyuga Yu shook his head. "You're overthinking it."
He looked at Yahiko and said with a calm face, "It's not that I don't recognize your code of conduct. Your ideal is grand, but—I am very clear that I cannot do such things."
"I won't interfere with your actions. You can do whatever you want."
"I have only one requirement for you..."
"Protect me for one month."
"A month?" Yahiko found this even harder to comprehend. Frowning, he looked at Hyuga Yu. "Are you really going to do absolutely nothing during this month?"
Hyuga Yu nodded frankly. "That's right."
"I am mastering a jutsu..."
"Once this jutsu is complete, I will start cleaning up the mess in the Land of Rain."
"Then what do you plan to do after completing your training?"
When answering this question, Hyuga Yu's tone was incredibly calm: "Simple. Kill... all who refuse to submit."
Yahiko was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, looking at Hyuga Yu with a mix of amusement and dismay, he gave a helpless piece of advice. "Politics isn't that simple..."
"Since you carry the mission of peace talks with Iwagakure, shouldn't you be actively contacting the left-wing factions within the Hidden Stone Village right now? At the same time, finding ways to deal with the assassination attempts from the right-wing hardliners?"
Hyuga Yu gave a hum of assent. "Well said."
"Politics is complex. At a time like this, I ought to do exactly as you say."
"Even within a hostile village like Iwagakure, there are bound to be factions sympathetic to Konoha. Bringing in as many friends as possible, minimizing enemies, uniting all forces that can be united, and ultimately achieving one's political goals through struggle and by making trouble for opponents—this is a proven, most viable path."
Yahiko looked at Hyuga Yu in astonishment. Hearing such far-sighted remarks, he couldn't help but feel a sudden wave of enlightenment. However, his brow quickly furrowed again. "Since you know all this, why won't you do it?"
Hyuga Yu looked at him and said with a serious expression, "Because I am the Tennin."
"To me, and to Konoha, the Tennin does not need to compromise!"
Hearing this, Yahiko's eyelid twitched. "That... is truly an arrogant reason."
Immediately after, he heard Hyuga Yu state his plan in a remarkably measured, serious tone: "In one month, I will launch a grand purge."
"Before that, if you haven't unified the Land of Rain, I will unify it for you."
"If Iwagakure continues to desperately resist and refuses to surrender, then—"
"I will make Iwagakure crawl at my feet!"
Yahiko's eyelids twitched violently!
Glancing sideways at Yahiko, Hyuga Yu spoke calmly, "There isn't much time left for you. Instead of worrying about my mood, you should think about what you are going to do."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, a half-smile played on Hyuga Yu's face as he looked at Yahiko. "Iwagakure's next moves should be quite a show."
"You'd better prepare yourself. Don't fall apart before even a month is up."
"If you can't even manage to protect me for a single month..."
"To be honest, your Akatsuki might as well just disband."
However, hearing Hyuga Yu's words, Yahiko frowned, thinking that Yu was just exaggerating to conceal his true purpose, unwilling to disclose his real thoughts.
But since the conversation had reached this point, if they couldn't do it, it would make Akatsuki look completely incompetent.
Yahiko turned his head away with a huff and said, "Stop trying to fool me with big talk, Tennin. Since you aren't willing to say anything, then please just move along with us."
"I won't cater to your moods anymore. Next, I plan to contact Hanzo and organize a peace talk."
"I will absolutely stop Iwagakure's conspiracy and bring clear skies back to this country!"
Hyuga Yu looked at him with a slight smile and didn't say much, simply nodding. "Be my guest."
With that, Hyuga Yu submerged his consciousness, leaving only a fraction of his focus to drive his body to keep pace with Yahiko's trio, while channeling the rest of his energy entirely into maintaining his bodily functions.
At this moment, as Hyuga Yu's inner gaze refocused inside himself, the nature transformation induced by Yang Release gradually spread throughout his body. He continuously applied nearly a hundred medical ninjutsu, represented by the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, constantly pushing his bodily functions to adapt to the transformation of Yang Release's nature.
Within the body undergoing this metamorphosis, the first organ to fully adapt to the high-intensity cell proliferation stimulation of Yang Release appeared—
It was Hyuga Yu's heart.
At this moment, every inch of his heart's valves, muscle fibers, and the various tissues making up its function—even the molecular units constituting these tissues—were blanketed by a layer of pale cyan chakra.
No, it didn't look like a coating; rather, it was a radiance naturally emanating from the surface of the heart itself!
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
The chakra-infused heart, resembling a pale cyan gemstone, throbbed and vibrated continuously at a terrifying rate of 309 beats per minute.
Droplet after droplet of fresh blood produced by this gemstone heart was coated with traces of pale cyan chakra during the continuous circulation process, carried throughout the entire body by the blood vessels.
A terrifying qualitative transformation, completely silent to Hyuga Yu, steadily advanced at this very moment and into the next, progressing relentlessly second by second.
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the Seventh District of the Land of Rain, at the frog wooden hut.
Swept by the mighty power of the Rinnegan, the area had been completely reduced to ruins. A massive, crater-like pit encircled the collapsed frog hut. Around it, dozens of ninja corpses dressed in Hidden Rain uniforms lay haphazardly scattered within the craters. Rain relentlessly poured down from the gloomy sky, gathering into large pools of bloody water in the sunken hollows.
And right in the middle of a puddle where blood and rainwater mingled, a hand suddenly thrust out from the muddy ground of the crater!
Next, the palm spread wide to grip the earth, the arm elongated vertically as it pulled free, and a shoulder pushed through the soil layer. A tall figure, half of his body shrouded in a tattered black robe, silently climbed out from underground.
Judging by the black mask he wore, the stitched seams running all over his body visible beneath his shredded robes, and his eerie green eyes, one could instantly identify this man as none other than Kakuzu, who had accompanied the "Rain Ninja" squad to launch the assault!
Though the clash between Hyuga Yu's group, Akatsuki, and the Rain Ninja seemed to have lasted a long time, in reality, the battle had concluded in less than a minute.
Kakuzu, who had been lying in wait in the frog hut's secret passage, had only seen Hyuga Yu for a few breaths before a terrifying repulsive force penetrating the earth flattened his body and shoved him deep underground!
Fortunately, sensing that things were going south, Kakuzu had instantly activated Earth Release: Earth Spear to harden his body and used Earth Release: Underground Submarine Voyage to plunge into deeper geological strata. He relied on the hard texture of the subterranean rock to block a blow powerful enough to knock out even a Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki.
Shinra Tensei.
Kakuzu had only ever watched this bizarre and terrifying jutsu being cast from afar once during Hyuga Yu's battle against Hiruko. However, whether in terms of power, scale, or casting speed, the Deva Path power unleashed directly by the Rinnegan was far beyond what Hyuga Yu was capable of back then!
With insufficient intel and realizing something was amiss, Kakuzu did not rashly move to pursue and kill Hyuga Yu. He hid underground, relying solely on the tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear extending above ground to quietly scout the area.
Only after Hyuga Yu's group departed did Kakuzu crawl out.
Now, Kakuzu scanned the corpses littering the ground. Then, he turned his head, staring hollowly in the direction Hyuga Yu had gone. Narrowing his eyes, he could sense through the Earth Grudge Fear threads grafted onto Hyuga Yu that the boy's body was on the verge of collapsing and dying at any moment. This was precisely why he had chosen to keep hunting Hyuga Yu.
Yet, just moments ago, at the exact instant Hyuga Yu had reached out to snatch Yahiko's long sword, Kakuzu had strangely perceived something else—
In that split second, Hyuga Yu's body had almost instantly recovered to its absolute peak state at a terrifying speed!
This was incredibly bizarre. When he seemed to be acting normally, Hyuga Yu was in a state where he could drop dead at any moment; yet when he seemed to suffer a heavy blow, he weirdly entered a state of perfect, peak health...
Having walked the shinobi world for decades, Kakuzu had never encountered such a bizarre ninja. At this thought, Kakuzu's brow furrowed deeply. "Clearly, that brat is still hiding the strength to fight. On top of that, a few quite capable brats have gathered around him."
"It seems this 200 million Ryo bounty won't be so easy to claim..."
A peak-condition Hyuga Yu possessed the power to decisively crush the previous white-haired bounty ninja. Kakuzu made a brief assessment: although that white-haired bounty ninja's combat experience was like a piece of garbage, his abilities, chakra reserves, and unique ninjutsu mechanics were not inferior to Kakuzu's own.
In other words, even if he, with his far richer combat experience, were to fight a peak-condition Hyuga Yu, the odds of victory would probably be around a 60-40 split.
Sixty for Hyuga Yu, forty for Kakuzu.
Therefore, knowing that Hyuga Yu still hid a peak strength even greater than when he fought the white-haired bounty ninja, Kakuzu immediately chose not to strike. He remained hidden, using the Earth Grudge Fear threads on Hyuga Yu to investigate his intel and condition. Fortunately, it wasn't completely without gain—at this moment, Kakuzu fixed his hollow gaze on the direction Hyuga Yu had left, calculating, "Once that brat is pushed to unleash his peak power, he will likely instantly forge that terrifying giant Wind Style sword to slaughter his enemies."
"After utilizing that technique, given his bodily condition at that moment, he will weirdly fall into a severely wounded state—or even... die—precisely because his body reached its absolute peak!"
"Therefore, that will be the exact moment for this old man to strike!"
"I absolutely cannot fight him head-on while he's in his peak state. I must wait until he exhausts his chakra before moving in to capture him."
"Furthermore, I must ensure he doesn't die in that state..."
"After all, the bounty requires him to be taken alive."
With such exacting capture conditions, even someone like Kakuzu couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Fortunately, to Kakuzu—an experienced S-rank bounty hunter who had dominated the underground world of the shinobi realm for decades—none of this was an issue!
He narrowed his eyes and turned his head toward the center of the Land of Rain, looking in the direction of Amegakure. "This old man... needs someone who can clash with this brat head-on and force out his ultimate killer jutsu ahead of time!"
"I also need manpower capable of pinning down the few brats around him—"
Kakuzu pondered for a brief moment and quickly found suitable targets from the intelligence he had recently browsed regarding the movements of the major shinobi nations: "Conveniently, the Iwagakure delegation has already arrived in the Land of Rain. Ohnoki's son, those two Tailed Beasts, and... the Demigod of the Land of Rain are all in this country."
"Humph, though it's just boring political struggles... they can be perfectly used to my advantage!"
At this thought, beneath his mask, the corners of Kakuzu's mouth couldn't help but curl into a gleeful arc. "200 million Ryo, heh..."
"This money belongs to this old man!"
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