"The other one?"
Nagato did not ask Konan why Shinnō, as the leader of the Hidden Sky ninja, would join the Akatsuki. Instead, he asked with interest about the other person.
He knew Konan would not speak without purpose. Since she mentioned it, it proved she had confidence in recruiting the other party. Between them, trust was all that was needed.
"The second is a ninja named Orochimaru. He was from the same generation as the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, but he was expelled from the village for practicing forbidden techniques.
In the time that followed, there were reports of him hunting various kekkei genkai ninja, suspected of having mastered multiple kekkei genkai through forbidden techniques. This hasn't been confirmed yet and needs to be verified later."
"Konoha's Legendary Sannin... from the same era as Teacher Jiraiya?"
Mentioning Jiraiya's name caused both Nagato and Konan to fall into a brief silence at the same time. They also recalled their other companion who had already died—Yahiko.
The happiest time in their lives was the period when the three of them were taken in and cared for by Jiraiya. There was nothing for them to worry about. It was beautiful and unforgettable.
...
"From the few words you've said, it's clear they aren't easy opponents. Plus, the current ninja world harbors great hostility toward our Akatsuki, so it's better to bring him along."
In the end, it was Nagato who broke the silence first. With his voice, another figure approached from the distance. He had the same Rinnegan as the Deva Path and black rods on his body as well.
"Animal Path..."
Seeing the arriving figure, Konan understood Nagato's intention and nodded without refusing his kindness.
Although Konan's strength was not weak, the current ninja world was not friendly to the Akatsuki organization. If something unexpected happened, Konan really risked capsizing in the gutter. This was something Nagato did not want to see.
That was why Nagato had the Animal Path accompany her.
Although Nagato calling himself a god seemed somewhat mysteriously overconfident compared to some immortals, in the early to mid-period of Naruto, with the power of the Rinnegan, Nagato truly could not find many opponents.
Without intelligence, when all Six Paths were deployed, even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages had little resistance and were basically completely crushed and defeated.
Of course, with the stats of Pain's Six Paths, even with intelligence, almost no one in the current ninja world could handle them. At the very least, multiple powerful individuals would need to join forces to have any chance of opposing them.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the first character to surpass Kage level in the early to mid-period of Naruto was no joke.
...
Because Shinnō's public identity was that of a physician with superb medical skills, he had some fame in the ninja world. His whereabouts were naturally not hard to find. It did not take long before Konan arrived in front of a village.
"This should be the place."
Looking at the unremarkable small village ahead and confirming she had not come to the wrong place, Konan stepped inside. Everything around her was ordinary and no different from other villages—except for one person.
"Doctor Shinnō, we really can't thank you enough. If it weren't for your help, I don't know what we would have done. My husband is still not well enough to get out of bed, otherwise I would definitely have him come thank you properly. And these—since you won't accept money, I can only express our gratitude with these. Please accept them."
After strolling around the village for a while, Konan found the target of her trip.
A middle-aged to elderly-looking man was currently facing a villager's thanks with a face full of benevolence. He showed no arrogance at all, as if he really was just a benevolent physician practicing medicine to help the world.
But Konan knew the other party was far from as simple as he appeared. Still, she did not interrupt the villager's thoughts. Only after the villager finished expressing gratitude and handed over local specialties did she finally show herself.
"Doctor Shinnō, I have some matters I would like to discuss with you. Could we go somewhere more convenient?"
"Akatsuki..." Seeing the cloak Konan was wearing, countless thoughts flashed through Shinnō's mind in an instant.
Although the Akatsuki's reputation in the ninja world was not good, Konan had no intention of concealing her identity. Because to her, the Akatsuki was everything. Unless absolutely necessary, she would not do so.
And Shinnō, who had traveled the ninja world and seen much, naturally knew of the Akatsuki's existence and was naturally aware of recent events involving them. But why would they come to him? Could it be...
"This young lady must be looking for me to treat an illness, right? I do have some slight knowledge of medicine. You can tell me the situation first, and I should be able to help somewhat."
After bidding farewell to the villagers who came to greet him and coming to a place where no one was around, before Konan could speak, Shinnō spoke first, trying to bluff his way through.
But from the beginning, Konan's purpose in seeking him out was to recruit the leader of the Hidden Sky Village, not to seek a physician's help. Shinnō's plan was doomed to fail.
"No need for useless disguises. I know your hidden identity—the leader of the Hidden Sky Village. And you also know where I come from. So we can be completely frank with each other."
"Heh, what business does the Akatsuki organization, which has recently been stirring up storms in the ninja world, have with a small fry like the leader of the Hidden Sky Village? It couldn't be that you want to recruit me to join you, could it?"
Seeing Konan directly expose his identity, Shinnō knew there was no point in continuing the pretense. He immediately dropped his previous benevolent facade, his face full of mockery.
"You're right. That's exactly it. Join our Akatsuki, and we can help you achieve everything you want."
"Hehe, forget it. The things your Akatsuki organization does are enough to make a small character like me tremble in fear just thinking about them. I only want to revive the Hidden Sky ninja and take revenge. I won't get involved in something like being enemies with the world."
This was not Shinnō making excuses. In his view, attacking a daimyo and causing the daimyo of the great nations to unite in hatred was pretty much already being enemies with the world.
The Five Great Ninja Villages represented the vast majority of the ninja world's power, while the daimyo of each country could influence their respective ninja villages. It amounted to roughly the same thing.
And this was clearly just the beginning. If they dared to attack a daimyo now, who knew what the Akatsuki would do in the future. Being enemies with the world in the literal sense might not even be impossible.
"We have no intention of attacking daimyo. The ones who attacked the daimyo were not our people. We also do not want to be enemies with the world. Our goal is only world peace."
"Oh, I seem to have heard something interesting. From what you're saying, your Akatsuki organization isn't united internally either. You want to pull me in to strengthen the combat power of your side, right?"
Upon hearing this, Shinnō immediately picked up the key point from Konan's words. The Akatsuki organization was actually divided into different factions internally. The ones who attacked the Land of Iron were from another faction.
In that case, the Akatsuki's power was probably even stronger than he had imagined.