.
It's been half a day since Ayame and Itachi joined Yahiko and Nagato at their base. By this time, they were already fed and well rested.
Ayame was secretly delighted when she found out that Yahiko was the leader of Akatsuki. What better way was there to get information than directly from the leader himself?
After eating and resting, Ayame and Itachi left their room and began collecting information. Slowly, they started interacting with the lower-ranking members of Akatsuki.
As they interacted with them, Ayame and Itachi noticed that the Akatsuki organization was different from other mercenary groups. They did not treat members differently, they weren't arrogant, and they genuinely wanted to help people.
All that made the two geniuses feel guilty. After half a day, they decided to tell Yahiko why they had come here, leave the village, and return to Konoha. But before they could approach Yahiko, they noticed a tense atmosphere between him and some Akatsuki members.
Not sure what was happening, Ayame approached Nagato and asked,
"Big brother Nagato, why does everyone look so grim and serious?"
Hearing her question, Nagato looked down at her, his strange eyes giving her a weird feeling. It felt like all her secrets lay bare in front of those purple spiral eyes.
"Konan's missing…" Nagato answered after a moment of silence.
Ayame paused for a moment before questioning again,
"What? How?"
"We don't know… She went missing when she went to one of our informants. Currently, every Akatsuki member is looking for her," Nagato answered. Although his tone was casual, Ayame could feel his anxiety from the way his hand clenched.
"Can we help…?" Ayame asked after a long pause.
"Help? Weren't you two leaving? Your mission should already be complete."
"You knew?!" Ayame asked, startled, her eyes widening. Nagato snorted.
"Of course we did. We already know how Konoha works. The only reason we helped was because Yahiko can't stand seeing children in trouble. He helped despite knowing your motives."
"I… we…?" Ayame couldn't form words after hearing that.
"We are attacking Hanzo's base," Yahiko suddenly announced, catching Ayame's attention.
Akatsuki members looked at each other for a moment before nodding resolutely.
"Fine!"
"Let's go!!!"
"Have it your way!"
A chorus of agreement rang out, and before Ayame knew it, she and Itachi were tagging along with Akatsuki to attack Hanzo and his goons.
Itachi tried to stop Ayame, knowing the consequences, but she didn't listen. Her guilt and youth made her irrational.
Akatsuki, with all its members and Ayame and Itachi, barged into Hanzo's territory. It took only a moment for Hanzo and his people to arrive.
Their massive numbers easily dwarfed Ayame's group.
Yahiko and Hanzo stepped out from their lines and met in the middle, where they tried to negotiate—but ultimately, it failed, and they began to attack each other.
Their groups also launched attacks at each other. Soon, the whole battlefield turned into chaos of elements and explosions.
Ayame and Itachi also joined the fray. Ayame, using her Matrix, easily suppressed shinobi one by one, while Itachi used his Sharingan and genjutsu mastery to take out enemies.
The battle lasted quite a while, but eventually, Akatsuki's side came out victorious.
Yahiko and Nagato were enough to hold back Hanzo, while Itachi and Ayame were a great help in taking out Hanzo's goons.
Akatsuki itself was stronger than in canon due to the attack happening two years later than in the original show. In those two years, they had grown stronger.
But just as they were about to win, a masked shinobi entered the battlefield with Konan as a hostage.
The victorious Akatsuki froze upon seeing her. They tried to attack the masked shinobi, but he pressed a kunai to Konan's neck, drawing blood.
Suddenly, an old man appeared beside Hanzo and attacked Yahiko and Nagato, forcing them to retreat.
Itachi and Ayame recognized the old man—and so did he.
The old man's remaining eye turned cold as he asked Yahiko and Nagato to hand them over.
Nagato hesitated, but Yahiko refused without hesitation.
A flash of anger crossed Danzo's face.
Before he could act, Hanzo ordered Nagato to kill Yahiko if he wanted to save Konan.
Nagato refused—but suddenly, Yahiko threw himself onto Nagato's kunai, stabbing himself to death.
Nagato, seeing the lifeless look in his friend's eyes, cried. He tried to mourn his brother, but Konan's sudden scream pulled him back.
He quickly looked up to see Konan being stabbed by Danzo.
Nagato's face twisted into a look of bestial anger. He roared as an unknown force burst from him.
Everyone was thrown back by the shockwave. As they looked up, they saw a shocking scene: the entire battlefield was destroyed, the raining clouds had disappeared—
And in the middle of it all, Nagato stood, breathing heavily, his purple-rimmed eyes crying blood.
Suddenly, the masked shinobi surrounded the Uzumaki, and before he could react, they trapped him in a barrier seal.
With Nagato taken care of, Danzo's focus turned to Itachi and Ayame. He attacked quickly, thinking he would never get such a chance again.
Itachi and Ayame fought Danzo hard, but eventually, they lost. They were too tired and weak to fight him for long.
Danzo, seeing the two geniuses kneeling before him, felt a sense of twisted pleasure—especially regarding Ayame. His ego swelled at the thought of Ryoichi's face when he heard of his precious daughter's death.
Without further delay, he drove the kunai toward the back of Ayame's neck—
But before it could reach her, the world turned gray, and a sigh echoed throughout the Village of Rain.
Danzo's face twisted as he felt a hand grab his wrist, stopping it from reaching Ayame. He looked up to see the calm face of Ryoichi standing, looking down at him.
Suddenly, a deep-rooted fear consumed his being. He tried to speak, but before he could, his body aged and turned to ashes in a single moment.
Ryoichi looked at the ashes in his palm before turning toward Ayame, who was staring at him with teary eyes.
He sighed again before waving his hand. Time rebounded, and everything—except Danzo—returned to how it was before.
Everyone looked confused, especially those who had been revived, like Konan and Yahiko. But before they could ask anything, they saw a terrifying scene:
Hanzo and his men suddenly aged, turned to ashes, and scattered away.
By that time, Ryoichi had already lifted Ayame and Itachi in each arm and teleported to Konoha.
.