"Is this place covered in heavy snow all year round?"
"Meow~"
"That's wonderful."
Kanna breathed out a white puff of air in the house as she spoke, her curious gaze roaming over the interior.
It was freezing outside but pleasantly warm within, a complete contrast to the buildings of the Ninja Cat Fortress. During that brief glimpse she'd had of the outdoors, she'd seen a world of pure white.
It was pristine, and beautiful.
She was starting to like a country like this. Of course, that was just her naive impression. To the people of the Land of Snow, these blizzards weren't some lovely scenic wonder. They made agriculture impossible, most of the food needed for survival had to be obtained through trade.
Before long, Kanna sensed three powerful chakra signatures rapidly approaching.
She stood up, a little on guard.
Soon after, the door was flung open. Wind and snow blasted into the house, and the Drunkard lying on the floor shuddered awake on the spot. He opened his eyes, saw Takeshi, and immediately dropped to his knees in terror.
"Takeshi-sama, you... I deserve punishment, I..."
That day when Takeshi had enclosed their village with a powerful jutsu, only to shatter the walls with a single swipe of his paw, they had all witnessed that with their own eyes.
Especially this man.
He had been in the meeting room then, so he'd seen everything clearly. Before, he hadn't truly grasped what that level of power meant. But with Yahiko and rest of Akatsuki here for comparison, the former shinobi of Yukigakure understood that the black cat's strength was likely even more terrifying than that of the three newly arrived ninja.
He was a god, something they could not hope to oppose.
"Meow~ Forget it. In this kind of cold, having some sake is acceptable. Just don't drink while you're on duty."
Takeshi flicked his paw dismissively. He wasn't that unreasonable. Besides, this man had just contributed a small number of Points and served as a convenient waypoint for his Flying Thunder God. That counted as some merit.
Besides, what was drinking at home? It wasn't some kind of crime.
"Th-thank you, my lord."
The Yukigakure shinobi thanked him over and over.
Then he noticed Kanna, specifically, her familiar red hair. Unconsciously, he glanced toward the second-in-command, Nagato, who had just arrived.
They had almost the same red hair.
It wasn't just him. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were also looking at Kanna, especially Nagato. His heart was filled with astonishment, the moment he saw Kanna, he felt as if he had encountered family.
A connection in their blood.
"Meow~ Konan, the clothes I asked for..."
"I brought them. But the size might be a bit off."
Konan quickly realized she was considerably taller than Kanna, and their builds were different, so the clothes might not fit perfectly.
"It's fine. Thank you."
Kanna bowed softly and took the woven cotton robe, wrapping it around herself.
Then she looked carefully toward Nagato.
From Takeshi's explanation, she knew Akatsuki's Nagato was a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, and she also knew he possessed terrifyingly powerful eyes, supposedly, the legendary eyes of the Sage.
The Rinnegan.
"You are..."
"My name is Kanna Uzumaki. Just like you, I'm a descendant of the Uzumaki clan."
"Uzumaki..."
Nagato repeated the surname. He had heard it before, Konoha's flak jackets bore the whirlpool emblem on their backs, the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumaki clan had been destroyed long ago.
Before he had even been born.
At the same time, past memories rose in his mind.
It seemed his parents had been hiding from something.
His mother, especially, rarely went out and rarely let him go out either. So that was connected to the Uzumaki clan.
Nagato fell silent, saying nothing.
"Sorry, my friends's just shy. It's not that you're unwelcome."
Yahiko hurried to apologize on his behalf.
"There's no need. I understand. The wandering Uzumaki, none of us have escaped that kind of hardship. If not for Takeshi-sama, I would probably be dead by now."
Kanna's tone held relief, threaded with reverence.
Nagato was still processing the shock of what he had learned today: he was a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, and his mother had been one of them.
It was hard to believe.
But the feeling rising from his blood wasn't fake, and Kanna's words corroborated the things he had experienced as a child. His feelings were complicated, but he was habitually quiet, so even that shock didn't show on his face.
"My lord, did you come here to bring her to Nagato?" Konan couldn't help but ask.
"Meow~ That's part of it. In truth, I'd been paying attention to Nagato for a while because of his red hair."
Takeshi casually used Kanna as his excuse.
No one doubted him.
After Akatsuki' members had settled here, their lives had become quite good. And if it hadn't been for Takeshi's help back in Amegakure, they would have been killed in the trap set by Danzo and Hanzo.
Enemies like that were far beyond what they could handle, so Takeshi had no reason to lie about something like this.
It wasn't a crucial matter, anyway.
Besides, the Uzumaki clan were naturally sensitive sensors, they could feel if someone was of their blood. Nagato and Kanna already had their answers.
"Meow~ You two must have a lot to talk about. Go find a place and talk it out. We won't bother him here."
"Uh, actually, I..."
The owner of the house, terrified of becoming a target, spoke with a trembling, timid voice.
As for Nagato...
He really wanted to say that he didn't have much to talk about. In fact, he had no idea what to say at all.
Even as clan members, he and Kanna had never had any contact growing up. Aside from the bond of their blood, his feelings toward her weren't as strong as those he had for Konan and Yahiko.
Kanna was different.
She was genuinely excited. The Uzumaki were so few, even without any past connection, they were, in a sense, family.
Under Takeshi's firm arrangement, Nagato and Kanna went to their own house to talk, while Takeshi hopped onto Konan's shoulder to chat with her and Yahiko about the recent state of Yukigakure.
They had completely integrated into the village and become its leaders.
Doto had welcomed their arrival and increased his support in supplies and resources, but they did not approve of his methods. Their relationship was only a temporary cooperation.
That man had an invention that truly interested Yahiko.
Chakra Armor.
Right now, Chakra Armor was still in development, but if completed, it would be a new ninja tool that could greatly enhance the strength of ordinary shinobi.
For Akatsuki, still weak at this stage, that would be a huge help. It was precisely for this reason that they had spared Doto's life. Otherwise, given the man's personality, Yahiko would have taken him out long ago.
Compared to Nagato, Yahiko was far more flexible.
Takeshi approved of that.
He also stated his own goal: "I'm going to establish my own Holy Land in the Land of Snow."
"A Holy Land? In the Land of Snow?"
Konan was surprised.
She didn't understand. Why pick such a harsh, unforgiving place?
They were satisfied here, yes, but that was because they came from the Land of Rain, a place of endless downpours. The Land of Snow was simply rain turned into snow.
But the black cat...
She really didn't see Takeshi as the type who would tolerate this kind of environment. As a girl, Konan was attentive to details, she knew Takeshi was actually very picky.
"Meow~ Because you're here, Konan."
The black cat joked.
"Haha, Takeshi-sama, please don't tease me like that."
Konan smiled, her lips curving gently.
Yahiko's mouth twitched, his expression turning just a little pained.
Still...
Someone as important as Takeshi couldn't possibly have chosen the Land of Snow for her sake. There had to be other reasons.
They both thought so inwardly.
They mulled it over but couldn't quite pinpoint any real advantage of the Land of Snow.
'Wait, Takeshi also wields Ice Release.'
'Could he be from the Land of Snow?'
Yahiko felt he might have stumbled upon the truth. Perhaps this had once been Takeshi's homeland, and that was why he wanted to return and build a nation for the ninja cats.
Yes, that had to be it.
Perhaps they could deepen their cooperation with Takeshi-sama in the future and even use his Holy Land to help realize their dream of peace.
Of course, world peace was difficult.
Especially after being betrayed by Hanzo, he understood that even more clearly. So his goal was no longer instant peace across the ninja world.
You had to eat one bite at a time. For now, they would start by putting the Land of Snow in order.
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