Chapter 22: The Akatsuki
Amegakure
A light drizzle fell from the overcast sky, doing little to dispel the oppressive atmosphere hanging over the village.
Hanzō stood before the village's senior officials, his tall figure wrapped in a cloak that snapped softly in the cold wind. A mask designed to protect him from poisonous gas covered his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
Several members of Amegakure's guard surrounded him.
"How is the investigation progressing?" Hanzō asked. "Who exactly has been attacking our shinobi? Don't tell me it's really Iwagakure."
An Amegakure intelligence shinobi lowered his head.
"Lord Hanzō, according to the information we've gathered, some of the attackers were definitely from Iwagakure. However, others appear to have come from different villages. Someone is deliberately muddying the waters. We haven't been able to determine which country is responsible—or whether there might be another organization operating within the Land of Rain itself."
Hanzō's eyes narrowed.
"So our enemy is deliberately dragging everyone into this."
He paused.
"Fine. If someone dares to run rampant through the Land of Rain, I can't simply stand by and watch."
Hanzō had no desire to involve himself in another war. He had already done more than enough fighting in his lifetime and would have preferred to spend his remaining years in peace.
But he was still the leader of Amegakure.
If he couldn't even guarantee the safety of his own shinobi, the village would no longer recognize his authority.
His gaze sharpened.
He had thought that, even if he couldn't change the situation in the Land of Rain, he could at least withdraw from the wider conflict and enjoy a quiet life.
Apparently, someone had other plans.
This battle seemed unavoidable.
"Lord Hanzō, according to the intelligence division's analysis, the most likely possibility is that Iwagakure is playing both sides against each other."
"There's also a possibility that Konoha wants us to go to war with Iwagakure in order to ease the pressure currently being placed on Konoha."
"We can't rule out the possibility of an internal faction within the Land of Rain attempting to seize power amid the chaos."
The intelligence shinobi continued, carefully laying out every possibility.
"As for Sunagakure, the disappearance of the Third Kazekage and the losses that followed have severely weakened them. They're only maintaining troops along the border to restrain Konoha's forces. A full-scale attack is unlikely, so the possibility of them attacking Amegakure is relatively low."
"The smaller nations—such as the Land of Birds, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Grass—don't possess the strength to provoke the Land of Rain on their own. However, we can't completely rule out the possibility that they're cooperating with another hidden village."
The Land of Rain wasn't merely situated between the three great nations.
With several smaller countries surrounding it, it was effectively caught at the crossroads of multiple nations.
The intelligence shinobi reported everything they had gathered.
Hanzō stroked his chin.
"What about Kumogakure and Kirigakure? Could they be taking advantage of the chaos to fish in troubled waters?"
"Highly unlikely."
The intelligence shinobi shook his head.
"That cunning old man, Ōnoki, is already fighting on two fronts. Iwagakure has sent forces deep into the Land of Lightning, and the conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure is no less intense than their war with Konoha."
"As for Kirigakure, they're separated from us by the sea. The distance is too great, and there doesn't appear to be any reason for them to attack us. Though, of course, we can't completely exclude information we're unaware of."
The intelligence report continued.
The situation was no longer as simple as the four great hidden villages fighting Konoha.
The villages were also fighting one another.
They weren't allies.
They had merely reached an unspoken understanding that Konoha—with its vast territory and enormous resources—was the most profitable target.
If another country offered a better opportunity to obtain resources at a lower cost, there was no reason for them to continue wasting manpower against Konoha.
Ōnoki had already understood this.
The crafty Third Tsuchikage had sent forces deep into the Land of Lightning, forcing even the Third Raikage to lead a large army to deal with the threat.
As for Kirigakure, the intelligence they had gathered suggested that the Mist Village was also making preparations of some kind.
Unfortunately, Amegakure was simply too far away.
Without any direct contact between the two villages, there was little information they could gather about Kirigakure's movements.
"Konoha..."
Hanzō's attention briefly settled on that name.
His brows furrowed.
Could Konoha really spare the manpower to attack Amegakure when its own front lines were already stretched so thin?
"I'll give you three days."
Hanzō clenched his fist.
"Gather as much information as possible on whoever has been attacking our village. This time, I'll deal with them personally."
His voice carried a cold edge.
He had stayed out of the fighting for too long.
Perhaps the world had already forgotten the name of the Salamander of the Rain.
This time, he would remind them.
Anyone who dared invade the Land of Rain would be crushed.
...
The ruins of an abandoned factory somewhere in the Land of Rain.
Moss covered the crumbling walls, while several figures stood beside an open window, silently watching the rain outside.
Water poured from the sky, forming an endless curtain beyond the broken building.
"Yahiko, I heard that someone has been attacking Rain shinobi. They've killed almost everyone they encountered, with only a few powerful shinobi managing to survive. According to the information we've gathered, the attackers appear to be from Iwagakure."
The speaker was a young woman with blue hair and a white flower tucked into it.
Konan.
Standing across from her was a blond young man around her age.
Yahiko's expression grew solemn.
"When will this war finally end?"
His gaze drifted toward the rain outside.
"Iwagakure... Konoha..."
As the leader of the Akatsuki, Yahiko couldn't simply ignore the suffering of his people.
Peace.
That had always been the Akatsuki's dream.
Yet after years of effort, after gathering countless people who shared the same ideals, that dream still remained out of reach.
But Yahiko had never given up.
Perhaps Jiraiya-sensei had been right.
Perhaps the path toward peace already existed.
They simply hadn't found it yet.
Yahiko wanted to find that path.
He wanted to fulfill Jiraiya's dream—the dream he had shared with Nagato, Konan, and everyone else in the Akatsuki.
At the very least, he wanted to bring peace to the Land of Rain.
To reduce the suffering inflicted upon ordinary people by the endless wars between the great nations.
And now, even the Land of Rain was being attacked.
The thought filled Yahiko with frustration and pain.
It meant that his homeland was still trapped in the same cycle of suffering.
"Konoha..."
A red-haired young man standing nearby suddenly heard the name.
For a moment, his mind returned to the past.
His parents.
His home.
The day everything had been taken from him by Konoha shinobi.
The memory was still painfully vivid.
Nagato's gaze shifted toward Yahiko.
No.
That won't happen again.
He would follow Yahiko.
He would spread the seeds of peace throughout the world and make everyone recognize the dream Yahiko had dedicated his life to.
"Konan, what do you think we should do?" Yahiko asked.
The situation had left even him somewhat uncertain.
The Akatsuki was still too weak.
Against the great hidden villages and their powerful shinobi, their current strength was nowhere near enough.
Konan considered the situation.
"Although we're not strong enough to confront them directly, we can gather information and bring it to Lord Hanzō. If we provide him with enough intelligence, Lord Hanzō should be able to drive the attackers out of the Land of Rain."
Yahiko nodded before turning toward the red-haired boy.
"What do you think, Nagato?"
Nagato nodded.
"Konan is right. The Akatsuki isn't strong enough yet. We need to rely on Lord Hanzō's strength to deal with the enemy."
The three of them respected Hanzō deeply.
After all, he was the man who had once brought a brief period of peace to the Land of Rain.
They also understood their current limitations.
At their present strength, the most they could do was gather intelligence and provide support.
As long as Hanzō personally intervened, they believed the situation could be resolved.
"Then it's settled."
Yahiko nodded firmly.
"We'll gather the information and deliver it to Lord Hanzō. I'm sure he'll be able to deal with this."
He hoped they wouldn't encounter an enemy they couldn't handle.
The Akatsuki was still ill-equipped to deal with unexpected situations.
For now, all they could do was keep moving forward.