"Let's deal with things as they come."
"For now, our main question is how to take the first step."
After a long silence, Yahiko was the first to break it.
The earlier strategies written on Kawaki's scroll were too vague to be considered real tactics.
"Our teacher's general direction is correct."
"Even if we can conquer the Land of Rain by force, we'll still need manpower to manage it."
"So recruiting members should be our top priority."
Nagato shared his thoughts. Right now, they only had five people total.
Trying to govern an entire nation with just five people was simply absurd.
"Nagato's right."
Nonou had already begun showing signs of supporting her partner's ideas.
"But where exactly do we go to recruit people?"
Konan asked habitually. Aside from money matters, she rarely took the lead in thinking.
"Foolish!"
"Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp."
"You really need to ask about something so obvious?"
Kakuzu responded proudly. In such chaos, all you needed was strength—how could that not attract followers?
"You're the idiot. The whole lot of you."
Konan fired back quickly.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm a lone wolf."
"Pity though—I'm smarter than you."
Kakuzu remained calm and unaffected, knowing full well that this would irritate Konan even more.
"Enough."
"Let's get back to business."
Yahiko raised a halting hand. He couldn't remember how many times he'd played peacekeeper between them.
"Hmph~"
Konan puffed her cheeks angrily and turned sideways, refusing to look at Kakuzu again.
"This method really does allow us to build a team the fastest way possible."
"So who should we target first?"
Nagato shifted his gaze toward the map Nonou hadn't yet rolled up.
"Go for the big ones."
"The smaller groups can wait until later."
Kakuzu wanted the war over as soon as possible—he was already excited about counting money.
"Attack them?"
Nonou tapped on the largest faction marked on the map, frowning slightly.
"What's wrong with that?"
Yahiko thought Kakuzu made sense but noticed something off in Nonou's expression.
"At this point, recruiting these wandering ninja is probably the quickest way."
"There are too many of them, which will make managing them later extremely difficult."
"I don't think it's a good choice."
"As they say, seizing power is easy; holding onto it is hard."
"They don't feel any belonging toward the Land of Rain—they're only looking for a safe place to stay."
Nonou clearly laid out the pros and cons without worrying whether their strength was enough or not.
"Unruly? Then kill them until they obey."
Kakuzu's eyes flashed coldly, revealing his ruthless side.
He was never someone easily reasoned with.
Anyone who stands in the way of his money… dies!!!
"No."
"Killing only treats the symptoms, not the disease."
"If we plant hidden dangers now, bigger troubles will emerge later."
Yahiko shook his head. Taking control of the Land of Rain was only half the task.
They also needed to become Konoha's covert allies, so no mistakes could be tolerated.
"Then what do you suggest?"
Kakuzu knew he wasn't the one calling the shots, so he had no choice but to back down.
The mere thought of delaying his money-counting days again made his heart ache.
"How about we target the remnants of the Land of Rain?"
Nagato suddenly had an idea and proposed a promising target.
"That's actually a great idea."
Nonou's eyes lit up—Nagato sure had a sharp mind.
"They have the strongest loyalty to the Land of Rain."
"And their strength isn't too weak either."
"Without outside interference, they'd definitely lose against those wandering ninja."
"We just need the right opportunity to step in. We could take them out with ease."
In just a few moments, Nonou already had a rough plan taking shape.
"Go on."
Yahiko became interested as soon as he heard this.
All three of them were born in the Land of Rain—if they could fight side by side with their fellow countrymen, it would naturally be the best option.
Seeing four pairs of eyes fixed on her, Nonou organized her thoughts.
"The wandering ninja see the Land of Rain's ninja as thorns in their eyes and splinters in their skin."
"There's constant friction between them."
"I predict a major war will break out sooner or later."
"When that happens, we'll help the Land of Rain's ninja escape danger."
"Isn't that like saving someone's life?"
"On top of that, your status as natives makes it easy for you to be accepted."
"Won't that entire force practically fall into our hands?"
Nonou's plan focused on rescuing rather than directly winning battles for them.
It was all about understanding human nature.
Helping someone in desperate need always carries more weight than offering help when everything's already fine.
"That could mean quite a few deaths," Kakuzu said with a mocking look. Though he couldn't beat them, that didn't stop him from looking down on their moral character.
"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary," Nagato replied vaguely, shooting Kakuzu a sidelong glance.
"You really think we're kids?"
"Haha, very true." Kakazu felt uneasy under Nagato's gaze but laughed awkwardly in response.
"Then it's settled." Yahiko concluded decisively. "We'll leave intelligence-gathering to you. Professional tasks should be handled by professionals."
"You can count on me." Nonou responded without hesitation—it was well within her area of expertise.
With the main topic resolved, the group finally relaxed and started catching up.
Nonou recounted her experiences over these years, making the others feel shocked and anxious.
Oh right—Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade. Be sure to bookmark!
That journey had been like walking a tightrope—one misstep could mean death without even a grave.
For her to still be standing alive before Nagato now was no small feat.
No wonder Jiraiya praised her so highly.
"Don't worry, I'll always be here for you." Listening made Nagato's heart ache deeply—it sounded even more dangerous than his Anbu missions.
"It's all in the past now." "I'm fine, aren't I?" Nonou smiled as she comforted Nagato. Truth be told, she'd spent all these years worrying about the dangers he might face too.
Reuniting in the Land of Rain was already a pleasant surprise.
"Cut the sentimentality—we've finally turned a corner." Konan rubbed her reddening eyes. Compared to Nonou, she'd had it easy.
"It's a good day today—let's all lighten up a bit."
"Hey, how about we come up with a name for our team?"
Wanting to ease the tension, Yahiko quickly shifted the topic.
"Sure."
"Let's make it something really impressive."
Konan was wracking her brains, struggling to think of something good.
"What if we just use the name of our old squad?"
Unable to think of anything better, Konan just reused an old team name.
"No way. Using our mentor's name might expose us."
Yahiko shot it down right away—way too cautious for his own good.
"There are so many people in this world named Kawaki. How would that possibly expose us?"
Konan still felt unconvinced.
"Better safe than sorry."
"How about 'Akatsuki' then?"
"It represents dawn and sunrise—a new beginning and a bright future ahead."
"We'll definitely bring peace back to the Land of Rain."
Nagato had always been the most well-read among them, and his knowledge finally came in handy.
"A meaningful name indeed."
Kakuzu wasn't just flattering them either—he genuinely wouldn't have joined if they'd used Kawaki's name. The mere thought of Kawaki made him clench his teeth.
"That actually sounds pretty cool."
"I like it."
"Let's go with that."
The name 'Akatsuki' got unanimous approval from everyone.
Inside that rundown hut, Akatsuki was born.
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