"How many more are there?"
In a temporary medical station, Nagato was performing surgery on a seriously injured patient.
"Lord Nagato, this is the last batch."
"The battle is over. Lord Yahiko has slain their leader."
Two rescue squad members couldn't conceal their excitement.
They had won—the Land of Rain now belonged to Akatsuki, to them.
"Understood. You may attend to other tasks."
Nagato's expression remained calm and neutral as he continued treating the wounded, showing no surprise or joy. Everything was unfolding exactly as he'd anticipated.
"Yes, Lord Nagato."
The two quickly left. Though exhausted, they were filled with exhilaration.
"Yahiko and the others should be returning soon."
"Do you need help?"
Nonou, having finished her current task, walked over to Nagato's side.
"I'm almost done."
"You should rest. I'll finish up shortly."
Nagato turned to look at Nonou briefly, giving a small smile.
He could already sense Yahiko and Konan drawing near.
"I guess I am a bit tired—I can't compare with you."
Nonou plopped down cross-legged on the floor, not caring about how dirty it might be.
Her face was slightly pallid from chakra depletion.
Compared to Nagato, her total chakra reserves were far inferior.
Nagato had treated more patients and still showed no signs of fatigue.
"What's there to compare? We're both saving lives."
After finishing the treatment, Nagato deftly wrapped the patient's wounds in bandages.
"Take him away."
With a simple wave of his hand, attendants removed the wounded and replaced him with another brought before Nagato.
This was part of Nagato's arrangement with the rescue squad—he knew Nonou wouldn't be able to handle treating so many patients at once.
"I'll rest for a while and come back to relieve you."
Feeling a bit guilty, Nonou reached for the ninja tool pouch at her waist as she spoke.
"No need. I can manage."
Without even checking the new patient yet, Nagato gently pressed his hand onto hers.
He understood exactly what Nonou was reaching for—Military Rations Pills.
Though effective for restoring chakra, they were not without side effects.
They accelerated aging in women, a little-known fact Tsunade had told him.
"Okay then..."
Nonou reluctantly withdrew her hand, looking like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.
"You've done great already."
"It's just that I'm a bit special."
Nagato knew all too well that being a member of the Uzumaki Clan granted him naturally tremendous chakra reserves.
Something most people could only envy!
"I know. Red hair and all that."
Nonou didn't explicitly mention names; she had studied everything about the Uzumaki Clan thoroughly.
Abundant natural chakra reserves, powerful [Sealing Technique], acute sensory abilities, and so on.
"Lord Nagato...it hurts..."
A weak voice from the wounded man interrupted their conversation.
"My apologies. I almost forgot."
Nagato scratched his head, clearly embarrassed.
Seeing this side of him, Nonou couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
It was really nice having him around!
"This arm cannot be saved, but your life is safe."
Without waiting for a reply, Nagato swiftly amputated the remaining portion of the limb.
"I..."
The wounded man stared at his severed arm lying on the ground beside him, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.
Had he been crippled? Had he disturbed Leader-sama?
Until just now, he had clung to a sliver of hope—but now, reality had set in.
At least he'd survived.
"Alright, take him away."
Nagato quickly dealt with the aftermath, and the injured man was carried off shortly afterward.
"We're back!"
Before Yahiko and Konan had even arrived, their voices rang out from outside.
Konan's voice was especially bright.
"Where did you suddenly strike it rich?"
Nonou didn't stand up—just sat on the ground, smiling as she looked at Konan.
"Ta-da!"
Konan pulled out a thick stack of cash from inside her robe and waved it proudly in front of everyone.
Even though most of their money had been destroyed in the fight, something was better than nothing.
This much would keep Konan smiling for a while.
"You sure know her well."
Yahiko reached out to grab the cash but was skillfully dodged by Konan.
"Only someone like that greedy girl would get so worked up over cash."
Nonou knew Konan inside-out.
"Nonsense! I'm plenty happy seeing all of you too, you know!"
Konan sat down cross-legged next to Nonou, her slight pout kind of cute.
"Where's Kakuzu?"
Nagato gave both Yahiko and Konan a quick once-over to make sure they were okay before asking about Kakuzu.
"Don't even mention him—he almost got me too."
At the mention of Kakuzu, Yahiko immediately got angry.
Even thinking about that scene now made him feel uneasy.
If he hadn't dodged in time, Nagato wouldn't have let him die—but he'd still be seriously hurt.
"Yeah, that guy is so despicable."
Konan chimed in indignantly in Yahiko's defense. They'd cursed Kakuzu a hundred times already along the way.
"What reckless thing did he do this time?"
Frowning slightly, Nagato asked what dangerous act Kakuzu had committed.
...
After Konan exaggerated the details, Nagato finally understood the whole story.
"I'll talk to him when he gets back."
Nagato planned to give Kakuzu a stern warning—Yahiko was off-limits.
"Forget it—I'll handle it myself later."
Yahiko declined Nagato's kindness. He believed he wouldn't always be beneath Kakuzu.
Someday, he'd personally teach Kakuzu a lesson.
"Fine."
Nagato nodded directly in agreement. He could guess Yahiko's thoughts.
Oh right—
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But still, Kakuzu deserved a warning—one he'd deliver without telling Yahiko.
After all, Kakuzu's actions had been extremely dangerous. Nagato absolutely couldn't allow such an incident to happen again.
Even if it weren't Yahiko involved, he wouldn't tolerate having someone who treated teammates' lives like grass.
This was already different from how he'd handled Kakuzu in the original story.
"Do you think he ran off?"
Nonou never trusted Kakuzu anyway—who cared if he stayed or left?
"We haven't seen him since the fight ended."
"From what Nagashima Yuki said, he went after some bounties."
"Eh, forget it—he's annoying anyway."
Konan secretly hoped Kakuzu would never return, leaving her in full control of the money.
"Heh~ Not this time," Yahiko scoffed, clearly unbothered by Kakuzu's actions.
Knowing Kakuzu as he did, there was no way he'd run off now that they were finally making money.
"He probably just went to the nearest currency exchange."
It wasn't unusual for Kakuzu to go out collecting bounties—Nagato had long stopped wasting energy keeping tabs on him.
If he really had run off, there was nothing they could do. But if their paths crossed again, Nagato wouldn't show mercy.
"What's the casualty situation?"
Yahiko hadn't had time to tally yet; asking Nagato directly seemed more efficient.
"Over a hundred killed, around eighty seriously wounded and retired from service, and countless minor injuries."
The last group of injured had already arrived, and Nagato knew the numbers well.
Currently, the entire Land of Rain only had about two thousand ninjas total. This casualty rate surpassed a tenth of their forces—an unprecedented loss.
"Mmm..."
After a brief moment of contemplation, Yahiko spoke again.
"I plan to choose a site and build our own ninja village."
"The old Rain Ninja Village belongs to the past—we must look ahead."
"We'll bring back the fallen comrades' bodies to erect a Memorial Stone."
"First, we must calm the civilians, rebuild what's broken, and then begin again—with even greater ambition."
Visualizing the future, Yahiko felt the growing weight on his shoulders.
He had to live up to his teacher's expectations—and more importantly, earn the trust of both his followers and the people of the Land of Rain.
Seeing Yahiko filled with passion and determination, Konan and the others felt their morale lift.
...
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