Chapter 205: Fight Them to the End
"Mm…"
At that moment, the pain in Huito's chest made her frown and let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes.
The moment her gaze landed on Li Yao, her reaction was almost identical to Iwagaki's—they both instinctively wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
"Senior Sister…" Iwagaki quickly helped Huito up and explained the current situation to her.
He didn't refer to her by name, afraid that Li Yao might realize she was the daughter of the Third Tsuchikage, which could lead to unnecessary trouble.
At this moment, the Earth Style clone truly believed itself to be Iwagaki, completely forgetting that it was actually a clone of Li Yao.
Perfect… Li Yao was becoming more and more satisfied with the results of his Perfect Clone Technique.
After listening to the Earth Style clone, Huito showed no signs of suspicion. Her gaze slowly shifted to Li Yao. Although her expression remained guarded, she no longer attempted to resist and quickly calmed down.
Sensing the injuries in her body, Huito knew that trying to escape would be futile. Their lives were now entirely in Li Yao's hands.
"What do you want?"
She asked while subtly tapping her little brother Iwagaki's back with her right hand, signaling that if something happened, she would hold Li Yao off so he could escape.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Li Yao's eyes narrowed. Pretending not to notice Huito's subtle gesture, he asked, "Why has Iwagakure been attacking members of Akatsuki?"
Upon hearing this, both Huito and Iwagaki froze slightly. Investigating Akatsuki's background was a top-secret mission—something they could not disclose.
Seeing their hesitation, Li Yao's face turned cold as he said, "Although our Akatsuki is an organization that loves peace, if Iwagakure insists on becoming our enemy, we will have no choice but to respond accordingly."
Hearing the implicit threat in Li Yao's words, Iwagaki instinctively placed both hands on the ground, preparing to act and block Li Yao in case Huito needed to escape.
And yet, just look at that performance—who would ever suspect he was actually Li Yao's Earth Style clone?
"Little brother…" Huito was deeply moved. She made a decision then and there—even if the mission failed, she wouldn't let her little brother die here.
She proceeded to explain to Li Yao why they were there.
Just as White Zetsu had discovered through his intel, Li Yao stood up from the rock after hearing her explanation. This single movement made both Huito and Iwagaki tense up again.
"Heh."
Li Yao chuckled and said, "Relax. Our Akatsuki follows a no-kill principle. I won't kill you."
"And another thing…" Li Yao's gaze sharpened as he looked down at them. "Our Akatsuki is absolutely not a puppet of your so-called great nations. We are an organization of peace for the Land of Rain—guiding it toward a future of true stability."
He dusted off his coat and turned around. "I'll let you off this time. But if you continue to suspect that we're being used by foreign Hidden Villages, come find me directly next time. Don't sneak around trying to assassinate our people."
"Otherwise, I won't mind making a habit of assassinating Iwagakure shinobi myself."
With that, Li Yao vanished using a body flicker.
Whoosh whoosh… Even a full minute after Li Yao disappeared, Huito and Iwagaki were still gasping for air.
"We're alive!"
Huito quietly celebrated. Then she grabbed her little brother and quickly left. She didn't want to spend another second in the Land of Rain.
Who would've thought that a small group like Akatsuki had someone with such terrifying taijutsu?
No… maybe not just taijutsu.
Who could say for sure he didn't also know ninjutsu?
Being targeted by someone with speed rivaling the Third Raikage gave her a deep sense of insecurity.
"Senior Sister, do you believe what that man said?" On the way out, the Earth Style clone, playing the role of Iwagaki, asked flawlessly.
Huito understood that her little brother was asking whether she believed Akatsuki had no one backing them. She nodded, "It's probably true."
A group with a Kage-level shinobi couldn't possibly be a puppet of another Hidden Village. Cooperation was possible, but being controlled was unlikely.
Moreover, considering that man didn't kill them even after knowing they had killed Akatsuki members—it matched the rumors. Akatsuki really did have a strict no-kill policy.
An organization like that probably wasn't anyone's puppet.
In a way, their mission had been accomplished—they had confirmed Akatsuki's nature and even learned that it housed Kage-level power. That alone was extremely valuable intel.
…
"You actually let them go?"
Elsewhere, on the road back to Drizzle City, White Zetsu popped up again, looking at Li Yao in disbelief.
"Heh…" Li Yao glanced at White Zetsu and smiled. "They're Iwagakure shinobi—one of them is the most beloved daughter of that old geezer Ōnoki. If she died by my hand, it would've caused a major uproar."
"You see? I spared them because you told me not to make a scene."
Heh… White Zetsu gave a dry smile but didn't respond. He didn't believe a word of it.
Li Yao didn't bother with him either. He simply said, "I'm going ahead," and activated his high-speed movement technique.
White Zetsu, who wasn't particularly fast, had no choice but to sink back underground and follow from below.
"Ōnoki… you also have that granddaughter Kurotsuchi, don't you?"
While speeding ahead, Li Yao's eyes gleamed. Letting Huito go had definitely been calculated—he intended to give Ōnoki a taste of a full "Third Tsuchikage package."
Fooling around with the daughter in front of the father… and maybe even the granddaughter in front of the grandfather—yeah, that ought to show Ōnoki what happens when you mess with him.
Just wait!
My revenge won't be so simple!
…
Half a day later.
Li Yao returned to Drizzle City.
At that moment, in the main hall of their base, Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Koyuki along with the other Akatsuki officers were gathered. Everyone wore grim expressions.
They still hadn't figured out who was attacking the teams sent on missions.
As soon as Li Yao entered, all eyes turned to him.
"Brother Li, did anyone come after you?" Yahiko asked.
"No." Li Yao shook his head, then added, "But I ran into two Iwagakure shinobi on my way back and got some information from them."
"What kind of information?" Yahiko asked, eyes narrowing.
"The ones attacking our members are shinobi from Sunagakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure," Li Yao answered.
"It's them!!"
"Damn it!!"
"Again with those three great nations!!!"
"They can't stand seeing our country at peace. They want us in constant chaos, so they can keep using our land as their battleground!"
"Big brother, let's fight them!"
"…We can't let our comrades die in vain. We have no other path forward. The ninja from the three great nations don't value our lives at all."
"That's right, big brother. Let's make them pay in blood!"
The moment Li Yao finished speaking, a wave of outrage surged through the room—aside from Nagato, Konan, and Koyuki, everyone's eyes turned red with fury.
The suffering brought upon the Land of Rain by the three great nations wasn't just a matter of one or two generations. Since the Warring States Era, the country had existed in a state of endless struggle, caught in the middle of wars between those powerful nations.
It could be said that there wasn't a single person in the Land of Rain who didn't hate the ninja of the three great nations.
And now, hearing once again that it was them stirring up trouble… Akatsuki, a group that had finally brought them hope for peace, might be torn apart again.
Everyone wanted to fight. Even if it meant death, they would not let the great nations get away with it.
"Calm down!"
Yahiko's sudden shout silenced the room, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone.
Yahiko's reputation within Akatsuki was immense. He might not have been the strongest, but his charisma was unmatched.
In truth, everyone in Akatsuki had joined because of Yahiko.
And now, with that single shout, the crowd calmed down—but the hatred in their eyes still burned hot.
(END CHAPTER)
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