In the dark cave.
The sound of dripping water echoed continuously.
Suddenly, the noise of footsteps splashing through water emerged, resonating in the secluded cave, making the man and woman hiding inside immediately alert.
"Pain, someone's coming!"
The woman furrowed her brows, her hand instantly transforming into sheets of origami attached with chakra, making them particularly sharp. Her voice was calm: "Besides the two of us, only Madara and Zetsu know about this place... Is it them?"
"No, it's a stranger ninja."
The man lifted his head, his eerie eyes fixed on the entrance of the cave, coldly and mercilessly addressing the figure that appeared: "Konan, go kill him!"
Even though twelve years ago, due to the death of old comrades, they abandoned the ideals of the First Generation Akatsuki here, it didn't mean they wanted to see a stranger invade the place where their friends once lived.
To kill a foreign ninja who set foot on this untouchable land, neither the man nor the woman felt any burden.
They were accustomed to killing.
"Excuse me, is this the base of the Akatsuki?"
Before they could take any action, the figure in the cave spoke directly to the man and woman standing inside: "I am Uehara Naraku, son of Uehara Yochi. Twelve years ago, he told my mother he joined an organization called Akatsuki to follow Lord Yahiko, but he never returned after that."
"..."
The woman stopped her action of wielding paper shuriken, and the expression on the man's face became somewhat stiff, as they heard a somewhat unfamiliar name.
No, rather, it was a name they could consider familiar.
At least to the woman, it was familiar.
Because the ninja named Uehara Yochi died under an enemy's blade to protect her, a meaningless sacrifice.
As the figure at the cave entrance gradually approached, the man and woman clearly saw the visitor's appearance.
This was a boy who couldn't even wear his ninja headband properly, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe evidently too large for his age.
The First Generation Akatsuki's uniform, now looking rather simple, as back then, Akatsuki was very poor.
Yet, it involuntarily evoked a sense of nostalgia.
"Are you Uehara Yochi's son?"
The man turned his eerie eyes, staring intently at the boy in front, noticing the resemblance between the boy and his father, and said in a deep voice: "There has never been such a person in our organization, you can leave!"
"..."
The woman seemed to want to say something, but when she looked at the man beside her with a pleading gaze, she saw him merely shaking his head slightly.
The woman bit her lip and ultimately fell into silence.
The boy tightly held a kunai in his hand, trying to maintain a calm facade. Just as he was about to turn and leave, when he glanced inadvertently at the appearance of the man and woman, he suddenly put away his kunai and reached into his pocket.
In the cave, the man and woman exchanged a glance, their expressions showing some astonishment as caution rose in their hearts, and the boy pulled out a photograph.
"..."
The boy looked down at the photo.
He then raised his head, looking at the man, then the woman.
Afterwards, the boy held up the photo towards them and softly asked, "Are you Lord Konan and Lord Yahiko?"
"..."
The man and woman fell into silence.
The photo was the First Generation Akatsuki's only group photo, missing many later members, as back then the members considered Akatsuki a peaceful organization and did not pay much attention to member information, many sent it to their families.
And the Yahiko mentioned by the boy was indeed the First Generation leader of Akatsuki, whose presence further depressed the couple's mood.
The man and Yahiko looked exactly alike because the man's body was Yahiko's corpse, fashioned into a powerful puppet by him.
The one controlling the puppet from behind was the red-haired boy in the photo.
"Lord Yahiko doesn't seem to have changed at all."
The boy murmured, "Although Lord Konan seems a bit older, her youthful contours can still be made out..."
"..."
The woman's face darkened.
The man calmly watched the boy in front of him and suddenly said: "Your father is dead; he died in battle twelve years ago. By now, I've even forgotten his name. The weak are not worthy of being remembered."
"Pain!"
The woman showed a flash of panic across her face!
She never expected the man to bluntly reveal the truth with such candor; at least, it was the descendant of their old comrade!
The boy's face drooped, forcing a retort: "If you don't remember the name, how do you know he died in battle?"
"Because..."
The man looked at the boy, and in a cold, firm voice said: "Twelve years ago, only two people survived from the entire Akatsuki."
"...He could have survived!"
The woman suddenly shouted, adding: "If not for me, many could have survived."
"..."
The man beside her seemed to want to comfort her, but, seeing her downcast expression, he ultimately remained silent.
"I understand."
The boy's expression instantly hardened, he waved dismissively with a cold face: "Since he died twelve years ago, I won't blame him."
After speaking, the boy turned to leave.
However, Uehara Naraku barely took two steps when an eerie force of attraction pulled at his body, dragging him back, and the man gripped his collar with a sudden grasp!
"Although your father didn't possess much power, he was a ninja worthy of respect, don't you have any feelings for him?"
"Pain, let him go!"
The woman urgently stretched out her hand to grab the man's arm, trying to make him release the boy's collar.
Uehara Naraku tugged on Pain's hand, looking up at the man's eerie eyes with a smirk on his face: "Sorry, but twelve years ago I had just been born, aside from this photograph and piece of clothing, I have no impression of him whatsoever."
From his words, an image emerged of a man who abandoned his family.
No matter how you looked at it, the ninja named Uehara Yochi left behind a wife who had just given birth and a newborn son to follow a mysterious organization like Akatsuki, which sounded rather odd.
"...I'm sorry."
The woman murmured beside him.
Tears welled up in Konan's eyes at the corners, twelve years ago, they were both only fifteen, unable to comprehend the enormous sacrifices those ninjas who followed them had made.
Now they understood just the tip of the iceberg.
"No need to apologize; it was his choice."
The boy shook his head, pulling away from the man's hand, and softly said: "I came to find Akatsuki's base only because my mother wanted to know about him before she passed."
Konan looked at the boy, nervously asking: "With your parents both gone, where are you planning to go now?"
"Of course, I'm going to join Lord Hanzo!"
Uehara Naraku shrugged, explaining: "I've been wandering as a rogue ninja these past few months, seeking information about Akatsuki and my father's whereabouts... Now that my wish is fulfilled, naturally I'm going to join Lord Hanzo and become an official ninja."
"..."
Pain and Konan exchanged a glance, appalled that a descendant of a First Generation Akatsuki member would seek to join the man responsible for killing their leader?
This kid Uehara Naraku doesn't know the truth; those who do, especially Konan, can't tolerate such a thing!
"No."
Konan reached out to grasp Naraku's shoulder, squatting before him with a cool expression: "Your father Uehara Yochi joined Akatsuki, thus his child is also a member of the organization!"
"Your organization… seems a bit like a cult!"
Uehara Naraku blinked as he glanced back and forth between Konan and Pain, involuntarily voicing a retort.
But...
He had finally achieved his real objective.
In Uehara Naraku's mind, a notification sounded, side quest: join an organization (1/1), mission completed, reward: Summoning Contract for Justice Giant Gallio.