"At first it was only small-scale—just a few people, or a dozen or so. But later the raids kept getting bigger and bigger."
"I see."
Kiyohara gave a small nod.
Akatsuki actually had territory zones. For example, Konan had been on her way to inspect Sector Seven when Danzo captured her. So next, their priority was to keep a close eye on whatever was happening around Sector Seven.
She turned to Tsunade, and for the first time, there was a plea in her eyes.
"Tsunade-sama… could Konoha provide some medical supplies? We can pay—use mission fees as compensation."
Tsunade stayed silent for a long time.
For Konoha, supporting Akatsuki really was the best option. The Land of Rain's location was too unique—wedged between three major powers, acting as a buffer zone.
That also meant it had always been chaotic, infiltrated by all kinds of factions.
"Konoha can provide basic medical supplies," Tsunade finally said. "As for official cooperation, I need to speak with your leader."
"No problem."
Konan nodded.
Akatsuki's leader was Yahiko. He and Nagato had gone out a few days earlier to drive off bandits threatening a village.
After that, Konan led them back to Akatsuki's base.
Shizune looked around curiously—this was her first time here.
Kurenai, on the other hand, had dealt with Akatsuki before with Kiyohara and had experience.
Tsunade also knew the Land of Rain well; back in the day, she'd fought here for quite a while during the war.
"Come to think of it," Kiyohara said after Konan stepped away, "this is where Sensei's title started making waves, right?"
"So that means Hanzo must've been insanely strong?" Kiyohara continued.
Hanzo had two eras.
The first was before he rotted from power—during the Second Ninja War—when he was a true giant among men.
The second was after corruption set in: he became cowardly, got killed by the Six Paths of Pain, later got reanimated by "dream-maker" Yakushi Kabuto, and ended up losing to his former subordinate and one-time underling, Mifune.
"Hmph. Back then, Hanzo really was strong," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "But he hasn't fought personally in years."
In other words: no one really knew what his current strength looked like.
A person's true end isn't death—it's losing their conviction.
All along the way, Tsunade felt like the Land of Rain hadn't changed at all.
She'd once thought it would, once Hanzo was in charge.
"True."
Kiyohara nodded.
What he was really thinking was whether he could copy Hanzo's swordsmanship.
After all, Hanzo's two greatest strengths were his blade and his poison—together they made him unstoppable in the Second War.
The Land of Rain had survived between the Land of Fire and Land of Wind without losing its territory.
Shizune and Kurenai listened to their conversation.
For them, "Hanzo the Salamander" felt like someone from another age.
But Shizune was interested in Hanzo's toxins.
A lot of her fighting style already revolved around poison.
Shizune's chakra reserves were nowhere near Tsunade's, and she didn't have the control to learn monstrous strength, so she'd always walked a different path.
Late into the night, Yahiko and Nagato finally returned.
The orange-haired young man looked far more mature than a few years ago—there was a leader's steel in his brow—but he was exhausted, his arm wrapped in a blood-stained bandage.
A few other Akatsuki members came with him, all injured.
"Konan… these two are…?"
Yahiko froze when he saw Tsunade and Kiyohara, then quickly understood.
"Tsunade-sama of Konoha—and Kiyohara. Thank you for your help."
"Hello, Yahiko."
Tsunade stood and greeted him.
Yahiko clearly respected her.
"Tsunade-sama, we want to do ninja tool trade with the Land of Fire. The Land of Rain has several high-quality iron mines and chakra-metal veins. Hanzo controls the major sites, but we have intel on smaller deposits we can mine in secret."
He took out a dark-purple metal sample and set it on the table.
"This is Land of Rain specialty 'Rain Iron.' It barely rusts in humid environments, and it conducts chakra better than normal steel. If Konoha can provide forging techniques and stable purchase channels, we can supply regularly."
Tsunade picked it up and fed a small amount of chakra into it.
Fine patterns rippled across the surface like rain rings.
"The quality is good."
Tsunade nodded.
Akatsuki was a mercenary organization, but their ideals seemed to attract like-minded people.
Even civilians who weren't shinobi were willing to believe in them.
"But you're not here for trade alone, are you?" Tsunade asked.
Yahiko admitted it openly.
"We want Konoha to acknowledge Akatsuki as a legitimate political group in the Land of Rain—at least as a peace organization worth watching. You don't need to publicly support us. Just don't label us as rogue-nin or terrorists."
"We can take commissions from Konoha, as long as they don't violate our principles," Yahiko said.
"Recon, escort, conflict mediation in specific regions—payment at standard mission rates."
Kiyohara spoke up.
"What are your principles?"
Yahiko turned to him.
"Don't kill innocents. Don't participate in aggressive wars started by the great nations. Don't answer violence with violence unless there's no other choice. We want to change this country—but not by creating more hatred."
Silence fell in the room, broken only by rain tapping.
"I personally agree with your ideals," Tsunade said at length. "But I don't have the authority to make diplomatic promises at that level. I'll bring your proposal back to Konoha and submit it to the Hokage. Until then…"
She looked at Kiyohara, Kurenai, and Shizune.
"We can stay here for now and help you defend against raids. In exchange, I want every piece of intel you have on other villages operating inside the Land of Rain."
Yahiko took a deep breath and bowed.
"That's more than enough. Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
"It's nothing," Tsunade said, waving it off.
"By the way—where's the nearest casino?" she added.
Yahiko blinked.
Was Tsunade-sama planning to gather intel from a shady place like a casino?
As expected of one of Konoha's Three Sannin—even now, she was thinking about information gathering.
"There is one… it's roughly at—"
Yahiko gave the location.
"Konan, take Tsunade-sama and the others there," Yahiko said.
He and Nagato were injured and couldn't go out.
"I'll treat you," Kiyohara said.
Perfect—he also wanted a chance to look at Nagato's Rinnegan.
In theory, the shinobi world might have produced many Mangekyō Sharingan over time.
But the Rinnegan—setting aside Kaguya—had only ever been held by the Sage of Six Paths and Uchiha Madara.
The conditions were absurdly harsh: an Indra reincarnation from the Uchiha line had to fuse the flesh and chakra of an Asura reincarnation, then wait for decades of slow integration.
Even Madara took tens of years.
If the Rinnegan had awakened any later, Madara might have died of old age—Black Zetsu might never have spotted the opening that led to everything afterward.
"Um…"
Yahiko looked at Kiyohara's youthful face, feeling it was oddly familiar.
This war wasn't centered on the Land of Rain, so Yahiko hadn't heard much about the front lines yet.
Last time, he only knew Kiyohara had come with Orochimaru.
"This is my student—Kiyohara," Tsunade said.
"So he's Tsunade-sama's student…" Yahiko said, surprised. "Then I'll be counting on you."
"Ngh… they're Konoha shinobi."
Nagato, who had been silent, finally spoke.
His parents had been killed by Konoha shinobi, so he carried deep prejudice.
"He's Tsunade-sama's student," Yahiko said, patting Nagato's shoulder.
Yahiko trusted Jiraiya—so he trusted Tsunade too.
With Yahiko insisting, Nagato didn't press further.
But behind that red hair, his hidden Rinnegan stayed wary.
Kiyohara just smiled and didn't say anything.
"I'll start treatment now."
He opened his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"This is to make treatment easier," he added.
Green light formed in his hands as he treated Yahiko first.
"Uchiha…?" Yahiko asked, not knowing much about the world outside Rain.
Nagato noticed the Sharingan too, but didn't take it seriously.
His eyes were the Sage of Six Paths' legendary eyes.
Under Jiraiya's training, Nagato had mastered all six chakra natures—including yang—by age ten, giving him access to almost every mainstream jutsu.
When Yahiko was stabilized and Kiyohara came to treat him next, Nagato narrowed his eyes—but didn't move.
And Kiyohara used the moment to observe him.
Inside Nagato's eyes, chakra seemed to spread outward into the brain, then begin influencing the body.
So originally, Nagato didn't have the five basic natures…
Kiyohara understood immediately.
Beyond its ocular powers, the Rinnegan also awakens the five elemental natures—wind, fire, water, earth, lightning. Even if you didn't have them before, the Rinnegan grants them.
But the bar for transplanting a Rinnegan was extremely high.
Even Obito, controlling just one, said the chakra and ocular power nearly made him lose control.
Yet Nagato had carried the transplant without anyone noticing—and as long as he didn't actively use the power, the burden wasn't extreme.
That was because Nagato was effectively a "hybrid" with both Senju and Uzumaki blood strengthening his body—something Black Zetsu later explained to Obito as well.
"Are you done?" Nagato asked, frowning.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Kiyohara was studying him.
"Done."
Kiyohara nodded.
He withdrew his hands and returned to Tsunade.
"Then, Tsunade-sama, we'll arrange lodging first—then head to the casino," Yahiko said.
"Fine."
Tsunade agreed.
Tsunade and the others followed Konan out, got assigned rooms, then Konan led them to the nearest casino.
The moment Tsunade stepped inside, her whole aura changed.
She grabbed Kiyohara and made him gamble with her.
Because Tsunade knew: if she gambled alone, she'd probably go ten-for-ten losses.
With Kiyohara beside her, it became nine losses out of ten… maybe eight—still losing overall, but at least she'd win sometimes.
Kiyohara gambled with Tsunade while silently counting down to the next "Willbook."
Kurenai and Shizune had no interest in gambling, so Tsunade waved them off to go look around nearby.
Konan went with Kurenai and Shizune.
Night fell quickly.
As expected, Tsunade lost a huge amount of money again.
The old man's money is almost gone… Tsunade thought, and instinctively glanced at Kiyohara.
Luckily, her little "cash cow" had learned sand-gold.
"Hey, cash cow—does the Land of Rain have much sand-gold? Want to refine some?" she asked.
"About the same as the Land of Fire. You'd get better results in the Land of Wind," Kiyohara said.
It was easier to spread chakra through sand than through packed soil.
Tsunade clicked her tongue.
"If I'm broke, remember to 'lend' me some first."
Everyone knew Tsunade's "borrow" basically meant "give."
The only time Kiyohara ever got money back was when she symbolically repaid a little—then borrowed that amount again a few days later.
"We should go, Sensei," Kiyohara said.
"Let me play a little longer." Tsunade held out her hand—clearly asking him to front her more.
"No," Kiyohara said.
If he let her keep going, she'd be here for hours.
Tsunade straightened her back—everything jiggled—and she grabbed Kiyohara's hand.
Kiyohara looked at her totally "in the zone" face and said calmly:
"Sensei, if you don't leave, I won't lend you any next time either. You don't want to be completely out of money, right?"
He'd learned Tsunade's temperament well—he knew exactly when money was the only leash that worked.
Tsunade instantly deflated like a frostbitten eggplant.
"…Fine. Let's go."
As they left, Tsunade crossed her arms.
"Hmph. You're pretty smug, aren't you, brat?"
"I'm taking Sensei out to buy some booze," Kiyohara said.
He stopped by the roadside and bought Tsunade a bottle of Land of Rain specialty liquor.
Tsunade froze.
She'd only said it casually—and she wasn't unreasonable. Yet Kiyohara still bought her booze.
"You…"
Her lips parted twice, but in the end she didn't say anything.
"Move it, brat. Let's go find the others."
She tugged his hand and pulled him into the crowd.
With Tsunade's decisive pace, Kiyohara quickly reunited with Kurenai, Shizune, and Konan.
Kurenai and Shizune had bought some Land of Rain specialties to bring back after the mission.
Back at the lodging, after dinner, Kiyohara returned to his room.
He began waiting for the "Willbook" to arrive.
Just as he was getting bored, the voice finally sounded in his mind:
[Please collect your will and urn. Properly bury the remains.]
A new future had arrived.
Kiyohara opened his eyes—then closed them again, sinking his consciousness inward.
In his mind, an urn slowly appeared.
It was grey, rough like stone—almost as if carved from rock.
On the surface, simple lines depicted a crouching toad.
"This time it's…"
Kiyohara's thought shifted.
"Ribbit!"
A sound like a toad's croak rang out.
Kiyohara blinked.
Then he saw a vivid red tongue push the lid open from inside.
A semi-transparent toad spirit emerged.
It was huge—dozens of times larger than Kiyohara himself.
If he had to compare it, it was about as big as Mount Myōboku's Gamabunta—over ten meters tall.
That was like a six-story building.
Kiyohara had no idea how such a massive spirit fit inside such a small urn.
I'm huge—bear with it?
He kept observing.
The toad spirit was orange-yellow, with no forehead protector, but a shallow scar on its forehead shaped like an inverted cross.
Its eyes, like all toads', had horizontal pupils.
The toad spirit squatted in Kiyohara's mind, forelimbs crossed like a human.
It looked at Kiyohara and spoke in a very "ribbit"-flavored voice:
"Ribbit. I still died. I thought I'd live eight hundred years like Fukasaku and Shima."
Toad Kiyohara sounded regretful.
"Past me—you really take me back. This is exactly what I looked like back when I still had a human body."
"…" Kiyohara paused, then responded in his mind:
"You're… a toad from Mount Myōboku?"
"Correct."
Toad Kiyohara tilted his head; the bumps on his back shifted slightly.
"I'm Kiyohara too. No idea why I didn't end up human—I turned into a toad. The old geezers on Mount Myōboku used to call me 'Toad Orange.'"
"I lived for about… hmm, one hundred and eighty years? Hard to say. Toads don't feel time like humans do."
Kiyohara: Damn. That's seniority.
Too bad there wasn't a human form.
First reincarnation and he already misclicked into "toad"…
"So how did you die?" Kiyohara asked, curious.
Living to 180—he didn't know if that was because he was a toad, or because he trained in senjutsu.
Either way, it probably wasn't old age. Mount Myōboku had plenty of ancient toads.
At that, Toad Kiyohara suddenly got animated, waving his forelimbs.
"Infuriating! So infuriating! I got set up on the Summoning Island!"
It took a deep breath and began explaining:
"I took a reconnaissance mission from Mount Myōboku—went to investigate the 'ultimate summoning beast' rumored to be on that island…"
"That thing wasn't a traditional summon at all. It was an artificially-made monster—looked like some kind of insect."
Kiyohara immediately understood—he was talking about the anime's "ultimate summoning beast."
That island also had an Uzumaki clan member guarding it.
But the Uzumaki's abilities weren't enough—or the monster was too strong.
Even Adamantine Sealing Chains couldn't restrain it, so… they died.
~~~
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