Even in the Land of Rain, it didn't rain every single day, but most of the time the sky was still a gray, overcast sheet.
Nagato was developing a new type of sensory ninjutsu, trying to expand its detection range to cover all of Amegakure—so that in any sudden situation, they could guard against spies and infiltration.
Both he and Konan had become unusually sensitive about certain things because of what they'd lived through.
Konan stood by the window, wearing Akatsuki's signature black cloak with red clouds. A strip of pale neck showed at the collar, and the faint purple eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes gave her gaze an added depth.
Between great nations, one tug could move the whole web. Even a conflict between just two major powers could escalate into a Great Ninja War. And once a Great Ninja War broke out, the Land of Rain would find it impossible to stay untouched—those were lessons written in blood.
So Akatsuki had to investigate both countries' stances and their real situation, to prepare for what might come.
"Konan."
A low voice came from outside the door. It was Pain.
"Nagato—how are the newly added Paths of Pain?" she turned and asked.
"From now on, call 'me' Pain," the voice corrected. "He is Akatsuki's one and only leader."
Konan fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded. "Alright."
"How is the intelligence Zetsu brought back?"
"It's fine. We've basically pieced together the cause and effect." Konan couldn't help sighing. "It started with Kumogakure attempting to frame the Hyuga during the peace signing, in order to extort the Byakugan."
A flicker of thought passed through Pain's eyes. Though he was a corpse-body, aside from his cold expression, his demeanor was as lifelike as a living person.
"One of Konoha's two precious dōjutsu, with undeniable tactical value. It's not strange that Kumogakure would make a move."
Konan continued, "Konoha's response was extremely hardline. Tsunade most likely drove the entire process. She may succeed the Fifth Hokage."
"Whether war breaks out depends on the Raikage's attitude."
"He's still weighing it. Zetsu will keep an eye on Kumogakure's movements. If they intend to go to war, we'll have the intel immediately."
After a short silence, Pain asked again, "Has the situation in the Land of Rain stabilized?"
"Not looking good," she answered honestly. "Because of the tension between Konoha and Kumogakure, the Hanzo loyalists who were hiding have become active again. They seem to be trying to contact Konoha."
"I understand," Pain said, rising to his feet. "The Land of Rain no longer needs their strength. I'll go with Zetsu to eliminate the threat and bring this country fully under control as soon as possible."
Then he turned his head to look at her. "You've worked hard, Konan."
"It's nothing." Konan shook her head.
"Even so, you still need to rest," Pain said, and for once his eyes and brows softened slightly.
"I will," Konan cut him off. "You're the one who needs rest more. Adding two more Paths takes a heavy toll on your body, doesn't it?"
"I'll adapt soon."
Konan wanted to say more, but in the end she stayed silent. She knew Nagato's personality—persuasion wouldn't work.
After Pain left, the office returned to quiet.
Konan went back to the desk and picked up another report Zetsu had sent. It involved the current Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto. And…
Hyuga Kiyonari.
She got what she wanted—his name was in this report.
To avoid alerting anyone, she hadn't explicitly ordered Zetsu to investigate him. She had only hoped that, since the log's Kiyonari knew Naruto, Zetsu might look into Kiyonari while investigating Naruto. Instead, Zetsu discovered Tsunade's new student while investigating Tsunade.
Konan set the report aside and returned to the mountain of paperwork.
Outside, rain pattered softly. Time slipped by in the turning of pages.
She didn't know how long it took, but when the last stack of documents was finally finished, Konan could at last put down her pen. She stretched, standing up to loosen her stiff body.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past ten at night.
"Time to go back."
Back in her room, she immediately took off the Akatsuki cloak and hung it on the rack. Then her hand went to her chest. Between the tight bodysuit lining and her underclothes, she kept something with her at all times.
Konan pulled out the notebook she'd been keeping warm against her body and opened it on her lap.
She'd read the earlier pages countless times—almost enough to recite them.
Sometimes, a guess would surface in her mind: could this be the future Hyuga Kiyonari, using some method to send this notebook back to the present?
But the mysteries of time were something not even the Rinnegan could glimpse—let alone an ordinary Hyuga.
Konan flipped further, and to her surprise, new text appeared on pages that had been blank for days.
[During one casual chat, Hyuga Kiyonari looked at the ruined Hidden Rain Village and felt it was a shame. He asked me, "Have you ever thought about rebuilding this place?"]
[It was said casually, but to me it was a rare chance. I hoped he could contact Konoha for assistance, but he refused.]
[He said, "I left Konoha to dodge my debts. If I expose myself, I'm finished."]
At that, a faint smile actually flickered across Konan's lips—so light it was almost invisible.
As expected of a Sannin's student. Even the "being in debt" skill ran in the same bloodline.
[He said a lot of things, and I didn't understand all of them. But I knew this much: the revival of the Land of Rain finally seemed to have hope—but it wasn't something I alone, or my generation alone, could accomplish. So that later people could understand accurately, I decided to record his words exactly.]
[Hyuga Kiyonari said: "At this stage, for any country, population is the most important and precious resource. With people, land can produce grain, ore can be smelted into steel, and a nation can keep moving forward."]
["A great nation looks great because it has vast land and rich resources, but in truth it's only great because it can support more people. So if the Land of Rain wants revival, the most important task right now is to attract back the population that has been lost."]
[I said: "They say it's hard to leave your homeland. If people weren't unable to live, who would choose to leave? Like you said, today's Land of Rain can't support more people."]
[He said: "See? The first concrete goal for reviving the Land of Rain has appeared, hasn't it?"]
["It rains year-round here and there's no sunlight, so developing agriculture probably won't work. But from the structure of the old Hidden Rain Village, the Land of Rain's steel-smelting technology was quite advanced. If we can get those smelting industries running again, people can earn money. With money, they can buy food."]
[I said: "War back then already completely destroyed the Land of Rain's energy system. You think… I haven't thought of that?"]
[He said: "Since I dare to say it, then guess… do I have a solution?"]
~~~
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