Chereads / Naruto : Rise From The Rain / Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: What Were You Thinking When You Kissed Him?

Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: What Were You Thinking When You Kissed Him?

"Why?" Nagato couldn't help but ask.

Hanzo responded indifferently, "Your Rinnegan shouldn't be exposed to the world for now. The outside world is far more dangerous than in the Land of Rain, and there are many powerful individuals who would covet it. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could put all of you in danger."

However, Nagato wasn't willing to part ways with Yahiko and Konan just yet, and tried to argue, but Yahiko interrupted him.

"Lord Hanzo's words are quite right. Nagato, you should stay by Lord Hanzo's side for now," Yahiko said seriously.

Nagato widened his eyes, "Yahiko, I..."

Seeing Yahiko look at him with such seriousness, Nagato's words were choked back, and he could only lower his head and say nothing.

After leaving Hanzo's presence, Yahiko said to Nagato, "Even if Lord Hanzo hadn't said that, I originally hadn't planned to take you with me."

Nagato looked at him and asked in a low voice, "Why?"

Yahiko explained, "What Lord Hanzo said is only part of the reason. The Akatsuki is moving toward a larger platform, but when it comes to relations between countries, even I am still a novice. Nagato, we both need to grow and progress."

"Lord Hanzo will be a great mentor, and being with him, you'll learn a lot. The Akatsuki can't always let just me make the decisions. All of this is for the Akatsuki, for our ideals."

Nagato was silent for a while, then nodded. "I understand."

He respected Yahiko's decision, as he always did.

Genma was waiting for them not far away. Yahiko led everyone to him, where he began to explain the details of their mission.

The people sent by the Hidden Rain Village didn't need to participate directly in the war. Their main purpose was simply to form an alliance with Konoha and ensure that Konoha would commit to providing enough benefits after the war.

Yahiko listened carefully. Compared to this mission, the tasks he'd done before now seemed trivial. He felt that helping large nations stop their wars was in line with his ideals.

In the end, Nagato stayed in the Hidden Rain Village, while Yahiko returned to the base with Konan, Kyusuke, and Asahi.

"Yahiko, does this mean we will finally meet your Sensei on this trip?" Kyusuke asked along the way.

Yahiko let out a long sigh and chuckled lightly. "Maybe, but I don't know... how he's doing now."

Konan also showed a nostalgic expression.

Ever since Jiraiya left the Land of Rain, the three of them had missed him constantly.

Asahi hadn't expected to come into contact with someone from Konoha so soon, but at this time, Naruto and Sasuke hadn't been born yet.

After returning to the base, Yahiko hurriedly convened a meeting with the Akatsuki members and explained the task entrusted by Hanzo. The others looked excited upon hearing the news. After all, Hanzo had previously proposed assigning them the task of peace negotiations between the Three Great Countries.

Yahiko also selected some people from the organization, preparing to depart for the Land of Fire the next day.

That night.

Asahi and Kyusuke, who hadn't yet fallen asleep, were chatting in the corridor outside the building.

"Asahi, do you think Konoha and Iwagakure will really stop the war?"

"Probably," Asahi replied.

Kyusuke laughed. "If we really manage to bring about peace between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, will the Akatsuki gain some recognition in the ninja world?"

Asahi just gave a light smile. In the original storyline, Konoha and Iwagakure indeed stopped fighting around this time. One crucial factor was that Konoha had gained Sunagakure as an ally.

However, the role of the Hidden Rain Village in all this might not be as significant as Kyusuke thought.

Kyusuke had an optimistic vision of the future, but Asahi didn't want to discourage him. With the changes he had made to the timeline, He wasn't sure how the future would turn out either.

At that moment, Asahi caught sight of a figure entering Yahiko's room, where the light was still on.

"Asahi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Yahiko sat alone at his desk, looking at a map given to him by Genma. The map marked the current situation of the war between Konoha and Iwagakure, as well as the general troop distributions. This intelligence had been gathered by the Hidden Rain Village itself. While it wasn't as detailed and accurate as the information from Konoha and Iwagakure, it was enough for Yahiko to get a rough idea of the current battle situation.

He was taking this mission very seriously and suddenly felt there were still things he needed to learn.

"Not resting yet?"

The sudden sound made Yahiko look up, and he saw that Konan had entered.

"I'll look at this a bit longer. Why did you come?" Yahiko chuckled lightly.

Konan pursed her lips and sat down opposite Yahiko.

"Today, you made Nagato stay in the Hidden Rain... He wasn't very happy about it."

Yahiko leaned back against the seat behind him, looking up at the ceiling, and sighed. "The Akatsuki has entered a new phase. We need to set clearer short-term goals for the future. This is the best plan I could come up with. I told you, Nagato will eventually replace me. Having him leave our side now is the only way for him to learn how to make decisions on his own."

Konan lowered her eyes and asked, "And in the future you've planned... what about me?"

Yahiko paused, then said, "Konan... You are my family and my companion in achieving my ideals."

Konan clenched her hands tightly, her nails nearly digging into her flesh.

She questioned him, "Yes, we are family. It was like that before, but will it always be like this in the future? Yahiko, how could you not..."

Yahiko fell silent. He didn't want to think about it. Though he spoke casually, when he thought about it, his heart twisted with unease.

"Konan... What were you thinking when you kissed him?" Yahiko asked quietly.

"I..." Konan hesitated.

She wanted to explain that she had kissed Asahi to save everyone, but those words didn't come out. Even when she tried to hint at it, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Seeing that she wouldn't explain, Yahiko said again, "Konan, no matter what choice you make, I won't interfere. Asahi is a good person."

After speaking, he saw that Konan's eyes had reddened.

"Anyway, let's put this aside for now. We have a mission, so don't let this distract you. When you've really made up your mind... come talk to me about it."

Konan felt both wronged and helpless. She didn't know how to make Yahiko understand.

She had no such feelings for Asahi.

When Konan left Yahiko's room, she saw a figure standing in the hallway.

The person seemed to sense her presence and looked over. Konan quickly averted her gaze.

The rain continued through the night, its incessant sound unsettling and irritating.

Konan suppressed the various thoughts racing through her mind and turned to leave.

The next morning, everyone was packing up their things, but Konan looked a little worn out.

Yahiko gave her a brief glance, then said to the remaining members, "I'll leave this to you all."

"Don't worry, Yahiko!" one of them replied.

"Let's go."