Rain Village.
Genma arrived in front of Hanzo: "Lord Hanzo, the letter to Iwa has been sent."
"Mm."
Genma hesitated slightly before asking, "What should be done with Nagato?"
Hanzo replied, "You take him with you, let him complete a few missions and see what his nature is like."
"My subordinate noticed that he seems to depend greatly on Yahiko," Genma said.
"However, Yahiko's methods are indeed quite persuasive."
Hanzo said nothing in response. When he was young, he too had been like Yahiko, with even more people following him than Yahiko had now.
But those youthful passions had long been worn down, leaving only cold numbness.
At his age, Nagato was the last opportunity he could see.
He folded a letter on the desk and put it into an envelope.
"Send it to the Land of Wind."
Genma took the letter and left Hanzo's room.
After handling the letter, he went to find Nagato. The Rain Village had already arranged a new residence for him.
"Lord Genma," Nagato greeted him, still in a respectful manner.
Genma smiled and said, "No need to be so formal. Just call me Genma from now on; we'll be companions."
Nagato hesitated slightly before responding, "Genma."
"The village has re-registered you. Though the Akatsuki was originally under our Rain Village, you've never been properly governed by the village before. The village maintains strict standards for Jonin, so for now, you've been given a Chunin rank. If you feel you're capable of handling the responsibilities of a Jonin, you can apply for an exam." Genma spoke warmly, with a pleasant attitude.
Nagato nodded lightly. He wasn't particularly concerned about such matters.
"You and Lord Yahiko may have temporarily parted ways, but this is for the greater good. Everyone shares the same heart for the Land of Rain," Genma continued. "Lord Yahiko understands this too. When he returns and sees that you have grown even stronger, he will be pleased."
Nagato paused briefly before replying, "I understand."
The Land of Grass, located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, suffered the most severe damage in the war between the two great nations.
The destination of Yahiko and the others was the Konoha camp in the southern part of the Land of Grass.
After a day's march, they arrived at their designated location, where Konoha ninjas were waiting to greet them.
This was a dense forest area, where Konoha ninjas were particularly skilled in combat.
The two Konoha ninjas who had come to meet them verified their identities, and one of them spoke, "You've had a hard journey. Jiraiya-sama is waiting for you."
Yahiko was slightly surprised. "Jiraiya...-sama is here?"
Although Yahiko had known that Jiraiya was at the front lines, he was unaware of his exact location.
The group continued on, led by the Konoha ninjas. As they entered the depths of the forest, a large barrier slowly opened, revealing a vast camp inside.
Many members of the Akatsuki team were amazed. Many of them had never participated in a war, so seeing Konoha's methods was an eye-opening experience for them.
Kyusuke coughed softly and whispered to those around him, "Don't make a fool of yourselves."
Once inside the camp, several Konoha ninjas looked their way. Asahi noticed that many of them had hostile expressions.
The Second Shinobi World War wasn't too long ago, and many of the Konoha ninjas here had fought in that war. To them, the Rain Village had been an enemy.
Yahiko and Konan were separately invited to the main tent, while the rest, including Asahi and Kyusuke, were led by another Konoha ninja to a tent that had been prepared for them.
As they walked, Asahi surveyed the surroundings, assessing the current strength of Konoha.
This was just one of Konoha's forward camps, but it seemed far beyond the capabilities of the Rain Village, highlighting the stark difference in scale between great nations and small ones.
I wonder what kind of determination the former Salamander Hanzo had when he decided to start a war.
This alliance likely isn't of great importance to Konoha; only Yahiko, Konan, and their group would view it as critical.
Inside the main tent,
Jiraiya was discussing military matters with a few others when he was informed that the Rain ninjas had arrived, prompting him to have them brought in.
At a time of war, the entire Land of Fire was on high alert. Otherwise, for an alliance between the two nations, the envoy could have directly entered Konoha to meet with the Hokage.
However, Konoha now wouldn't allow any outsiders to approach too closely. If word of vulnerabilities in their defenses got out, it could lead to severe consequences.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage had also sent someone to handle these matters, as Jiraiya himself wasn't adept at negotiations.
After clearing the strategic maps from the table, two figures slowly entered the tent.
Jiraiya looked up and froze in place.
"Jiraiya-sensei?" The blonde-haired man beside him called out when he noticed his teacher's sudden pause.
Jiraiya snapped back to reality, his mind racing.
"It's been a long time, Jiraiya-sensei," said the boy with orange hair, smiling as he greeted him.
His words surprised everyone in the tent.
"Yahiko..." Jiraiya murmured, then turned to look at the girl standing beside him.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Konan also greeted.
"You... you are the envoys sent by the Rain Village?"
Yahiko smiled and said, "We represent Lord Hanzo, the leader of the Rain Village, and have come to discuss the matter of an alliance with your village."
"..."
The blonde-haired man leaned closer to Jiraiya, asking, "Jiraiya-sensei, could they be... the ones you mentioned earlier?"
Jiraiya, after a brief daze, suddenly burst into laughter, which only grew louder as he continued.
"Yahiko, Konan, I really didn't expect it to be you who came. What about Nagato? Has he arrived?"
Yahiko smiled and said, "Nagato didn't participate in this mission, but he also asked us to send his regards."
These words immediately made Jiraiya realize what was happening.
Yahiko and Konan were here representing Hanzo... Nagato wasn't here, and Nagato's Rinnegan... they were clearly wary of Konoha.
Seeing that everyone in the tent was confused, Jiraiya thought for a moment and then spoke without hesitation. "Some of you might know that I once took in three students from the Land of Rain."
Everyone quickly understood—these Rain ninjas were Jiraiya's former students.
Jiraiya cleared his throat and continued, "We'll discuss official matters later; I'd like to catch up with my students first."
The others immediately excused themselves.
"Minato, you can stay."The blonde-haired man responded with a nod.
Yahiko then looked at him and smiled. "You must be the legendary 'Yellow Flash,' Minato Namikaze."
Minato was renowned throughout the ninja world, his fame rivaling that of the Three Sannin.
With a warm smile on his handsome face, Minato greeted them, "Hello, I've heard Jiraiya-sensei mention you often. It's great to finally meet you."
Once everyone had left, Jiraiya invited Yahiko and Konan to sit.
Looking at their more mature faces, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh. "To be honest, I always thought you two... had died."
Konan smiled softly. "With the skills you taught us, Jiraiya-sensei, we're not that easy to kill."
Jiraiya felt a pang of guilt. To be honest, he hadn't taught them much, certainly not as much as he had taught Minato.The world was in chaos, and nearly every country was affected by the war, especially the already unstable Land of Rain. Jiraiya had left them when they were very young. His heart was filled with a mix of regret, as though he had failed as a father, and happiness that they had grown up safely.
"Konan, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman," Jiraiya said with a smile.
"Tell me your story. After I left, you must have gone through a lot, suffered quite a bit, didn't you?"
Asahi, meanwhile, had a mind to wander around the camp, wondering if he might run into any familiar characters from the storyline.
However, doing so would likely cause dissatisfaction among the Konoha ninjas. They had no choice but to stay quietly in the camp assigned to them by the Konoha ninjas, chatting aimlessly with Kyusuke, Daibutsu, and the others.
"What do you think of Lord Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, is like?"
"Didn't Yahiko said it before? He might seem a little offbeat at times, but he's actually a very reliable person."
"Then who's stronger, him or Lord Hanzo?""Isn't that obvious? Of course, it's Lord Hanzo! The name of the Sannin of Konoha was given to them by Lord Hanzo!"
"Then how about Lord Hanzo and the Third Hokage? Who's stronger?"
"Uhh... I think it's still Lord Hanzo!"
Just then, an Akatsuki member entered the tent, looking quite surprised.
"Kyusuke, there's a really cute girl outside! She says she's here to deliver something to us."
"Eh?"Kyusuke immediately stood up when he heard it was a girl, then quickly walked out.
The others, including Asahi, followed suit.
They saw a young girl and a boy with an arrogant look bringing many food boxes and placing them on the ground.
"Hello, I'm sure you haven't eaten yet. Please take your time with these. Conditions on the front lines aren't great, so please forgive us," the girl said.
She had black curly hair and striking red eyes, her smile lively and her appearance cute and charming.
Asahi looked at the pair, his expression a bit strange.
Kyusuke, facing the girl, smiled sheepishly. "No, thank you for going through the trouble."
The girl gently bowed. "I won't disturb your meal any longer. Please enjoy," she said before turning to leave with the boy.
Seeing them about to leave, Kyusuke suddenly called out, "Uh... may I ask what your name is?"
The girl tilted her head in response, but before she could answer, the arrogant boy spoke bluntly, "Why do you want to know her name? What's it to you?"
"Asuma, you're so rude," the girl scolded with a frown.
"I'm Kurenai Yuhi."
As they watched the two leave, Kyusuke muttered under his breath, "Annoying little brat!"
Asahi, amused, commented, "A girl so young, Kyusuke, you really have a soft spot for her."
"Shut up!" Kyusuke retorted.