Night--
"Cheers--!"
Because there were too many people at Hagoromo's house, Hagoromo simply moved the entire table into the courtyard.
With the slight coolness of autumn in the air, Naruto and the others raised their glasses and clinked them together happily.
Hagoromo put down her cup, looked at the seven disciples in front of her, and smiled.
This is actually quite good.
"You arrogant Sasuke, I saw it first!"
"Dead Last, if you're slow, don't talk back--"
After saying that, Sasuke enjoyed putting the dumpling into his mouth.
Snatched food always tastes a bit better~
At the dinner table, everyone ignored the two's bickering; they had previously tried to persuade them to stop.
It's been almost two years now and it's still like this. Neither of them is interested in each other anymore, but the more they argue, the better their relationship seems to get.
"Master, please eat."
Neji carefully placed the food into Hagoromo's bowl, then spoke softly.
Hagoromo waved his hand, indicating to Neji he didn't need to pay attention to him.
"If you two keep making a scene, there won't be any food left later."
As Hagoromo spoke, she pointed to the food on the table that was disappearing rapidly.
After all, Choji had been craving this for a long time.
"Hey! Choji! How did you become so cunning!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief, then sped up his eating.
Interrupted like this, Sasuke also joined the ranks of those fighting.
Seeing Hagoromo shook her head; these guys were really cheeky.
"Teacher, I guess Iwagakure will start to get restless next, won't they?"
Shikamaru then helped Choji put more food in his bowl and asked, "..."
After all, Shikamaru reviewed what his teacher had said that afternoon.
It's highly likely that Iwagakure won't ignore the alliance between Konoha and Kumogakure.
After all, the current power structure of the Shinobi World is already fixed, so if one side suddenly becomes powerful...
The other ninja villages will not stand idly by.
"Hard to say--"
Hagoromo shook her head and said, "No one can predict such things."
Although the old man had discussed it with Shikaku before returning.
However, everything still needs to be observed, and it's estimated that the Kumogakure won't arrive so quickly.
After all, it would be good if Iwagakure could help them assess Konoha's true strength.
Maybe we won't even have to pay anything.
The dinner table fell silent for a moment; after all, war—
This word has always been unattainable for them; by the time they were born, Third Shinobi World War had already ended.
"Teacher, can I apply for graduation first?"
Neji, who was standing to the side, remained silent for a while before speaking.
What he had to do was not easy, and in the village, one's status was sometimes earned through one's own efforts.
Simply becoming Jonin doesn't mean anything.
To put it bluntly, many Jonin have risen through the ranks by completing numerous missions and increasing their level over the past decade.
The quality is completely different from that of Second Shinobi World War and Third Shinobi World War, and so is the reputation.
Whether it was Konoha's White Fang, the Sannin, or Minato Namikaze, they all earned their status through military achievements.
"We'll see when the time comes; it's too early to talk about these things now."
Hagoromo did not object to Neji's decision, after all, compared to Naruto and the others.
Neji is too mature, and graduating early means Neji will lose his current life.
Premature maturity is not a good thing.
The examples are right in front of us: Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Shisui, and others.
Which one of them doesn't have somewhat extreme views? And most of them are influenced by their environment.
Leaving the village too early without establishing a stable foundation is definitely not a good thing.
Neji nodded. He was only thinking about it; whether it would actually work out was another matter.
--
Rain--
It falls as if it will never stop.
Rainwater flows into the inland lake that surrounds the entire village, making the village seem as if it had been abandoned by the gods.
From the outside, it seemed as if this was the only place left in the world being repeatedly battered by the rain.
Inside the village, most of the buildings are made of steel. Pedestrians hurry through the rain, huddled in their soaked straw hats and raincoats.
On the window to the side, the silhouettes of one or two children were reflected in the windowpane, blurry and swaying.
However, the next moment, the adults in the room pulled the curtains closed.
The only faint, warm light vanished at that moment.
The tallest building in the village has a platform that extends horizontally, and a figure is standing there, looking down at everything below.
The orange-haired man, wearing a black trench coat embroidered with red clouds, stared indifferently at everything beneath his feet, his pupils rippling with emotion.
Thump--
Light footsteps approached, and the man glanced sideways.
A woman with short, straight, bluish-purple hair, tied in a hairpin shape, and wearing a pale blue paper flower on the right side of her head, appeared behind the man, dressed in the same attire.
'Akatsuki - White Tiger - Konan'
"Pain —a message has just arrived."
"Konoha is about to form an alliance with Kumogakure, and Iwagakure has just sent a message about cooperation."
Konan looked at the figure in front of her and spoke.
Upon hearing this news, Pain turned to look at the gloomy sky.
After a long while, a deep and penetrating voice finally emerged, mixed with the sound of rain.
"The so-called 'shadows' are nothing more than prisoners kneeling and rewriting history books—more disgusting than maggots."
Konan listened quietly, her gaze fixed on the figure standing in the rain.
"Notify all members to begin an Akatsuki meeting--"
"Yes!" Konan nodded and turned to walk into the building.
"The Five Great Nations —your roots run too deep..."
--
In the desolate desert, a short figure was walking slowly, accompanied by a young man with a ponytail.
"Hey Scorpion, don't you find the missions a bit too boring lately?"
The short figure paused, glanced at the kid behind him, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Deidara, from now on, you must accept all requests, no matter what they are."
"But it's all about making money, mercenaries, war, and stuff like that, there's no artistry at all—"
Hearing Sasori's response, Deidara said helplessly.
He didn't join Akatsuki for these kinds of things.
"While I agree, it still needs to be done—"
After saying this, Scorpion turned around and tried to continue on his way.
Um?
At that moment, the rings on their hands both moved at the same time.
"Eh? Master Scorpion, what's going on?"
Deidara asked in surprise, as this was the first time he had ever encountered such a reaction from the ring.
"The leader has summoned us for a meeting--"
After Scorpion finished speaking, he flicked his steel tail, stirring up dust, and the two figures disappeared from the spot in an instant.
Deidara, who had kept his eyes closed for a long time, saw figures standing in various places when he opened them again, as if they were illusions—ethereal and indistinct.
"Hey boss, what brings you here?"
Deidara looked at the figure standing in the center and asked excitedly.