Yahiko showed great interest in Jiraiya's suggestion.
He had already wanted to tell them about their experiences.
"After you left, Teacher Jiraiya, we wanted to contribute to peace in the Land of Rain with our own strength. At first, we helped some villages repel attacking ninja..."
Yahiko set down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and began telling their story.
At first, Yahiko had not intended to create a ninja organization.
After all, he had only been an inexperienced little brat back then.
Whether it was strength, knowledge, or anything else, he had not possessed enough to support such an ambition.
The Land of Rain had been in chaos at the time, but even in that chaotic Land of Rain, there were still ninja who longed for peace.
Over the course of their repeated actions, Yahiko and the others gradually gained more companions. Once their numbers reached a certain point, Akatsuki was naturally established.
However, Yahiko did not dwell on Akatsuki for long before quickly reaching his first encounter with Sōsuke.
It was not that Yahiko thought that period of Akatsuki's history was bad; there was simply not much to say about it.
"Compared to Ninshu's impact on the Land of Rain, Akatsuki could only be called small-scale troublemaking. Our slogan sounded impressive, but our influence was truly small." Yahiko drank some water to moisten his throat before continuing.
"As a young man, what you accomplished is more than enough for you to be proud of yourself." Jiraiya encouraged him.
Yahiko had been an orphan without any formal education, yet he had possessed such aspirations and put them into action. Jiraiya felt that alone put him ahead of countless others.
Jiraiya's words brought a smile to Yahiko's face, and he continued telling the story of their encounters with Sōsuke as