The more it yearns for the light above, the deeper its roots must go (Kneeling for monthly tickets!!!)

[Quest Accepted: 1/2]

[Quest Name: [Founding of Akatsuki]]

[Quest Details: Witness the first meeting of Akatsuki's founders — "Yahiko," "Nagato," and "Konan"]

[Quest Rank: Blue]

[Quest Time Limit: 69 Natural Days]

[Completion Reward: 2000 Points]

[Quest Status: Completed]

[Points Held: 2200 (200 + 2000)]

Looking at the quest that had triggered three months ago, Yun Chuan shook his head and thought to himself, "Just 'witnessing' the first meeting of those three brats — the operational leeway on this quest really is pretty big."

Bringing Yahiko and Konan back, letting the three brats get to know each other, and the quest would be done just like that.

But that was fine too. As long as he didn't have to join Akatsuki, it didn't matter to him.

After all, if he had to sit back and do nothing, waiting for the original plot to unfold, letting them found Akatsuki and then joining up afterward — he wouldn't have taken this quest in the first place.

Yun Chuan had found Nagato a few months ago, in a ruined village.

He'd been searching for someone at the time when he heard an explosion and immediately went to check it out.

And then... there was no "and then"...

Hell if he knew how dumbstruck he'd been when he saw that red-haired brat unconscious on the ground, along with the corpses of those two Konoha ninja.

Even he hadn't expected to find Nagato before finding Yahiko and Konan. He was even starting to wonder if some old bastard had deliberately led him there.

After all, Yun Chuan had always believed that luck was just coincidence, and misfortune was the norm.

But when he carefully recalled the whole sequence of events, he couldn't find anything unusual. In the end, he could only chalk it up to "luck" and raise his guard to full alert.

Even knowing that getting close to Nagato would put him in the sights of those two old schemers, Yun Chuan couldn't just pretend he hadn't seen anything and walk away.

The Rinnegan was far too important.

Yun Chuan knew that his "weight" in the ninja world was gradually increasing. He couldn't just sit around doing nothing until the main plot began.

His very existence would sooner or later disrupt the original course of history, costing him the few advantages of foresight that a transmigrator possessed.

Yahiko and Konan were a stark example.

Because they weren't anything special in themselves, Yun Chuan — this "butterfly" — had only to lightly flap his wings, and they encountered a deadly crisis they would never have faced otherwise.

If not for the trap Yun Chuan had set, the two of them might not have survived.

Because their weight in this world was too light. Without meeting Nagato, they were just two among countless war orphans.

So, even at the risk of drawing the attention of those two old schemers, he had to keep the "Rinnegan" in his own hands, keep Nagato under his watch at all times. Only then could he seize the initiative for the future.

Besides, it wasn't as if just any random Uzumaki clan member could use most of the Rinnegan's abilities.

Nagato was the vessel old Madara had painstakingly chosen. He was himself an exceptionally talented member of the Uzumaki Clan — probably in a league of his own even among them.

The Rinnegan plus an Uzumaki genius — the temptation for Yun Chuan was far, far too great.

When a kidnapper sees a child with potential, who walks away empty-handed?

Anyway, before Nagato grew strong enough to stand on his own, old Madara wasn't going to go out of his way to attack the people around him. At the very least, he'd wait until Nagato could summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, or even until he could use the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

By the time Nagato could do all that, if Yun Chuan was still afraid of old Madara, who could barely even catch his breath, then he'd basically deserve whatever death came his way.

The only thing Yun Chuan regretted was that by the time he arrived on the scene, Nagato's parents were already dead.

Otherwise, he might have been able to recruit another Uzumaki clan member.

When Nagato first woke up, he was completely a shut-in brat.

He watched as Yun Chuan used all kinds of methods and personal charisma to attract traveling companions, and finally watched as this "City of Daybreak" was built up, piece by piece.

After months of Yun Chuan's direct teaching by word and example, Nagato finally wasn't so withdrawn anymore.

Because he'd swung to the other extreme.

"Sigh."

Thinking of this, Yun Chuan couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Then, he directly grabbed the face of Nagato beside him, pulling at the corner of his mouth as he said through gritted teeth, "Can't you smile a little more often? Stop wearing that gloomy face all day, looking like you've suffered some great injustice!"

"You've already scared seven kids into crying. Half the complaint box in my office is filled with people whining that you're bullying their children!"

To reduce the number of times Nagato used the Rinnegan, slowing down his pace of adapting to its abilities so he wouldn't waste his own Uzumaki Clan talent, Yun Chuan had not only tailored a training plan for Nagato but had also borrowed Tobirama's excuse to blindfold his eyes.

Calling it, for appearances' sake: "These are cursed eyes."

Anyway, in the original plot, he'd also covered his eyes with long hair. This was just a different method.

At first, Nagato was a bit unaccustomed and uncomfortable. But as he experienced more and more things with Yun Chuan, seeing more and more filth, depravity, and chaos, he gradually got used to closing his eyes and not looking anymore.

Although Nagato's powerful Uzumaki Clan sensory talent had been developed, it might have been because he blamed himself for his parents' death, or because he'd seen too many filthy and vile things, twisting his psyche...

In the end, he had become this cold and gloomy figure.

Now, there were only two things Nagato truly valued: Yun Chuan, the man who had saved him and was like both an older brother and a father, and the "City of Daybreak" he had watched rise from nothing.

The name "City of Daybreak" was his own creation, a symbol of the last patch of Pure Land in a darkened world.

That was precisely why, upon hearing Yahiko's words, Nagato had struck without mercy.

He knew all too well how much he and his elder brother had sacrificed for everything they had now—how could he allow some naive, foolish brat to slander it?

"Brother, there's something I need to tell you."

Seeming already accustomed to Yun Chuan's gestures, Nagato rubbed his face and stepped close to whisper a few words in his ear.

"...Is that so?"

After a brief silence, a smile once again crept onto Yun Chuan's face, yet his blue eyes held not a trace of mirth.

Like an unfathomably deep pool, they reflected no light at all.

"From now on, there's no need to ask me about things like this, and don't hold any reservations."

Yun Chuan pushed Nagato's head away, his tone calm. "Since I've entrusted 'Dawn' to you, act according to your own judgment. Just hand me a report afterward."

"Understood." Nagato bowed his head in acknowledgment, a flicker of coldness flashing across his face. "Then I'll go handle it first."

His elder brother was still the same as ever.

Even when it involved him personally, he would never show leniency.

The fact that Nagato had sought permission before acting only made him seem less resolute.

With that thought, Nagato turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, red-haired brat!"

Nagato's step faltered. He turned back expressionlessly, facing Yahiko, whose face had darkened.

"I'm starting to dislike you now." A vein bulged on Yahiko's forehead as he shouted, "I'll pay that back to you sooner or later. You'd better not give me the chance."

This guy in front of him was completely at odds with him—always giving off a grating vibe. He wanted nothing more than to grab that gloomy face and beat it to a pulp!

"Are you done? If you're done, then it's my turn." Nagato's expression remained unchanged, his voice low. "Don't ever let me hear you maliciously guessing at my brother's intentions with that pitiful brain of yours again."

This guy simply didn't understand.

Just as his elder brother had told him before: the more a tree grows, the more it yearns for the light above, the deeper its roots must go—downward, into the soil, into the darker depths!

And his duty was to clear away the insects underground, lest they steal the tree's nourishment or, gathering in numbers, gnaw it down.

Such reasoning was utterly lost on this blockheaded fool.

"And also, though it's childish, right now, I truly despise you."

With that final remark, leaving Yahiko hopping in fury on the spot, Nagato turned and left without looking back.

Unlike this idiot, he still had work to do.

—To crush those filthy bugs!