Anyone who had studied shinobi history knew that the Land of Rain was a small country where it rained every day. The rain had never stopped...
Other countries knew very little about the Land of Rain. They only knew that the country was divided by civil war, with fighting year after year, and that security was extremely strict to prevent spies from infiltrating. Its shinobi village was Amegakure. This hidden village, a secret realm that had developed many unique techniques, pushed every shinobi's abilities to the limit and continuously created many distinctive moves. Its assassination techniques were highly developed, so it often accepted commissions from other countries.
The reason Team 22's trip to the edge of the Land of Rain to gather intelligence was classified as a B-rank mission was because they were leaving the country.
Among missions, any task involving leaving the village to gather intelligence was at least B-rank, even if they encountered no enemy shinobi during the mission.
When the four-person team reached the border of the Land of Fire, Hyuga Bin did not display a newcomer's curiosity. Instead, he remained highly vigilant against any danger that might arise.
It was now Konoha's forty-second year. A few years after the end of the Second Shinobi World War, the unresolved conflicts between the major shinobi villages had flared up once again. Each had dispatched large numbers of shinobi to the front lines, and the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin.
During the previous two Shinobi World Wars, even Kage could die in battle.
Hyuga Bin considered himself nothing more than a Genin, without even enough strength to protect himself. He could only be even more vigilant and avoid unnecessary risks.
Before entering the Land of Rain, Hyuga Masayuki activated his Byakugan and checked the surroundings. Only after confirming there were no Chakra fluctuations or traces of shinobi activity did he lead Hyuga Bin and the other two into the Land of Rain.
Their mission this time was mainly to investigate activity along Amegakure's borders and look for traces of shinobi from other villages operating in the Land of Rain. They could retreat at any time if they encountered danger.
After entering Uchiha territory by one kilometer, Team 22 began a horizontal search.
Then, they encountered an Iwagakure squad.
The two teams immediately pretended not to see each other and headed in opposite directions.
There was no doubt that Konoha and Iwagakure were hostile to each other.
They did not fight because neither side was confident they could completely eliminate the other. Moreover, they were in Amegakure's territory, and a battle would be more likely to alert the Rain Ninja.
If that happened and the three sides fell into a melee, they could very well be wiped out by the Rain Ninja.
After making some brief mission notes, the four-person team soon encountered the three-man group of the not-yet-officially-named Akatsuki Organization.
With such distinctive hair colors and hairstyles, Hyuga Bin recognized the three at a glance thanks to his veteran otaku background.
The three should have been around thirteen or fourteen years old now, and Jiraiya had only recently left them.
Because they were not strong enough to contend with Hanzo, the three were merely "developing their business" along the edge of the Land of Rain and had not ventured deep into the country.
As a transmigrator, Hyuga Bin knew very well that in another two or three years, Hanzo would be swayed by Shimura Danzō's instigation. He would use Konan's life as leverage to force Yahiko to kill himself, and Nagato would summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Afterward, Nagato Uzumaki would create Pain, kill Hanzo, and then go around saying, "How many floors can one bag of rice carry? How many floors can one bag of rice carry?"
In Konoha's sixty-third year, he would even use Almighty Push to flatten Konoha in a single strike.
"Danzo really deserves to take the blame for this. What a mess. Given Jiraiya's relationship with those three, if this hadn't happened, the Akatsuki Organization might even have been very close to Konoha."
"Though I don't have much attachment to Konoha, I need to protect my family. I have to find a way to eliminate this potential risk."
After running through those memories in his mind, Hyuga Bin's gaze lingered on Konan for a moment because of the system's option mission.
He had to admit that, seeing her in person for the first time, Konan was quite pretty.
[Option A: Directly attack Nagato Uzumaki, Yahiko, and Konan. Completion reward: Water Release—Great Waterfall Technique (A-rank reward).]
[Option B: Mock Nagato Uzumaki with words: "Your eyes are so ugly." Completion reward: Wind Release—Thousand-Faced Wind (B-rank reward).]
[Option C: Say to Konan: "You're pretty cute. Want to be my sex slave?" Completion reward: Reanimation Jutsu (S-rank reward).]
[Option D: Smile and greet the three. Completion reward: Random Attribute Points +0.1.]
"You're Lord Jiraiya's disciples, right?" Hyuga Bin stepped forward to break the stalemate and greeted the three with a smile.
[Option mission completed. Dojutsu +0.1.]
Hyuga Bin had not greeted them this time because of the system's option mission.
Even without the option mission, he would have done the same. Unless necessary, he did not want to come into conflict with the three of them.
Though they clearly outclassed the three in strength, Nagato Uzumaki, like him, had cheats!
If Nagato unleashed a Rinnegan ultimate in anger, even Hyuga Masayuki, a Jonin, probably would not be able to withstand it.
Facing Hyuga Bin's smile, Yahiko also took the initiative to respond. "Konoha shinobi, do you know us?"
Of course, even though Hyuga Bin's smile was sunny and infectious, and he had identified them, it did not lessen Yahiko and the other two's vigilance.
Hyuga Masayuki and the other two beside Hyuga Bin were also somewhat confused, because they had never heard that Jiraiya had taken disciples in the Land of Rain.
Jiraiya taking disciples was classified information in Konoha. Only a small number of high-ranking officials knew about it.
"Yes. I'm Hyuga Bin, Lord Tsunade's disciple. I heard Lord Tsunade mention that Lord Jiraiya had taken three disciples in the Land of Rain. Your ages and hair colors happen to match what she described." Hyuga Bin directly dragged Tsunade into it. In any case, the three could not go to Tsunade to verify it.
"Bin-kun, is Teacher Jiraiya doing well?" After hearing Hyuga Bin's explanation, Konan asked him.
"Lord Jiraiya recently released a new book. Its sales are pretty good, so he should be doing quite well." After saying this with a smile, Hyuga Bin continued, "Since you're Lord Jiraiya's disciples, there's no need for us to come into conflict."
"Indeed, there isn't." Yahiko nodded with a smile.
He had originally been a sunny young man with a personality similar to Uzumaki Naruto's. Faced with Hyuga Bin's enthusiasm, he responded with equal warmth.
"So, you haven't joined Amegakure yet?" With both sides' vigilance already dispelled, Hyuga Bin figured he had nothing better to do and took the initiative to find another topic for Yahiko and the other two.
"Mm. We plan to establish an organization of our own." Yahiko shook his head.
"What are you planning to call it?" Hyuga Bin immediately had the urge to "trademark-squat" Yahiko's organization's name.
"We haven't thought of a name yet." Yahiko shook his head. He truly had not considered that question yet.
"Dawn after darkness—Akatsuki. What do you think of that name?"
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