Who gave you the courage to look at an Uchiha?

"You... Yahiko?"

Tsunade was extremely surprised, her beautiful eyes widening: "You, you're really Yahiko? You've grown so big!"

"Lady Tsunade, you know him?" Uchiha Sōgetsu's tone was cold, showing appropriate caution. He took half a step back, his right hand moving towards his waist. Beneath the white animal mask, three blood-red Sharingan appeared: "Please forgive my rudeness, Lady Tsunade, but please be careful. This person is very likely a criminal wanted by Amegakure."

"Sharingan? A ninja from the Uchiha Clan."

Stared at by those blood-red eyes, Yahiko felt inexplicably uncomfortable and frowned subconsciously: "Konoha's Anbu, I mean you no harm, so please put away your hostility. And don't forget, this is our Ninja Village, you are the outsider."

Because of Jiraiya, he held some goodwill towards Tsunade.

But... this didn't mean he felt the same way about Konoha's Anbu.

Everyone in Amegakure held no goodwill towards ninjas from the great nations; it was more of a loathing. This stemmed from the Second Shinobi World War, when Konoha and Sunagakure used Amegakure, caught in the middle, as a battlefield, causing heavy casualties.

The reason they became orphans was largely due to Konoha.

"A criminal wanted by Hanzo of Amegakure has no right to say that," Uchiha Sōgetsu's eyes held a hint of arrogance, as if he didn't take Yahiko seriously at all. He provocatively said, "Lady Tsunade, if we hand them over to Hanzo, wouldn't that be a great gift?"

"Just as the rumors say, the Uchiha are all arrogant guys."

Yahiko was still a spirited youth. Being provoked to his face and then being treated as a 'gift' to be handed over to the enemy Hanzo, how could he suppress his anger: "If you have the guts, come and try!"

"That's exactly what I intend!"

Uchiha Sōgetsu formed a hand seal, his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

"Konoha's Anbu, I suggest you don't make any sudden moves."

Yahiko sneered and pointed at the ground beneath Sōgetsu's feet, a mocking expression on his face: "Take a good look at your feet. If you don't want to be blown to pieces, it's best to stay quiet."

Following Yahiko's finger, Uchiha Sōgetsu looked down at his legs and saw that they were, at some point, wrapped with over a dozen Explosive Tags.

Scattered paper pieces quickly gathered into a human shape beside Yahiko. It was a girl with light bluish-purple hair, a Paper Flower tucked into her hair, looking at him with a cold expression.

"Konoha's Anbu, we just wanted to catch up with Lady Tsunade," Konan said coolly. "So, please don't make any rash moves, or I'll blow off your legs."

"Stop it!"

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Tsunade sighed, holding her forehead, and spoke to stop them.

"Please don't worry, Lady Tsunade," Yahiko said gently. "Konan won't hurt him. We mean no harm."

"No, I'm not talking to you, Yahiko."

Tsunade waved her hand, looking pained: "Owl, stop it. We're not here to fight. This is an internal matter for Amegakure, and we have no right to interfere."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Yahiko and Konan were stunned, unable to comprehend.

They clearly had the upper hand, so why was Tsunade telling the Anbu to stop?

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

As the words fell, Uchiha Sōgetsu, who had been standing in front of them, dissipated like a reflection in water.

The gaze that felt like it was on their backs was sharp as knives, sending a chill down their spines. Yahiko and Konan's expressions suddenly changed.

"An Genjutsu?!"

Yahiko's pupils contracted rapidly, his face filled with horror: "Impossible, when did it happen?"

They hadn't even noticed when they were caught in the illusion.

Was this the Kekkei Genkai that made the Uchiha famous throughout the Ninja World, the Sharingan of Konoha's foremost great clan?

"Who gave you the courage to meet the eyes of an Uchiha?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu walked around to their front, a mocking glint in his eyes. He clapped his hands, as if praising their 'courage'.

Truly courageous!

Throughout the entire Ninja World, very few ninjas dared to meet the eyes of an Uchiha.

"I lost this time, lost due to my carelessness," Yahiko took a deep breath, suppressing the unwillingness in his heart, and said calmly, "But the next time we meet, I will not lose again."

Through the brief conflict, Uchiha Sōgetsu was actually somewhat disappointed with his impression of Yahiko, the legendary founder of Akatsuki.

Admittedly, as the leader of Akatsuki, Yahiko was undoubtedly qualified.

He could accurately recognize his mistakes and reflect on them promptly, not being swayed by emotions. From this point of view, he was indeed more suitable than Nagato in the future.

However, while he was an excellent leader, he had a serious flaw.

In this distorted Ninja World, when individual strength surpassed everyone else, leadership, political skill, strategy, and so on were merely embellishments. What truly determined everything, the most important thing, had always been strength.

The First Hokage pacified the warring states not with politics, but with military might.

Similarly, in the original story's ending, the Five Great Nations and their Ninja Villages tacitly pardoned Sasuke, not because they suddenly had a change of heart.

If someone were to foolishly try to lay a finger on Sasuke, do you think Naruto wouldn't go berserk and launch a Tailed Beast Bomb from five hundred miles away?

However, compared to Yahiko, another person was somewhat interesting.

Uchiha Sōgetsu observed Konan.

"It seems there's no time for catching up."

Hearing the commotion from a distance, Yahiko knew it was about time. He looked back at Tsunade, his face filled with gratitude. "Lady Tsunade, please send our regards to Teacher Jiraiya."

"I will."

Tsunade nodded, indicating she would pass on the message. She wanted to say something more, but the words caught in her throat. "You guys... never mind. You have your own path. Be careful from now on."

"We hope that one day, when you return to Amegakure, you'll see a completely new Amegakure," Yahiko said confidently.

From his face, one could see hope for the future and unwavering faith in his chosen path.

Before leaving, Konan subconsciously glanced back.

For some reason, she felt uneasy, as if someone was secretly observing them.

At night, in the Akatsuki's secret base.

Konan was alone, organizing the supplies they had seized from those Rain Ninjas earlier that day.

The Akatsuki was still in its early stages, immature in every aspect.

No people, no money—they were practically starting from scratch.

But more pressing than these issues was the bounty and pursuit from Hanzo.

This made the already understaffed Akatsuki's progress even more difficult.

Konan rubbed her temples, a hint of exhaustion appearing on her cool face. She sat down on a nearby chair. "Hoo... Am I too tired? So sleepy. I'll just rest for a bit."

December 14th, Cloudy

Heh... Some people win 120 million on an 88 yuan ticket, and I'm the sucker. I'm not buying anymore. Relying on the lottery to get rich is a pipe dream. (OS: I heard the lords who voted for this book all won prizes on scratch cards~)