Innocent Ideals

After Danzo announced they were officially setting out, all the shinobi immediately hurried toward Amegakure.

Shinobi traveled very quickly. In just half a day, the mission party heading to Amegakure had already covered dozens of kilometers.

"Lord Danzo, it's noon. Should we rest here for a while?" one of Danzo's trusted men asked him.

The shinobi's name was Yamanaka Rei. He belonged to the Yamanaka Clan and had joined the Root Organization as a child. He was one of Danzo's most trusted subordinates.

"Mm. Let's rest here for a while," Danzo said with a nod. His voice was hoarse, giving anyone who heard it an uncomfortable feeling.

The shinobi soon received orders to rest where they were and stopped in an open area. Aside from those assigned to scout and set up temporary traps, everyone else began resting and recovering their strength.

Yusuke leaned against a tree to rest, adjusting his condition as he observed his surroundings.

Just then, Yusuke saw Danzo slowly approach, followed by several Root Organization shinobi.

"Uchiha Yusuke, do you know the real reason the Third Hokage sent you to supervise me?" Danzo asked in a low voice when he reached Yusuke.

"Shinobi don't need to ask why they're given a mission," Yusuke replied with an entirely official-sounding answer.

Although Yusuke had some idea what the Third Hokage was thinking, he had no intention of discussing it with Danzo.

"Good. It seems you still understand what it means to be a shinobi." A cold glint flashed in Danzo's eyes. He wasn't satisfied with Yusuke's evasive answer.

But Danzo didn't appear to care. Instead, he continued, "The Root Organization is in need of shinobi like you. Compared to those weak shinobi organizations in the village, only the Root Organization truly follows the way of the shinobi."

Although Danzo detested the Uchiha Clan, he was, in fact, a very rational man.

Danzo knew Yusuke had considerable potential, and he wanted to see if he could recruit him into the Root Organization.

If Yusuke agreed, whether or not he joined willingly, Danzo was confident he could find a way to keep him firmly under control and turn him into a weapon at his disposal.

Yusuke was slightly taken aback by Danzo's veiled offer. He had expected Danzo to target him, but not to try and recruit him.

However, Yusuke knew full well that he and Danzo were fundamentally opposed. Danzo believed that by hiding in the shadows, building up his strength, and plotting schemes, he could claim the position of Hokage.

But in Yusuke's eyes, Danzo was nothing but a wraith lurking in the darkness. Having adapted to the shadows, he could never survive in the sunlight. Just as in the original story, the moment he became Hokage, his doom was sealed.

"Sorry, I have no intention of joining the Root Organization," Yusuke said, shaking his head.

"Is that so? What a pity." Hearing Yusuke's refusal, Danzo said no more and turned as if to leave.

But Yusuke couldn't see the killing intent that flared in Danzo's eyes as he turned his back. Danzo signaled his subordinates with a glance.

Suddenly, two Root Organization shinobi Body Flickered to either side of Yusuke and seized his shoulders, one on each side, trying to restrain him.

Meanwhile, Yamanaka Rei, facing Yusuke, began forming Hand Seals, preparing to use the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique against him.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!" Yamanaka Rei finished forming the Hand Seals. Seeing that Yusuke had been grabbed by his two companions and couldn't move, he smiled.

But Yusuke's body suddenly jolted. The two Root Organization shinobi gripping his shoulders felt a tremendous force surge through their hands, and they lost their hold on him.

Yusuke kicked the shinobi on his left away, then pulled the one on his right in front of himself, using him to block Yamanaka Rei's Mind Body Switch Technique at the last moment.

The smile had barely faded from Yamanaka Rei's face when a sharp pain struck his abdomen.

After possessing the companion Yusuke had positioned in front of himself, Yamanaka Rei found Yusuke driving a hard punch into that shinobi's stomach. As he was in the Mind Body Switch Technique's possessed state, he suffered the same injury.

Yusuke casually swung the Root Organization shinobi possessed by Yamanaka Rei sideways, hurling him toward the two other shinobi charging at him.

The two shinobi couldn't dodge in time. They had no choice but to catch their companion in their arms and stagger backward.

Just then, two hands suddenly emerged from the ground beneath Yusuke's feet and grabbed his ankles. It seemed they were preparing to use the Headhunter Jutsu to pin him underground.

The Headhunter Jutsu was a common technique used by Earth Release shinobi to restrain their enemies. They used Earth Release to sneak beneath an opponent without warning, then swiftly dragged them underground, leaving only their head above the surface and rendering them immobile.

"Fire Style: Square Inch Scorched Earth." Yusuke sneered and quickly formed Hand Seals.

Once he finished, a small area beneath Yusuke was marked with a jutsu seal. The earth covered by the seal immediately dried up as if it had been scorched beneath the sun for months, splitting into layers of cracks. Heat seeped from the fissures, making it clear that the temperature underground was high.

"Aaaah!" A scream rang out as a shinobi, charred black and smelling like roasted meat, sprang from the ground beneath Yusuke. Yusuke showed no sympathy and kicked him away.

Yusuke had barely dealt with that wave of attackers when another group of Root Organization shinobi charged at him. A dozen kunai flew toward him at the same time.

But the Root Organization shinobi stared at one another in confusion when the kunai failed to hit Yusuke. Every one of them passed straight through his body. Yusuke's form flickered in the air like a flame as crows wrapped in fire split off from him, circled overhead, then reassembled into Yusuke on a branch some distance behind Danzo and the Root Organization shinobi.

"Lord Danzo, do you still want to continue?" Yusuke asked, arms crossed and leaning against the tree, his gaze calm.

Danzo's plan to have his subordinates sneak up on Yusuke and restrain him had failed. If they kept fighting, Yusuke would no longer hold back.

He might not be able to defeat Danzo and all the Root Organization shinobi present, but he was quite confident he could kill a few of them and leave unscathed.

Hearing Yusuke's voice behind him, Danzo turned around and stared at him coldly.

Danzo had heard that Yusuke had performed exceptionally well in the Third Shinobi World War, on par with the genius shinobi Kakashi Hatake, and had earned the title "Flame Tachi."

But after witnessing the series of ambushes just now, Danzo's estimate of Yusuke's strength had risen considerably. He now ranked him above Kakashi.

Yusuke had demonstrated an exceptionally high level of skill in Taijutsu, reaction speed, and the speed at which he formed Hand Seals.

"Just as expected of a genius from the Uchiha Clan. You certainly have impressive skills," Danzo said coldly, raising a hand to stop the Root Organization shinobi who were about to charge forward again.

With the ambush foiled, Danzo said no more and led his subordinates away from Yusuke.

But in Danzo's mind, Yusuke had already been placed on his list of people to kill. He would never tolerate a Konoha shinobi defying him—especially one from the Uchiha Clan!

Seeing Danzo back down, Yusuke leaned against the tree and resumed resting.

Although Yusuke appeared calm and relaxed, he was actually on high alert, watching Danzo and the Root Organization shinobi closely in case they tried anything else.

This mission won't be easy. The Third Hokage has certainly given me a difficult problem to deal with. Yusuke sighed inwardly as he watched Danzo and the Root Organization shinobi in the distance.

Not long after the Konoha mission party finished resting, they continued on toward Amegakure. The Root Organization shinobi's ambush on Yusuke had been a minor incident. Both Danzo and Yusuke acted as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, within Amegakure's sphere of influence, an organization called Akatsuki was carrying out various secret activities. It had also attracted the attention of the man who truly controlled Amegakure.

At a hidden base, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan—the true founders of Akatsuki—were talking. At the time, Akatsuki members wore pure black robes without the red clouds embroidered on them.

"Wonderful! More and more shinobi are willing to join us. I believe that one day, our ideals will put an end to every war in the world," Yahiko said excitedly beneath the dim candlelight, his short blond hair catching its glow.

When Akatsuki was first founded, it wasn't a terrorist organization, and it had no plan to capture the Tailed Beasts and carry out the Eye of the Moon.

In truth, Akatsuki had originally been founded by three idealistic young people who sincerely longed for peace. Its principle was to "build peace without relying on force."

At the time, Akatsuki was based in Amegakure, which lay between the three great nations of Konoha, Iwa, and Sunagakure. Its members traveled among the great nations, recruiting wandering shinobi who shared their desire for peace and spreading their ideals throughout the countries.

During this period, Akatsuki was led by Yahiko. He had both a remarkable personal charisma and impressive leadership skills.

Many wandering shinobi from the surrounding areas joined Akatsuki out of admiration for his reputation and willingly followed his leadership.

"That's right, Yahiko. If we can get enough people to accept our ideas, even the great nations will have no choice but to stop the war!" said Nagato with a smile. His red hair framed the Rinnegan he had already awakened.

Nagato's strength was already extraordinary. In terms of combat ability, he far surpassed Yahiko. But Nagato also believed Yahiko was the best leader, and he intended to use his own strength to help Yahiko achieve his ideal of peace in the Ninja World!

"We recently received word that a Konoha mission party will be coming to Amegakure to negotiate with Hanzo over compensation from the defeated nations. The Konoha delegation is being led by a man named Danzo. He's also part of the Konoha High Command, but we don't know much about what kind of person he is," Nagato said.

Yahiko's face lit up when he heard this. "Do you think this could be an opportunity for us, too? We could share our ideals with the Konoha delegation and, through them, with the whole Land of Fire! The Land of Fire is the most powerful nation in the Ninja World. If our ideals spread throughout the Land of Fire, then it won't be long before the entire Ninja World accepts them."

Nagato nodded. "It really is a good opportunity. Some time ago, Amegakure's leader, Hanzo, sent someone to contact us. He wants to work with us and use us as the center of peace negotiations with the three great nations around us. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to establish peace agreements with both Konoha and Amegakure."

"It seems even the 'Demigod' of the Ninja World can no longer ignore our existence!" Yahiko said. His eyes were full of confidence and hope for the future. He firmly believed that his ideals were about to take a great step forward.

Konan sat quietly in a chair beside them, gazing at the two of them with gentle eyes and a simple, contented smile.

To her, Yahiko and Nagato were everything. She was willing to do anything to help them realize their ideals. The road ahead might be rough, but as long as the three of them stayed together, none of that mattered.

But the three, still so naive, had no idea that an event was about to occur that would change their ideals and their destinies forever!