Uchiha Fugaku nodded, which suddenly made Uchiha Itachi's heart flutter. It seemed that coming to the strategist's place was not bad. The strategist seemed very gentle, unlike his father who was strict. Moreover, there was a lot of delicious food!
"I'm willing!" Uchiha Itachi nodded, looking at Uchiha Kō with hopeful eyes. Uchiha Kō smiled and nodded, then patted Itachi's head. "Alright, then it's a deal. If you behave well, your master will buy you snacks."
"Mmm!" Uchiha Itachi nodded, his eyes shining. What kind of amazing advisor was this? If it were his own father, his face would be as black as the bottom of a pot if he failed the mission, and he wouldn't say a word, turning around and exuding a gloomy aura.
I am so surprised!
Fortunately, he could get closer to his advisor in the future, and presumably the advisor wouldn't be so fierce! All of the above were Uchiha Itachi's true thoughts; in his eyes, Uchiha Fugaku was simply a devil.
Little did they know, when Uchiha Kō got ruthless, he was no match for Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku sneered inwardly as he looked at Uchiha Itachi. "Heh, you're too smug, kid. Your grandpa was the man who quelled two Ninja World Wars."
And so, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi stayed at Uchiha Kō's house until noon. After lunch, they left, and before departing, Uchiha Itachi sweetly called out, "Grandma, Grandpa, see you tomorrow!"
"Okay, see you tomorrow, Itachi. And Fugaku, that chocolate was for him, he can eat it however he wants, don't say anything!" Tsunade said to Uchiha Itachi with a smile, then looked at Fugaku with a stern face.
Fugaku had no choice but to nod, then, holding the chocolate in one hand and grasping Uchiha Itachi's small hand in the other, he slowly left Uchiha Kō's villa.
Seeing this, Uchiha Kō smiled, then took Tsunade's hand and led her back into the house.
Land of Rain
At this moment, Uzumaki Nagato is training in the Land of Rain with Jiraiya. Since the Third Shinobi World War did not take place in the Land of Rain, the Land of Rain is relatively peaceful at this time.
"Oh~ Nagato, you've improved a lot! You can already control the Rinnegan skillfully." Jiraiya smiled and gave Uzumaki Nagato a thumbs up. Uzumaki Nagato smiled slightly and asked, "Sensei, what are we doing in the Land of Rain?"
"Nagato, what have you learned from traveling to various countries with your teacher over the years?" Jiraiya did not answer Uzumaki Nagato's question directly, but wanted to test Uzumaki Nagato.
Uzumaki Nagato paused, not answering immediately, but reflecting on his journey over the past few years. He said earnestly, "Teacher, war only brings suffering; it's not easy for ordinary people to live in peace and prosperity."
"That's right, you're right. The entire Ninja World is constantly at war. People wage war at will for resources, for population, for power. If you were a ninja from a small country, you would understand all of this more clearly." Jiraiya began his political lesson again.
"Teacher is right, but hasn't the situation improved a lot in recent years? With the Lord Hokage in power, the Five Great Nations have been kept in check, and there have been far fewer wars. Moreover, even if there are ambitious people like those from Kumogakure, haven't they been quelled by the Lord Hokage in no time?" Uzumaki Nagato asked.
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned. He thought about it and realized it was true. The two walked in the field, neither of them speaking.
Then suddenly a group of people arrived, led by an orange-haired hedgehog and a blue-haired woman, followed by ninjas carrying farm tools, who were cultivating the fields.
"Brothers, let's work hard this year too! The Land of Rain is getting better and better, thanks in Hanzo and Lord Owl!" The leading man waved his hand and said with a big smile.
The blue-haired girl nodded. "That's right, we must also work hard in the fields this year. The existence of our Akatsuki is to promote the beauty of peace!" She shook hands and said to the ninja behind her.
"Akatsuki?" Nagato was taken aback. Hearing this name, he felt a sense of destiny, and the two leaders seemed easy to get along with, as if the three of them should have known each other long ago.
"Hmm~ Akatsuki, huh? I heard they're a newly emerging force in the Land of Rain. Their aim is to spread peace and let the people rest. Although they're made up of ninjas, they have a very good relationship with the civilians. Oh! By the way, Nagato, should we go say hello?" Jiraiya said with a smile.
For some reason, Uzumaki Nagato nodded as if possessed, but his eyes were mostly fixed on the blue-haired girl. She was so beautiful and cute!
Jiraiya's lips twitched. His disciple wasn't Jiraiya his own; had he fallen for her? It was their first meeting, and she was making him lose face! Nevertheless, he shook his head and led Nagato over.
The orange-haired man and the blue-haired woman, who were working in the field, suddenly stopped, feeling a sense of intertwined destiny. They simultaneously looked up at Jiraiya and Uzumaki Nagato.
"And you two are?" the orange-haired man asked with a smile. His smile was clean, and his voice was steady, giving people a very reliable feeling.
"Oh, we are ninjas from Konoha. My name is Jiraiya, and this is my disciple, Uzumaki Nagato." Jiraiya introduced himself casually, then pointed to the dull-witted Uzumaki Nagato beside him.
Uzumaki Nagato nodded. "Hello, my name is Uzumaki Nagato, Konoha Ninja." He then extended his hand to shake hands with the two men. The orange-haired man laughed heartily. "Nice to meet you! My name is Yahiko, the leader of Akatsuki. This gentleman beside me is Konan, the second-in- Akatsuki." He then shook hands with Nagato.
The moment Uzumaki Nagato hands with the man, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. It was a strange feeling, one he had never experienced before, as if he and the man in front of him got along very well.
Yahiko felt the same way, but he shook his head. The other party was Konoha Ninja, while he was Land of Rain ninja. How could he possibly have such thoughts?
Then, he let go of her hand, and Konan extended her hand as well. "Nagato, I always feel that this name is familiar, and I feel a natural closeness to you. How about joining our Akatsuki?" Konan smiled sweetly.
Nagato was completely smitten; he almost blurted out "yes," but Jiraiya pinched him and whispered in his ear, "Nagato, can't you be a little more sensible? You're just going to fall for someone's honey trap?"
Uzumaki Nagato, shook his head, and released his grip. Konan smiled faintly and said nothing. After all, she knew how charming she was. As for bringing Nagato, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Konan, you're still as awful as ever! They're Konoha ninjas, we're Land of Rain ninjas, how could that be!" Yahiko sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Konan walked up behind him, stuck out her tongue, and then winked at Nagato.
Uzumaki Nagato smiled slightly. "It's alright. By the way, could you tell me about your Akatsuki? I'm very interested." Uzumaki Nagato suddenly asked.
At this point, Yahiko's eyes lit up, and he pulled Nagato. "Hehe, let me tell you, it all started eight years ago..." Yahiko recounted his own and Konan's origins. The two were originally immigrants living near the Land of Rain. Eight years ago, the Konoha army set foot on this land.
When the Land of Rain attacked, every family was terrified, fearing that the war would affect them. However, the reality was not what they imagined. The Konoha army was disciplined and did not harm the people in the slightest. They even gave them food and allowed them to buy things with money.
Yahiko's father was the leader of these immigrants. He was relieved to see how polite Konoha was and told everyone that the Konoha army were all good people who had come to fight Hanzo, who had started the war. As an immigrant, he did not feel much of a sense of belonging to the Land of Rain at that time.
Konan was also from that village and witnessed the scene. Because she was cute, the Konoha Ninja gave her a lot of good food and even sent medical ninjas to treat her mother's illness, which made her very grateful to Konoha.
The two inquired why the unit had gone to such lengths, and the ninja replied, "It's an order from Commander Uchiha Kō!"
The name of Uchiha Kō was thus planted in the hearts of these immigrants at that time.
Uzumaki Nagato was taken aback. Seeing that the two people's expressions didn't seem fake, he couldn't help but recall that it seemed that Brother Kō really was like that. A smile appeared on his face.
"Brother Kō is indeed a very gentle person," Uzumaki Nagato suddenly said.
Jiraiya's lips twitched. Gentle? He couldn't remember. He killed the Kazekage with three hammer blows, instantly killed Dan Katō, fought the Iwagakure Ninja with his Senju, and controlled the Five-Tails to wreak havoc. The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
"I see that the strongest of you have Jonin-level strength. How did you train?" Jiraiya asked, inquiring about how Yahiko and the others extracted chakra for their training.
"This is also related to Konoha. At that time, the ninjas of the Land of Rain were in short supply, and Lord Hanzo began to lower the conditions for recruiting ninjas, distributing chakra extraction techniques to everyone. It was through those chakra extraction techniques that we embarked on the path of training," Konan said with a smile.
Jiraiya nodded. "That makes sense, very reasonable."
Uzumaki Nagato looked at the two of them, his expression somewhat hesitant. To be honest, after listening to Yahiko and Konan's descriptions, he felt a bit longing for this organization. Then he suddenly looked at Jiraiya and tugged at his sleeve.
"Teacher, could I..." He hesitated, then realized it was unlikely.
Jiraiya? He immediately understood Uzumaki Nagato's intentions, but he couldn't make a decision. "Nagato, the Lord Hokage must know about this, otherwise my word doesn't count."
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. If Nagato were just an ordinary ninja, he wouldn't say anything, but Nagato had two Rinnegan, which made things complicated.
Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was not just a simple ninja; he was a being comparable to Tailed Beast!