Even in the Land of Rain, it didn't rain every day, but most of the time, the sky was overcast and gray.
Nagato was developing a new Sensory Ninjutsu, trying to extend its range across all of Amegakure so they could guard against spies infiltrating in any emergency.
Both he and Konan had become especially sensitive about certain things because of their past experiences.
Konan stood by the window, clad in the Akatsuki's signature Akatsuki cloak. A stretch of fair skin showed at her collar, and the pale purple eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes lent her gaze a touch of depth.
The great nations were often linked, so that a single move could affect the whole board. Even a conflict between just two great nations could escalate into a Shinobi World War. And once war broke out, the Land of Rain would find it hard to stay out of it. They had learned that lesson in blood.
That was why Akatsuki had to investigate both nations' attitudes and the situation on the ground, so they could prepare accordingly.
"Konan."
A deep voice came from outside the door. It was Pain.
"How is the new Pain doing?" she asked, turning around.
"From now on, call 'me' Pain," the voice corrected her. "He is the only leader of Akatsuki."
Konan fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded. "All right."
"How is the information Zetsu brought back?"
"Not bad. We've more or less pieced together what happened." Konan couldn't help sighing. "It started when Kumogakure tried to frame the Hyuga Clan during peace treaty negotiations so they could extort the Byakugan."
A thoughtful look flickered across Pain's eyes. Though he was a corpse, aside from his somewhat cold expression, his demeanor was remarkably lifelike.
"The Byakugan is one of Konoha's two precious dojutsu. Its tactical value is beyond question, so it's no surprise Hidden Cloud made a move."
Konan continued, "Konoha's response was very forceful. Tsunade most likely directed the whole affair, and she may succeed the Fifth Hokage."
"Whether war breaks out will depend on the Raikage's attitude."
"He's still considering it. Zetsu will keep an eye on Hidden Cloud's movements. If they intend to go to war, we'll get the information right away."
After a moment of silence, Pain asked, "Has the situation in the Land of Rain stabilized?"
"Not very well," she answered honestly. "Because of the tensions between Konoha and Kumogakure, Hanzo's followers, who had gone into hiding, have become active again. They seem to be planning to contact Konoha."
"I understand." Pain stood up. "The Land of Rain no longer needs their strength. I'll go with Zetsu and eliminate the threat, then bring this country fully under our control as soon as possible."
After speaking, he turned his head to look at Konan. "You've worked hard, Konan."
"It's nothing." Konan shook her head.
"Even so, make sure you get some rest." A rare hint of gentleness appeared in Pain's eyes.
"I'll be careful." Konan cut him off. "You're the one who needs rest more. The two new Pains are taking a heavy toll on your body, aren't they?"
"I'll get used to it soon."
Konan wanted to say more, but in the end, she stayed silent. She knew Nagato's nature and understood that trying to persuade him was pointless.
After Pain left, the office fell quiet again.
Konan returned to the desk and picked up another report Zetsu had brought back. It concerned the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. And also...
Hyuga Kiyonari.
She had found the name in the report, just as she'd hoped.
To avoid alerting anyone, she hadn't explicitly asked Zetsu to investigate him. Since the Kiyonari mentioned in the journal knew Naruto, she had only hoped Zetsu would look into him while investigating Naruto Uzumaki. But Zetsu had found out about this new student of hers while investigating Tsunade.
Konan set the report aside, sat back down, and continued working through the mountain of paperwork.
Rain pattered outside the window as time passed quietly with the turning of pages.
She didn't know how long it had been when she finally finished the last stack of documents and set down her pen. She couldn't help stretching before standing up to work the stiffness out of her body.
She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already past ten at night.
"Time to head back."
When she returned to her room, she immediately took off her Akatsuki cloak and hung it on the rack, then reached toward her chest. Between the lining of her fitted clothes and her undergarments, she always carried something.
Konan took the notebook, warm from being held against her, from her chest and opened it on her lap.
She had read the earlier entries countless times. She could almost recite them from memory.
Now and then, a guess would occur to her: could this have been sent to the present by a future Hyuga Kiyonari, using some kind of method?
But even the Rinnegan could not glimpse the secrets of time. What chance would an ordinary member of the Hyuga Clan have?
Konan continued turning the pages, only to find, to her surprise, that new words had appeared on pages that had been blank for days.
[During one of our casual conversations, Hyuga Kiyonari gazed at the ruined Amegakure and lamented its state. He then asked me, "Have you ever thought about rebuilding this place?"]
[Though he'd mentioned it offhand, it was a rare opportunity for me. So I asked him to contact Konoha for help, but he refused.]
[He said, "I left Konoha to dodge my debts. If I let them find me, I'm done for."]
At this, the corners of Konan's lips curled into a faint smile, so subtle it was almost invisible.
As expected of a Sannin's student—he'd inherited the knack for getting into debt.
[He explained some things to me, though I didn't understand all of it. But I knew that the Land of Rain's revival might finally be possible. It just wouldn't be something I—or the people of my generation—could accomplish alone. To ensure that those who came after us understood his ideas, I decided to record his words exactly as he spoke them.]
[Hyuga Kiyonari said, "At this stage, population is the most important and precious resource a country can have. With people, land can produce food and ore can be smelted into steel. Only then can the whole country continue to develop."]
["The great nations seem to be great because they have more land and richer resources. But in truth, they're great because they can support a larger population. So, if the Land of Rain wants to recover, its most important task right now is to bring back the people who've left."]
[I said, "People say it's hard to leave one's homeland. Who would want to go if they weren't forced to? As you said, the Land of Rain can't support any more people as things stand."]
[He said, "See? We've already found the first concrete goal for rebuilding the Land of Rain."]
["It rains all year in the Land of Rain, and the sun never shines. Developing agriculture probably won't work. But judging by the structure of the old Amegakure, the Land of Rain's steelmaking technology is quite advanced. If we can get the smelting industry running again, people will be able to earn money, and with money, they can buy food."]
[I said, "The war back then completely crippled the Land of Rain's energy system. Do you think... I never considered that?"]
[He said, "Since I'm willing to say this, then guess... do I have a solution?"]
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