The Variables of Fate

"Because Yahiko sacrificed himself, we have to live well and fulfill his final wish for him." Konan stepped forward and gently placed a hand against Nagato's cheek.

"Your eyes have limitless potential. You shouldn't sacrifice yourself here for Hanzo. Once you've unlocked more of their abilities, Hanzo won't get away."

Although Konan didn't want Hanzo to live another day either, she wanted even less to lose the only friend she had left. All she could do was suppress her hatred and grief, and wait for the chance to take revenge.

In the end, Nagato listened to Konan. He didn't push his body past its limits at any cost, and he never used the Black Receivers that had been driven into him in his previous life.

Perhaps in this life, Nagato and Konan's fates would change, too.

"Now that Hanzo has fled, our mission isn't a failure. There's no need to stay here and risk our lives fighting that monster." Seeing that all the Rain Ninja had withdrawn, Suikazan Fuguki had no intention of lingering.

"I agree."

"Me too."

Led by the three-man team, the Mist Ninja forces soon withdrew from the battlefield.

"Phew, the crisis is finally over."

After sensing that every enemy had left, Nagato and Konan finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind Nagato was also unsummoned.

But when they looked at Yahiko's body beside them and the "Akatsuki" organization, now in ruins, both felt weighed down with sorrow.

"Maybe we were on the wrong path all along." After a long silence, Nagato spoke first, gazing at Yahiko's body.

"Peace can't be achieved through passion alone." Nagato shifted his gaze to the spot where the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had just disappeared.

"Power is what holds everything together." Nagato said this to himself with conviction.

Konan simply held Yahiko's body, standing silently beside Nagato.

Neither of them noticed the strange gaze fixed on their every move from a short distance away.

Elsewhere, in one of Otogakure's laboratories, Orochimaru stared eagerly at the liquid in a test tube. He murmured under his breath, unable to contain his excitement.

"Go tell Shisui to come here." Orochimaru ordered one of the assistants nearby.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

In a forest near Otogakure.

"Slash to the right. Good, now to the left. Tayuya, your Doki are too slow, and they aren't agile enough. They'll never hit an enemy like that."

Shisui instructed Tayuya's Doki as they attacked, pointing out their shortcomings.

"Sakon, Ukon, you two work together fairly well, but you're both too eager to attack. Sometimes you need to wait for the enemy to leave an opening, then strike a fatal blow."

Against the brothers' combined attacks, Shisui could stand still and block every strike with just a single kunai.

It wasn't that Sakon and Ukon's attacks lacked bite. The problem was that both brothers were impatient, and wouldn't pass up even a poor chance to attack.

Their moves all looked lethal, but in practice they posed no real threat to Shisui and couldn't break through his defenses.

"Kidomaru, your webbing is probably the biggest threat among the lot of you. But remember, a fight to the death isn't a game. Your carelessness will get you killed sooner or later."

Shisui wasn't exaggerating. In the original story, if Kidomaru had taken things seriously sooner, he wouldn't have let Neji hold out until reinforcements arrived.

"As for Jirobo, you... well, never mind."

Shisui didn't even know what to say about Jirobo's aim. At this point, Jirobo only knew how to attack with broad, sweeping movements. He had no technique whatsoever, and was also the weakest of the group.

"And don't waste the Telepathy Technique I taught you. If you work together, even I'll have to take you seriously."

Shisui had high hopes for Jirobo and the others. In his previous life, Orochimaru hadn't given them much attention. At the time, his focus had been entirely on Kimimaro, who might serve as a vessel for his reincarnation.

Even so, the "Sound Four" had shown considerable fighting strength. With proper training, they might even reach the level of the members of the second-generation "Akatsuki."

"Lord Shisui, don't tease us. We're just ordinary people. How could we compare to a genius like you?" Tayuya dismissed her Doki and spoke respectfully to Shisui.

"Hey, Tayuya, Lord Shisui doesn't like flattery. You can stop patting yourself on the back." The Sakon and Ukon brothers, who often picked on Tayuya, chimed in.

Tayuya didn't mind their mockery. Lord Shisui had told her to keep her emotions under control and think things through.

"Tch, you two are such dense idiots." Tayuya shot them a disdainful glance, then obediently went to stand beside Shisui.

When the group learned that Shisui, who had far more in common with them, was now their master, they were thrilled for a long time.

Even Jirobo, the fat one who was often punished by Shisui, was happy that day because there was endless grilled meat to eat.

Tayuya had become Shisui's biggest fan. Everything he said was the absolute truth to her.

"Something's moving. Who's there?" Kidomaru, who had already laid webs all around them, sensed an intruder and quickly warned the others.

"It's me. I'm a friend." The newcomer was a young man with short gray hair and a pair of refined-looking glasses. The eighth-note symbol on his Ninja Headband marked him as one of their own.

"Oh, it's Kabuto. What brings you here? Is there good news from Orochimaru?" The newcomer was Yakushi Kabuto, one of Orochimaru's subordinates.

Yakushi Kabuto had lost his memory as a child after being injured, and the orphanage matron, Yakushi Nonō, had taken him in. Later, when Danzo threatened Nonō, Kabuto willingly agreed to work for him as a ninja in Konoha in exchange for Nonō and the orphanage's safety.

Danzo later arranged for him and Nonō to kill each other, and Kabuto accidentally killed her.

After losing his reason to live, Kabuto was found and taken in by Orochimaru.

When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, he took his capable subordinate, Yakushi Kabuto, with him. The difference was that Kabuto left the village under the pretext of going on a mission, rather than as a missing-nin from Konoha.

"Yes, Lord Shisui. Lord Orochimaru sent me to inform you." Even though Shisui was two years younger than him, Yakushi Kabuto remained respectful, true to his consistently composed nature.

"Has it finally worked?" Shisui had spent more than four months lying low in Otogakure, all for this moment.

"You all go pack your things and be ready for my call." Shisui instructed the "Sound Four."

"Yes, sir." Though they usually seemed laid-back, the moment Shisui gave his order, they immediately got down to business.

"Let's go, Kabuto. I hope Orochimaru won't disappoint me again."