It was a rare night of steady drizzle in Yugakure.
Yahiko stood at the cave entrance, gazing out at the curtain of rain, and couldn't help sighing softly.
"When we were in the Land of Rain, I hated how it was always raining. But now that we're somewhere else, seeing a rainy day like this suddenly makes me feel a little nostalgic."
Konan gazed outside. After a moment of silence, she said, "It is our homeland, after all."
No matter how bad their homeland was, they still hoped to make it better rather than abandon it.
"Yahiko, Konan, I'm back."
Kyosuke's voice came from outside.
Wearing a raincoat, he hurried over through the rain. Konan watched him for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's Kyosuke."
"Although we came here with other Amegakure ninja, Kyosuke came through the proper channels. It's unlikely anyone followed him."
Yahiko sat down by the fire.
He was about to speak when Konan's gaze suddenly sharpened. She held her hands in a hand seal.
"Who's there?"
"I've been looking for you for a long time. Good thing you still had to go out and buy food, or this would've been a bit of a hassle."
Kyohiko's voice came from outside.
Kyosuke immediately turned around, astonishment on his face.
"You... You're the person from earlier today?"
"Back in the peaceful village, I didn't want to fight. This time, I think we can have a proper talk about why you were following us Konoha ninja."
As Kyohiko spoke, he formed hand seals.
One became two, and two became eight.
All eight figures seemed real and illusory at once, impossible to tell apart.
Konan immediately changed her hand seals. Papers flew off the surrounding cave walls, transforming into Shuriken that shot toward the eight Kyohikos.
But—