The arrival of the Akatsuki was like a pebble dropped into a calm pond!
The balance of power among the Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha has been completely shattered. Amegakure seems to have gained unexpected support from a powerful ninja force within the Land of Rain, but in reality... Hanzo the Salamander is psychologically resistant to the arrival of Akatsuki.
Guided by the ninjas of Amegakure, Yahiko led the members of Akatsuki through the rain and into Amegakure, the largest concrete village in the Land of Rain. The group walked along the street and slowly headed towards Hanzo's office Amegakure.
Wipe, wipe, wipe--
The sound of footsteps splashing through the puddles rang out!
The Amegakure ninjas and Akatsuki members immediately became alert. The footsteps... came from a dark alley behind them, yet there was no fluctuation of breathing or chakra. Apart from the sound of footsteps Water Walking, they could not sense any presence.
The newcomer was a master of stealth and assassination, but the obvious footsteps clearly indicated that he was trying to signal his location!
Everyone looked towards the alley behind them and saw a person wearing a beige trench coat, Monkey Mask, and about 1.4 meters tall slowly walking out of the dark alley... Upon seeing this, the ninjas of Amegakure were immediately terrified and drew their weapons, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
This person... the Blue Asura, the Konoha Anbu Ninja fought to a draw with Hanzo!
As the iconic building of Amegakure, the Amegakure Building receives considerable attention from almost all the Amegakure ninjas... In that battle, neither Hanzo the Salamander nor the Sunagakure advisors managed to capture this Konoha Anbu Ninja. Just how powerful he was... no one knew, only that he was extremely, extremely powerful!
Seeing the wary expressions on the faces of the Amegakure ninjas, Sato Hideaka removed his mask and smiled calmly at the Akatsuki trio, saying, " Yahiko, Nagato, Senior Nan... I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
"On the contrary, I knew I would meet you before I even came to Amegakure."
Looking at the young boy from Konoha before him, Yahiko couldn't help but let a bitter smile appear on his usually optimistic and cheerful face. Yahiko really didn't want to deal with this young boy too much, because he always felt a sense of constraint in his presence.
Hearing the conversation between the two, the captain of the Amegakure team, sensing that they were already acquainted, became somewhat wary and asked Yahiko, the leader of Akatsuki, with a questioning tone, "Mr. Yahiko, does your Akatsuki organization know these Konoha ninjas?"
The ninjas of Konoha have killed many of their colleagues from Amegakure, so they are definitely enemies, not friends. Could it be that Akatsuki has already begun to conspire with them? If Konoha and Akatsuki are combined, the threat to Amegakure's rule over the Land of Rain is simply too great.
Thinking of this, the ninja captain of Amegakure focused his mind, hoping to get some information about these two forces from Yahiko.
"Brother Yahiko is Lord Jiraiya's disciple, and I am Lady Tsunade's disciple. Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade are from the same school, so Mr. Yahiko can be my fellow disciple. Of course we know each other. Does it matter to you people from Amegakure whether we know each other or not?"
Sato Hideaka's lips curled slightly. Before Yahiko could speak, he immediately addressed the captain of Amegakure, his words hitting the Amegakure ninja's most pressing concern.
The Amegakure ninja gave an awkward smile, his face somewhat unpleasant, and said, "I... I see. This is too much of a coincidence... haha."
"Alright, I need to speak with Senior Brother Yahiko alone. Could you please make way, Amegakure ninja? Thank you." Sato Hideaka's lips curled into a contemptuous smile as he spoke to the Amegakure ninja in a tone that was half-commanding.
The captain's face flushed red, his lips trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes burned with rage as he stared intently at Amegakure Sato Hideaka. How could this Konoha ninja possibly order them to leave on Amegakure's territory?
This feeling was as if one's sovereignty had been completely lost... even the honor of the ninja village had been trampled underfoot and crushed beyond recognition. For a moment, the ninjas of Amegakure all looked at Sato Hideaka the alley entrance with hostile eyes.
However, the ninja captain from Amegakure knew he was no match for his opponent. Moreover, Hanzo had not yet issued any orders to hunt down Konoha ninjas, so arguing with him would be pointless and might even increase casualties.
After taking a few heavy breaths, the Amegakure ninja captain struggled to suppress his anger and coldly said to Sato Hideaka, "This... Mr. Yahiko is our guest. If he doesn't object... we have no objections either."
After the Amegakure captain finished speaking, the eyes of Sato Hideaka, the Sunagakure, and the Akatsuki all turned to Yahiko, awaiting his reply!
As a leader of one side, Yahiko was naturally aware of the current situation. After clearing his throat twice with his right fist to his mouth, he said to the crowd, "Please wait a moment, everyone. I need to talk to this Konoha... junior brother on the other side."
"That's fine then, let's go."
Sato Hideaka smiled slightly, turned around, and headed into the alley.
Under the worried gazes of the Akatsuki members, including Nan and Nagato, Yahiko waved his hand to reassure them, then followed Sato Hideaka's retreating figure into the rain-soaked, dark alley.
"Well, what brings you here at this hour, my dear junior brother...?"
Seeing Sato Hideaka's retreating figure as he stopped, Yahiko asked.
Sato Hideaka turned around and said with a smile, " Hanzo the Salamander plans to intervene in the war currently raging in the Land of Rivers, sending Amegakure ninjas onto the battlefield... So for my purposes, and for your dream, we need to cooperate."
"My dream, your purpose...?"
Yahiko's gaze shifted slightly, and he said with a hint of sarcasm, "My dream is to prevent the Land of Rain joining the war between great powers, but I don't know what your Land of Fire, Konoha, truly aims for. Is your goal also the peace of the Land of Rain?"
Sato Hideaka shook his head dismissively at Yahiko's mockery, saying, "Senior Yahiko, you're laughing... Our goal isn't peace for the Land of Rain, but we do want to keep the Land of Rain out of the war, so our goals are the same."
"I think, Senior Brother Yahiko, you wouldn't want the Land of Rain to be drawn into war again under Hanzo's leadership, would you?"
Yahiko was silent for a moment, his eyes flashing with a mixture of curiosity and wariness as he asked:
"Indeed, if we share the same goal, we can cooperate. However, what I want to know is... what do you need me to do?" (To be continued.)