"Sorry, I'm so sorry."
A bright, energetic apology rang out. Rasa turned toward the sound and saw an orange-haired boy wearing an Amegakure Forehead Protector, clutching his head and crying out in pain.
He looked somewhat familiar.
Beside the boy stood a blue-haired girl about the same age, also wearing an Amegakure Forehead Protector, with a paper flower in her hair.
They wore black cloaks, but they had no red clouds embroidered on them.
Yahiko and Konan?
Talk about speaking of the devil. Rasa said nothing, merely studying the two of them as he wondered why they had come to the Land of Artisans. At the same time, he considered whether there was any way to squeeze some points out of the situation.
As Rasa remembered it, the timeline before the official story began was an absolute mess. Take Yahiko's death, for instance. Roughly speaking, Hanzo of the Salamander had thought that the Akatsuki, founded by Yahiko, posed a threat to him.
So he'd lied, claiming that he wanted to borrow their strength to propose peace negotiations to the three great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth. Yahiko had believed him and agreed.
But when they arrived at the meeting place, they discovered it was a trap. Hanzo had joined forces with Danzo and laid an ambush there.
Hanzo had taken Konan hostage beforehand and threatened her life, forcing Nagato to kill Yahiko. To save Konan, Yahiko had made Nagato kill him.
It was then that Nagato had truly awakened the power of the Rinnegan, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and going on a killing spree.
And yet Kishimoto had also said that after Madara Uchiha died, Obito had tried to manipulate Nagato but was stopped by Yahiko. There was more than one hole in the timeline here.
Hanzo's ambush had happened in the middle or early stages of the Third Shinobi World War, while Obito had fallen to darkness in its later stages. Madara Uchiha had most likely kicked the bucket after the war ended.
What's more, the three of them were all supposed to be young prodigies. Even if it had been the middle of the Third Shinobi World War, Konan would have been seventeen or eighteen—old enough to have grown into an elite Jonin.
And yet she'd been captured! Like the heroine in some melodrama, all she could do was cry out in anguish, "Stop fighting, you two!" She couldn't do anything else.
That made no sense.
As expected, Kishimoto was just a manga artist. What the hell did he know about Naruto?
Rasa stared at Yahiko for so long that the boy began to feel uneasy under his gaze. What a strange swordsman. Most people preferred to stare at Konan.
It had only been a minor collision, so Yahiko decided not to dwell on it. He was about to avoid Rasa and head into the inn when Konan caught hold of him.
Konan had gone deathly pale. She tugged at the hem of Yahiko's clothes with her little finger, her eyes fixed on the inn as she signaled for him not to act rashly.
What could possibly be inside the inn?
Yahiko didn't think much of it. But just as he was about to take a step, his nose twitched. His expression changed as the smell of blood wafted toward him.
He focused and peered carefully into the inn. His heart was soon thrown into turmoil.
Corpses littered the floor, and blood ran like a river. Deep inside the inn stood what looked like a Kubikiribōchō. Samehada lay on the ground, along with Suikazan Fuguki, whose body was as large as a small hill.
Yahiko was in the prime of his life. He'd accomplished several major things in the Land of Rain, established the Akatsuki, and attracted a great many followers.
Yahiko aspired to bring peace to the Shinobi World without resorting to extreme violence. He knew that to realize his dream, he would have to mediate relations between the great shinobi villages.
So he'd made a point of learning about the key figures in each village. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been famous for a long time and enjoyed a fearsome reputation throughout the Shinobi World.
How could he fail to recognize Samehada, Kubikiribōchō, and Suikazan Fuguki, whose body was enormous? At that very moment, they lay quietly inside the inn alongside a number of other corpses.
And the culprit was probably the man in front of him, the one who'd been staring at him the whole time.
A chill ran through Yahiko. I only came to the Land of Artisans to buy some supplies. It got dark, so I wanted to find an inn and rest. And now I've walked right into the scene of a massacre.
What do I do? There isn't a speck of blood on his clothes, and he doesn't look injured. He must be a true Kage Level fighter, like Teacher Jiraiya—the kind who could cut down a Chunin as easily as slaughtering a pig.
I'm only at Jonin level. I'd probably be lucky to withstand one slash from him. He keeps staring at me. What do I do? Is he going to kill me to silence me?
The Shinobi World hasn't found peace yet. I'm still young. Am I really going to die here before I can accomplish anything?
I won't allow it!
Yahiko's fingers twitched. He wanted to take a chance, but one look from Rasa froze him in place. He didn't dare make a move.
At the crucial moment, Konan stepped forward. She formed a sheet of white paper from chakra and folded it into a rose.
She timidly held it out to Rasa and said softly, "I'm sorry I bumped into you. Please accept this as an apology."
Rasa glanced at Konan. The Konan of this time—perhaps better called a younger Konan—wasn't nearly as cool and aloof yet, since Yahiko was still alive.
He accepted the paper flower, gave Yahiko a couple of appraising looks, and smiled. "You're Yahiko, aren't you? I've heard of you. What you've done in the Land of Rain is admirable."
Huh?
Yahiko froze. He's not going to cut me down?
He wondered to himself, Have the things I've done in the Land of Rain already spread this far? But even Teacher Jiraiya, all the way over in Konohagakure, wrote to praise me. I suppose it's not impossible for the news to have reached the Land of Artisans.
He smiled bashfully and scratched his head. "They were just a few insignificant little things. I'm surprised anyone would think much of them.
May I ask who you are, senior?"
"My name is Ro... Himura Kenshin. I'm a wandering swordsman.
I'm not just being polite. What you're doing in the Land of Rain is something a friend of mine has always wanted to do.
Peace in the Shinobi World is a fine dream."
Rasa offered him a few more words of encouragement. As he spoke, he wondered when Hanzo would move against the Akatsuki and whether he could save Yahiko and bring the Akatsuki under his own control.
"Haha... haha..." Yahiko was delighted to have the approval of a powerful person besides Jiraiya. It proved he wasn't fighting alone.
Everyone wanted to be recognized by others.
"Do you have a shuriken?" Rasa suddenly asked.
Yahiko wasn't sure why, but he still took out a shuriken and handed it to Rasa. The Akatsuki had only been founded recently, and they had more people than weapons. They were desperately short of all kinds of supplies.
It was only one shuriken. There was no need to start a conflict with a Kage Level fighter over it.
Rasa took the shuriken and toyed with it. His Electromagnetic Force stirred, bending it into an iron butterfly. He handed it to Konan with a smile. "I'm sorry I bumped into you.
Please accept this as an apology."
Points +1+1+1...
He patted Yahiko on the shoulder and offered a word of encouragement. "Keep working hard, young man."
Then he walked away.
Yahiko watched Rasa's figure recede into the night and muttered, "He bumped into me. So why'd he give you a present? What a strange man."
"He really is strange." Konan agreed, pinning the delicate iron butterfly in her hair.
"Looks like we'll have to find another inn."
"Yeah. We should get two rooms, like always."
"Of course we need two rooms. You'll have to get married someday, Konan."
Before you continue