The Iron Butterfly Appears Again

"I'm sorry, my apologies."

A spirited, energetic apology reached his ears. Rasa looked over to see a young man with orange hair, wearing an Amegakure headband, clutching his head in pain.

He looked somewhat familiar.

Beside the boy stood a girl of similar age with short blue hair, also wearing an Amegakure headband and a paper flower.

Black trench coat, no red clouds embroidered on it.

Yahiko, Konan?

Speak of the devil. Rasa didn't speak, merely sizing the two up. While pondering why they had come to the Land of Artisans, he was also considering if there was any room to squeeze some points out of them.

In his memories, the timeline before the official plot began was incredibly chaotic. For instance, the death of Yahiko was roughly because Hanzo of the Salamander felt that the Akatsuki founded by Yahiko posed a threat to him.

He lied, claiming he wanted to borrow their strength to propose a peace negotiation to the three great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth. Yahiko believed him and accepted the request.

But when they arrived at the meeting place, they discovered it was a trap. Hanzo had colluded with Danzo to set an ambush.

Hanzo used Konan, who had been captured beforehand, as a hostage to force Nagato to kill Yahiko. To save Konan, Yahiko forced Nagato to kill him.

It was at this moment that Nagato truly awakened the power of the Rinnegan, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to go on a killing spree.

However, Kishimoto also claimed that after Madara Uchiha died, Obito had tempted Nagato, but was blocked by Yahiko. There was more than one timeline hole here.

Hanzo's ambush was in the mid or early Third Shinobi World War, while Obito's fall to darkness was in the late stages, and Madara Uchiha would likely only kick the bucket after the war ended.

Furthermore, the trio of Nagato were all set up as young geniuses. Even in the mid-war, Konan would be seventeen or eighteen, old enough for her strength to have grown to that of an elite jonin.

Yet, she was the one who got captured! Just like a heroine in a soap opera, she could only wail in pain, "Please, stop fighting," and do nothing else.

This didn't make sense.

Sure enough, Kishimoto was just a manga artist; what the hell did he know about Naruto.jpg

Rasa stared at Yahiko for so long that he became lost in thought, making the latter feel a bit uneasy. This swordsman was strange; usually, people preferred to stare at Konan.

It was just a minor friction, so Yahiko decided not to take it to heart. Just as he was about to bypass Rasa and walk into the inn, he was pulled back by Konan.

Konan's face was deathly pale. Her small finger hooked onto the corner of Yahiko's coat, her eyes darting toward the inn, signaling Yahiko not to act rashly.

What could be inside the inn?

Yahiko was unconvinced. Just as he was about to take a step, his nose twitched slightly, and his expression changed drastically. A scent of blood permeated the air.

He steadied his gaze and peered carefully into the inn, his heart surging with stormy waves.

Corpses were everywhere, blood flowed like a river. In the deepest part of the inn, a Kubikiribōchō stood faintly, while the great sword Samehada lay on the ground alongside the mountain-like body of Suikazan Fuguki.

At this time, Yahiko was in his prime. He had accomplished several major feats in the Land of Rain and established the Akatsuki, attracting many followers.

Determined to achieve peace in the Shinobi World without using extreme force, Yahiko knew that to realize his dream, he had to reconcile the relationships between the major hidden villages.

Therefore, he had some understanding of the key figures in the major villages. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been famous for a long time and enjoyed a formidable reputation in the Shinobi World.

The great sword Samehada, the Kubikiribōchō, and the massive Suikazan Fuguki—how could he not recognize them? At this moment, they were lying quietly in the inn along with many other corpses.

And the killer was likely the man right in front of him, who had been staring at him the whole time.

A chill ran down Yahiko's spine. I just came to the Land of Artisans to purchase some supplies, and I wanted to find an inn to rest because it got dark, only to run into a crime scene.

What do I do? Looking at his clothes, there isn't a speck of blood, and he doesn't look injured. He must be like Master Jiraiya, a true Kage-level powerhouse, the kind for whom cutting down a jonin is as easy as slaughtering a pig.

I'm only at the jonin level; I'd probably only last one strike. He keeps staring at me. What do I do? He isn't planning to silence me, is he?

The Shinobi World isn't at peace yet, and I'm still young. Am I going to die before my mission is accomplished, ending it all here?

I won't allow it!

Yahiko's fingers twitched, wanting to make a desperate move, but he was intimidated by a single look from Rasa and dared not act rashly.

At the critical moment, Konan stepped forward. Her chakra manifested a piece of white paper, which she folded into a rose.

She timidly handed it to Rasa and whispered, "I'm very sorry for bumping into you. Please take this as an apology."

Rasa glanced at Konan. At this moment, Sister Nan—or perhaps Little Sister Nan—wasn't as cold and aloof yet, since Yahiko hadn't died.

He took the paper flower, looked at Yahiko, and smiled. "Your name is Yahiko, right? I've heard of you. What you're doing in the Land of Rain is quite impressive."

Huh?

Yahiko was slightly stunned. He's not going to cut me down?

He muttered to himself, Has news of what I'm doing in the Land of Rain traveled this far? But Master Jiraiya, all the way in Konohagakure, has written to commend me, so it's not impossible for it to reach the Land of Artisans.

He gave a shy smile, scratched his hair, and said modestly, "It's just some trivial matters. I'm surprised to receive recognition from others."

"I don't know who you are, senior..."

"My name is Ro... Himura Kenshin, 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—a very good dream."

Rasa offered a few more words of encouragement, wondering when Hanzo would move against the Akatsuki and whether he could protect him and bring the organization under his own wing.

"Haha... haha..." Being recognized by a powerhouse other than Jiraiya made Yahiko very happy. It proved that he wasn't fighting alone.

Everyone craves the recognition of others.

"Do you have a shuriken?" Rasa suddenly asked.

Yahiko didn't understand why, but he still took out a shuriken and handed it to Rasa. At this moment, the Akatsuki had not been founded for long; with many people and few blades, they were in dire need of all kinds of supplies.

Still, it was just a shuriken; there was no need to clash with a Kage-level powerhouse over something like this.

Rasa took the shuriken, toyed with it for a moment, and with a slight flicker of Electromagnetic Force, folded it into an Iron Butterfly. He handed it to Konan and smiled, "My apologies for bumping into you. Please accept this as a token of my apology."

Points +1+1+1...

He patted Yahiko on the shoulder and offered a word of encouragement: "Keep working hard, young man."

Then, he strode away.

Watching Rasa's retreating figure in the night, Yahiko muttered, "He bumped into me, so why did he give you the gift? What a strange person."

"He is indeed very strange." Konan agreed, tucking the delicate Iron Butterfly into her hair.

"It looks like we need to change inns."

"Mm, we should do as we did before and get two rooms."

"We definitely have to get two rooms; you'll have to get married one day, Konan."