Amegakure In the outer valleys, it rained more heavily than usual.
Yahiko walked at the front of the team. Akatsuki cloak's hem was soaked in mud and water, but his steps were as brisk as stepping on a drum.
Behind him were Konan and Nagato, followed by dozens of members of Akatsuki. Everyone put on their cleanest auspicious cloud robes and their hair was neatly combed.
Some people are still practicing in a low voice the honorifics they should say when they see Mr. Hanzo, and some people are carefully protecting the scroll <Rain Country Revival Plan Draft> in their arms for fear of getting wet by the rain.
"Yahiko, walk slower."
Konan shouted from behind, with a tone that was half helpless and half smiling.
"Master Hanzo won't run away. If you are in such a hurry, you won't even be able to speak to him when you see him later."
Yahiko turned around and smiled at her. The smile was so bright that it could split a ray of sunshine through the rain curtain.
"Don't I want to meet the demigods as soon as possible! Nagato, do you think I should speak first later or should I wait for Master Hanzo to ask questions first? I thought about it for a long time last night and thought it would be more polite to wait for him to speak first--"
Nagato followed him, and Rinnegan glowed with a faint purple halo in the rain. He looked at Yahiko's face that was red with excitement and couldn't help but smile.
"Just speak normally. Master Hanzo is willing to summon us, which means that he has approved what we are doing. There is no need to be too deliberate."
"I knew you would say that."
Yahiko patted Nagato hard on the shoulder, then turned around and waved to the dozens of Akatsuki members behind him, his voice drowning out the sound of the rain.
"Everyone, listen! The agreed place is ahead. I will meet Master Hanzo later. I don't need to explain the rules - stand up straight, hold your chest out, and show the best side of us Akatsuki! We have prepared the plan for so long, just to let the demigods know today that the young people of Land of Rain can not only fight, but also build!"
Dozens of members responded in unison, and the sound echoed in the empty valley, startling a few swifts hiding in the rock crevices.
The agreed location was a relatively flat open space deep in the valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides and with only one exit.
Yahiko walked into the open space first and glanced eagerly at the surrounding rock walls - according to the agreement, Hanzo's envoy should greet them here.
But there was no one in the open space, only the white flowers splashed by the rain on the gravel.
"It seems like no one has come yet."
Konan said, walked to Yahiko, frowned and looked around.
The valley was so quiet that she couldn't hear anything except the sound of rain. This quietness made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up slightly - it was an intuition she developed on the battlefield, but she didn't want to believe it at the moment.
Today was a big day, and she didn't want to let unnecessary vigilance ruin everyone's fun.
Nagato stopped at the entrance to the clearing, and Rinnegan's eyes slowly scanned the rock walls on both sides.
He narrowed his eyes and moved his lips, wanting to say something, but he felt that he might be too nervous.
Hanzo Master, how could there be any problem with the place agreed upon?
Yahiko has walked to the center of the open space, with his hands on his hips, looking up at the gray sky. The rain is hitting his orange hair, flowing down the tips of his hair and into his collar.
He took a deep breath, as if he was planning something important.
"Konan, Nagato."
He suddenly spoke, his voice deeper than usual.
"Thank you. In the past few years, if it hadn't been for the support of you two, I might not have been able to survive."
Konan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden? It's like you're going to write a suicide note."
"That's what I wanted to say."
Yahiko scratched the back of his head and returned to his usual carefree expression.
"Today is our Akatsuki's big day. If we don't say anything, we always feel at a loss. Just watch, when we meet Mr. Hanzo, I will definitely--"
The words have not yet fallen.
There was an extremely subtle sound of breaking wind in the air, like the reverberation of a piano string being suddenly plucked. Yahiko's smile froze on his face.
He lowered his head and saw a Shuriken inserted into his right shoulder socket.
The cold metal penetrated into his Xiangyun robe, and the black fabric quickly spread into a deeper black.
The pain hadn't hit yet, but his pupils had shrunk to a point.
"Spread out!" As he shouted these two words, he grabbed Konan's arm and pulled her behind him.
It's too late.
On the rock walls on both sides, in mid-air, and in the rubble at your feet - densely packed Shuriken shot out from every hiding place at the same time, like an iron net falling from the sky.
The rain curtain was cut by metal, and the sound of the breaking wind became a sharp roar.
In the first round of volleys, several Akatsuki members walking at the outermost edge of the team fell down before they could even scream. Their bodies were pinned to the ground by Shuriken, and muddy water splashed on their auspicious cloud robes.
The second round of volleys followed, and then the third round. The elite Amegakure Anbu shot without any hesitation, and each Shuriken landed accurately among the crowd.
"Protect the wounded!"
A Akatsuki member with a broken leg propped himself up in front of Nagato, caught three Shuriken with his back, and then fell down silently, blood splattered on the corners of Nagato's robe.
Nagato was stunned for a moment - that was the young man who rubbed his hands by the campfire last night and said, "It's worth meeting a demigod in this life." His eyes are still open now, but he can no longer speak.
"Bastard!" Yahiko's hands flew into the sky quickly Hand Seals, Water Release·Water Release: Water Wall, and a wall of water rose in front of the three of them, blocking Kunai from flying in front of them.
But the scope of the water wall was too small and could only cover him and the two people behind him.
He watched helplessly as figures wearing auspicious cloud robes fell down in the Shuriken rain one after another. The red clouds on the robes were stained with blood so that the original color could not be seen.
Konan's Paper Release was activated at the same moment. Countless pieces of paper were peeled off from her body and turned into sharp Paper Shuriken, which were fired at the ambushers on the rock wall in an offensive and defensive manner.
Her movements were sharp and precise, but her eyes were already filled with tears - because she saw every one of those people who fell on the ground and she could name them.
"Nagato!" Yahiko gritted his teeth, maintained Water Release: Water Wall, and shouted without looking back, "Take Konan away! Hurry!"
Nagato's Rinnegan suddenly zoomed in under the rain. He saw the Forehead Protector. Amegakure logo on the rock wall on the ambushers.
There can be no mistake.
He had looked up at this symbol from a distance countless times, dreaming that one day he would be able to fight side by side with the ninjas wearing this symbol.
And now, the sign is looking down at their bodies from the rock wall.
"Why..." Nagato's lips trembled, and Rinnegan's purple halo began to fluctuate violently, "Why!"
No one answered him. What answered him was another round of more intensive Kunai attacks.