Vipers

Sure enough, it was about Jiraiya. Hyuga Yuto's thoughts raced, but his face gave nothing away.

"Which person would that be?"

"The Toad Sage."

"Oh... Lord Jiraiya." Hyuga Yuto spoke softly. "I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. I need to know why you are looking for Lord Jiraiya."

There was nothing wrong with that question. If Yahiko and the others submitted their letter through official channels, it would certainly reach Jiraiya. Asking a Hidden Leaf ninja to deliver it privately clearly meant they did not want outsiders to know. As a Hidden Leaf ninja, Hyuga Yuto had every reason to ask.

Yahiko nodded and said the words he had prepared long ago. "The three of us spent some time with Lord Jiraiya. We are old friends."

"How do you prove that? I cannot pass an unidentified letter on to Lord Jiraiya."

"Don't worry, we won't make things difficult for you." Yahiko smiled lightly. "Just help us pass along a message. I believe you have a technique for quickly communicating with the Hidden Leaf Village. Once Lord Jiraiya replies, you can deliver the letter without concern."

"Let's hear it."

"The message is, 'The frog board has been flipped over.'" Yahiko's smile carried warmth and nostalgia. "Rest assured, we are Lord Jiraiya's friends."

"The frog board" was a code shared between Jiraiya and the three from Hidden Rain Village. Only the four of them knew it.

"Alright. I'll use the Summoning Technique to send those words back to the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Thank you. This is very important."

"It's nothing. I'm on vacation anyway."

"As compensation, Hyuga, we won't let you work for nothing." Over the years of building Akatsuki, Yahiko had developed the bearing and methods of a leader. He stepped forward, facing Hyuga Yuto directly, and said seriously, "What do you want, Hyuga? We will do our best, as long as it is within our means."

"Hmm..." Hyuga Yuto turned his head aside, glanced at the cold-faced Konan, then looked toward Nagato, who stood with his head lowered. "Do you have money?"

Konan's beautiful eyes narrowed. As the person in Akatsuki responsible for intelligence and finances, she had become a complete miser. She would rather risk her life herself than spend money.

"To Hyuga's Jade, money is not important. Using money as a reward would be disrespectful to you." Konan's voice was cold, but her words were quite polished. She seemed to have weathered plenty of hardships over the years.

Well, it looked like he would still have to painstakingly save up money for the base. Hyuga Yuto clicked his tongue inwardly and changed his request. "Do you have anyone proficient in chakra nature transformation? There's a technique I've never managed to complete."

Yahiko's eyes lit up. "Good! That won't be a problem. Nagato."

Uzumaki Nagato, who stood at the back, spoke in a gentle voice. "I understand, Hyuga. I will guide you."

"You?" Although he knew that Uzumaki Nagato was a reclusive genius, possessing not only the same Rinnegan as the Sage of Six Paths but also all six chakra nature transformations that no single person should have been able to possess, making him a foremost expert in the field of techniques, Hyuga Yuto still had to play dumb and pretend not to know any of that. "You don't look much older than me... Can you really do it?"

"Please trust him, Hyuga." Unconcealed pride flowed through Yahiko's voice. "My brother, Nagato, is the most talented ninja I have ever seen."

"Alright. I suppose the leader of Akatsuki wouldn't lie to me." Hyuga Yuto yawned. "While we wait for Lord Jiraiya's reply, I..."

"Stay here, Hyuga. We'll find you a room, and it will also make it easier for Nagato to guide you."

A few minutes later, Hyuga Yuto was led away by Asano Kaoru. The Hidden Rain trio remained where they were, showing no intention of leaving.

"Hyuga Yuto... Lady Tsunade's disciple..." Yahiko reflected on their earlier conversation and sighed. "If everyone were so willing to communicate, there would not be so many tragedies and conflicts in this world."

"But Yahiko," Konan said, "doesn't he trust us a little too much? He came in directly with Shigen. Would a Hyuga genius really be so unguarded? He..."

"He is Lady Tsunade's disciple. It is normal for him to know about us. His teacher has met us before; perhaps she mentioned us to him one day." Yahiko turned around, stroked Konan's cheek, then gave it a slightly harder pinch as he grinned. "Don't overthink it. It's exhausting. People should not be so complicated with one another."

"Hmph..." Konan spat at him. Her cheeks were flushed, but she was not angry.

Nagato stood with his arms folded, smiling as he watched the two of them. He said nothing, thoroughly enjoying the display of affection.

"Enough, you..." Konan coughed lightly and sighed. "Are we really going to contact Teacher Jiraiya? Wouldn't we be causing him trouble..."

"We only want his advice. Our current situation is something we have never encountered before. We need an experienced elder to tell us how to break this deadlock." Yahiko seemed to think of something and snorted coldly. "Akatsuki is getting bigger, and its membership is becoming more complicated... A team of just a few people might all be spies sent by other countries! That is far too disadvantageous for us."

Konan and Nagato sighed as well, helpless in the face of their current predicament.

The Land of Rain lay in a strategic battleground, where chaos and unrest were the norm. As Akatsuki continued to grow, Yahiko and the others were shocked to discover that many of their actions had become known to outsiders in advance. Not only Hanzo the Salamander of Hidden Rain Village, but even the five great ninja villages beyond its borders knew everything clearly.

Their intelligence had been severely compromised. For an organization determined to restore peace to the ninja world, that was a fatal problem.

No one wanted to be stabbed in the back by their own people during an operation. Though Yahiko carried dreams in his heart, he understood priorities. Yet after several thorough investigations and purges, while they had uncovered a few spies, the overall results had not been good.

Like today: Takeda Shigen, the fourth-ranking figure in the organization, had actually been ambushed in the street by more than a dozen Bounty Station assassins. The route taken by a high-ranking member had been completely exposed. Who could believe there was nothing suspicious going on?

External enemies were certainly hateful, but the venomous snakes lying in wait within the organization were Akatsuki's greatest threat!

Within Akatsuki's underground steel base.

After settling Hyuga Yuto in, Asano Kaoru hurried back to her room.

She was Takeda Shigen's most valued subordinate, as well as his assistant, bodyguard, and secretary. Today, Takeda Shigen had been attacked, and the enemy had learned the top-secret route of a high-ranking operation. By tomorrow morning, Asano Kaoru had to bring her analysis to Yahiko and the others, judging who was most likely to have leaked the information.

Of course, that was only a small part of her heavy workload.

Asano Kaoru made herself a cup of hot tea and drained it in one large gulp. Then she took out a scroll and began writing on it with specially made ink.

"To Lord Danzo, the operation to leak Takeda Shigen's intelligence has been completed. However, Hyuga Yuto appeared in Hidden Rain Village today, suspected to have been sent by Senju Tsunade..."