The red-haired boy kept his head lowered and rarely spoke, but Nako's keen Sharingan could faintly sense that he harbored a kind of chakra that was... immense, unfathomable, and even faintly ominous!
And whenever Nagato lifted his eyelids to glance at her, the coldness and distance in those strange, ringed eyes instinctively sent a shiver of alarm through Nako.
This guy... is dangerous. Alarm bells immediately rang in Nako's mind.
But Yahiko was very friendly, enthusiastically introducing the ideals of the Akatsuki.
Through dialogue and understanding, they sought to end the war and suffering in the Land of Rain and build a truly peaceful nation.
His words brimmed with idealistic passion and conviction.
As Nako, along with Shun and Entetsu, who arrived afterward, listened to Yahiko and saw the sincerity shining in his eyes, they all felt somewhat moved.
In Konoha, they rarely heard ideals so pure and grand.
But as shinobi, especially ones who had experienced some of the darker side of things, they also knew just how vast the gulf between ideals and reality was.
The two sides talked for a while, and the atmosphere remained fairly cordial.
Yahiko and his companions apparently had another "mission," and soon took their leave.
That evening, the three returned to the inn and reported their findings and their encounter with Yahiko's group to Uchiha Makoto.
They described the Akatsuki in detail, Yahiko's ideals, and... their wariness of Nagato, that "dangerous red-haired boy."
The Rinnegan... is indeed with Nagato. Hearing the report through his Shadow Clone, the real Uchiha Makoto's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.
That faint smile held curiosity, a desire to investigate, and a trace of... a researcher's fervor.
Those were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, containing this world's greatest secrets and powers.
*But now