Amegakure's Future

"Karin, it's been a while. You've grown taller."

Feng Yao smiled.

"And this is...?"

Feng Yao looked at Ajisai beside Karin, asking despite already knowing the answer.

Seeing Feng Yao look her way, Ajisai immediately grew terribly nervous. Her usual composure vanished, and she stammered, "I... my name is Ajisai... I'm... I'm Karin's friend!"

At this point, Konan had not yet taken Ajisai as her student, and Feng Yao was the most important person she had ever met.

Even Konan, the angel she saw as Amegakure's ruler, had personally welcomed him.

And he had led so many people here. If that didn't make him a big shot, what did?

"Don't be nervous. Relax."

Feng Yao gave a helpless smile.

Of course he knew Ajisai.

The little girl of the Animal Path-who didn't know her?

Looking at the nervous Ajisai, Feng Yao actually found her rather cute.

Damn you, Konan. Just because she changed her mind a little, you had to kill her. You deserved to have Obito drive his hand through your chest.

Served you right!

Beside him, Izumi looked at Ajisai with pity.

She had heard from Feng Yao that most of Amegakure's children were orphans. They generally had no surnames or were named after other things.

Ajisai clearly was too.

The disaster-stricken Land of Rain.

"This is Uchiha Izumi, a very good friend of mine."

"Hello, you two. My name is Uchiha Izumi." Izumi's eyes curved into a smile as she waved.

"Hello, Izumi!"

Karin did not let her inner distress show, greeting her naturally along with Ajisai.

"I have some dango too. Here."

Izumi generously held out the box.

Karin and Ajisai glanced at Feng Yao, who nodded helplessly.

"Thank you, Izumi!"

"Is it good?"

"It's delicious!" Ajisai's eyes lit up as she ate, and Karin was much the same.

Sweets like dango were rare in Amegakure.

That was because the Land of Rain was a small nation, unlike the Land of Fire and Konoha, which occupied fertile land, had well-developed agriculture and commerce, were relatively open-minded, and received plenty of missions from across the Shinobi World.

The Land of Rain, however, had little land and many people, with scarce supplies and insufficient resources. Using the ingredients for dango to make filling food was far more efficient.

That was the tragedy of small nations in Naruto.

Feng Yao smiled slightly and looked at Karin. "How have you been doing in Amegakure? Has anyone bullied you?"

At the mention of Amegakure, Karin's eyes lit up, and she began chattering nonstop, sharing all the little details of her life there.

Feng Yao smiled and nodded, while Izumi covered her mouth, her eyes curved in a smile.

Karin's personality now closely resembled the Karin Feng Yao remembered from his previous life.

Ajisai stole glances at Feng Yao, inwardly surprised that someone so powerful put on no airs at all.

Just then, many sheets of white paper drifted down from the sky.

The white paper slowly coalesced into a figure.

It was Konan.

She glanced impassively at Karin and the others without paying them any mind.

"Uchiha Fengyao, Pain wants to see you."

Feng Yao nodded. It seemed Nagato was eager to learn the answer.

"Izumi, Karin, Ajisai, I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving first."

"Get along, you three."

"Mm-hmm." Izumi and the other two nodded.

"Let's go."

Konan led Feng Yao to Amegakure's tallest tower.

An old industrial system remained on it.

Once again, Feng Yao marveled at the Naruto world's lopsided development.

Feng Yao followed Konan into the tower.

Of course, Feng Yao could have used Kamui, but he felt that using it to appear before Pain would be disrespectful to Konan and Nagato.

That would make him seem far too presumptuous, and he was a very polite person.

"You're here."

Pain stood at the head of the room.

"You're not going to come out in person?" Feng Yao raised an eyebrow.

Nagato was not surprised. Someone who could see the future would naturally know that Pain was a puppet.

"No."

Feng Yao nodded and did not insist.

Konan did not leave. She was the person Nagato trusted most now.

Feng Yao did not send her away either.

"All right. Since you want to know the answer, look straight into my eyes." Feng Yao smiled.

"Provided you're not afraid I'll use genjutsu to control you."

Konan frowned at his words.

"All right!" Pain stepped forward.

"Pain..."

Pain gave Konan a reassuring look.

In truth, Nagato already completely believed Feng Yao's words. One coincidence could be explained away, but several were no longer coincidences.

"Come on. Let me see what the future really holds!"

"All right." Feng Yao gave Pain an approving look.

Feng Yao activated his Mangekyo and cast a genjutsu.

Konan was drawn into the world of the genjutsu along with him.

In the genjutsu world, they saw the future course of the Shinobi World.

They saw their Akatsuki's future recruits: Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, Hidan, Deidara...

They saw themselves capturing Tailed Beasts, saw Pain entering Konoha through the back gate and destroying all of Konoha over a bag of rice...

They also saw themselves won over by Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, believing in the world Naruto described. Nagato sacrificed his life to use Rinne Rebirth and resurrect everyone in Konoha. Afterward, Obito drove his hand through Konan's chest and retrieved the Rinnegan.

Then Obito sparked the Fourth Shinobi World War and revived Madara Uchiha. Madara Uchiha became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, only for Black Zetsu to drive his hand through his chest, turning him into an unfamiliar woman, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

Afterward, Naruto and Sasuke sealed Ōtsutsuki Kaguya away again.

They saw even further into the future. Thirty years later, Amegakure had not found development and peace as Naruto had promised, but had instead grown even worse.

Perhaps Naruto wanted to help Amegakure, but strength was the foundation of everything. Without Nagato and Konan, Amegakure was merely a small nation the other Four Great Nations could push around at will.

Amegakure was completely marginalized. Although it nominally joined the so-called Shinobi Alliance, there was no reconstruction, no economic aid, and no governance. It descended into utter chaos.

Peace belonged to the Five Great Nations, while the small nations became even more chaotic.

Nearly all of Amegakure became a dumping ground for the entire Shinobi World...

Then came the Ōtsutsuki invasion, Momoshiki becoming Momorama, Isshiki overwhelming Naruto and Sasuke, Isshiki's death...

It stopped abruptly there.

Feng Yao had held nothing back. If he had not had a system, he certainly would not have revealed everything.

But he had a system. His system was his greatest trump card.

Feng Yao had done this because he hoped Nagato and Konan would quickly come to trust him, making his future plans easier to carry out.

Pain and Konan had already emerged from the genjutsu world.

Konan regained her senses first. Having seen Amegakure's future, her feelings were terribly complicated.

More and more, she now hoped that Feng Yao had come to deceive them.

Otherwise, it was far too hopeless.

Never mind the Ōtsutsuki invasion, which was still a long way off.

Black Zetsu, the shadowy hand behind the Shinobi World, Madara Uchiha, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and that Ōtsutsuki hiding in the Pure Land were already troublesome enough.

Was that kind of destructive power really something ninja could produce?