Yahiko's longing

Amegakure,

The Akatsuki base.

Unlike the tense atmosphere in Kumogakure, where everyone was at daggers drawn, things here seemed rather leisurely.

Pero sat cross-legged in a spacious stone chair, holding a nine-tailed fox the size of a puppy by the scruff of his neck.

This was none other than the Nine-Tails, whose tailed beast chakra Pero had drained dry.

"Hey, little fox, say something." Pero poked the Nine-Tails' furry cheek with a finger. He thought furry animals like this felt much nicer to touch than a giant turtle.

The Nine-Tails was a tailed beast who had once struck terror throughout the Shinobi World. Now, however, he could only swish his tails weakly.

He turned his head away, presenting the back of his head to Pero with an air of "I'm not giving you the time of day."

"Tch, what a boring fellow." Pero curled his lips and casually tossed the tailed beast aside.

As he looked at the steadily developing Akatsuki, he enjoyed how things felt now. It was like playing a sandbox development game.

He watched characters whose futures had been tragic in the original story become formidable figures who changed the plot, one after another, in his hands.

That feeling was gradually becoming addictive.

The so-called Five-Nation Shinobi Alliance was merely a stage play he had deliberately allowed to develop and assembled behind the scenes.

He recalled his days as a bus driver in his previous life, repeating the same routine every day, with the same unchanging scenery.

He genuinely liked his current circumstances. The whole world was his scenery, and his route no longer had to be fixed like a bus route.

That stark contrast left him somewhat enamored with the power he now possessed.

"Pero!"

An angry feminine shout interrupted Pero's recollections.

Konan stood in front of Pero with her hands on her hips. Her icy face now had "I'm furious" written all over it.

"You jerk! You left me all alone in the Land of Whirlpools again last time! If I hadn't learned my lesson and left a Reverse Summoning Technique in Amegakure, were you planning to make me swim back?!"

Pero looked up at her. Konan's chest rose and fell slightly in her anger, and he could even hear her heartbeat quickening with fury and the sound of her blood flowing.

"Well, you're back now, aren't you?" Pero shrugged indifferently. "Besides, you can fly. What's there to worry about?"

I wouldn't dare get into anything romantic with you. The important characters at this point in time are all underage. The readers might like it, but I can't write that.

"You!" Konan was so angry that words failed her. She realized that reasoning with this fellow was completely useless. Perhaps he simply did not care.

She could only give an angry huff and turn her head away, deciding not to speak to this infuriating fellow for the next three days.

Pero did not care in the slightest. With an indifferent expression on his face, he turned his gaze elsewhere.

Nagato sat cross-legged on the floor, with the enormous scrolls brought back from the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools spread out before him.

A faint light flickered in his eyes as he devoted all his attention to studying the ancient sealing jutsu recorded there. From time to time, his fingers traced out motions in the air.

He was wholly immersed in the sea of knowledge from his homeland.

The Uzumaki Clan's secret techniques held an irresistible attraction for him now. They were the key to no longer depending on Pero and truly mastering power himself.

Because Pero had said that he might leave for a bigger stage.

Not far away, Yahiko looked rather idle. He held the still-swaddled Gaara in his arms, the character for "love" on Gaara's forehead particularly conspicuous. Yahiko was waving the similarly shrunken turtle-Isobu-back and forth before Gaara, as though entertaining an ordinary baby.

As he swung the sleeping Isobu about, he gazed enviously at Nagato.

Gaara, cradled in his arms, watched Isobu flailing through the air with curiosity.

Suddenly, Yahiko stopped. He gently placed Gaara in a nearby cradle, then took a deep breath and walked over to Pero, a trace of longing and hesitation on his face.

"Pero..." he began, his voice somewhat low. "Could I... go out on missions too?"

Pero raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

"Every time I watch Nagato go out to capture tailed beasts and fight those powerful shinobi... I envy him." Yahiko's eyes were filled with a yearning for power, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

"I want to get stronger too. I want to clear away the obstacles to our ideals with my own hands, rather than staying at the base all the time like a nanny."

His gaze passed over Gaara in the cradle and Isobu dozing beside it, and a faint, bitter smile appeared on his face.

He knew this was important logistical work, but what he yearned for was to stand on the front lines and use his own hands to realize that dream of peace that had once been so far beyond his reach.

He did not want to live forever in Pero's and Nagato's shadows.

Pero did not answer immediately. His gaze seemed to penetrate layer upon layer of walls and obstacles.

Through his Super-Vision, Rin's figure was clearly visible at another training ground several kilometers away. She was enveloped in a pale golden aura of chakra, the power Pero had left inside him.

Her movements were swift and forceful. Every punch and kick came with a whistle that tore through the air, sending fragments flying from the hard stone training targets.

Although her chakra control was still very unpracticed and her movements were somewhat clumsy, that fledgling power was already enough to intimidate most jonin.

"Get stronger?" Pero withdrew his gaze, a playful smile curling his lips as he looked at Yahiko. He found this very interesting.

"That's easy."

He stood and walked up to Yahiko, his towering figure bringing an intangible sense of pressure.

"If you want power, I can give it to you."

Pero slowly raised his right hand. Golden chakra gathered and flowed in his palm. Its radiance was not blinding, yet it seemed to contain the energy of a sun, wild and full of majesty, bathing the entire room in a sacred golden hue.

His palm, bearing that violent chakra, pressed toward Yahiko's abdomen. Yahiko neither dodged nor showed any fear in his eyes. There was only irrepressible excitement and boundless longing for the future.

He could feel that the course of his life would be utterly changed at this very moment.

The instant Pero's palm touched Yahiko's abdomen, a sealing jutsu formed there, and golden light engulfed Yahiko completely like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

Yahiko felt an unimaginable power, warm yet violent, surge through every part of his body. Every cell in his body was rejoicing and restructuring.

Finally, all the chakra in his body gathered in the seal on his abdomen, ready for its host to command.

His eyes snapped open, and a brilliant flash of gold passed through his originally orange pupils.

An unprecedentedly powerful aura shot skyward from his body.

Yahiko clenched his fists. He had never felt such tremendous power before.

Then Pero's words struck like a blow to the head.

"Stop standing around here. Hurry up and report to Kakuzu. In your current state, you belong at the same table as Rin."