Ninjutsu absorption

[Divine Skill: Taotie's Gluttony. The host can accelerate chakra recovery through meditation and absorb all externally released ninjutsu. The Three-Flavour Divine Fire refines all things, purifying all negative effects while also serving as the host's supreme treasure for showing off.]

Liumu read the skill description Taotie had left in his mind and walked over to Yahiko with a cheerful smile.

Looking at Konan, who could now stagger to her feet, Liumu stepped forward before Yahiko could ask anything. With an innocent expression, he leaned into Konan's arms and buried his little face deep.

He looked up and asked in a childish voice, "How old are you, big sis?"

Yahiko: ???

Nagato: ???

The onlookers: ???

The sight of Liumu saving them single-handedly still seemed to linger before everyone's eyes, even though Konan, who had already been suffocating at the time, had not seen it at all.

But now she knew that this boy before her, his eyes sparkling with stars, was the one who had saved everyone here.

He had killed the legendary ninja known as the demigod with one punch.

He had also killed the dreaded Ibuse with one punch.

As for why he had remained unharmed in the poisonous mist at the end... none of them knew.

"I'm eighteen. What about you?" Konan crouched down as she spoke, smiling as she looked into Liumu's eyes.

Eighteen?

"Tsk, I'm only five. That's a bit..."

Still, as the saying went, a wife three years older brought a gold brick, and a wife thirty years older brought a kingdom.

Konan was thirteen years older than him. Rounding that off, that was almost four and a half gold bricks!

Yep!

What a bargain!

"A ninja from Konoha!"

Just then, Yahiko spotted the Konoha forehead protector tied around Liumu's arm.

Liumu smiled faintly at his words and took a step back. Looking at the three before him, he said with a smile, "My name is Liumu, a Konoha Genin and a student of Master Jiraiya."

"Master Jiraiya!" Hearing that name from Liumu, Yahiko immediately stepped forward, crouched down, and grabbed his shoulders.

He asked anxiously, "Where's Master? Is he here too?"

Liumu shook his head slightly and truthfully told him how he and Master Jiraiya had come looking for them earlier.

By the end, a trace of dejection crossed the three's faces. "Since Master came all this way, why wouldn't he see us?"

Liumu did not answer that question.

Looking at the toad in his arms, Liumu smiled faintly.

Jiraiya had given Liumu Toad Wu to handle emergencies, but Liumu knew that Jiraiya had also intended for Toad Wu to keep an eye on him.

That old geezer probably already knew that he had saved Yahiko and the other two.

There was no need to attend the three-way talks anymore, and Danzo's plot had been completely shattered by Liumu's single punch. As for Yahiko and the others, a sharp glint flashed in their eyes as they looked at Hanzō's completely distorted body.

With Hanzō gone from the Land of Rain, Yahiko was even more confident that he could take control. There was also great hope of changing the Land of Rain's tragic fate through his own efforts when the time came.

Liumu casually glanced at Nagato, who had remained silent all this time. Beneath his wine-red hair lay those eerie Rinnegan eyes.

If possible, Liumu even wanted to destroy those eyes right now and fundamentally change the course of the future plot.

But Nagato was now his senior fellow student, and ultimately, he was a pitiful man too.

"Sigh, forget it."

Liumu clenched his fists as he spoke. At worst, when Madara stirred up trouble later, he would give him a punch too.

The Akatsuki gathering place.

Liumu and his three fellow students sat around a table as he listened to their experiences over the past few years.

Under Yahiko's charismatic leadership, the once-weak team of three had gradually gathered quite a few like-minded companions.

By now, Akatsuki's strength had begun to take shape. Although taking control of the Land of Rain would still be somewhat difficult with their current capabilities, Yahiko's eyes were full of hope.

"Liumu..."

At the end, Yahiko and Nagato exchanged a glance, then turned to Liumu, who was in Konan's arms, and asked solemnly, "Would you... like to join us?"

"Join Akatsuki?" Liumu was surprised, but then shook his head.

"We're all Master Jiraiya's students. What difference does it make whether I join or not?" Liumu leaned back, finding a comfortable spot for his head, then continued with a flushed face, "The situation in the Land of Rain isn't as simple as you think. As the crossroads of three great nations, the Land of Rain faces more threats than just Hanzō."

Yahiko understood what Liumu meant, of course, but if Liumu could join his team, he would undoubtedly be an enormous help.

"Won't you reconsider?" Unwilling to give up so easily, Yahiko continued trying to persuade him.

But once again, his answer was a shake of the head.

"I'm... still little!"

Still little...

Yahiko jolted at those words, then closed his eyes and chuckled.

"That's right. You're only five. How did I forget that?"

Liumu planned to rest here for the night, then follow Toad Wu's directions to meet up with Master Jiraiya.

When it was time to sleep that night, however, everyone faced a problem.

Liumu cried and insisted that he was too young and scared to sleep alone, demanding someone keep him company.

Yet he complained that Yahiko, Nagato, and the other men smelled too strongly of sweat and absolutely refused to sleep with them.

In the end, with no other solution, they could only let Konan take him into her room.

The night passed without words.

"That awful little brat!" Konan watched Liumu's receding figure, her thoughts unknown, as a faint blush suddenly rose on her bashful face.

Near the Land of Rain's border, Liumu quietly arrived under Toad Wu's guidance, his swiftly darting figure shaking countless raindrops from the branches.

The white bouquet on his chest fluttered, also heralding the possibility of a different future for Akatsuki.

"Kid."

Squatting on Liumu's shoulder, Toad Wu pointed to a village nearby and said, "This is the place."

"Got it."

Liumu answered, leaped straight down from the tree, and entered the village on foot.

This place lay right between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, and was a small village under the jurisdiction of the Land of Grass.

Upon arriving, Liumu looked at the building before him, its curtain bearing the character for "hot water," and sighed speechlessly.

"That's just like you, Master Jiraiya."

Just then, standing in the middle of the street, Liumu felt an indescribable strangeness around him.

As he looked around, several figures lurking in the shadows immediately caught his attention.

"Kid, you're being watched."

Toad Wu warned him, "There should be six of them, exactly two squads. Want to grab one and question them?"

Toad Wu had witnessed Liumu's abilities firsthand, so with this sort of tailing, there was no reason for Liumu not to investigate.

However...

"No need." Liumu sneered, walked into a restaurant, and ordered a bowl of ramen.

He had ruined Danzo's plan and, in the process, rescued every member of Akatsuki, whom Danzo considered a thorn in his side.

If Danzo had not sent anyone to watch him, that would have been rather strange instead.