Hanzo of the Salamander had taken Konan hostage and forced Nagato to kill Yahiko. In the end, Yahiko had committed suicide by throwing himself onto Nagato's kunai.
And why had Hanzo of the Salamander targeted the Akatsuki?
That brought things back to a certain Darkness of the Shinobi who preferred to remain anonymous, Konoha's resident shit-stirrer!
Perhaps when Shimura Danzō had contacted Hanzo of the Salamander and tried to wipe out the Akatsuki, he had been thinking of (his) Konoha.
But regardless, Shimura Danzō still bore responsibility for the suicide of Yahiko, the Akatsuki's first leader!
Uchiha Minamoto had no idea how the Akatsuki, a nonviolent peace organization from a small country, had gotten in Shimura Danzō's way.
But Shimura Danzō was dead, and Uchiha Minamoto still had to handle the cleanup.
There was simply no need to explain all of that so clearly to Yahiko and the others...
"Lord Hokage!"
Still bent over in a bow, Yahiko spoke loudly.
"Please bring my companions back to life as well!
"Only with me, Nagato, and Konan together can the 'Akatsuki' be complete!"
Yahiko admitted that his behavior was somewhat presumptuous and even risked angering the Hokage.
But what if it worked?
The Fifth Hokage seemed to be a decisive ninja who was also gentle.
For his companions, Yahiko was willing to take that small risk!
"There's no rush on that, but..."
Uchiha Minamoto looked at the somewhat nervous Nagato and Yahiko.
"I really can't expect a horse to run without letting it graze."
Uchiha Minamoto turned his right hand over, and a bright Light Bullet rapidly formed in his palm. In reality, it was a constantly rotating ball of chakra.
As he kept adding more, the chakra ball swelled larger and larger, giving off heart-pounding fluctuations.
[Big Ball Rasengan]!
With a