Land of Rain It's been a long time since it's been this lively.
Outside Hanzo of the Salamander's mansion, there were crowds of people.
Akatsuki's ninjas stood on the outermost edge, holding weapons in their hands, but did not drive away the crowd. Further away, fleeing villagers held broken umbrellas and stood on both sides of the street, constantly looking towards the direction of the mansion.
They heard a message.
The leader of Akatsuki, the man named Yahiko is back.
The man who was almost killed by Hanzo of the Salamander returned to Amegakure again today.
News spreads faster than rain falling.
"Is he really the leader of Yahiko?"
"I saw it with my own eyes. He walked out of the mansion exactly the same as before."
"Can you survive such a serious injury?"
"That is the leader of Akatsuki, of course he is not an ordinary person."
"Stop talking nonsense, leaders are human beings too."
"But he just came back."
"God bless Land of Rain!!!"
The crowd's chatter mixed with the rain and became a chaotic mess.
The door of the mansion slowly opened.
A young man wearing a black robe with red clouds came out, with various non-mainstream "black trinkets" hanging on his face and ears.
This look is strongly recommended by Senju Chen, and it highly restores the image of Deva Path in the "original work".
There is no particular reason, I just think this look is very handsome!
When everyone sees the people who came out.
Orange hair, familiar face, familiar smile.
It's really their leader--Yahiko.
He stood on the steps and scanned the crowd below.
The person who stood here last time was the god of Land of Rain before, the man called "Demigod" by the entire Shinobi World.
At that time, Hanzo of the Salamander was sitting at the top, with countless Amegakure ninjas standing around him. With just one word of "peace", he easily drove Yahiko and the entire Akatsuki into a corner.
Now, "Demigod" is dead and a new king has ascended the throne.
His mansion has also become Akatsuki's new base camp.
Konan controlled her clone and stood behind Yahiko.
"Konan" also wore a robe of the same design as Akatsuki, with her long hair hanging behind her back. She did not speak, and also looked at the crowd below quietly.
In a place where no one can see, her consciousness is connected to Soul Conversion Device in the underground base of Land of Waterfalls.
This body is also not her real body.
It was White Zetsu Puppet made for her by Senju Chen.
The shape of the body, Chakra fluctuations, and Paper Release reactions were all adjusted according to her own data. Even the breathing rhythm when speaking was corrected by Scorpion.
No one can see the problem.
Including Akatsuki members standing in the audience.
They were quiet at first.
Immediately afterwards, someone didn't know who shouted.
"The leader is back!"
"The leader is really back!"
The next moment, the entire mansion exploded.
"Chief!"
"Yahiko leader!"
"Long live Akatsuki!"
"Land of Rain is saved!"
One young member raised his hands excitedly, tears streaming down his cheeks.
He had seen Yahiko fall under the knife of Hanzō with his own eyes before.
That scene has become a scene that he has dreamed about repeatedly during this period of time.
But now, Yahiko stood in front of him again.
And he was standing on Hanzō's mansion.
"The leader is really not dead..."
"We have hope, Land of Rain has hope."
"Hanzō is dead and the leader is back!"
The mood of the crowd quickly rose.
"Yahiko" raised his hand.
The sound quickly quieted down.
He did not use an amplifier Sound Ninja, nor did he deliberately raise his voice. But people standing on the outermost edge could still hear him clearly.
"I know what everyone wants to ask."
The cheers below slowly disappeared.
Everyone looked at him.
Yahiko paused for a moment and said:
"I didn't mean to call this a miracle."
"I'm not a god either."
"I was just rescued by my companions."
This sentence made many people confused.
Yahiko did not continue to explain.
He can't explain.
This is not an experimental base, and there are no soundproof seals arranged by Senju Chen around it. No outsiders must be allowed to know about White Zetsu Puppet, Soul Conversion Device, and Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"But there's one thing I'm sure of."
Yahiko's eyes swept over the faces that were wet by the rain.
"That is, the mountain that has shrouded Land of Rain for so many years is gone. The man called "Demigod", Hanzo of the Salamander is really dead."
"In the past few decades, he has held power in the name of protecting Land of Rain. But during these years of his rule, what did Land of Rain gain?"
"War."
"Hungry."
"Corpse."
"There is also the fate of being used as a springboard and abandoned by those big countries time and time again."
"Just because he is dead does not mean that Land of Rain's problem is solved."
The voice of "Yahiko" gradually became heavier.
"Hanzo of the Salamander is not the entire cause of Land of Rain's suffering. Killing a Hanzo of the Salamander will not bring back the dead."
"So, I'm not going to tell you that everything will be fine starting from today."
"I can't say this kind of thing."
There was a slight commotion in the crowd.
Even many Akatsuki members raised their heads.
"Yahiko" has no pause.
"But I can tell you that from today on, Land of Rain will no longer have one person above everyone else."
"Akatsuki will not become the new Demigod."
"We will take over Amegakure's weapons, food and roads. We will re-count the population of each settlement and distribute the land that can still be cultivated to the survivors."
"Those who are willing to join Akatsuki can stay."
"Those who are unwilling to join will not lose their homes because of this."
"We don't ask you to trust us."
"We just ask everyone to give us some time."
"Let us use actions to prove that Akatsuki is different from the Hanzo of the Salamander of the past."
The crowd was quiet for a long time.
A thin boy suddenly walked out of the crowd.
His clothes were very old, and he was holding a doll made of rags in his hand.
A Amegakure ninja stretched out his hand to stop him.
"Yahiko" raised his hand to stop.
The boy walked to the bottom of the steps and looked up at Yahiko.
"Are you really the leader?"
"Yahiko" squatted down.
"Yes."
"I heard you died."
"I did die."
The boy looked down at the doll in his hand.
"My sister died too. She said Akatsuki would bring us peace, but then the village was burned down."
People around him lowered their heads.
No one can avoid this problem.
Akatsuki once brought them hope.
But Akatsuki has also become a banner that brings disaster because of Obito's recent conspiracy.
"Yahiko" looked at the boy.
"What's her name?"
"Ari."
"Where did she live before?"
"Shimoyodo."
"Yahiko" closed his eyes.
Shimoyodo, the village burned down by Obito a month ago.
One hundred and ten people.
No one escaped.
He, Yahiko, and Konan have both seen that information.
"I remember."
"Yahiko" stretched out his hand and took the rag doll from the boy's arms.
"Starting today, Akatsuki will find out the list of survivors from Shimoyodo. The settlement will be rebuilt and monuments will be erected for the dead, including your sister."
The boy asked, "Really?"
"Really."
"You're not going to die again, are you?"
"Yahiko" looked at him.
"This time, it won't happen."