Being back on the road again was something I had to get used to once again. I really hadn't spent as much time traveling through the many nations as I had originally intended to do.
Yet, I also knew why that had happened, why I never got to visit the places I had planned for, why my plans had changed that much.
Kanna and Karin.
Having to travel at their speeds, ensuring that they were always safe... it did limit me greatly.
It wasn't like I had been travelling particularly fast before them, but still, I had been able to speed up if I had wanted to, and use a few tricks to still move at speeds far beyond civilian without rushing around everywhere.
But after I picked them up, I had been forced to follow their pace, and that just didn't work.
You couldn't raise a child on the road.
So I had ended up settling down with Karin and Kanna time and time again, sometimes for years, sometimes for months, forcing me to eventually abandon my plans, but it didn't change much in the end.
Isshiki was hidden far better than I had expected. Any attempt at finding him would likely have come up empty; one person just couldn't find someone who was hidden that well.
Still, I had to admit that after all this time living the life of a noble, getting back to walking around all day was not as fun as I remembered it.
"Are we there yet?" Karin asked, clearly finding it no more entertaining than I was.
"If you ask that one more time, I swear I will..." Kakuzu said, but was cut off by the sight of a pale white bone extending out of my hand.
"You will do nothing; it was you who refused the idea of paying for a carriage, calling it a waste of money." I reminded him. "So you have no one to blame but yourself," I told him.
He grumbled but didn't dare to say another word.
"Patience, Karin," I said, my tone gentle as I retracted the bone. "We are not traveling for pleasure. This is a... professional trip."
"But it's so boring," she complained, kicking at a loose stone on the dirt path. "And you won't even let me practice my jutsu."
"That would only slow us down, and these four are already being very patient with us, so no need to push it any further; that would just be rude." I gently rebuffed her.
Kanna pulled Karin's hand. "I'm sorry for the trouble we are causing." She said to Konan, who was walking near us, a small, apologetic smile on her face. "Karin has just been spoiled a little."
"It is no trouble," Konan said, her expression unreadable. "A child's spirit is a sign of life. It is... good to see."
Even then, she was still thinking about her past, and the many children who had died when she was a child. It was hard for her to see a child so full of life, not because she was jealous, but because it reminded her of her losses, and of what she should have had, but which war denied her.
Itachi remained silent, a ghost walking beside us. I constantly felt his attention fall on us, though mostly on me; he was curious, he had questions.
But like the fool he was, he didn't want to ask; he figured that only the answers he came to himself were correct, and so, he just watched, trying to piece together the puzzle of my existence.
As for Jūzō Biwa, he was maybe the most normal of the people here, or at least the most normal rogue shinobi. He was rough around the edges, brutal, and always eager for a battle, very different from Itachi.
But at least he said things, not like Itachi, Kakuzu, or even Konan; they didn't say much at all, only Jūzō Biwa was willing to engage in conversation with Karin, even if it was only to try and scare her.
"So, kid, you fought in that arena, right? You any good? Or did your mistress there just let you play fight?" he said.
"I was the Crimson Whirlpool! I have more wins than anyone my age! I even beat Chino!" she bragged, puffing out her chest proudly.
Jūzō Biwa laughed, a loud, grating sound. "Is that so? Well, I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes," he taunted.
"I am not blind! I have my own special ability! Kaguya taught me herself!" she shot back, clearly offended by the taunt.
I had taught her many things, but not what her ability was, that she had figured out on her own, though I did help her figure out how to make better use of it.
"Is that so? Then let's see what you've got," he said, as he pulled out the large cleaver on his back. "Show me your skills!" he said as he challenged her.
"Jūzō," Konan's voice was sharp, cutting through the tension like a knife. "We are not here to play games with children. Put your weapon away."
Jūzō grumbled but did as he was told, reluctantly sliding the cleaver back into its sheath.
Karin looked just as reluctant, as if she had been eager to try herself against him, which just caused the man to laugh at the fact that a little kid thought she could take him on, which just made her even angrier.
"Children are so easily provoked," I said, not even looking at any of them. "A single word is enough to send them into a frenzy."
"And some adults as well," Konan said, giving Jūzō a sharp look.
I didn't comment on that, but it was true, but that wasn't something I would point out in front of the hot-headed man.
"Let's pick up the pace, we need to make it to the next town before nightfall," Konan said, changing the subject.
The rest of the day passed in a tense silence. The only sounds were the crunch of our footsteps on the dirt road, the rustle of leaves in the wind, and the occasional complaint from Karin. The Akatsuki members kept their distance, their presence a dark cloud hanging over our small group.
As the sun began to set, we finally reached the outskirts of a small town. It was a humble place, a few wooden buildings, a dusty main street, and a small inn with a flickering lantern hanging above the door.
"We will stay here for the night," Konan said, her tone firm. "We will leave at first light."
I wasn't very happy about it, I didn't like to be ordered around, but I also knew that until I got back to Rain with them and proved my power in the showdown there would be with Pain, I had to play nice.
...
"We are going to Ame? But, isn't that place dangerous? You always seemed to avoid it, Kaguya-hime." Kanna asked once we got closer to our destination and realized where we were going. "You always said that the village was under the control of a dangerous leader, one who was as strong as even the Hokage."
I nodded. "Indeed, Rain is the domain of the demigod, Hanzo, a truly powerful shinobi," I answered with what was publicly known, pretending I didn't know that Pain now ruled Rain. After all, to the rest of the world, Hanzo still reigned.
It was a secret that Pain had kept very well. To keep the whole world blind to such a regime change? It wasn't easy, though he was able to do it, mostly due to Hanzo already having a policy of isolationism in place. Pain merely maintained it and ensured there were no holes in his defense.
"Then why are we going there?" Kanna asked, a tremor of fear in her voice. "To face someone like that? You are strong, Kaguya-hime, but he is... a legend."
"You don't have to worry about old Hanzo," Jūzō Biwa said, his tone clearly hinting at something meant to make us curious.
"What do you mean?" Karin asked, jumping right into his trap.
He wasn't a novice, but she was still a child, so I would expect nothing less from her than to let her curiosity rule her.
Jūzō Biwa just laughed. "Who knows?" he said, all mysteriously, clearly toying with Karin.
"Enough, Jūzō," Konan said, her tone sharp. "Do not tease the child," she warned him, because she knew that he was bored, and the only fun he could have was toying with Karin.
But while that might amuse him, the others were far less amused and just wanted to return home.
I didn't blame Konan for feeling like that, having four members of the Akatsuki not doing anything productive for that long... it was likely not making things easier for them.
Or for me, once I joined up, but as long as I was able to make use of them, so be it.
At the very least, after putting in this much work to get me to join them, they would likely be extra willing to accept my conditions, sunk cost fallacy, and all that.
...
A few days later, we finally reached the Land of Rain, a place filled with endless rain and water everywhere, the ground was soaked, and one didn't want to step off the hardened stony paths lest the mud trap their feet.
The Byakugan didn't really let me see chakraless objects as easily as it did things with chakra, and in the mud, I couldn't see stone from shoe, but I was certain that countless people had lost shoes and sandals in the thick mud here over the years.
I didn't want to be one of them.
"I don't care, I will not wade through mud; it is beneath someone of my status. If we are to walk through this country, we will do so using the roads." I put my foot down as Kakuzu was starting to lead us away from the road, no doubt a shortcut, but not one we would be using.
They all stopped and turned towards me. I could see the helplessness in their faces, though none looked worse than Kakuzu, and half his face was hidden, but he still looked ready to rip my head off due to the sheer frustration.
Konan, as usual, was the one to handle me. "Very well, we will stick to the roads. But it will take us longer to reach our destination," she said.
"That is no problem, that will also allow us to stop at the nearby village as we approach Amegakure. I haven't had the chance to visit this country, so I'm interested in what specialties it has to offer." I replied.
"Lady, I don't know if you will last long once you are alone with Kakuzu, it feels like you are everything he hates." Jūzō Biwa cracked a joke, before he bent his back to an impressive angle as he dodged a kick from the former Taki shinobi.
"I'm sure he will survive until he finds another partner, he is pretty hard to kill after all." I replied with a faint smile.
But Kakuzu was not someone who enjoyed being teased, so Konan had to step in once more, "Focus, we are nearly there."
And indeed, we were soon in the outer town, civilians we passed gasped in shock at what they saw in us, or more precisely, as they saw Konan. Some of them even fell to their knees, crying out, "Praise God's angel!"
It was clear that she was very popular among her people.
This must be what she was fighting for, to keep them safe, the simple folk that she had grown up with, and who she had almost died alongside.
Seeing their faith in her must have been a great source of strength and validation.
Though the people's admiration only slowed us down further, much to Kakuzu's chagrin.
(End of chapter)
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