Ever since the Third Great Ninja War, life in the Land of Rain—including Amegakure and even Hanzo himself—had been relatively peaceful.
Because the large-scale conflicts among the great ninja villages had shifted the central battlefield away from the Land of Rain. Even when occasionally facing minor incursions, these skirmishes were practically insignificant in comparison to the main battles.
At least, that's what it seemed at first glance.
In reality, however, Hanzo also had his own troubles—the emerging organization known as Akatsuki within the Land of Rain. Although this group was very young, the more Hanzo learned about their ideology, the clearer he became about the threat they posed. For someone like Hanzo, who had lived through brutal wars and struggled to survive in the gaps between powerful nations, the ideals of "Akatsuki" represented a cancerous ideology—pure and simple.
Love? Tolerance? Mutual understanding between people?
Such ideals certainly sounded tempting, but could true peace really be built upon such false rhetoric?
Just wishful thinking.
Objectively speaking, the efforts of the younger generation weren't inherently wrong, just as Hanzo's concerns weren't necessarily misplaced. There was a fundamental issue at play here—the smaller Akatsuki remained, the more positive, energetic, and idealistic it appeared.
The smaller the group, the fewer its members, the purer its ideals remained. But if you truly aimed to change an entire country—or even the world—size became a necessary evil. And therein lay the contradiction.
What? They have the [Rinnegan]?
Oh, well then, never mind.
Ahem... In any case, for now Nagato was still operating in Yahiko's shadow, making him seem somewhat unremarkable. Yahiko was dedicated to recruiting more like-minded shinobi to expand the organization.
Ideals weren't any rarer than fantasies; the real problem was turning them into reality—which was almost impossible.
Yahiko and his Akatsuki continued striving forward, and regardless of anything else, their effort deserved recognition.
That recognition, though, came with an equal measure of certainty that this organization would soon face a setback.
"I sensed my [Flying Thunder God Technique]."
After confirming his target, Haseo suddenly stopped mid-movement at high speed and immediately relayed the exact direction and distance to the nearby Uzumaki shinobi.
Sannai, who possessed the strongest sensory abilities, locked onto that direction instantly and focused her attention.
"It should be hidden up on a mountain—with some wooden huts among the trees and deeper inside, a cave. Chakra signatures… sixty-seven individuals. This must be their secret stronghold."
After roaming around the Land of Rain for two days, utilizing the team's layered sensory capabilities, Haseo successfully located this current base of operations belonging to Akatsuki. In doing so, they had also pinpointed Nagato's exact location.
"Oh no—it's reverse detection. There's a Uzumaki shinobi inside. Lord Haseo, we've been discovered."
Just as Sannai confirmed the number of enemies, an unexpected situation arose—reverse sensing meant their squad's operation had been detected by the enemy.
This outcome wasn't surprising—not because Nagato hailed from the Uzumaki clan, but because… he had the Rinnegan.
This pair of eyes didn't merely have offensive capabilities; they also came with various messy "additional functions."
"Charge forward and execute the plan—directly seize control of the key individuals." Without hesitation, Lord Haseo immediately issued this command.
Then, he led the charge toward the designated target.
Twelve Uzumaki shinobi fell in behind him without delay.
The members of Akatsuki were currently gathered together. Even if Nagato detected the threat, they wouldn't necessarily retreat—some ninja had great confidence in their own abilities.
In such a hurried counter-reconnaissance operation, being able to detect the presence of enemies was already quite good enough. Could one really expect Nagato to figure out the detailed situation on this side?
Besides, even if Akatsuki decided to cautiously retreat at this point, there would be no chance of escape from pursuit. The speed of collective movement was limited. Yahiko and others wouldn't abandon teammates, while the pursuing speed on Haseo's side went without saying.
The Land of Rain was small enough that the distance between the two groups vanished in an instant.
Haseo stood alone at the forefront, followed closely by the Uzumaki shinobi. Looking down from above, it seemed as though a deep red flame had ignited amidst the verdant forest.
Swift as the wind—and then...
And then came the fury—relentless as flame.
On the campside of "Akatsuki," preparations had already begun following Nagato's warning. All the ninja were mobilized and ready to face the impending enemy—they indeed did not choose immediate evacuation.
These ninja most likely mistook this attack for an assault coming from Amegakure.
However, when they saw a figure burst forth from within the forest, everything suddenly felt too late. A massive burst of Lightning Release filled their entire field of vision.
It was just like a peaceful village nestled beneath high-latitude mountain slopes suddenly facing an avalanche—the avalanche instantly swallowed all obstacles ahead, including anyone who dared resist.
A powerful current of Lightning Release surged through each person's body, disrupting their natural chakra circulation while simultaneously robbing them of bodily control.
A sharp stinging sensation combined with severe paralysis surpassed their tolerance threshold almost immediately.
Most collapsed under Haseo's Lightning Release—those still standing were lucky to remain upright.
If the numbness caused by Haseo's lightning technique was temporary, then the subsequent entrance of the Uzumaki marked the end of any resistance possibility. Whether through Binding Curse Techniques or other barriers and Sealing Techniques, the Uzumaki clan's "crowd-control abilities" left no doubt... this was a masterclass in immobilization.
Therefore, Haseo didn't care about the situation behind him. He walked straight ahead and appeared directly before those three primary figures.
"Lord Haseo?"
The battle unfolding at the perimeter happened far too quickly. Nagato hadn't even reacted before things became unclear—while they were still preparing for combat, most of the fighting appeared to have already concluded.
The three had met Haseo once before, during the time when Jiraiya was teaching them Ninjutsu. Even now, they clearly hadn't forgotten him.
"Don't get worked up; your comrades aren't in any real danger. We've just temporarily stopped them from moving… nothing serious. It's been a while. You all seem to have grown quite a bit—looks like you're finally living up to Jiraiya's teachings."
Haseo said with a smile.
By this time, Ka-jin had already arrived beside Haseo, while the remaining Uzumaki shinobi, having finished subduing Akatsuki, began spreading outward, quickly forming a loose encirclement perimeter.
There was no way the three would let their guard down just because they were facing a familiar face and hearing Haseo speak now. The one who'd instantly incapacitated their comrades had already shown his hand as an enemy—and truth be told, they hadn't been close to begin with.
"It's like this—we've got a little favor we need you to help us with…"
Before Haseo could finish speaking, the three sprang into action.
No matter who the enemy was, there was no way they'd allow themselves to be captured without even resisting. After all, these three core members of Akatsuki were at least well-known figures within the Land of Rain.
But their movements came too late, because right then black Binding Curse Techniques began appearing on the three.
Surprisingly, Konan was the only one who managed to react effectively. If there was anything different about her compared to the other two, it wasn't strength—it was the fact that she could fly.
Flying was an advantage, even against powerful opponents.
As her body lifted higher into the air, countless silver chains suddenly rained down upon her.
Konan was bound tightly in an instant by [Binding Curse Technique]—then slammed forcefully onto the ground by someone descending rapidly from above.
"Lord Haseo said not to let you move around. Didn't you hear him?"
Mokkō had restrained Konan. Her grip was rough, but since she was also a woman, there was no risk of backlash or accusations of brutality.
"Mokkō, come on—that's way overdoing it! Going full out right away—are you going through menopause?
Besides, I didn't even say not to let them move. That's unreasonable. Don't forget—we're supposed to be the good guys."
Haseo scolded Mokkō—or rather, it wasn't really scolding; it was more like a grumble than a serious reprimand.
Then he turned to Yahiko and continued, "Sorry about that—the mission is pretty critical, so my team's a little on edge today.
Still…
Next time, try not to act so rashly. Don't go charging in like that again unless you want to end up paying the price…
Let me make things clearer for you.
Tell me, take a good look at those sixty-three captured ninja—don't they look exactly like what people usually call… hostage material?
Or maybe you don't care about their lives at all?"
Even looking purely from a practical standpoint, Akatsuki's principles wouldn't allow Yahiko to abandon his comrades now—it would tear the whole group apart.
"Lord Haseo, you missed one—it's actually sixty-four."
"Is that so?"
Haseo cracked his fingers. "Fine, but honestly, it doesn't really matter whether there's one more or one less person. A righteous org never leaves anyone behind."
"But I've heard that giving in to terrorists' threats is foolish behavior. Hostages captured by terrorists... according to international conventions, should be left to fend for themselves, Lord Haseo."
"So we're the good guys, not some extremists. You must've gotten that mixed up, right?"
Hmm, who exactly got this mixed up?
There was inconsistency in Haseo's words. He claimed Akatsuki was a righteous organization while also insisting that he himself, who's now fighting Akatsuki, was the side of justice.
Justice sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud, but it still means something… At the very least, Haseo randomly going after Akatsuki out of nowhere sure doesn't look all that just.
So let's make this clear: First, the good guys never kidnap people or threaten to off hostages; second, the Fourth's current actions and words are purely personal and have nothing to do with Konoha.
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