Seiryū, who had already left Amegakure, had no idea that someone was targeting him.
Nor had he expected Orochimaru to have entered into some form of cooperation with Hanzō.
That Ame shinobi had some kind of restriction placed on him, allowing his actions to be detected.
After learning that the Akatsuki might be in a nearby village, Seiryū headed in that direction.
Before long, Seiryū arrived at a village called Yunyu.
Looking at the extremely dilapidated village, Seiryū could only sigh.
"This is a perfect reflection of how ordinary people at the bottom of the shinobi world live."
Even though war had not yet broken out, life was already difficult for ordinary people in the shinobi world.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that they lived from hand to mouth.
Before arriving in Konoha, the village where his predecessor had lived had been about the same size.
A single mistake could bring complete disaster.
Now that war was approaching, the danger was even greater.
Shinobi died on the battlefield, and ordinary people caught in the conflict died as well.
"For ordinary people, perhaps Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi plan really is the only way to achieve true peace. Unfortunately, although Infinite Tsukuyomi exists, it is nothing more than part of a conspiracy."
Seiryū exhaled softly.
Although he felt some sympathy for them, he had never considered himself a saint.
He was not noble enough to dedicate himself to fighting for the lives of ordinary people.
He had his own goals and beliefs.
He would not blindly pursue so-called peace simply because he felt compassion for others.
Besides, peace itself was an unrealistic ideal.
He, Seiryū, was no saint, nor did he possess such grand ambitions.
He only wanted to protect the people and things he cared about.
Moreover, achieving something on that scale was far beyond his current capabilities.
He was already under considerable pressure himself.
Many people wanted him dead.
He needed to deal with his own problems first.
"It seems they aren't in the village."
Seiryū spread out his powerful perception and scanned the village.
Although he detected several faint chakra signatures, there were very few of them.
Their strength was probably even weaker than that of Genin fresh from the Ninja Academy.
"Nagato hasn't mastered fūinjutsu yet, so he shouldn't be capable of creating a barrier that can conceal them from my perception."
Seiryū muttered to himself.
He released the Yin Seal, allowing the Dragon Vein's chakra to flow through his body.
As Seiryū's strength increased, the range of his perception expanded as well.
Ordinarily, learning senjutsu was equivalent to learning Sage Mode, and Sage Mode greatly enhanced one's perception.
However, because of the unique nature of Seiryū's body, senjutsu chakra could not remain within him.
Naturally, he could not activate Sage Mode to strengthen his perception.
He could only increase his power by layering different states, thereby expanding the range of his Vollständig: Heavenly Eye.
"Found them."
"Does he already possess this much chakra? As expected of a member of the Uzumaki Clan. He can endure the burden of the Rinnegan."
Inside a hollowed-out hill outside the village, Seiryū sensed a fairly powerful chakra signature.
His special vision also allowed him to clearly observe the situation inside.
His fellow disciples, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, were all inside the cave.
It was worth noting that even while bearing the burden of a pair of Rinnegan, Nagato's chakra signature was not weak.
It was almost comparable to Jiraiya's in his normal state.
At the very least, Nagato had already reached Kage-level.
There was no denying the advantages of having an exceptional constitution.
In the original story, Kakashi often suffered from chakra exhaustion despite possessing only one Sharingan.
Nagato, however, could bear the burden of the far more powerful Rinnegan and appeared to do so with ease.
Whoosh!
Having found his targets, Seiryū did not linger.
His figure flickered as he rushed toward them.
Inside the cave, Nagato seemed to sense something.
The Rinnegan was said to be the eye of the Sage of Six Paths and possessed extraordinary perceptive abilities.
Nagato had bright red hair that reached his shoulders and the handsome features of a young man.
At that moment, he frowned.
"This feeling."
It felt as though someone was watching them.
Konan looked toward Nagato.
Her blue-purple hair was tied into a bun, with a pale blue paper flower resting on the right side of her head. Her features were delicate and beautiful.
"What's wrong, Nagato?"
Yahiko, the current leader of the Akatsuki, had short orange hair. He immediately became alert as well.
"Could it be Hanzō's men?"
Hanzō, the leader of Amegakure and the man known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, regarded the Akatsuki as a dangerous organization.
He had been searching for their location, intending to wipe them out in a single strike.
As a result, even the slightest disturbance caused them to instinctively raise their guard.
"Just now, I felt as though someone was watching this place."
Nagato's expression remained solemn.
Halfway through his explanation, his pupils contracted slightly.
His Rinnegan focused on a particular direction.
"Someone is coming. Their chakra is extremely powerful, even stronger than Hanzō's."
Someone was approaching.
Their chakra signature was also exceptionally powerful.
It was even stronger than that of the Hanzō they feared.
"What?"
Yahiko and Konan both looked astonished.
There were countless legends surrounding Hanzō.
As natives of the Land of Rain, they naturally knew all about him.
Even Jiraiya, the Sensei who had taught them ninjutsu, had once been defeated by Hanzō.
The title of Legendary Sannin had also originated from that battle.
The title Demigod of the Shinobi World alone was enough to make countless shinobi tremble.
Hanzō was regarded as a legendary shinobi.
Yet Nagato had just said that the approaching person's chakra was even stronger than Hanzō's.
"Do you know who it is?"
Yahiko looked at Nagato nervously.
Although Yahiko was the leader of the Akatsuki, Nagato was stronger than him.
However, Nagato rarely fought, and Jiraiya-sensei had repeatedly warned them not to reveal the Rinnegan carelessly.
Because of that, Nagato had always kept a low profile. His true strength remained hidden, and outsiders knew almost nothing about him.
"I don't know. I've never sensed chakra like this before. It feels extremely sinister and violent, almost unlike the chakra of a human."
Nagato did not relax his guard for even a moment.
His gaze remained fixed in that direction.
It was as though he could see through the stone wall and lock onto the approaching figure.
He was certain that he had never sensed that chakra before.
Such a sinister and violent chakra signature would have been impossible to forget after sensing it even once.
Konan looked at Yahiko.
"Should we evacuate?"
Before Yahiko could answer, Nagato spoke in a heavy voice.
"The other person is moving extremely quickly, and they are heading directly toward us. At our current speed, we won't be able to leave before they arrive."
This was one of the Akatsuki's bases.
The three of them were not alone. Many others who shared their ideals were also gathered here.
They were all their companions.
There were quite a few of them.
Furthermore, the approaching person was moving too quickly. They would not be able to evacuate everyone before the stranger arrived.
"Since we can't escape and the other person is coming directly for us, we have no choice but to face them."
Yahiko took a deep breath.
After all, he was the leader of an organization that had already grown to a considerable size.
His childhood experiences had given him maturity beyond his years.
He did not lose his composure.
At this point, their only choice was to confront the approaching person.
"Konan, gather everyone and prepare them to evacuate at any moment."
After speaking to Konan, Yahiko walked out of the hill.
"Understood."
Konan formed a hand seal.
Sheets of paper separated from her body, folded themselves into paper cranes, and flew in every direction.
Then she and Nagato followed Yahiko.
No matter what happened, the three of them would face it together.
They would never abandon one another. That was the bond shared by the three of them.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
After being improved, Seiryū's Shunpo had become even faster. Over short distances, it was almost comparable to teleportation.
Seiryū was already close to the Akatsuki base and could clearly see the trio's actions.
He smiled.
"So they noticed me approaching."
"It seems Nagato is already fairly proficient with the Rinnegan. I wonder how much of its power he can currently use."
In the original story, the Akatsuki had been deceived and ambushed by Danzō and Hanzō, which eventually resulted in Yahiko's death.
At that time, the enraged Nagato had already been capable of summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Clearly, his understanding of the Rinnegan had already reached a considerable level by then.
He must have mastered a significant portion of the Rinnegan's power.
It might not have reached that stage yet, but the chakra signature Seiryū sensed from Nagato was already at least Kage-level.
Seiryū would never believe that Nagato was currently incapable of using the Rinnegan's power.
Naturally, Nagato could not yet compare to the version of himself who would later attack Konoha, but he was certainly not weak.
Whoosh!
Seiryū stopped atop a large tree outside the Akatsuki base.
He looked at the three people before him and withdrew the Dragon Vein's chakra back into the Yin Seal.
He raised a hand in greeting.
"Hey, have you eaten?"
It was an extremely common way to greet someone.
Friendly and casual.
Besides, they were not really strangers. They were fellow disciples who had simply never met before.
"..."
The Akatsuki trio had been staring at Seiryū as though facing a formidable enemy, but his greeting left all three of them speechless.
They clearly did not know him, yet he spoke as though they were old friends.
It seemed that he knew who they were.
However, none of them had any memory of this handsome boy who appeared to be only eleven or twelve years old.
More importantly, the person whose chakra signature was supposedly stronger than Hanzō's was actually a young boy several years younger than them.
Without lowering his guard, Yahiko stepped forward.
As the leader, he naturally took responsibility for confronting the stranger.
He stared at Seiryū and asked solemnly, "Who are you?"
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Seiryū introduced himself with a smile.
"Strictly speaking, we are fellow disciples. My Sensei is Jiraiya. I became his disciple after you and am also younger, so I suppose that makes me your junior."
The concept of senior and junior disciples also existed in the shinobi world.
However, seniority was not determined solely by the order in which someone became a disciple. Age was also an important factor.
In any case, there were no strict rules governing it.
"Our junior?"
After hearing Seiryū's introduction, the three exchanged glances.
He was Jiraiya-sensei's disciple?
Konan, who was responsible for the Akatsuki's intelligence network, suddenly remembered something.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you Konoha's Shinigami, Uzumaki Seiryū?"
If someone were asked who currently possessed the greatest reputation in the shinobi world, the answer would undoubtedly be Uzumaki Seiryū, known as Konoha's Shinigami.
Uzumaki Seiryū was indeed a disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin.
His physical features matched as well, especially his bright red hair, which was just like Nagato's.
Red hair was exceptionally rare in the shinobi world.
In addition to being known as Konoha's Shinigami, Uzumaki Seiryū had also earned the title of Red-Haired Shinigami.
Could the young boy standing before them really be Seiryū, Konoha's Shinigami, who had recently become famous throughout the shinobi world?
"Konoha's Shinigami."
"Seiryū. So he's Jiraiya-sensei's disciple?"
Yahiko and Nagato had naturally been paying close attention to changes in the shinobi world.
They were both familiar with his name and title.
They even knew his identity and background.
If he truly was Uzumaki Seiryū, Konoha's Shinigami, then there was a reasonable explanation for why his chakra signature was stronger than Hanzō's.
He was a monster who had inflicted heavy losses on both Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Seiryū's lips twitched when he heard the title Konoha's Shinigami.
To be honest, he truly disliked such an embarrassing title.
Shinigami.
Was he one?
According to the system's judgment, he was technically an official Shinigami with a recognized position.
Even so, the title was far too troublesome.
"Well, I suppose that's me."
Seiryū felt a faint headache coming on.
"But senior disciples, please don't call me by that title."
"Why have you come looking for us?"
Yahiko did not completely lower his guard.
His gaze remained fixed on Seiryū.
"Did Sensei send you to find us?"
Seiryū shook his head.
"No."
He thought to himself that, as far as Jiraiya knew, the three of them were already dead.
In the original story, Jiraiya truly had not known that the Akatsuki had been founded by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
That was why he had stubbornly infiltrated Amegakure to investigate, only to meet his usual tragic fate.
Seiryū looked toward Nagato.
Nagato's bangs were long enough to partially obscure his eyes, but his gaze had remained fixed on Seiryū from the beginning.
"I came here because of Nagato-senpai's eyes."
Meeting them and speaking with these senior disciples he had never met before were also part of his purpose.
However, Seiryū's true objective was the Rinnegan.
He also intended to cause some trouble for Madara.
The moment those words left Seiryū's mouth, the atmosphere immediately became tense.
He had come because of Nagato's eyes?
The hearts of all three Akatsuki members sank.
Through Jiraiya's explanations and the information they had gathered, they had gained a basic understanding of what the Rinnegan represented.
They were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths from ancient legend.
They were the eyes of a sage and possessed unparalleled power.
They might even hold the power necessary to bring peace to the world.
No outsider could be allowed to learn about them, especially anyone with dangerous ambitions.
Otherwise, the consequences could be extremely severe.
Jiraiya-sensei had warned them about this many times.
Yet now, this disciple of Jiraiya-sensei, their supposed junior, had come specifically because of the Rinnegan.
Yahiko took a deep breath.
His vigilance rose to its highest level.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
(To be continued.)