In the end, the Land of Fire caravan trapped in the Land of Frost because of certain abnormal movements whose origins could not yet be clearly seen was successfully escorted back to the Land of Fire with its goods under the protection of a support team sent by Konoha.
But this small incident in the Land of Frost was like a stone thrown into the shinobi world, which appeared peaceful on the surface yet had undercurrents surging beneath.
With ease, it spread ripples beyond all expectations, drawing countless willing and unwilling people alike into the influence of those hidden currents.
"The Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfall have tightened inspections on Land of Fire merchant caravans and prohibited them from purchasing certain specific supplies within their borders. Then the Land of Stone, located between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, broke out in internal unrest. The Daimyo who originally ruled the country has gone missing. In the Land of Rice Fields, which has never established a shinobi village, public opinion has also appeared calling for the integration of domestic shinobi resources and the establishment of their own shinobi village…"
"The situation suddenly became tense again, Yahiko."
Holding a newborn baby girl in her arms, Konan sat inside Akatsuki's leader office. While listening to Yahiko mutter to himself as he sorted intelligence by category, she shook her head with emotion.
"I never thought that a mere terrorist organization formed by Root remnants could stir up such a massive storm… Thinking about it that way, the fact that we survived their and Hanzo's encirclement back then truly was thanks to that Lord Mizukage's assistance."
"It is foreseeable that in the coming days, we will have to continue relying on that person's influence and support to keep developing Akatsuki and the Land of Rain."
Yahiko raised his head from the neatly sorted piles of intelligence and sighed with deep feeling.
"Using one person's power to stir up the waves of the entire shinobi world, forcing the major shinobi villages, which have always relied mainly on military conflict, to adopt entirely new methods of confrontation… That guy Rei Kaguya, even if he had been born in a small nation even worse and weaker than the Land of Rain, would probably still have become someone the entire shinobi world focused its gaze upon, wouldn't he?"
"Maybe not."
Konan gently teased her daughter with her finger, her expression tender and careful.
"If he had been born in a small country ravaged by war, there would have been a high probability of experiencing separation from his parents and the collapse of his family. If something like that happened when he was very young, then even a genius like Rei Kaguya might have died halfway through, right?"
"…That's true. Then it is better that he was born in the Land of Water."
Yahiko nodded in agreement. Then he leaned back somewhat tiredly and stared blankly at the heavy snow falling outside the window, muttering to himself,
"I just don't know when exactly Nagato will come back… When he isn't here, it always feels like something is missing. No matter what I do, there's a feeling of being constrained."
"There is no helping it. The Land of Rain is still only a small country struggling to survive between cracks. Without an outstandingly powerful shinobi like Nagato guarding it, even gathering intelligence has to be done with far greater caution."
Just as Konan was rationally analyzing Nagato's role in the entire Akatsuki organization, the window of the office where the two of them were located suddenly opened from the outside without any warning.
A red-haired figure, covered in snow, leapt inside.
Then, while closing the window behind him, he turned to look at the two close friends in the room with a gentle expression and joked,
"I think I heard someone talking about me… That shouldn't have been my imagination, right?"
"Nagato!"
After seeing the visitor's iconic Rinnegan clearly, Yahiko immediately jumped up from his seat and rushed forward with a loud laugh, giving him a huge hug.
While embracing Yahiko, Nagato also looked toward Konan, who had stood up as well.
Seeing the baby girl in her arms begin crying because of the cold air that had entered when the window opened, Nagato's expression stiffened. He apologized with considerable regret.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't expect there to be a newborn child in the room…"
"Don't worry. This child is not that delicate."
Konan skillfully soothed the child in her arms. Before long, she made her quiet down again.
Seeing this, Nagato released Yahiko and said with a heart full of apology,
"I'm sorry, Konan. We clearly agreed that after this child was born, I would become her godfather. But not only did I fail to make it back when she was born, I even left such a terrible first impression during our first meeting…"
"That kind of thing doesn't matter, Nagato. After all, you were running around outside for the sake of another child shared by the three of us."
Yahiko waved his hand carelessly, forgiving Nagato's ignorance on behalf of his daughter.
Then he raised his hand, placed it on Nagato's shoulder, and asked very seriously,
"Speaking of which, the idea you wrote in that letter you sent us earlier—was that the result of careful thought, Nagato?"
"You mean the idea of transforming Akatsuki from a neutral peace-oriented shinobi organization into a negotiation platform for resolving conflicts between countries?"
"Yes, that one."
Yahiko stared at Nagato with solemn eyes.
"Can you explain the whole process behind that idea to me in detail? Although you already said a lot in your letter, the shinobi world's situation has changed so much now. You personally participated in that battle to defend Konoha and witnessed the fight between Rei Kaguya and Obito Uchiha from that Root organization… After so many things happened, do you still intend to continue upholding that idea?"
"Yes."
Nagato took a deep breath. Then he nodded to Yahiko and Konan with incomparable solemnity and said in a low voice,
"Not only must we transform Akatsuki into a neutral platform that coordinates conflicts between countries as quickly as possible, we must also do our utmost to persuade all countries in the shinobi world to send their own representatives to us. Whether they stand with the Iwagakure-Kumogakure camp, with the Kirigakure-Konoha camp, or even wish to remain neutral like Sunagakure, they may all come to the platform Akatsuki provides and express their opinions."
"Nagato… are you perhaps not thinking clearly?"
Konan walked forward with some worry and raised her hand to touch Nagato's slightly cold forehead.
"Having the countries and shinobi villages of the Konoha and Kirigakure camp send representatives is one thing. If a neutral country like Sunagakure is made to show strength and attitude, then there should still be a ten or twenty percent chance. But representatives from the countries and shinobi villages of the Iwagakure and Kumogakure camp?"
"Gathering such a group of people together for a meeting… are you afraid they won't all start fighting on the spot?"
Yahiko also expressed confusion and concern toward Nagato's plan.
Most of the time, he was responsible for arranging the organization's personnel, so he proposed a very convincing example.
"Let's take Pakura of Sunagakure and Toroi of Kumogakure as examples. After being captured by us and never redeemed, they've simply started working here in Akatsuki. When have those two not started exchanging verbal attacks the moment they had a chance during an organization meeting? When they encounter tasks that require cooperation, they are also more inclined to lead their respective subordinates and complete them separately. They have no intention of working together at all."
"If just two individuals who can hardly be said to have any specific grudge are already like this, then if they also carry the missions and wills of their countries and shinobi villages, they might not even manage to sit down and speak three sentences before starting to bombard each other with ninjutsu, right?"
"It does not matter. I will take action."
Nagato shook his head, his expression calm.
"Although saying this sounds somewhat boastful, as long as the opponent is not Rei Kaguya or one of the Five Kage, I can still stop the representatives' fights before they cause any large-scale destruction."
"And as long as the representatives from various countries suffer losses several times and clearly recognize that they cannot resist me, the host, then they will naturally have the space to sit down and fight with words while also explaining their respective interests and demands."
"Just like the shinobi villages behind them are wary of Rei Kaguya's personal military power, and are therefore forced to abandon the method of directly launching wars to plunder resources, instead using some side methods they previously paid little attention to in order to sanction their enemies."
"After they gradually grow accustomed to exchanging opinions on Akatsuki's platform, we, as the organizers of the meetings, will naturally possess a certain ability to guide and interfere with public opinion, as well as a chance to temporarily eliminate the possibility of war between all sides."
Listening to Nagato's explanation, Konan and Yahiko exchanged a glance.
In each other's eyes, they saw complicated emotions where confusion and understanding intertwined.
After thinking and digesting it for a while, Yahiko spoke again and asked Nagato,
"Is this the method you found… to reach superficial peace?"
"Mm. Yahiko, you still remember, huh? Back then, when we talked with Rei Kaguya, we discussed the idea of leaving the shinobi world enough peaceful time for a new generation of shinobi to grow, even if that peace existed only on the surface."
Nagato first showed a surprised expression. Then he nodded forcefully, confirming Yahiko's thought, and continued,
"That's right. This is a measure meant to allow the superficial peace temporarily established through Rei Kaguya's personal military force to operate for a longer time. Although what we can do is merely allow all forces to make their voices heard and suppress the outbreak of large-scale wars equally, for us, who did not establish this order entirely through our own strength, this work is already enough."
"Then, when this superficial peace can no longer be maintained and the various forces restart war, how should we conduct ourselves then, Nagato?" Konan asked worriedly.
"That problem can be left to our Lord Mizukage to handle."
Hearing this, Nagato smiled freely. Without panic or haste, he said,
"We Akatsuki will work hard to buy him enough peaceful time for one generation of shinobi to grow. By the time we can no longer continue, the strength he has accumulated to complete his own vision should have more or less broken through the critical point and entered the phase of actual practice."
"Of course, if the method he ultimately adopts causes the entire shinobi world to be plunged into misery…"
"Then I will stake my life and these Rinnegan to correct him."
As his words fell, the pale purple Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes slowly contracted, emitting a resolve that was unwavering, decisive, and willing to bear the burden alone.
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