Konan moved her chin away from Uehara Naraku's shoulder, her gaze carrying a hint of doubt and confusion, not quite understanding her disciple's train of thought.
Her eyes seemed to ask Uehara:
Isn't talking about the umbrella right now a distraction?
Uehara Naraku stood on tiptoe and placed his hand on top of Konan's head, shielding her from the falling rain: "Teacher, the rain is coming down too hard, why don't we find a place to take shelter first?"
"…Okay."
Konan could only nod her head.
The Ninja World has a peculiar thing about it.
If a ninja shows up in the wilderness, the chance of finding a cave is exceedingly high, especially in the Land of Rain, which often experiences war.
Kaguya Kimimaro, Haku, and people like Hattori Heikawa were hiding in a cave, while Uehara Naraku and Konan sat at the entrance roasting fish, chatting about the story of the first Akatsuki.
For the first time, Konan revealed the truth of those days to Uehara Naraku.
"…At its peak, the Akatsuki even numbered more than a hundred ninjas. Back then, we just wanted to use Akatsuki's strength to erase the wars in the Land of Rain and the entire Ninja World, letting people understand the value of peace.
However, this power was too weak for the entire Ninja World, and we were all obscure little ninjas, very few would listen to our advice.
Just at that time, there was someone else striving to eliminate wars among the Five Great Countries of the Ninja World, and to spread the Akatsuki's creed, we decided to join him."
When Konan reached this point, her eyes held a fiery glow, making it unclear whether it was anger or the reflection of the flames.
As Konan continued speaking, she gathered the firewood in front of her: "His name was Hanzo of the Salamander, the most renowned ninja of that time."
"The title of Ninja Demigod is indeed impressive."
Uehara Naraku nodded, softly agreeing with Konan's words: "If I hadn't met Yahiko and Teacher Konan back then, I probably would have joined The Hidden Rain Village too?"
"We didn't want you to be deceived by his facade; that's why we forced you to join Akatsuki."
Konan shook her head and softly continued the story of the past: "Initially, our negotiations with Hanzo of the Salamander went smoothly. The Ninja Demigod was a formidable figure who had defeated Teacher Jiraiya; we believed in him without reservation.
Until just before the negotiations, when I was patrolling the border with others, we encountered an ambush long planned. Others died to protect me…
Including your father."
Konan slowly turned her head, her gaze towards Uehara Naraku flickering with guilt and heartache.
Uehara Naraku stopped turning the roasted fish, meeting Konan's gaze: "So Teacher Konan doesn't want me taking risks to save you?"
"Yes."
Konan nodded and softly continued: "But that battle was only the beginning… the beginning of the end for the first Akatsuki organization."
Konan did not conceal what followed.
It was because Konan herself was captured by Hanzo of the Salamander that Akatsuki was constrained during negotiations with Hanzo.
Yahiko was forced to commit suicide on the spot to rescue Konan.
Nagato, in an effort to save Konan, used the power of the Gedo Statue, nearly draining all his life force and chakra, and his legs were blown off by Hanzo of the Salamander's Paper Bombs.
"I should have died there…"
Konan's fingers tightly gripped the stick in her hand, the sound of the wood cracking blending with the crackling of the burning flames.
"No one deserved to die."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, slowly reaching out to grasp Konan's hand, softly saying: "The atrocities committed by evil people are no reason for us to feel guilty about that catastrophe."
"..."
Konan silently lowered her head.
Obviously, her spirits did not improve with Uehara's consolation.
Uehara Naraku sighed, rubbed his forehead, and softly said: "If Lord Nagato and Teacher Konan are willing, we might try… letting Hanzo of the Salamander experience the despair of being deceived?"
"What?"
Konan raised her head, looking at Uehara Naraku, not quite understanding what her disciple meant.
Uehara Naraku softly continued to explain: "The Hidden Rain Village and Hanzo of the Salamander don't know that Shimura Danzo cannot leave Konoha to negotiate… so can't we disguise ourselves as Konoha Ninjas and, in Shimura Danzo's name, set up a meeting?"
After speaking, Uehara Naraku raised a hand in a knife-edge gesture: "If it's something as significant as Shimura Danzo, Hanzo might show up himself, right? We can seize this opportunity to ambush and kill Hanzo of the Salamander!"
"How could that be possible…"
Konan shook her head, very much disagreeing with Uehara Naraku's plan: "Hanzo of the Salamander is extremely suspicious; he won't show up easily. If he discovers the flaw…"
"Anyway, we won't lose anything."
Uehara Naraku spread his hands, looking helplessly at his teacher: "If he doesn't come, we just waste a little time."
Konan raised another question: "What if Hanzo of the Salamander uses this chance to order Hidden Rain Village's ninjas to ambush us?"
"Teacher…"
Uehara Naraku felt a bit overwhelmed, yet he tried to lift his spirits and explained: "We can prepare in advance, setting up billions of Paper Bombs at the negotiation site; wiping out a group of enemies shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Konan's eyes immediately flickered with a hint of light, and after pondering for a moment, she nodded: "Previously, to deal with Uchiha Obito, I conducted two experiments of the Paper Person of God Jutsu, using two hundred billion and four hundred billion Paper Bombs respectively…"
"..."
Uehara Naraku's gaze was blank for a second.
Konan's expression gradually grew more serious: "This time, I can use them to experiment with six hundred billion Paper Bombs of the Paper Person of God Jutsu, to determine how long six hundred billion Paper Bombs can actually explode for…"
Uehara Naraku looked up at Konan in awe, seeing six hundred billion Paper Bombs in anime form and witnessing them in reality must be entirely different concepts.
Especially since today he saw Konan use just a million Paper Bombs to blow up a mountain.
Uehara Naraku swallowed, his voice somewhat muffled: "Teacher… won't so many Paper Bombs be too wasteful?"
"It won't be wasteful."
Konan patted Uehara Naraku's head, softly saying: "This time the experiment with six hundred billion Paper Bombs is to deal with Uchiha Obito, after confirming the results, I can find a way to ambush that guy."
"..."
Uehara Naraku sighed inwardly, knowing that in the original history, six hundred billion Paper Bombs hadn't actually killed Uchiha Obito.
"Naraku, I am your teacher."
Konan reached out her hand, caressing Uehara Naraku's cheek: "So, I won't allow anyone to harm you."
"Teacher Konan…"
Uehara Naraku grasped Konan's hand, softly saying: "Those who have harmed Teacher, I won't let them go either!"
Hearing a twelve-year-old boy speak in this tone, Konan couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Alright, we may not be able to ambush Hanzo of the Salamander anyway…"
"But at least we can scare him, giving Teacher a vent for her anger!"
Uehara Naraku appeared a bit indignant; he was clearly speaking seriously.