After Minato left, the Akatsuki fell into utter chaos.
This was because the new members of the Akatsuki had all been drawn in by Uchiha Ryou's superb Medical Ninjutsu.
Now that Ryou was gone, and many could not identify with Yahiko's theory of peace, they were on the verge of leaving.
One of Ryou's spore clones stood atop a large rock, delivering a speech.
"Brothers, that Yellow Flash brat from Konoha publicly murdered our Lord Yakuganra. Is there no justice? Is there no law?"
"No!"
Ryou's clones chimed in, and the members of the Akatsuki immediately followed suit blindly.
"This is the way of the Great Nations; this is the way of Konoha. The Land of Rain is a nation that has always been weeping."
"Why do we weep? Because the Great Nations treat our country as a pawn, and because the great Hidden Villages treat our land as a battlefield."
"Must we continue to endure? Must we continue to remain silent?"
"No!!"
The people of the Akatsuki looked at the figure of the spore clone, a fire burning in their hearts.
"The many conflicts in the Ninja World are due to the incessant wars of the Five Great Nations. It is they who have turned the Land of Rain into ruins; it is they who have destroyed our homes and families."
"The Land of Rain must break free from the control of the Great Nations, or it will surely face destruction."
The spore clone's tone shifted as he wrapped a cloth around his head and pulled out a stack of Exploding Tags.
"Peace isn't something given as charity; peace must be seized. Only by making the Great Nations feel fear will they think of peace."
"Only by making the world feel pain, by making the Great Nations feel pain, will they realize how precious peace truly is."
"My compatriots, I will distribute these Exploding Tags. Everyone, disperse into the cities of the Great Nations and let the world feel pain."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people of the Akatsuki vanished without a trace.
They thought he would be a great leader, but they didn't expect a lunatic who wanted them to be human bombs. They couldn't afford to mess with that, definitely not.
"Hey! Don't leave! Come back! Let's fill the world with love together!"
Ryou's persona in the Akatsuki, Yakuganra, was already offline, and the new recruits who couldn't agree with Yahiko's ideas all left.
Before leaving, they even stripped the Akatsuki base of all its lunch boxes.
Some of the older ones forgot to turn off their 'auto-loot' and even made off with tables and stools.
Now, only the original members of the Akatsuki remained, those who firmly believed in the organization's ideals.
And some generic faces from who-knows-where?
Yahiko pointed at Ryou's spore clone: "Are you leaving on your own, or are we throwing you out?"
Ryou's clone pointed back at Yahiko and cursed: "Orange Hair, what could you possibly achieve without me?"
"If you give Konan to me right now, I can lead the Akatsuki to take over the Hidden Rain Village."
"Nagato, strike!"
At Yahiko's shout, Nagato activated his Rinnegan and cleared out all of Ryou's clones.
To be honest, Nagato had actually been listening with great interest just now.
It seemed that for a country like the Land of Rain, only by making the world feel pain could peace be fought for.
It's too hard to make you understand me, but making you fear me is simple... Ryou lurked beneath the Akatsuki base, calming his mind to listen to the actions of Yahiko and the others through the spores parasitic on the Akatsuki members.
Yahiko first explained the situation to the loyal members of the Akatsuki, telling everyone about Ryou's background.
Ryou was a rogue ninja from Konoha whose true name was Uchiha Ryou; this was something everyone already knew.
What Yahiko wanted to talk about was Ryou's evil arts; he relied on stealing the lives of others to possess such superb Medical Ninjutsu.
No matter how much Ryou had contributed to the Akatsuki, he could not be tolerated under the Akatsuki's philosophy.
Furthermore, Ryou had provoked a Hokage candidate of Konoha, the world-renowned Yellow Flash. How could a small organization like the Akatsuki dare to offend Konoha?
Even Hanzo has to stand at attention when meeting the Third Hokage, let alone them.
In reality, it was also because Ryou's strength far exceeded Nagato's, and Yahiko couldn't control him.
Otherwise, turning him into a bounty package and sending him to either Hanzo or Konoha would have been a massive deal.
Yahiko went on to say that it was for the best that those new recruits had left; they were indecisive people, and their departure made the Akatsuki more cohesive.
The excitement of the past few days should be treated as nothing more than a grand dream!
The old members of the Akatsuki sighed and went about their business. When Ryou first joined the Akatsuki, the sight of ten thousand people following him had made them feel as though they had seen the dawn of peace.
With so many people, the momentum for their cause was incredibly strong.
Alas, the world is but a grand dream, and life has its autumn chills; in the end, it is all just a reflection in a mirror, a moon in the water!
Underground, Ryou was so angry he started squeezing Candy: "Yahiko, how dare you ruin my reputation like this? This is simply too much!"
"Candy, go and put a bunch of medicine in his food to make him impotent. Let's see how he'll like Konan then!"
Candy was speechless; which part of what Yahiko said was wrong?
After everyone else had left, the trio of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had a secret conversation.
Konan looked at Nagato's Rinnegan with concern: "Yahiko, is what Minato said really true? Was Nagato's Rinnegan transplanted by Uchiha Madara when Nagato was a child?"
How could Yahiko know?
Even if it were true, Yahiko had to shake his head firmly: "No, Nagato's eyes are the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths; he is the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths."
"He is the one who will bring peace to the Ninja World. A divine eye like the Rinnegan could never belong to a great devil like Uchiha Madara."
Madara's reputation was nothing but bad, filled with stories of slaughtering entire families and massacring whole villages.
How could such a person awaken the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths and bring peace to the Ninja World?
Nagato covered his left eye socket; he was beginning to believe Minato's words.
Nagato was an insecure person; he believed these eyes should belong to someone who could bring change to the world.
He had the power to make the world feel pain, but he lacked the vision to bring change to the world.
Even if they had appeared on Yahiko, it would be better than being on himself.
Yahiko comforted Nagato: "Nagato, don't think about anything else. Your eyes have always protected the Akatsuki."
"Just as Jiraiya-sensei said, you are the child of prophecy who can bring change to the world."
Konan nodded: "That's right, Nagato. Even if they were Uchiha Madara's, you've had them for so many years that they are yours now."
"If Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Ryou come to take them, we'll just fight them off."
Konan put on a fierce expression, which made both Nagato and Yahiko laugh.
Konan immediately began playfully punching and kicking them. She wasn't someone to be messed with either. If Madara dared to show up, she would, she would—"
Nagato looked at his two companions who had always been by his side and smiled.
The three of them pressed their hands together and shared a smile. As long as they had their partners by their side, there was nothing to fear.
Madara is just an eighty-year-old geezer; why would we fear his edge?
Next, the three of them discussed the matter of cooperating with Hanzo.
The momentum caused by Ryou joining the Akatsuki had made the three of them a bit overconfident.
They had even attracted Ninjas from Amegakure. Perhaps with a little more time, half of the Amegakure Ninjas would have joined the Akatsuki.
Now that Ryou had been expelled and the new recruits had left, the Akatsuki had returned to its former state.
Yahiko naturally needed to restore morale and placed great importance on this cooperation with Hanzo.
Furthermore, with Madara's resurrection, the Ninja World would fall into conflict once again.
The Akatsuki could not remain unaffected by such a storm. Yahiko wanted to consult with Hanzo on where the Akatsuki should go amidst the waves stirred up by Madara.
When the time came, they could even reveal Nagato's Rinnegan.
Compared to an unfamiliar senior disciple from Konoha, Yahiko still trusted Hanzo, who had achieved independent peace for the Land of Rain.
Konan was somewhat worried, because the exposure of Ryou showed that achieving peace in the Ninja World was better done step by step.
Only peace achieved by one's own hands is true peace.