On the way to the Land of Rain, Tsunade and the others were being escorted by White Zetsu clones.
At this moment, Tsunade was treating Uzumaki Kiyomi's injuries.
She had no Chakra, so she borrowed some from Fish Ball; with the Chakra that Fish Ball lent her, Tsunade was able to perform Medical Ninjutsu.
Tsunade examined Kiyomi's physical condition and found that her body was severely depleted, possessing only the constitution of an ordinary person.
One must know that the Uzumaki Clan's constitution far exceeds that of normal people; a normal person's threshold could only barely sustain the fetus inside Kiyomi.
Fried Rice snatched Fish Ball's stock and cooked a pot of fish soup suitable for pregnant women, bringing it over.
Tsunade took the fish soup from Fried Rice's hands and patted Fried Rice's head: "Fried Rice, thank you."
Fried Rice smiled: "It is my honor to be able to help Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade smiled and then personally served the soup to Kiyomi.
"Here, Kiyomi."
After Kiyomi drank it, she thanked Tsunade: "Thank you, Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade stroked Kiyomi's hair; seeing a few white strands among her vibrant red hair made Tsunade's heart ache deeply.
Among the Uzumaki Clan, white hair rarely appeared even after the age of fifty.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools back then."
When the Land of Whirlpools was besieged by multiple countries, Konoha had sent reinforcements.
But the Land of Whirlpools fell too quickly; it was destroyed before Konoha's main reinforcements arrived, and the Senju Clan only brought back Kushina.
Ultimately, it could only be blamed on the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques being too terrifying, while they lacked the power to protect themselves.
The Uzumaki Clan hadn't realized that the world of Ninja Clans had passed and the era of Ninja Villages had become mainstream.
A Ninja Clan could only obtain protection by joining a Ninja Village; otherwise, they were a prize in everyone's eyes.
But that wasn't necessarily true; perhaps being concentrated made them easier to kill, just like in Kirigakure.
Fundamentally, it was because of the intense backlash after Hashirama's death, and the lack of successors for the Uzumaki Clan after Ashina passed away.
If Hashirama and Ashina were still alive, who would dare to touch a hair of the Land of Whirlpools?
The threat of the Thousand-Armed Kan'on and the Reaper Death Seal!
Kiyomi shook her head at Tsunade and said understandingly: "Konoha did its best. The fall of homes and nations is the mainstream of the Ninja World; the Uzumaki Clan is not special."
Tsunade fell silent, returning to the most fundamental issue—the curse of the Ninja World that Jiraiya had pursued for half his life.
The Uzumaki Clan relied on powerful sealing techniques to deter other nations; once it became weak, jackals would naturally rush in to devour its flesh and blood.
Konoha also once relied on Hashirama's power to maintain the balance of the Ninja World; when Hashirama died, this balance quickly collapsed, and the First Ninja World War broke out.
Strife, war, and hatred are shadows that can never be dispelled from people's hearts.
Then Tsunade asked cautiously: "Kiyomi, where is your husband?"
Kiyomi did not speak, lowering her head as she sank into sorrow.
Chizu, beside her, answered for her: "Kiyomi's husband was just an ordinary person. He was killed in the chaos when Iwagakure invaded the Land of Grass."
"Sigh..."
Tsunade sighed and then glanced at Chizu.
This Kusagakure Ninja seemed different from those who had defected to Madara.
"Was it you who took care of Kiyomi?"
Kiyomi nodded and spoke up for Chizu: "It was Lord Chizu who took care of me, otherwise—"
Kiyomi didn't continue; it wasn't hard to imagine what terrible things would happen to a young woman with a powerful bloodline like hers if she fell into the hands of a Ninja power.
Just like Obito, who was almost caught by Kusagakure to be used as a breeding stud.
Chizu also sympathized with Kiyomi because she was a woman and had a tragic past; if it were a man, he wouldn't even be able to stand straight by now.
Tsunade grabbed Chizu's hand: "Thank you!"
Chizu shook her head: "No need for thanks, Lady Tsunade. I am a Ninja of the 'Grass Flower' faction in Kusagakure. We of the 'Grass Flower' are a peace-loving group."
Tsunade realized: "So you're from the 'Grass Flower'. It's said that you are skilled in diplomacy, maneuvering between nations with excellent diplomatic means."
The Land of Grass was a puppet of the great nations, but that didn't mean it was a semi-colonial country.
Kusagakure still had its own independence.
Kusagakure's people were skilled in diplomacy and very sensitive to the movements of great nations, able to grasp their trends early to preserve themselves.
But how did they make such a foolish decision to side with Madara this time?
Chizu explained to Tsunade that it was all the decision of the Village's hawks, and the 'Grass Flower' had been coerced into it.
"My student Ryūzetsu was once captured by Uchiha Madara; she said it was Uchiha Ryou who saved her."
Tsunade was surprised: "So there was such an incident!"
Chizu nodded.
Fish Ball and Fortune approached, surrounded by a group of Ninja Cats.
These cats were all Ninja Cats from Sora-ku, who had come to join after hearing of Madara's resurrection.
However, this meant a complete break from the Uchiha.
Madara wasn't in the mood to arrange for the Kusagakure people, so they were handled by Fish Ball and Fortune.
Fortune wore a big gold necklace and large bracelets; one look and you could tell it was a vulgar cat.
It puffed on a cigar while looking at Chizu and Kiyomi: "You two look decent enough. In the future, you should bear children for Ryou!"
A Ninja Cat said with some difficulty: "Fortune-san, this one... this one is a pregnant woman!"
Fortune blew out a puff of smoke: "Pregnant women are good, buy one get one free. The child shall be called Ryou's Stepson!"
Tsunade picked up Fortune with one hand, stubbed out its cigar, and tossed it far away... Land of Rain, the Akatsuki's base.
The rain at dawn always carried a hint of timid softness.
The wind was slightly cool, brushing past the cheeks wrapped in mist, bringing a sense of bleakness.
It was still a rainy day in the Land of Rain; the people here seemed used to it, every household equipped with waterproof rain gear.
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan put on their uniforms and prepared their Ninja tools; the members of the Akatsuki gathered early at the base.
Yahiko gave a morale-boosting speech, describing the ambition of cooperating with Amegakure, and then they set out.
Upon exiting the cave, the Akatsuki members paused abruptly because a handsome black-haired youth was outside the cave; he seemed to have been standing in the rain all morning.
Ryou stood in the light rain with his arms crossed, his ink-colored eyes watching Nagato's group as he said: "Don't go! It's a trap."
Yahiko did not let Nagato attack Ryou, but simply took the lead in walking past him.
"Uchiha Ryou, you are no longer a member of the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki's affairs are none of your concern."
The members of the Akatsuki passed Ryou one by one.
In this weeping country, you must keep running to avoid being soaked.
Those who had received favors from Ryou would bow deeply to him as they passed.
Daibutsu bent his body low as he passed Ryou: "I'm sorry, Ryou-sama, but the Akatsuki has a reason why we must go."
As Nagato passed Ryou, he questioned him coldly: "Uchiha Ryou, were the women in Yahiko's and my beds last night your arrangement?"
"I'm telling you, it's impossible to use such underhanded tricks to make Konan misunderstand and scheme against us!"
"Give up on that idea! Konan would never fall for an evil, philandering Uchiha like you."
Nagato strode past Ryou, moving further away, as if Ryou had been abandoned by the entire the Akatsuki.
Ryou watched Nagato's back and shook his head; such a method wasn't even considered underhanded to him—he usually just used drugs.
Well, great, they're going to die young before even getting to be adults.
He'd given the warning and tried to make them stay; Ryou could no longer save them.
Actually, dying at the hands of Hanzo and Danzo was fine; at least they wouldn't encounter the despair of Madara.
"Ryou!"
Konan's voice sounded in Ryou's ear; Ryou turned his head, mentally preparing to accept harsh words from her.
To his surprise, a carnation folded from white paper appeared in Konan's hand, and she gave the flower she had made to Ryou.
Ryou took it.
"Although we've only known each other briefly and I've always been wary of you, the you today is exceptionally genuine."
Konan hugged Ryou, and he could clearly smell her fragrance.
Konan kissed Ryou lightly on the cheek: "Thank you for everything you've done for the Akatsuki. Although everything is returning to how it was, at least we once had it."
"And thank you for teaching me Medical Ninjutsu. Although I haven't learned it yet, you fulfilled my dream of becoming a Medical Ninja."
Ryou grabbed Konan's hand: "Konan, don't go."
Ryou's forbidden jutsu was very powerful and could restore someone on the brink of death.
But it was not Rinne Rebirth after all; once a person died, there was no way to bring them back.
Konan eventually pried Ryou's hand away and smiled at him: "Even if it's a trap, I must follow them, because... they are my everything!"
Konan left.
Nagato and Yahiko hadn't walked away that nonchalantly; they had been watching Konan's every move.
Seeing Konan kiss Uchiha Ryou, it felt as if something in their hearts had shattered.
But when they saw Konan reject Ryou's plea to stay and walk firmly toward them, they looked at each other and smiled.
Don't underestimate our bonds!