A conspiracy never needed an overly complicated plan.
As long as the bait was tempting enough, even the biggest prey would bite.
The peace negotiations in Amegakure were the perfect bait, large enough to draw in Yahiko without hesitation.
Even if the hook was obvious, it did not matter.
Years ago, the younger Yahiko might have seen through it immediately.
Back then, he had been far more cunning.
If he had not forced himself to abandon his innocence, if he had not learned to steal and deceive just to survive, he never would have been able to feed Konan, Nagato, and the stray dog they once cared for together.
But several years under Jiraiya had changed him completely.
Yahiko no longer dreamed of becoming some distant god standing above humanity.
Gods existed too far above ordinary people.
What Yahiko wanted was different.
He wanted to protect his homeland and end the endless cycle of war, even if it required sacrificing himself to achieve it.
The younger version of himself would never have understood such a thought.
Because of that conviction, Yahiko sought peace through cooperation rather than fear or violence. He was willing to work alongside anyone if it meant changing the future of the Land of Rain.
And in his eyes, Hanzō was the ideal partner for that goal.
If it had been anyone else, Danzō Shimura's scheme would never have succeeded.
Most leaders only cared about expanding their own authority. They would never willingly cooperate with Hanzō.
But Yahiko was different.
His greatest strength was also his greatest flaw.
He trusted people too easily.
That kind of trust was difficult to define as either good or bad.
Naruto himself possessed that same trait.
His faith in others inspired countless people to stand beside him, even allowing him to befriend the Nine Tails itself.
Yahiko's trust had accomplished something similar. Under his leadership, the Akatsuki expanded rapidly across the Land of Rain. Shinobi who once served other factions willingly followed him, even abandoning old loyalties.
But that same trust had now pushed Akatsuki into a deadly trap.
At Iron Mirror Mountain, Yahiko and nearly two hundred Akatsuki members found themselves completely surrounded by Amegakure shinobi.
Originally, Yahiko had only planned to attend the negotiations with Konan and Nagato.
To him, arriving with a massive force would have shown distrust.
However, Akatsuki's members strongly opposed the idea. In the end, Yahiko reluctantly agreed to bring nearly one-third of the organization's manpower.
Before they even reached the summit, the scouts discovered something was wrong.
The number of shinobi gathered atop Iron Mirror Mountain far exceeded expectations.
There were not merely a few guards waiting for negotiations.
More than four hundred Amegakure ninja were hidden throughout the mountain terrain.
Another two hundred waited below to cut off any escape route.
And beneath the earth itself, Root shinobi hid silently using Earth Release techniques, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
By the time Akatsuki realized the truth, it was already too late.
The trap had fully closed around them.
At that moment, escaping alive had become a luxury.
High above the battlefield, Hanzō appeared on a jagged cliffside overlooking the mountain path.
His mask concealed most of his expression as he stared coldly at Yahiko.
"Give up resisting," Hanzō said indifferently. "The base of the mountain has already been sealed off."
His voice echoed across the rain-soaked cliffs.
"At this very moment, Amegakure forces are also attacking the Akatsuki headquarters. You no longer have any chance of turning this around."
Yahiko clenched his fists tightly.
"Hanzō... what is the meaning of this?!"
Hanzō's gaze remained icy.
"The meaning should be obvious."
"The Akatsuki will cease to exist today."
Yahiko stared at him in disbelief.
"Why? We've avoided conflict with Amegakure this entire time. I've personally restrained our members from provoking your forces."
Hanzō interrupted him immediately.
"You're still naive, Yahiko."
His tone became harsher.
"Your existence alone threatens the stability of Amegakure. This was never about direct conflict."
Beside Yahiko, Nagato quietly asked,
"What should we do?"
Yahiko answered without hesitation.
"I'll hold Hanzō back with a small group. You and Konan lead everyone else down the mountain and break through the encirclement."
For the first time, Nagato openly rejected Yahiko's decision.
"No. You're the leader. You and Konan should leave instead."
His Rinnegan stared forward intensely.
"I'll stay behind."
Everyone understood what that meant.
Breaking through at least offered a slim chance of survival.
Remaining behind to cover the retreat was practically suicide.
"I order you to leave with Konan immediately!" Yahiko shouted.
Nagato stayed silent.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Finally, Yahiko let out a bitter sigh.
From the two hundred Akatsuki members present, fifty volunteered to remain behind and protect the retreat route.
Not a single one stepped back.
Every one of them already understood they would likely die here.
Yahiko himself had no intention of surrendering quietly.
With a roar, he rushed toward Hanzō atop the cliffs.
Nagato immediately followed behind him.
Seeing the two approaching, Hanzō gave a low chuckle before signaling for the encirclement to tighten further.
If he could not defeat Hayashi, then defeating these two should still be manageable.
The moment Hanzō moved, a gigantic purple salamander burst violently from beneath the ground.
Mud and shattered stone exploded outward as the massive summon lunged directly toward the Akatsuki members attempting to escape.
This was Hanzō's newly contracted summon.
His combat style relied heavily on his summon and mastery of the kusarigama. Without it, his overall strength dropped significantly.
Compared to his previous salamander, this one was far more savage.
It devoured everything in its path indiscriminately, including both Akatsuki and Amegakure shinobi alike.
Blood sprayed across the mountain trail.
Paper wings unfolded from Konan's back as she soared forward to intercept the creature.
Sheets of paper swirled around her like a storm.
"Break through immediately!" she shouted toward the remaining Akatsuki members.
Since Yahiko and Nagato entrusted the organization to her, she had no choice but to lead everyone out alive.
From the very beginning, Konan never doubted that the two of them could withstand Hanzō temporarily.
Once everyone escaped, she intended to return immediately and rescue them.
And if rescue proved impossible...
Then the three of them would simply die together.
Farther away, Yahiko and Nagato had already begun clashing with Hanzō directly.
The fifty Akatsuki members assigned to cover the retreat watched the battle with burning determination.
One of them, Amano Kyusuke, raised his weapon and roared,
"Fight to the death!"
Fifty shinobi charged directly toward two hundred Amegakure ninja without hesitation.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Danzō silently observed everything from the shadows.
He still had not ordered Root to fully engage.
For now, allowing Hanzō to exhaust both sides suited him perfectly.
All he needed to do was clean up whatever remained afterward.
At the center of the battlefield, Hanzō fought against Yahiko and Nagato simultaneously.
The iron chain attached to his kusarigama whistled sharply through the rain.
With one violent swing, the blade tore through the chest of a nearby Akatsuki shinobi instantly.
Yahiko and Nagato coordinated their attacks repeatedly, but Hanzō's speed and experience were overwhelming.
Within only a few exchanges, the two were already being suppressed.
Even while defending against them, Hanzō still found opportunities to slaughter nearby Akatsuki members effortlessly.
Yahiko's eyes reddened with frustration.
How had someone this powerful been captured by Hayashi?
Hanzō let out a cold snort.
If Danzō had not specifically ordered him to preserve the bodies intact, he would have already unleashed large-scale ninjutsu and ended the battle quickly.
Thinking about Danzō only irritated him further.
Where had that bastard gone?
Hanzō's eyes swept across the battlefield.
There were still no signs of Konoha's forces moving.
While blocking Yahiko's kick, he cursed internally.
That old man really is shameless.
They had agreed to cooperate, yet Danzō still refused to commit his forces directly.
Hanzō quickly leaped backward several meters before giving new signals to his troops.
Rather than wasting time fighting the fifty Akatsuki members head-on, he ordered his forces to bypass them entirely and massacre the escaping members below the mountain.
From the very beginning, Hanzō and Danzō never truly shared the same objective.
Hanzō wanted Akatsuki completely eradicated.
None of its members could be allowed to survive and seek revenge later.
But Danzō's goals were entirely different.
He only cared about Yahiko, Konan, and especially Nagato.
More specifically, he wanted Nagato's corpse and those legendary eyes.
As for the remaining Akatsuki members, Danzō actually hoped some of them escaped.
A damaged and chaotic Amegakure benefited Konoha far more than a stable one.
Their alliance had already begun collapsing before the battle even reached its climax.