Not long after, Minato overheard parts of Orochimaru's conversation with Konan and more or less pieced things together.
"Jiraiya-sensei… never mentioned having disciples in the Land of Rain," Minato thought to himself.
So during those years when Jiraiya had left the village, he had actually been here.
Konan's expression remained calm, but a trace of nostalgia flickered through her pale lavender eyes.
She did not answer directly. Instead, she shifted her gaze toward the other side of the village.
An orange-haired young man was striding over briskly, followed by several shinobi wearing the same black cloaks patterned with red clouds.
"I'm Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki," the orange-haired youth said with an open, refreshing smile. There was fatigue between his brows, yet his eyes still shone with youthful vitality.
"Thank you, everyone from Konoha, for escorting this batch of medical supplies. The situation in the Land of Rain right now… these things can save a lot of lives."
Orochimaru's golden slit pupils narrowed slightly as he looked Yahiko up and down.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the red-clouded black cloak.
"Akatsuki… I've heard of it," Orochimaru said slowly.
"A group active in the Land of Rain, advocating the ideal of bringing peace."
Standing beside the caravan, Kiyohara quietly observed the scene before him.
At this point in time, the Akatsuki was still far from the transnational criminal organization of S-rank missing-nin it would later become. For now, it was merely a civilian group struggling to survive in a small, war-torn country.
'Looks like Danzo hasn't come here yet to join forces with Hanzo and set the stage,' Kiyohara thought to himself.
In the original story, the Akatsuki's descent into darkness could not be separated from the interference of Konoha's so-called "The Darkness of the Shinobi," Shimura Danzo.
His words had provoked Hanzo of the Salamander's unease, leading Hanzo to decide to eliminate the Akatsuki to prevent them from threatening his position.
The Akatsuki, meanwhile, believed they had finally gained recognition from Amegakure and were about to become an official organization.
Instead, they were ambushed by Hanzo. Yahiko died there, and Nagato fell completely into darkness, determined to make the entire world feel pain.
Kiyohara didn't know how strong Yahiko was at this point, only that after being turned into the Deva Path of Pain, he was extremely powerful.
"Once the supplies are counted, we can proceed with the handover," Konan said, turning to the caravan leader and beginning to verify the number of crates.
Yahiko stepped forward a few paces and said to Minato and Orochimaru, "Actually… we've run into a bit of trouble. Amegakure patrols have been very active in this area lately. We just received a message from our companions, there may be a squad heading this way. For safety reasons, once the handover is complete, please leave as soon as possible."
Orochimaru lightly licked his lips.
"Hanzo of the Salamander's Amegakure?"
"Yes," Yahiko nodded, his expression solemn.
"Lord Hanzo has become extremely wary of all armed forces not under Amegakure's control. Our Akatsuki is also seen as an unstable factor. But I believe that one day, we will earn his recognition."
"Heh heh. Since we're already here, dealing with a bit of Amegakure to prevent damage to the supplies should still fall within the scope of the mission," Orochimaru said with a smile.
The title of the Three Sannin, which sounded so glorious, was in truth also a kind of humiliation.
After all, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya had only earned that name because they survived at the hands of Hanzo of the Salamander.
Orochimaru had no fond feelings toward Hanzo whatsoever.
"That… wouldn't be appropriate," Yahiko shook his head.
"Konoha and Amegakure are not currently at war. If you take action, it could cause diplomatic problems."
Orochimaru let out a low chuckle.
"As long as no one survives to report it, who would know Konoha was involved?"
Yahiko fell silent for several seconds. Faint chakra fluctuations were already approaching from afar—Amegakure's people were indeed closing in, and fast.
"…I understand," Yahiko finally nodded.
Orochimaru was Jiraiya-sensei's close friend, and because of that, Yahiko chose to trust him.
"Then please hide yourselves for now. Amegakure's target is us, they'll attack us directly. Once they enter the ambush range, we'll ask you to act."
Orochimaru gave a slight nod, and the Konoha group immediately dispersed and concealed themselves.
Kiyohara leapt up into a densely-leaved tree, peering through the gaps to observe the entrance to the valley.
Kakashi crouched behind a rock on the opposite side, one hand already resting on his shinobi tool pouch.
Minato's figure all but blended into the surroundings—unless one searched deliberately, his presence was almost impossible to detect.
Five minutes later, eight Ame shinobi appeared at the valley entrance.
The leading shinobi wore a conical hat, with two specially made metal umbrellas crossed on his back.
He was plump in build, yet his movements were extremely nimble, each step precisely avoiding puddles on the ground.
"Leader of the Akatsuki, Yahiko…" the chubby Amegakure jonin said coldly.
"Lord Hanzo has issued a final warning. Disband your organization or die."
Yahiko stood before the wooden crates, unyielding.
"The Akatsuki exists to help the civilians of the Land of Rain. We pose no threat to Lord Hanzo's rule. We only want to save people and bring peace."
"Naive," another Amegakure jonin sneered.
"Any force outside our control is a threat. Since you've chosen resistance…"
He formed seals with both hands.
"Water Release: Water Clone!"
Four water clones instantly appeared and, together with the original, charged toward Yahiko.
Almost simultaneously, the chubby Amegakure jonin drew the two umbrellas from his back and hurled them spinning into the air.
"Shinobi Art: Senbon Rain!"
The umbrellas opened midair as mechanisms activated, and countless senbon needles poured down like a torrential rain, covering a vast area.
At that moment, Yahiko moved.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
He took a deep breath, his chest swelling, and then violently spat out a surging torrent of water.
This was no ordinary Wild Water Wave, the sheer volume and impact far exceeded the standard version.
The raging water not only dispersed the four water clones, but also formed a massive water wall that blocked most of the falling senbon.
Watching from the tree, Kiyohara analyzed the situation rapidly.
Official records listed Yahiko's chakra natures as fire, wind, and water, with water release being his specialty.
From the looks of it, his water-release proficiency was indeed impressive, and his chakra reserves were considerable.
In the original story, his death had been so sudden mainly because he trusted Hanzo's promise—that if he died, Konan and Nagato would be spared—and chose to commit suicide on Nagato's kunai.
However, the Ame shinobi still held the numerical advantage.
The remaining six chunin attacked at once, various water-style techniques converging on Yahiko and Konan from different directions.
"Move," Orochimaru said at the critical moment.
Kiyohara vanished from the tree.
The Leaf Body Flicker Technique had been activated.
His body turned into drifting leaves, and in the next instant, he appeared behind an Ame chunin.
A flash of steel.
The shinobi blade stabbed in beneath the ribs, piercing straight through the heart.
Blood burst out with a wet sound. The Ame chunin didn't even have time to react before collapsing with eyes wide open.
Almost at the same time, Kakashi's figure streaked into the battlefield like a bolt of silver lightning.
The shrill cry of the Chidori tore through the air as blue-white lightning gathered in his right hand.
He didn't choose the frontmost jonin, but instead ambushed a chunin on the left who was in the middle of forming seals.
"Chidori!"
His palm punched straight through the man's chest. Kakashi withdrew his hand expressionlessly, dragging out a spray of blood.
Konan's Paper Release unfolded at the same time.
"Paper Shuriken Technique!"
Countless paper sheets flew from her sleeves, transforming into sharp shuriken shapes in midair and shooting toward another Ame shinobi.
Though they looked light and fluttering, under chakra enhancement they carried lethality no less than metal.
That Ame shinobi hurriedly raised a Water Barrier to defend, but the paper shuriken pierced straight through the water wall, leaving several bloody wounds across his body.
The chubby Amegakure jonin's face changed drastically.
"An ambush! Retreat!"
He didn't even finish the command.
A golden flash streaked past his side.
Minato appeared like a flash of light, his specially made kunai already buried in the back of a jonin who was about to perform Water Dragon Bullet.
"What—when did…"
The jonin looked down at the kunai tip protruding from his chest as searing pain surged through his body.
Minato pulled the kunai free, vanished again, and reappeared behind another chunin.
The Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Konoha's 'Yellow Flash'… and Orochimaru!" the chubby Amegakure jonin finally grasped the situation, his voice filled with terror.
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
But it was already too late.
Orochimaru slowly rose from the ground directly in front of him.
The Ame jonin froze on the spot.
"Since you're here," Orochimaru said hoarsely, "don't leave."
In the next instant, his neck stretched violently, shooting forward like a cannonball.
The Ame jonin didn't even have time to react before Orochimaru bit down on the side of his neck.
"Gah!"
Poison injected.
The jonin's skin darkened visibly as he struggled in vain, the umbrellas slipping from his hands and clattering to the ground.
Orochimaru's neck retracted, returning to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Kiyohara recognized the technique, Soft Physique Modification. By altering his body, Orochimaru gained the serpentine flexibility to perform movements far beyond human limits.
The remaining battle ended swiftly. Genma's senbon sealed off the escape routes of two chunin attempting to flee.
Kurenai had already cast a genjutsu, controlling a Rain shinobi who was about to counter Konan with illusion. Kurenai's mastery of genjutsu was clearly superior; the enemy's technique was disrupted before it could even take form.
Kiyohara, meanwhile, manipulated iron sand to form three massive spears.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Great Spears!"
The black spears whistled through the air, piercing the chest of the final Amegakure chunin and pinning him to the rock wall.
Kiyohara sheathed his blade and, out of habit, walked toward the bodies. He took out sealing scrolls from his shinobi pouch and began looting the spoils—shinobi tools, scrolls, money, even relatively intact uniforms.
His movements were smooth and efficient, clearly not his first time doing this.
Yahiko and Konan watched the scene, their expressions complicated.
Konan frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Yahiko stepped forward and bowed deeply to Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato.
"Thank you for your assistance. Without you, we would not have won this battle so smoothly today."
Orochimaru waved his hand indifferently.
"Just a transaction. We dealt with your pursuers, and you're spared further retaliation from Amegakure—of course, they won't know Konoha was involved."
He glanced at the corpses scattered across the ground.
"No survivors. But Amegakure will eventually notice that this squad has gone missing. They may increase their search efforts. What happens next will depend on your own capabilities."
Minato added, "Yahiko, I greatly admire the ideals of the Akatsuki. But in this era, ideals alone are not enough."
Yahiko nodded solemnly.
"I understand. Once again, thank you."
(End of Chapter)