There was a long silence.
Young Obito stiffly rolled the mission scroll back up and put it into his ninja tool pouch. Then he took out the camera Naruto had won from the lottery and snapped a picture of Hanzō of the Salamander and Danzō Shimura deep in discussion.
Beside him, Kakashi found a scroll and recorded their entire conversation.
Rin knelt beside Konan with her head lowered, her expression hidden, and no one knew what she was thinking.
The three of them remained silent, making the atmosphere feel stifling.
Konan did not know what was written on that scroll that made the three of them look like this after reading it. But she knew where to draw the line, so she did not ask directly.
Besides, after hearing about Hanzō of the Salamander and Danzō Shimura's conspiracy, she felt a lingering fear and once again expressed her gratitude to the three of them.
"Thank goodness. If we hadn't met you, we might truly have been in danger. The Akatsuki organization has only just begun moving and is still immature. It might even have been wiped out because of this."
Thinking of what could have happened, Konan, who had been saved by Naruto, Young Obito, and the others, felt a wave of fear. In that instant, she seemed to mature quite a bit.
Indeed, just as Hanzō of the Salamander and Danzō Shimura had said.
She, Yahiko, and Nagato were still too young. Everything had been going smoothly for them so far, and more and more like-minded companions had gathered around them.
Because of that, they had almost forgotten that the ninja world was not as bright as it appeared on the surface. In the darkness, countless dangers were still quietly growing.
At the same time, the three students of Team Minato fell silent just like Konan.
How could Konan of this world possibly imagine that all of them came from other parallel worlds?
And she could never have imagined that in the version of the story known to Obito, Kakashi, and Rin, the Akatsuki organization really did fall apart at this moment, and a brand-new Missing-nin organization appeared in the Ninja World.
S-rank Missing-nin wearing black robes patterned with red clouds became the strongest Missing-nin organization in the Ninja World.
Those who do not understand pain cannot know the value of peace.
Let the world feel pain.
That became the new guiding principle of the Akatsuki organization after its rebirth.
And the one who pushed all of this forward was the Masked Man from many parallel worlds, Obito Uchiha.
Konan was not the only one who needed to grow. It was even more necessary for Yahiko and Nagato.
...
At that moment, the real Yahiko and Nagato were about to reach the valley where they had agreed to meet Hanzō of the Salamander.
"Nagato, thank you."
"Why are you thanking me at a time like this?" the shy red-haired young man asked, amused.
The orange-haired young man smiled and shook his head as well. "Because you and Konan are by my side, I can firmly believe that I can make all of this happen."
Nagato placed his hand on Yahiko's shoulder. "No, that's not right. It should be because Konan and I have you that we found the courage to keep living in this chaotic world and find a direction for our lives, instead of drifting aimlessly and being forced to struggle through this cruel world."
Yahiko was slightly startled, then scratched his cheek.
"When you put it like that, you're making me a little embarrassed."
Nagato laughed too, warm and gentle.
His straight, medium-length red hair and skin even fairer than Konan's, despite her being a girl, made Yahiko unable to resist reaching out with a smile and ruffling that beautiful red hair.
"We'll always be together."
Looking ahead, he sighed with emotion. "We're about to meet Hanzō. I never thought our ideal of peace would be realized so quickly."
"Mm."
After passing through the last stretch of rainforest, the two saw Hanzō of the Salamander.
And...
Konan, held in his grip.
As well as the fully armed, battle-ready Kirigakure ninjas!
No words were needed. Beneath the dim curtain of rain, the atmosphere instantly became tense.
There was none of the goodwill mentioned in the letter. Standing above them, Hanzō of the Salamander looked down at them with not the slightest intention of negotiating in his eyes.
"Hanzō..."
Yahiko's pupils contracted sharply, trembling in his eyes.
"Hmph. How naive, you young fools."
That cruel laugh crushed Yahiko's confidence.
Hanzō of the Salamander held Konan, whose hands were tied, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Did you really think I would acknowledge some third-rate organization that rose up among the civilians?"
"What... are you saying..." Yahiko murmured in disbelief.
Hanzō of the Salamander said, "As you can see, your comrade is in my hands. If you want to save her, it's very simple. All I need is for you, the leader of the Akatsuki organization, to die here. Then I'll let her and the man beside you leave. How about it?"
The pouring rain battered their bodies, making them look especially wretched in that moment.
Nagato had been stunned from the moment he saw the scene before him.
Now he looked at Konan, then at Yahiko, completely at a loss.
"What do we do? Yahiko, what do we do?"
But Yahiko could not answer him either. All of his attention was on Hanzō of the Salamander.
Konan, who had been captured by Hanzō of the Salamander, in other words, Naruto Uzumaki, was desperately signaling to the two of them. To tell them that he was not the real Konan, he was blinking so hard his eyes were about to cramp.
At the same time, he was anxious inside, wondering whether his dad and the others had succeeded in stopping Obito of this world, and whether Yahiko and Nagato's companions had managed to catch up and warn them that those two old villains, Danzō and Hanzō, were up to no good.
He, Sasuke, and Sakura, who were standing among the Ame Ninjas behind him, had no way of knowing that such a huge mistake had happened on Minato Namikaze's side. Not only had Adult Obito gone and died outright, but their progress had also been greatly delayed.
"Thinking of resisting?"
Hanzō of the Salamander pressed a kunai against "Konan's" neck.
Standing behind them, Sakura and Sasuke were just as tense as Yahiko and Nagato.
"If you resist, this woman dies."
Yahiko, Nagato, Sasuke, Sakura, and Rin, Obito, Kakashi, and the real Konan inside Kamui's Dimension all hated Hanzō of the Salamander and Danzō Shimura so much their teeth itched.
With the kunai held against his neck, Naruto used Konan's face to make an exaggerated, ridiculous expression, so over the top it left people speechless.
Although Yahiko and Nagato found it strange, they did not believe Hanzō of the Salamander would have captured the wrong person.
Yahiko still wanted to try one last time. "Is there really... no other way?! Can't we settle this through negotiation...?"
"Hahahaha!!"
Hanzō of the Salamander burst out laughing. "Only young people like you could be this naive. Do you really think that I, as the leader of Amegakure, would trust you that easily?"
"No, I would not!" He shook his head. "Even if you said Akatsuki wanted to join Amegakure, I still would not agree, because..."
He paused. "I will not trust an organization created by a child raised by Konoha ninjas!"
Yahiko and Nagato never imagined these people had discovered that their teacher was Jiraiya. And because of the teacher they were so proud of, Hanzō of the Salamander would not trust them no matter what.
Yahiko and Nagato's hearts were thrown into intense conflict and turmoil.
"Clack!"
Hanzō of the Salamander threw the kunai in his hand in front of the two of them.
"You, red-haired one."
Nagato froze.
"Now use this kunai to kill the man beside you."
"!!!!"
Nagato stared at Hanzō's cruel face in terror.
"As long as you kill him, I'll spare you and this woman."
Naruto, disguised as Konan, was so furious his teeth ached.
"That's despicable!"
Hanzō of the Salamander snorted coldly. "You think I'm despicable? That only proves you're young and don't understand the hatred and danger of this ninja world."
Naruto lowered his head and said nothing. He absolutely refused to accept Hanzō of the Salamander's words.
In the illusion, he had personally witnessed the full course of the Fourth Shinobi World War. In order to survive, and in order to protect the people they cared about, more than a hundred thousand ninjas cast aside their hatred and called one another comrades. Together, they fought the enemies of the entire Ninja World!
"Nagato, kill me."
Yahiko spoke.
Nagato's pupils shook violently. Whether it was Konan dying or Yahiko dying, he could not accept either one.
...
Konan, inside Young Obito's Kamui's Dimension, was so frightened that she demanded to be let out immediately.
"No. There are too many enemies. Even if all of us go out, we won't be able to do anything!" Young Kakashi did not know whether something had happened on Minato-sensei's side, or why he had not arrived yet.
How could Konan not be anxious? "Even so, I still have to fight together with Yahiko and Nagato! Besides, isn't your comrade in Hanzō's hands too?!"
"Wait a little longer," Young Obito reassured her. "Don't worry. I have a way to keep Yahiko and Nagato safe." It could also count as atonement for himself in other parallel worlds.
Konan was torn.
By then, under Yahiko's urging, Nagato had already picked up the kunai from the ground.
"Yah..."
Nagato slowly turned his head.
But who could have expected that Yahiko, already prepared to die, would throw himself straight onto the kunai in his hand?
It was as if he heard the sound of the kunai piercing his heart.
Nagato's eyes went wide.
At the same time, Konan inside Young Obito's Kamui's Dimension was stunned as well, as if her soul had left her body.
What was going on?!
Didn't he say he had a way to save them?!
At that moment, Sakura and Sasuke had already exchanged a look.
Everything was going according to plan!
Move!
Naruto was faster than both of them. He was not actually a girl, and at not even thirteen years old, he was still basically a child. He had no warrior's pride or image to worry about.
With both hands restrained, he bit down hard on Hanzō of the Salamander's wrist.
Hanzō of the Salamander, who had not been injured in many years, cried out in pain and instinctively kicked the "woman" in his hand down, then stepped on her to keep her under control.
"Poof!"
Naruto returned to his original form.
"What?!"
Hanzō of the Salamander stared in shock at the blond boy beneath his foot.
"A Konoha...?!"
Danzō Shimura, who had been lying in ambush among the Rain Ninjas, was dumbfounded too.
Why was there a young Konoha ninja here?!
"Damn it!" Danzō Shimura cursed inwardly.
No matter what he said, the suspicious Hanzō of the Salamander would definitely blame him for seeing a Konoha ninja here and for that woman being swapped out.
That was right. It was exactly as Danzō Shimura had feared.
Hanzō thought Danzō had joined forces with Akatsuki to turn against him!