"The intelligence is accurate."
At night, atop a mountain peak.
Yahiko watched as a large group of wandering ninja slowly approached the Rain Country remnants' base. His voice couldn't hide his excitement.
After so many days of waiting, finally came this perfect opportunity.
"That's also because their organization is disorganized."
"Wandering ninja will never become true warriors."
Nonou showed no sign of pride.
In a normal Hidden Village, such a secret military deployment would never be so easily discovered by her.
"Anyway, this is all thanks to you."
Yahiko kept his eyes locked on the movements of the wandering ninja without shifting his gaze.
"If it's such a big contribution, what reward are you planning to give me?"
Konan was clearly in a playful mood, idly twirling a paper flower in her fingers.
As leader, everyone had no objection toward Yahiko.
The only one who slightly disagreed was Kakuzu—and he could only keep it to himself.
"I'll just reward Nagato to you, how about that?"
This time, Yahiko turned his head to look at Nagato, wearing a mischievous grin on his face.
"I wholeheartedly support that!"
Konan was definitely number one when it came to teasing.
"Did you even bother to ask me first?"
Nagato rolled his eyes in annoyance—was this really the time for jokes?
"What? You're not happy about it?"
At those words, Nonou's expression darkened.
If Nagato dared say he wasn't pleased, he wouldn't live to regret it.
"No way! I'm also raising both hands in full support."
Nagato relented begrudgingly. Dealing with women and petty men was always a headache.
"Now that sounds better."
Only then did Nonou nod in satisfaction, a slight smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"Enough messing around. When do we move?"
"If we arrive too late, there might be nobody left worth using."
Kakuzu had no patience for their banter and cut in.
"Just a little longer. We'll move out in fifteen minutes."
"If they can't last fifteen minutes, what good are they to us?"
Yahiko had no intention of recruiting a bunch of useless people—he needed elites.
"Fine."
Nagato nodded in agreement, and after that, no one spoke again, silently watching how things unfolded.
Not long afterward, the wandering ninja successfully eliminated the hidden sentries of the Rain Country remnants.
With explosions ringing out, soon followed the deafening cries echoing across the sky.
The two sides officially engaged in battle.
"It's begun."
Yahiko's expression turned serious. He hoped the Rain Country remnants could hold out until they intervened.
"There's an obvious gap in strength. They're constantly retreating."
Nagato could clearly sense the situation—the Rain Country remnants were suffering heavy losses from this night raid.
They were already weak to begin with—the ambush only made things worse.
"Well, nothing can be done about that."
"Many of their elites were lost during the Land of Rain's Civil War."
"It's impressive they resisted foreign forces for this long."
Nonou hadn't been spying all these years for nothing; she knew plenty about external intel as well.
"All the better then. At least those left have some skill."
Kakuzu's green pupils gleamed intensely, eerily piercing through the darkness of night.
He hoped tonight would yield a few worthy hearts.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. The cries of battle still echoed from the battlefield.
"Departure."
With a sweep of his large hand, Yahiko leaped off the peak first, heading straight for the battlefield.
Kakuzu followed closely behind. He couldn't wait to get his hands dirty.
All the frustration he had endured recently would be unleashed soon.
And if he could kill a few bounty-marked ninja, that would be even better.
"Wait for me."
Konan unfurled her paper wings and soared skyward, quickly catching up.
"We should move out too."
Noyu nodded and set off alongside Nagato.
The journey was long, but thanks to her flight, Konan arrived ahead despite departing late.
As soon as she arrived, she spotted several Rain ninjas encircled by roaming ninja.
Despair filled their eyes; death seemed certain.
Just as the cold edge of kunai neared their throats, a cool female voice came from midair.
"Daring to kill my fellow countrymen in the Land of Rain? You're looking for death."
Konan played the part dramatically, her face flushed crimson with rage.
The moment the words left her mouth, she swung her wings, unleashing hundreds of paper senbon like rain upon the roaming ninja.
These wandering ninja were at best lowly Chunin—not a match for Konan.
Within moments, they were riddled with paper senbon.
"Thank you!"
The Rain ninjas, saved from certain death, couldn't stop thanking her.
"Follow me—we need to go support the others."
Konan didn't want to waste time lingering and led the group toward the thick of the battle.
Explosions rang out everywhere as she was no longer holding back.
After arriving, Yahiko glanced at Konan, then made up his mind and followed.
A knot of worry twisted in his gut—if anything happened to Konan, he'd never forgive himself.
Once reunited, Yahiko and Konan worked together seamlessly.
Konan's paper ninja tools flew in all directions while Yahiko wielded his water blades, cutting through enemies like a reaper.
The foot soldiers stood no chance against them—easy prey.
The rescued Rain ninjas were bursting with adrenaline, following behind the duo collecting kills.
Before long, the two drew attention from the wandering ninja leadership, and several Jonin quickly surrounded them.
This finally slowed their rampage.
But it was just a distraction at best. The gap between them and Yahiko and Konan was still far too great.
Deadly black threads danced around Kakuzu like razor-sharp blades. Even the rescued Rain ninjas trembled in fear—they wanted nothing more than to put distance between themselves and Kakuzu.
[Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade]
After killing over a dozen roaming ninja, Kakuzu finally spotted an opponent with Jonin-level strength.
"I'll be taking your heart."
Thankfully, the Jonin wasn't a Water Nature type—just barely meeting Kakuzu's standards.
In less than three exchanges, that Jonin's heart became Kakuzu's trophy.
[Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!]
Immediately after seizing the heart, Kakuzu launched a fire technique toward a distant group of wandering ninja.
Like a tidal wave of fire crashing ashore, it instantly spread and consumed every wandering ninja who hadn't evaded in time.
"That was satisfying!"
Kakuzu, having restored part of his power, was extremely pleased.
Without sparing a glance at the Rain ninjas he had saved, Kakuzu charged alone once again into the enemy ranks.
In comparison, Nagato and Nonou were the most merciful.
[Green Chakra Light] shimmered in both of their palms.
No cries echoed, no blood spilled.
Wherever they moved, silence followed, enemies falling still in their wake.
"Follow us—breakthrough!"
Nagato led the rescued Rain ninjas toward Yahiko's position, pushing forward through resistance.
Their ultimate goal was saving lives rather than one-sided slaughter.
Victory brought solely by their intervention would not be a good outcome.
When the five Akatsuki members finally met, the Jonins surrounding Yahiko suddenly felt the pressure mount.
"These people who suddenly appeared are way too strong."
A wandering ninja, just thrown back by Yahiko, muttered grimly to his companion.
"Dammit, the ambush was going fine until now."
"All ruined by those few guys."
The wandering ninja couldn't help but curse.
"Just push harder and eliminate them."
Another wandering ninja still didn't grasp how serious things had become.
They wouldn't have lasted this long if not for Yahiko and the others pulling their punches.
A kunai struck Yahiko in the gut, forcing him to one knee.
"Go."
Nagato seized Yahiko's arm and shouted at the Rain ninjas behind them to fall back.
His hand had already pressed against Yahiko's wound.
"I'll cover your retreat."
Kakuzu dramatically unleashed a massive [Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique], creating a barrier between the two groups.
By the time the wandering ninjas tried to give chase, there wasn't a soul in sight.
Ultimately, the night raid failed to fully eliminate the remnants of the Land of Rain.
Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade – Please bookmark: (m.***)