After a round of discussion, the decision was finalized: Hoshiyomi would personally go into battle against the Third Raikage.
Hoshiyomi would set out early the next morning, leading thirty jōnin and one hundred seventy chūnin and genin—a total of two hundred shinobi—to Kikyo Pass. From there, they would march to Sunagakure to help defend against the Third Raikage's attack.
While the meeting in Konoha had just concluded, far away in the Land of Rain, the Akatsuki's meeting at their base was still underway.
At the head of the round table sat Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato. On either side were the loyal subordinates they had gathered over the years.
At that moment, a slightly overweight subordinate was speaking loudly, giving his opinion:
"Lord Yahiko, we can't go on like this. Hanzō's lackeys are constantly searching inside Amegakure for traces of us, and many of our brothers have already died without reason. If you keep insisting on fighting outside, our Akatsuki will soon be destroyed by enemies from both inside and out."
Hearing this squad leader's words, the other squad leaders began whispering among themselves. His words had struck a nerve—they all felt the same.
The reason they joined Akatsuki in the first place wasn't only Yahiko's charisma. More importantly, within Akatsuki they had found unity, protection, and the strength to resist being bullied.
But now their comrades were being slaughtered by Amegakure's own forces, while their leader still wanted to defend the village's land from foreign invasion. If this continued, something terrible was bound to happen.
As the voices of dissent grew louder, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato frowned. Konan and Nagato had no solution; their gazes naturally fell on Yahiko.
Yahiko looked around at everyone, his fists tightening as memories of the past six years flashed through his mind.
Ever since Jiraiya had left Amegakure, the three of them had founded Akatsuki together. After six or seven years of growth and struggle, Akatsuki had become strong enough to stand against Hanzō's rule.
Such rapid development, of course, had alarmed the weary Hanzō. No longer dreaming of dominating the ninja world, Hanzō only wanted to shrink back into Amegakure and die while still holding the title of its leader.
But the rise of Akatsuki had triggered his caution. He sensed the danger: if Akatsuki continued to grow unchecked, his position might not be secure for long.
So Hanzō chose to strike first, launching a massive purge of Akatsuki within the village.
Normally, Akatsuki—already a movement with momentum and broad popular support—would not have feared Hanzō's crackdown.
But now, in the midst of the Third Great Ninja War, how could they stand by and let foreign enemies ravage Amegakure? The very reason Akatsuki had been founded was to protect their homeland.
Recalling his original dream, Yahiko's eyes hardened with resolve.
Bang!
Yahiko slowly stood up, placing both hands on the table. Under Konan and Nagato's bewildered gaze, he slammed his forehead against the solid wood table.
"Everyone, please stop talking. I will not change my mind. I grew up in this country that never stops crying. My parents died in the Second Great Ninja War, and from that moment, I formed my ideal.
I will use my strength to protect this weeping land!"
All these years, I have trained hard for the sake of realizing this dream. But it is not enough—relying on me alone is not enough to stop this country's tears.
That is why I founded the Akatsuki and found all of you. I believe that with you here, with our shared efforts, my dream—our dream—will surely come true.
Since our original goal was to protect this country, how can we now abandon that dream and instead turn against Hanzō?
If we did that, how would we be any different from the current Hanzō?
So, I ask everyone to forgive me one last time for being stubborn. I… still want to protect this country!"
Yahiko's words and actions silenced everyone present. At that moment, all eyes were on him—on the striking blood streaming down his forehead, and on his blazing, resolute gaze.
Somehow, an indescribable strength welled up in everyone's hearts—a strength born of trust and admiration. With such a leader, what complaints could they possibly have left?
Konan and Nagato looked at Yahiko beside them, their eyes overflowing with admiration. Truly, Yahiko was worthy of being the eldest of the three, resolving in an instant the dilemma they themselves had been helpless to address.
With Yahiko here, surely the Land of Rain would one day cease to weep!
Nearly everyone present, at that moment, came to the same conclusion: Yahiko was absolutely the savior of this country.
Only one person wore the same expression of admiration as the others, but inwardly scoffed. This was the squad leader disguised as Tobi—or rather, Tobi inhabiting the body of Danzo.
"Yare yare… what a predicament. I don't know if having a leader like this is our luck or misfortune, but a leader is a leader, right? Even a fool must be obeyed."
With a playful tone, Tobi was the first to raise his hand in support. Following his lead, more and more squad leaders stood up, pledging their loyalty and swearing to follow Yahiko unto death.
As others shouted their cheers, Tobi silently sat back down. Blending into the crowd, he gazed at Yahiko, his eyes full of both regret and disdain.
Regret—for Yahiko's character. In a way, Yahiko was a natural-born leader, even carrying a trace of the charisma that Madara once described in Hashirama. But unfortunately, he was not born in a village where he could fully unleash his potential.
Disdain—for Yahiko's intelligence and strength. Despite his natural charisma, he was destined to be unable to lead Akatsuki forward any longer.
One reason was that his strength was simply too weak. As he was now, he had no way of overcoming the crisis of enemies both within and without.
Another was that the Hashirama cells, specially prepared by Hiruko for Nagato, had already been successfully developed. The completion of this reagent marked the beginning of Madara's plan.
Once the plan began, Yahiko's fate was already sealed. As the chosen pawn meant to make Nagato experience true despair and fully awaken the Rinnegan, his end could only slide irreversibly toward tragedy.
Come to think of it, the letter he had arranged should already be lying on Hanzō's desk. Once Hanzō took the bait, Madara's plan could proceed smoothly.
Such a perfect way to eliminate the Akatsuki once and for all—there was no way Hanzō would refuse it. He would definitely lure Akatsuki out under the pretense of peace talks, exactly as planned.
And Yahiko, without doubt, would seize that chance and attend the talks.
What a pity. This gathering carried the hopes of so many people… but in the end, all of those hopes would turn into despair.