Uchiha Fugaku nodded. This made Uchiha Itachi's heart suddenly stir. It seemed like coming to his master's place wasn't so bad. His master looked very gentle, not as strict as his father. And, and there were lots of delicious foods.
"I am willing." Uchiha Itachi said with a nod, looking at Ryun with hopeful eyes. Ryun smiled and nodded, then patted his head. "Good, then it is settled. Later, as long as you perform well, your master will buy you snacks."
"Mm, mm." Uchiha Itachi nodded, his eyes shining. What a wonderful master this was. If it were his father, if he failed a mission, his father's face would be as dark as a pot bottom. He wouldn't speak, just radiate a gloomy aura.
It scared the baby to death.
But fortunately, he could get closer to his master from now on. Presumably, his master wouldn't be very fierce. All of the above were Uchiha Itachi's true thoughts. In his eyes, Uchiha Fugaku was practically a devil.
Little did he know, when Ryun was ruthless, Uchiha Fugaku was nothing in comparison.
Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Itachi's expression and sneered inwardly. Hah, you're celebrating too early, little guy. Your master is the man who quelled two Great Shinobi World Wars.
And so, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi stayed at Ryun's house until noon. They left after lunch. As they were leaving, Uchiha Itachi called out sweetly, "Goodbye, Master's Wife, goodbye, Master. See you tomorrow."
"Mm, see you tomorrow, little Itachi. And Fugaku, that chocolate is from me to him. He can eat it however he wants. Don't say a word about it." Tsunade said to Uchiha Itachi with a smile, then looked at Fugaku with a stern face.
Fugaku had no choice but to nod. Then, holding the chocolate in one hand and clutching Uchiha Itachi's small hand with the other, he slowly left Ryun's villa.
Ryun saw this and smiled. He took Tsunade's hand and they went back inside the house.
Land of Rain
At this moment, Uzumaki Nagato was training in the Land of Rain with Jiraiya. Because the Third Great Shinobi War did not take place in the Land of Rain, the country was relatively peaceful and stable.
"Oh, Nagato, you've improved a lot. You can already control the Rinnegan proficiently." Jiraiya smiled and gave Uzumaki Nagato a thumbs up. Uzumaki Nagato smiled slightly. "Teacher, why have we come to the Land of Rain?"
"Nagato, what have you learned from these years of traveling through various countries with me?" Jiraiya did not directly answer Uzumaki Nagato's question, but instead wanted to test him.
Uzumaki Nagato was stunned. He did not answer immediately, but thought about the journey of the past few years. He said seriously, "Teacher, war only brings pain to people. It is not easy for the common people to live and work in peace."
"Correct, you are right. The entire Shinobi World is constantly at war. Everyone launches wars arbitrarily for resources, for population, for power. If you were a shinobi from a small country, you would understand this even more clearly." Jiraiya began his political lesson again.
"Teacher is right. But hasn't this situation improved a lot in recent years? With the Hokage in power restraining the Five Great Nations, wars have decreased significantly. Moreover, even if there are ambitious people like those from Kumogakure, weren't they suppressed by the Hokage immediately?" Uzumaki Nagato asked.
Jiraiya was momentarily stumped. He thought about it and it seemed true. The two walked in the fields, neither speaking.
Then, a group of people suddenly arrived. The leaders were an orange haired spiky haired man and a blue haired woman. Behind them followed shinobi carrying farming tools, cultivating in the fields.
"Brothers, we must work hard this year too. The Land of Rain is getting better and better now, thanks to Lord Hanzo and Lord Ryun." The leading man waved his hand, his face full of smiles.
The blue haired girl nodded. "Correct, we must farm the land well this year too. The existence of our Akatsuki organization is to promote the beauty of peace." She clenched her fist and spoke to the shinobi behind her.
"Akatsuki organization." Nagato was stunned. Hearing this name, he felt a sense of destiny. And he felt he could get along well with the two leaders, as if the three of them should have known each other long ago.
"Hmm, the Akatsuki organization. I heard it's a new force within the Land of Rain. They aim to spread peace and let the people rest. Although they are composed of shinobi, they have a good relationship with the common people. Oh. Right, Nagato, should we go greet them." Jiraiya said with a laugh.
Uzumaki Nagato, for some reason, nodded as if possessed. But he mostly kept his eyes on the blue haired girl. She is so beautiful, so cute.
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. Was his disciple already falling for her. It's the first meeting. You're making your teacher lose face. But he shook his head and led Nagato over.
The orange haired man and blue haired woman who were farming in the fields suddenly paused, feeling a sense of intertwined destiny. They simultaneously looked up at Jiraiya and Uzumaki Nagato.
"You two are." The orange haired man smiled. His smile was clean, and his voice was steady, giving a reliable feeling.
"Oh, we are shinobi from Konoha. I am Jiraiya. He is my disciple, Uzumaki Nagato." Jiraiya introduced them casually, then pointed at the dull looking Uzumaki Nagato beside him.
Uzumaki Nagato nodded. "Hello, I am Uzumaki Nagato, a Konoha shinobi." After speaking, he extended his hand to shake hands with the two. The orange haired man laughed heartily. "Pleased to meet you. I am Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki organization. This beside me is Konan, the second in command of Akatsuki." After speaking, he extended his hand and shook Nagato's hand.
The moment their hands met, Uzumaki Nagato's heart beat strangely. This feeling was wonderful, and it was the first time he had felt it, as if he and the man in front of him were very compatible.
Yahiko also felt this, but he shook his head. The other party was a Konoha shinobi, he was a Rain shinobi. How could it be. He shouldn't have such thoughts.
Then, he let go. Konan also offered her hand. "Nagato, I always feel like this name is very familiar. I feel a natural closeness to you. Do you want to join our Akatsuki organization." Konan gave a sweet smile.
This utterly charmed Nagato. He almost blurted out 'yes'. But Jiraiya pinched him and brought his mouth to his ear. "Nagato, can't you have a little more backbone. With one beauty trap, you're ready to join."
Uzumaki Nagato snapped back to reality. He shook his head and let go of the hand. Konan simply smiled faintly and said nothing. After all, she was aware of her own charm. As for recruiting Nagato, it was a spur of the moment idea.
"Konan, you are still so mischievous. He is a Konoha shinobi, we are Rain shinobi. How could that be possible." Yahiko helplessly rubbed his forehead.
Konan walked behind him and stuck out her tongue, then winked at Nagato.
Uzumaki Nagato smiled slightly. "It is fine. By the way, can you tell me about your Akatsuki organization. I am very interested." Uzumaki Nagato suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Yahiko's eyes lit up. He pulled Nagato over. "Heh, let me tell you. This goes back to eight years ago." Yahiko told the story of his and Konan's origins. They were originally immigrants living near the Land of Rain. Eight years ago, the Konoha army set foot on this land.
They attacked the Land of Rain. Their families were all very afraid, fearing the war would affect them. But the reality was not what they imagined. The Konoha army was strictly disciplined, committing no crimes against the common people. They even gave them food and bought things from them with money.
Yahiko's father was the leader of these immigrants. Seeing Konoha so polite, he set his mind at ease. He told everyone the Konoha army were good people, just here to punish Hanzo who started the war. As immigrants, he did not have a strong sense of belonging to the Land of Rain at that time.
Konan was also from that village and saw this scene. Because she was cute, the Konoha shinobi even gave her many delicious foods and sent medical ninja to treat her mother's illness. This made her very grateful to Konoha.
The two asked why that unit acted this way. They heard a shinobi say, "This is the order of Commander Uchiha Ryun."
The name Uchiha Ryun was planted in the hearts of these immigrants from that time.
Uzumaki Nagato was stunned. Seeing that their expressions didn't seem fake, he couldn't help but recall that Brother Ryun was indeed like that. He couldn't help but smile.
"Brother Ryun really is a very gentle person," Uzumaki Nagato suddenly said.
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. Gentle. How could he not remember that? Beating the Kazekage to death in three strikes, instantly killing Kato Dan, leading the Senju in battle against the Iwa-nin, controlling the Five-Tails to wreak havoc— the more he thought about it, the more wrong it sounded. In the end, he simply stopped thinking altogether.
"Seeing that the strongest among you have Jonin-level strength, how did you train?" Jiraiya voiced his doubt, asking Yahiko and the others how they extracted chakra and trained.
"This, it is also related to Konoha. At that time, Rain shinobi were depleted. Lord Hanzo began lowering the requirements for recruiting shinobi, distributing the Chakra Extraction Method to everyone. We embarked on the path of cultivation relying on that Chakra Extraction Method." Konan said with a smile.
Jiraiya nodded. Reasonable, very reasonable.
Uzumaki Nagato looked at the two, his expression somewhat hesitant. To be honest, listening to Yahiko and Konan's account, he felt somewhat drawn to this organization. Then he suddenly looked at Jiraiya and tugged his sleeve.
"Teacher, can I." He hesitated, then felt it was probably impossible.
Who was Jiraiya. He immediately understood Uzumaki Nagato's intention. But he could not make the decision. "Nagato, this matter must be known by the Hokage. Otherwise, my word does not count."
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. If Nagato were just an ordinary shinobi, he naturally wouldn't say anything. But Nagato had two Rinnegan in his eyes. That made it complicated.
Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan, was not just a simple shinobi. He was an existence comparable to a Tailed Beast.
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