The same stone house Dazen had used earlier as a classroom now bore a new sign at its entrance: Reception Hall. Inside, the members of Akatsuki sat cross-legged, sipping hot tea to ward off the chill. Crude though the temporary encampment was, a warm cup was still something they could provide.
Meanwhile, the jōnin of the Koeda Clan had gathered in another stone house to hold a private clan meeting.
"Yūsuke, what in the world happened?" Dazen fixed him with a piercing look. "What did you encounter during your scouting mission? How did you end up entangled with members of Akatsuki? Do you realize that dealing with them could easily provoke a Ame-nin assault?"
"Eh? Clan Head, you know of this organization?"
Instead of answering, Yūsuke blurted the question out instinctively.
"Of course he does. Did you think we were dragging our clan around without preparation?" Seinosuke barked. He continued, "Back when we agreed to rendezvous with the Kiri-nin in the Land of Rivers, we already chose to pass through the Land of Rain. Naturally, we investigated its situation in advance."
Here his words slowed. With a furrowed brow, he added grimly, "But our time was short, and our movements were already constrained. We only managed a rough assessment. What we found was that the Land of Rain appears to be in a state of civil strife. A group called Akatsuki suddenly rose to prominence in recent years, openly challenging Amegakure. The two sides are locked in a struggle, overt and covert alike... That is all the intelligence we gathered."
"Clan Head, this is my fault." Seinosuke lowered his head. "I should have passed this information to Yūsuke and Kyoichi. If Yūsuke had known, he wouldn't have been dragged into Amegakure and Akatsuki's conflict."
But before Dazen could respond—
"It wouldn't have mattered."
Yūsuke spoke first.
He looked at Dazen and Seinosuke, his voice quiet. "Even if I had known, it wouldn't have changed my fate. Today I stumbled upon two Ame-nin jōnin pursuing that Akatsuki member called Konan. They immediately treated me as an enemy and attacked. No amount of explanation could change that."
His face twisted with helplessness. "At that moment, I had only two choices—resist, or surrender. There was no third option."
Yes. No choice at all.
Hearing his account, Seinosuke—who had tried to shoulder the blame—fell silent. Indeed, in such a situation, knowing or not knowing Akatsuki's feud with Amegakure made no difference. The Ame-nin, long accustomed to tyranny within their land, were never reasonable opponents. A clash was inevitable.
After several seconds of heavy silence, Dazen spoke.
"This is no one's fault."
With firm finality, he closed the matter. His gaze shifted from Seinosuke to Yūsuke. "Yūsuke, you were right—the entanglement was unavoidable. But tell me: why did you bring Akatsuki here?"
"It's my way of making amends for my failure."
Yūsuke's eyes lowered, his voice tinged with defeat. "When I fought back, I killed one of the Ame-nin, but the other escaped. Later, we were ambushed on the road. Fortunately, Akatsuki reinforcements arrived in time. That gave me the thought—perhaps we could borrow Akatsuki's strength to guard against further Ame-nin attacks."
"Yūsuke, you—!"
Seinosuke's brows shot up, his temper flaring as he opened his mouth to scold.
"Enough, Seinosuke. Silence. I said—this is no one's fault."
Dazen's stern voice cut him off, halting the outburst in its tracks. His own brow furrowed deeply as he continued solemnly: "Yūsuke already did all he could. In his position, even I might not have done better. What matters is that he's thought of a way to remedy the situation."
He cast Seinosuke a long, steady look.
"..."
Seinosuke clenched his jaw, saying nothing. His earlier anger ebbed, giving way to reason. He realized Yūsuke had indeed done as well as anyone could. His initial reaction had been nothing but harsh, demanding perfection in a circumstance where perfection was impossible.
To put it bluntly—
it was easy to criticize from the sidelines.
Even he himself could not claim he'd have fared better against two Ame-nin jōnin.
Yes, shinobi of the lesser villages were generally weaker than those of the Great Villages—but Amegakure was the exception. Under the command of the Demigod Hanzō of the Salamander, Amegakure had once aspired to rise as the sixth great village. Though that ambition had failed, their strength was real. Ame-nin could match blades with the best of the Five Great Villages.
For Yūsuke to kill one in a two-on-one battle was already remarkable.
"Yūsuke, you say you'd rely on Akatsuki's strength against the Ame-nin. But can you truly persuade them to help?"
At last, Kyoichi—who had been silent until now—spoke. His question drew Dazen and Seinosuke's attention back to Yūsuke.
"It's not persuasion." Yūsuke shook his head. "In saving Konan, I earned their debt. Later, Akatsuki's leader—Yahiko, the young man with orange hair—told me that in gratitude, I could ask anything of him. So long as it lies within his power, he'll do everything he can to honor that debt."
"I see."
Kyoichi nodded slowly. His eyes flicked to Dazen, who was wearing much the same thoughtful expression. "Clan Head, what do you think? Is Yūsuke's plan workable?"
"Tell me first—what do you think, Kyoichi?"
"I believe it is."
Kyoichi inclined his head. He knew the truth: Akatsuki possessed a hidden trump card—Nagato. With that power, they truly did have the strength to contend with Hanzō's Amegakure.
"And you, Seinosuke?" Dazen turned to him.
"It's worth trying. For Akatsuki to challenge Amegakure at all, they must have considerable strength." After careful thought, Seinosuke gave his measured reply.
"In that case, if all are agreed... let us go. We should not leave our guests waiting so long. That would be poor hospitality."
Dazen rose to his feet and strode from the stone house, heading toward the building marked Reception Hall.
Behind him, Kyoichi, Seinosuke, and Yūsuke followed close.
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