Chapter 377: The Akatsuki Organization
"Let's take this mission in the Land of Rivers," Mugetsu said to the registration ninja as he picked up the scroll.
In the Land of Rivers, there was a chance of running into Cloud or Sand shinobi, and there were no battlefield shinobi there so strong that Mugetsu could not handle them. Even if their luck was truly awful and they encountered the strongest shinobi active on the Land of Rivers front, Mugetsu could still lead Shisui and the others to retreat safely.
High safety, with a chance to train his disciples. That was Mugetsu's standard when selecting missions.
Of course, it was only a chance. This was still a C Rank mission. They were not supposed to run into shinobi at all.
After the registration was completed, Mugetsu showed the mission scroll to his team.
"Destination: Land of Rivers. Let's go!" Anko said excitedly. She had never left Konoha before.
With special permission from the Hokage to take a C Rank mission, Anko had already planned exactly how she would show off to her good friends after they finished.
First, she would casually say, "How did you know I just got back from a C Rank mission?"
Then, when they asked why, she would tell them about the special privilege granted by the Third Hokage.
"Anko, even if you're eager, don't rush yet. We still need to bring the client with us," Shizune reminded her.
Even though Shizune did not walk the same path as ordinary shinobi, she was still a proper shinobi. She knew what had to be done.
"Oh, right. The client." Anko stopped mid step. She had already been heading toward the village gate.
"Don't be careless on missions. You almost forgot the client," Mugetsu said, tapping Anko on the head with two fingers. Then he led the three of them to meet the client.
The client was a steady looking middle aged man, ordinary in appearance but composed.
"I'll leave the mission to you," he said. Even though Anko and Shisui looked young, he did not underestimate them.
Konoha was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. It would not tarnish its own reputation.
Mugetsu nodded and did not waste words. "Do you have anything else to handle? We can depart at any time."
"I'm all set. Let's go now," the client replied with a nod.
Mugetsu immediately led Shisui and the others out toward the Land of Rivers.
To increase the chances of finding training opportunities, Mugetsu moved as quickly as possible while they were still inside the Land of Fire. The moment they entered the Land of Rivers, he deliberately slowed the pace.
He explained it simply. The Land of Fire had better public order, so traveling fast was fine. The Land of Rivers was chaotic right now, so slowing down better protected the client.
Even their travel speed had reasoning behind it. Anko looked like she had learned something important.
Maybe they were lucky. There were no unexpected events along the way. Before long, they arrived at Mount Iwaki, located in the northernmost region of the Land of Rivers.
"These bandits are extremely vicious," the client warned before Mugetsu and his team moved out. "According to rumors, they not only plunder here, they even run into the Land of Rain to raid."
Trusting Konoha was one thing, but Shisui and Anko were genuinely misleading at a glance. The client felt the need to emphasize the danger.
"Land of Rain," Shisui repeated softly, his expression thoughtful. "Is it close to the Land of Rain from here?"
Because he had not seen his uncle in a long time, Shisui had spoken with Uchiha Nobuhiro for a long time that day. Nobuhiro had mentioned the Land of Rain briefly while talking about his missions.
If Shisui remembered correctly, the Land of Rain was chaotic right now. First, Iwagakure shinobi had appeared there for unknown reasons. Sunagakure, fearing an Iwagakure invasion, also sent shinobi in. Kumogakure saw its opponents moving and dispatched shinobi as well.
The numbers might not be huge, but shinobi from three great villages were gathered there at the moment.
If bandits could still plunder in that kind of chaos, Shisui suspected there might be rogue ninja among them. Ordinary bandits would not dare to roam so boldly under those conditions.
"It's on the other side of the mountain," the client explained.
Soon after, Mugetsu had the client remain behind, then led the team to follow the mission clues and search for the bandits. As they moved, Shisui voiced his theory.
Mugetsu praised him without holding back. "Good analysis. It seems you listened carefully to everything I've taught you."
Mugetsu still felt there were shortcomings, but Shisui was only seven years old. At that age, thinking this far ahead was already impressive.
So what had Shisui missed?
He had not considered Konoha's reaction.
As a strategic location bordering three great nations at once, the Land of Rain was too important for Konoha to ignore. How could the village remain indifferent when shinobi from multiple great villages entered such a place? Mugetsu estimated Danzo had already sent Root members into the Land of Rain.
"Shisui, Mugetsu sensei, what are you talking about?" Anko asked, scratching her head. "Are we going to fight enemy shinobi next?"
She did not understand Shisui's chain of reasoning, but she understood what the conclusion might mean.
Mugetsu gave a small nod. "Everyone, be careful."
Hearing that, Shizune felt a knot form in her stomach. She had never truly fought shinobi before.
Under Mugetsu's guidance, they found the bandits' hideout.
But when they arrived, there were only two ordinary bandits inside.
Those two clearly could not have caused the trouble described in the mission. Mugetsu judged the main force must have gone out to raid.
Mugetsu used his old method. He separated the two for interrogation, turning the situation into a practical lesson for Shisui and the others on the prisoner's dilemma.
After thinking through the underlying logic, Shisui had to admit it was extremely effective.
It would only fail if both people could trust each other completely and refuse to betray each other no matter what. Two ordinary bandits could not reach that level.
Under Mugetsu's questioning, the two bandits spilled everything they knew.
The truth matched Mugetsu's guess. The main group had left a week ago, and these two were left behind to guard the hideout.
Shisui's suspicion was also confirmed. The leader of the bandits was a rogue ninja from the Land of Rain.
"Hurry up. Don't try any tricks."
Just then, while searching the hideout, Shisui heard movement outside.
He stepped out to check and saw several people gathered nearby.
Whoosh!
The moment Shisui appeared, a shuriken shot toward him at high speed.
But Shisui did not step out unprepared. He shifted his body slightly and dodged, then pulled a kunai from his pouch.
He had not attacked immediately because the newcomers did not look like bandits. But since they attacked first, they were enemies.
"Namiki, don't attack," Yahiko said, shaking his head at Namiki Yukiyuki. "There's no bandit that small."
Namiki Yukiyuki looked toward the front of the group, where the bandit leader stood with his hands bound.
"Kid, you're underestimating me," the bandit leader grinned. "A ten year old's blade can still kill."
He did not know who Shisui was, but that did not stop him from hoping the kid would cause trouble for Yahiko's group.
They had been minding their own business raiding a village when they were suddenly wiped out by meddling shinobi. The bandit leader could not put into words how much he hated Yahiko and his people.
"Leader Yahiko, this kid is skilled," Namiki Yukiyuki said, taking the hint. "He might be someone trained as a successor."
At this moment, Shizune and Anko noticed the commotion and rushed to Shisui's side.
"So they're Konoha shinobi," Yahiko said, realization clicking the moment he saw Shizune's forehead protector.
Shisui was an intern and did not have a protector yet. With Shizune present, their identity became obvious. They were Konoha shinobi on a mission.
At the words "Konoha shinobi," Nagato's fingers, trailing behind Yahiko, twitched unconsciously, then quickly went still.
"Who are you?" Shisui demanded, gripping his kunai tighter. "Why are you here?"
The newcomers looked older than them, but Shisui did not panic. Mugetsu was with them.
"My name is Yahiko," the other boy said. "I'm the leader of the Akatsuki Organization from the Land of Rain. I apologize for what just happened. My companion mistook you for bandits and attacked."
He introduced himself simply, then explained.
"We encountered a group of bandits plundering villagers in a settlement in the Land of Rain. After dealing with them, we were worried any remaining forces might retaliate against the villagers, so we came here."
"Leader of a shinobi organization?" Shisui felt an odd sense of mismatch.
He knew organizations existed in the shinobi world, but Yahiko looked too young. Thirteen or fourteen, at most. Not much older than them.
"You took a mission related to these bandits, right?" Yahiko continued with a light chuckle. "We saved you some effort, so please don't mind what happened earlier."
Shisui did not respond. He waited for Mugetsu to decide.
Mugetsu had not stepped in yet, but Shisui knew he was already here. If Shisui and Anko could detect movement, Mugetsu certainly could.
And Shisui was right.
Mugetsu had arrived earlier than Shisui noticed, because he had activated his Byakugan while searching for the bandits.
[Name: Yahiko]
[Chakra: 7300]
[Potential: S minus]
[Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 100/15000), Water Release: Wild Water Wave (Skilled), Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet (Skilled)...]
For Yahiko's age, this was the profile of a genius. Mugetsu estimated that if Yahiko had not died young, he could have trained himself to Kage level.
[Name: Konan]
[Chakra: 8000]
[Potential: S]
[Skills: Paper Ninjutsu (Skilled: 2000/3000), Paper Shuriken (Skilled)...]
Konan's potential was slightly higher than Yahiko's, but at this stage their strengths were comparable.
Mugetsu finally shifted his focus to Nagato. He had a feeling Nagato's potential would surpass anyone he had ever seen. The Rinnegan, paired with Uzumaki blood, was not something that played fair.
[Name: Nagato]
[Chakra: 605000]
[Potential: SS plus (Six Paths Bloodline + Rinnegan + Basic Talent)]
[Skills: Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 1000/15000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 750/15000), Yang Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient)...]
Mugetsu could only call it absurd.
Nagato's potential exceeded SS, reaching SS plus. Aside from Yin Release chakra, every other nature was at the Proficient level. The proficiency values were not extremely high, but that was still six nature transformations at Proficient. That alone was terrifying.
At the same time, Nagato also possessed hundreds of Skilled level ninjutsu, which meant his reserves and breadth were immense.
But what drew Mugetsu's attention most was not the list.
It was the chakra.
The amount of chakra Nagato had was simply monstrous.
Mugetsu felt truly tempted. Nagato still had massive room to grow. If Nagato became his disciple and Mugetsu received the return from that bond, the chakra gained would likely be several times greater than what all his other disciples combined could offer.
Even though Mugetsu wanted it, he also knew it would never be simple.
First, becoming Nagato's teacher would be extremely difficult. Nagato had already spent three years under Jiraiya's guidance. He had an excellent teacher in his heart. Moreover, Nagato was proficient in six chakra natures and knew countless techniques. His need for a teacher, at least in terms of strength, was not particularly high.
Second, Nagato might not like Konoha shinobi at all. His parents had died at the hands of Konoha shinobi.
And then there were the two shadows behind the curtain.
Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara.
The Rinnegan on Nagato had been transplanted by Madara. No matter how confident Madara was, he would not give away the Rinnegan and then ignore the host. He had to be monitoring Nagato in secret.
As for Black Zetsu, it was even worse. He had schemed for more than a thousand years for this Rinnegan. Black Zetsu valued it even more than Madara did, because it was a necessary condition for reviving Kaguya.
"They mean no harm," Mugetsu said as he flashed to Shisui's side.
Becoming Nagato's teacher would require a complete, careful plan, and Mugetsu was not in a hurry.
In the original course of events, Nagato's fall into darkness was caused by many factors, and one of the instigators, Obito, was not even ten yet. There was still plenty of time.
"So fast," Yahiko said, surprise showing briefly. He had not even noticed when Mugetsu arrived.
Yahiko was young, but he had the strength and presence to lead an organization. Otherwise, he would never have earned obedience.
Once he recognized Mugetsu's strength, Yahiko became even less willing to clash with this Konoha team. A conflict here would only bring trouble to the Land of Rain.
With Mugetsu stepping in, the two sides quickly reached the same conclusion.
It was a misunderstanding.
"Mugetsu sensei," Shisui asked as he watched Yahiko and the others leave, "how strong were they?"
Mugetsu considered for a moment. "Strong. There are two you might not be able to defeat, and one who could kill you instantly."
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