Chapter 188: Negotiating with the Three Brats
"Damn it, are you Hanzo's men?!"
The overwhelming strength of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan made the striped-faced young shinobi feel an immense pressure. In the Land of Rain, only Hanzo's subordinates were known to possess this level of power.
"No, although we wear the forehead protectors, and we aspire to fight for peace in the ninja world like Lord Hanzo once did, we are not his people."
Yahiko smiled, his slightly raised face filled with hopeful light. Ever since he was young, he had heard stories of how Hanzo traveled across the Five Great Nations for the sake of peace. He longed to be a man who could bring peace to the ninja world just like Hanzo.
Truth be told, Hanzo's propaganda had worked well—Yahiko greatly admired him.
Hidden nearby, Li Yao listened with a shake of his head.
Maybe Hanzo had once worked for peace, but the Hanzo of today was no longer the same.
Otherwise, Amegakure wouldn't have ended up like this—split between Hanzo's loyalists and those who weren't.
"Tch. In the end, it's still about solving everything with force."
Many believed Hanzo had started the war because he thought he was powerful enough to defeat the three great villages on his own—his arrogance led to disaster.
That wasn't the mistake—his real mistake was overestimating his strength.
The striped-faced ninja looked at Yahiko with disdain, thinking he was just another idealist, blindly gambling his nation's fate because of a little power.
But Yahiko's response stunned him.
"No."
Yahiko answered seriously, "It's not about solving things with force, but through communication and dialogue."
"Communication and dialogue?" The striped-faced ninja looked at him in disbelief. In a ninja world ruled by strength, you want to resolve conflict through… talk?
"Are you serious?" he pressed. "This country is trapped between three great nations. As long as they continue fighting, war will never end. Survival of the fittest is the law of this world!"
"That's exactly why," Yahiko said firmly, "we fight—to change that outcome."
He stepped forward and invited, "I believe you also want to see true peace. Come. Let's change this country together. Let's change this war-torn world."
What… The five opposing shinobi were shaken. This guy was inviting the very people who had just tried to kill him?
At that moment, Yahiko struck a chord in their dulled, hardened hearts.
"Listen," Yahiko said, producing three stalks of straw from somewhere. "A single strand breaks easily, but if you combine three together—"
Snap!
Before he could finish, the three straws broke together, leaving the moment awkward and silent.
Thankfully, Yahiko had thick enough skin to power through and finish his speech.
The five opposing ninja recovered from the awkwardness. Of course, they didn't immediately join him. Otherwise, why not join someone more powerful like Hanzo?
They prepared to fight to the death, but Yahiko didn't kill them. He merely stated they would continue protecting this village. No matter how many times they came back, he would never kill—only teach a lesson.
"Let's hope you're still here next time."
The striped-faced one left a meaningful parting shot before walking away.
Once they were gone, Yahiko's stoic expression collapsed into excitement. He turned to Nagato and Konan.
"Konan! Nagato! Did you hear that? I did it! That guy said he hopes we're still here next time. He must be hoping we follow through! I bet he really wants to join us!"
"Heh..." Konan smiled faintly.
"Sigh..." Nagato gave Yahiko a glance, then turned away.
They didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. The man's parting words hadn't meant what Yahiko imagined. He wasn't inspired—he was warning them.
This village had been targeted by many rogue shinobi. The message was: try not to be dead before next time.
"Hey, hey, what's with you two?" Yahiko pouted and leaned in, just like when they were kids.
"Who!"
Suddenly, Nagato spotted two figures entering his field of view. His entire body tensed as he shouted a warning.
Yahiko and Konan looked up immediately, equally shaken. The two newcomers were just ten meters away.
They hadn't sensed them until this very moment—if not for the strangers choosing to reveal themselves, they wouldn't have noticed at all.
Which meant… if these two had attacked, they'd be severely injured, if not dead.
The trio instinctively prepared for battle.
"No need to panic."
Li Yao stopped and waved calmly, a smile on his face.
He radiated no killing intent. His body language was relaxed—he had no intention of attacking.
Yuzu , meanwhile, silently stared at Nagato's red hair, a flash of memory flickering in her eyes before her expression returned to calm. She stood quietly at Li Yao's side.
"Are you here to rob this village too?"
Despite Li Yao's friendly words, the trio didn't lower their guard. Jiraiya had taught them well: the more powerful a shinobi is, the better they are at hiding their presence.
In other words, the more invisible someone felt, the more dangerous they probably were.
But even so—they wouldn't back down. They would protect the village, even at the cost of their lives.
Nagato and Konan stood to Yahiko's sides, their eyes firm and fearless.
Truly children shaped by hardship—brave and mature beyond their years.
Li Yao, having observed them for a month, understood: with people like this, forced connections wouldn't work.
The best approach was honesty—come in earnest, and their trust would follow.
So Li Yao shifted his mindset. He wasn't here just to copy the Rinnegan's chakra—he genuinely wanted to join them, to witness the birth of Akatsuki, and to see whether Yahiko, like Naruto, could one day achieve peace through words alone.
With this mental change, Li Yao relaxed and approached them directly.
Seeing their wariness, he smiled and said, "I heard there were three idiots protecting a village for free—one of them even uses Paper Style. Sounds like you three, doesn't it?"
"Idiot?! You're the idiot!" Yahiko turned red and shouted immediately, flustered.
Nagato and Konan rolled their eyes at Yahiko. Really? That's what you're focusing on right now?
Fortunately, Yahiko quickly calmed down. Seeing that neither Li Yao nor Yuzu had made a move, he asked, "So, what do you want with us?"
Li Yao smiled. "I came because of your reputation."
"Are you here to commission a job?" Yahiko's eyes lit up.
"No." Li Yao shook his head and pulled a wanted poster from his clothes, tossing it over to Yahiko.
"Careful!" Nagato and Konan warned instinctively, worried it might be poisoned.
"It's fine." Yahiko caught it without hesitation. He trusted his instincts—these two weren't here to hurt them.
"Hm...? This is..." Yahiko looked from the poster to Yuzu beside Li Yao, then back again, a puzzled look crossing his face. "You… what is this supposed to mean?"
What indeed?
Nagato and Konan leaned over curiously. One glance, and their eyes shot wide.
The wanted poster clearly showed Yuzu 's face.
"You... you're a wanted ninja?!"
"And worth thirty million ryo!!"
"Who are you two?"
They stared at Li Yao and Yuzu in shock. The two of them didn't look much older than the trio—how could they possibly be on a bounty list from the underground black market? Wasn't that something only ninja from the Great Nations had to worry about?
Could they be from one of the Five Great Nations?
That thought made the trio even more guarded.
Li Yao didn't mind. He gave Yuzu a glance, then said, "I'm Li. She's Uzumaki Yuzu , a member of the Uzumaki clan, from…"
He then told the story of the Uzumaki clan's downfall and how Yuzu and her mother had been targeted. He left out the part about the Five Kage's involvement, simply saying that he saved the mother and daughter during their escape. Unfortunately, the mother—Kushi —died in the process, and Yuzu was separated, later captured by Kumogakure and subjected to numerous experiments.
Three years ago, after Iwagakure was attacked by a mysterious ninja, she escaped.
Because of that, she was placed on the underground bounty list.
Eventually, she reunited with Li Yao, and the two of them fled to the Land of Rain.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997