"Yahiko, are you okay?"
When they returned to the Akatsuki base, Yahiko still had a lot of blood all over him, and his face looked extremely pale.
However, once he was brought inside, Konan quickly ushered everyone out, leaving only the core members of the Akatsuki Organization; notably, Uchiha Fugaku was also allowed to stay behind.
One reason was to monitor him, and the other was due to Yahiko's previous insight as their experience in Konoha was almost entirely predicted by Uchiha Fugaku.
"I'm fine, Nagato, everyone, there's no need to worry."
Once the noisy crowd left, Yahiko sat up straight away, showing no sign of weakness. Upon returning, he pretended to be gravely injured, just in case Hanzo had insiders within the Akatsuki Organization.
Among those present in the room, Yahiko was confident that, excluding Uchiha Fugaku, none were Hanzo's people. They had joined since the inception of Akatsuki.
As for Uchiha Fugaku, although his background was unclear, Yahiko instinctively felt he bore no ill will and was unlikely sent by Hanzo.
"This is all Jiraiya-sensei's ruse to deceive Hanzo and the Hidden Rain Village..."
Yahiko then recounted the experiences he and Konan had in Konoha. Whether the mission served to persuade the Third Generation Hokage with Akatsuki's ideology was now irrelevant; the key point was that Hanzo already viewed Akatsuki with disdain and was preparing to make his move.
Nearby, upon hearing Uchiha Shisui and the Security Team, Uchiha Fugaku felt a stir in his heart, eager to meet his son and wonder about how Senior Yashiro was doing.
But these three were Jiraiya-sama's disciples; surely Jiraiya knew about the Rinnegan. Why did the village show no response?
Could it be that the Rinnegan was intentionally left in the Land of Rain?
Uchiha Fugaku's suspicion about the backgrounds of these three people grew boundless, yet from Yahiko's words, he felt that this Akatsuki Organization had little relation to Konoha.
Did Jiraiya conceal the Rinnegan, hence Konoha was totally unaware?
The thought flickered within Uchiha Fugaku's mind, then he shook his head, dismissing it as implausible. Such crucial information couldn't possibly go unreported to the village.
"Next, we need to make changes to prevent Hanzo from using other means to destroy us, the Akatsuki Organization."
Yahiko scanned the people in the room before asking, "What are your thoughts?"
"Let's relocate the Akatsuki base, Yahiko. Though Akatsuki has grown significantly, we're currently no match for the Hidden Rain Village."
"Can Konoha support us? They've provided resources, so sending people to help shouldn't be an issue. If Konoha backs us, even Hanzo might hesitate to oppose..."
"Fool, Yahiko was just acting with Konoha on this trip."
"What do we do now then..."
After the group discussed for a while, they still hadn't come up with an effective plan. Yahiko, listening, felt no solution emerging either; it made sense since prior in the Akatsuki Organization, he'd been the one issuing orders, they just followed them.
But facing off against Hanzo now, Yahiko realized he had no clear ideas.
The opponent was the Half-God of the Ninja World, with a clear intent to eradicate them; one careless move, and everyone could face destruction.
Suddenly, Yahiko looked at Uchiha Fugaku, recalling the words before leaving, he asked, "Mr. Nankai, do you have any opinions?"
"Me? I don't. I follow our leader's instructions."
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head, but Yahiko didn't want him to be so perfunctory, so he asked again.
"Please, Mr. Nankai, our experiences in Konoha were almost exactly as you predicted. Since you could foresee Konoha's reaction, please share your thoughts. We really need them."
"... I'll just say something casually."
After a moment of silence, Uchiha Fugaku spoke, "How about letting the core members abandon their ninja identities, and continue previous actions to rally the support of the non-ninja populace of Rain Country..."
He remembered the reason for his own failure was ignoring the will of the broader clanspeople; not those ninja clansmen, but the non-ninja clansmen.
When they accepted Uchiha Yoichi's first sum of money, defeat came for him, for ordinary clansmen weren't ninjas and couldn't even attend clan meetings.
But they could still influence their family members who were ninjas!
One time, when Uchiha Fugaku was looking for Uchiha Yashiro, he overheard peace faction clansmen questioning him, suspecting why he, as clan leader, targeted Uchiha Yoichi, and resulting in constant complaints at home...
Even the clanspeople within his faction were being influenced by their family members, so he chose to make a last ditch effort using power contests.
The Akatsuki Organization could also use this method; if half of Rain Country's ordinary people stand with them, even Hanzo would be wary.
"Will this really work?"
One Akatsuki member asked, puzzled by this. They had already been doing such things, and if they abandoned their ninja identities, what would become of their development?
"But Yahiko is our spiritual leader; if he gives up his identity as a ninja..."
"Hanzo is already trying to kill your spiritual leader. Yahiko was lucky, running into Uchiha allies for intervention, or they would already be dead."
Seeing no one else talking, Uchiha Fugaku continued, "In any case, cultivating civilian support is the right approach. If Rain Country's civilians all side with Akatsuki, not even the Hidden Rain Village could openly oppose all its people."