Mastermind of the Akatsuki

"Jiraiya-sensei?" Nagato's voice carried a hint of surprise.

Despite Jiraiya's attempt to disguise himself with a transformation jutsu and a straw hat, Nagato recognized his former teacher at once. However, Nagato was somewhat puzzled. Why would Jiraiya be hiding his identity while entering the Land of Rain?

Hearing Nagato call him by name, the Rain shinobi around him turned their gaze on Jiraiya. For them, the name "Jiraiya" wasn't unfamiliar. He wasn't just one of Konoha's famed Sannin but also the teacher of several high-ranking members in Amegakure.

Realizing that his disguise had been discovered, Jiraiya dispelled his transformation and scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "Nagato, I didn't expect to see you so soon! I thought I'd have to wander around a bit longer before finding you."

Glancing at the group behind Nagato, Jiraiya asked curiously, "What brings you and all these shinobi here? Are you handling some critical mission? If so, I won't hold you up."

Nagato gave a small shake of his head and replied, "Not exactly. I'm leading my team to maintain the surrounding roads and build a flood drainage channel nearby."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise. "So you guys are the ones building these paved roads? Looks like the Land of Rain's daimyo is a generous soul, putting in the money to develop these borderlands!"

"Daimyo?" Nagato raised an eyebrow in mild confusion. "What does the daimyo have to do with this? All roads in the Land of Rain are maintained by Amegakure itself."

At this, Jiraiya blinked, momentarily stunned. "Without the daimyo's funding or authorization, where do you get the resources to build roads throughout the Land of Rain? Don't ninja typically work under contracts?"

Now it was Nagato's turn to look surprised. "Why would we need someone else's commission to work? Can't we take on projects ourselves?"

He added, almost as an afterthought, "Besides, the Land of Rain hasn't had a daimyo for quite some time."

Jiraiya fell silent, piecing things together. It seemed the relationship between Amegakure and the Land of Rain wasn't what he'd imagined. In Konoha, there was a cooperative relationship between the village and the Fire Country daimyo, but here, it appeared no daimyo existed.

After a moment's thought, Jiraiya asked, "No daimyo? Do you mean he's… missing, or did you...?"

"No," Nagato clarified, pausing briefly. "When Byakuya visited the daimyo's palace, the daimyo simply stepped down on his own and handed all authority to Amegakure. Without the daimyo and the nobles draining resources, our country has actually developed quite quickly."

At the mention of Byakuya, Jiraiya immediately understood. The daimyo had almost certainly been coerced into abdication. This was not unheard of in the shinobi world. Typically, though, another noble would fill the vacancy. A land entirely free of a ruling noble class was exceedingly rare.

Then, as if recalling something, Nagato turned to Jiraiya and said, "By the way, Jiraiya-sensei, you haven't told me your purpose for visiting. Is there something urgent from Konoha that requires cooperation with Amegakure?"

"Not at all," Jiraiya replied. "Since the war ended, I've been traveling the shinobi world. I happened to make my way to the Land of Rain, and I thought I'd pay you all a visit. I was hoping to surprise you."

As he looked again at Nagato, Jiraiya felt a wave of emotion wash over him.

As time went on, Nagato's strength had grown immensely. Even with Jiraiya's careful attempt at disguising himself, Nagato saw through it with a single glance.

Truly worthy of the title "Child of Prophecy" and wielder of the Rinnegan.

Noticing Jiraiya's gaze, Nagato smiled and said, "Since there's no urgent matter, why don't you join us for a bit, Jiraiya-sensei? After we finish patrolling this area, we'll return to the village together."

Jiraiya nodded, intrigued to see how Nagato managed his responsibilities firsthand.

The patrol lasted most of the day, during which Jiraiya watched Nagato lead his team in widening flood channels with ninjutsu and paving roads with cement techniques. Jiraiya had seen Konoha ninja use similar jutsu before, but Konoha's reach was limited to its immediate village boundaries. They didn't intervene in Fire Country affairs to this extent, nor did they pave roads across the land, let alone into foreign nations like the Land of Rain.

Several hours later, with the day's work complete, Nagato led Jiraiya back to Amegakure.

The Hidden Rain Village was a city steeped in a steampunk aesthetic, a stark contrast to Konoha's bright and sunny appearance; it felt more like a vast industrial fortress of steel.

As they entered the village, Jiraiya was surprised to notice that nearly every resident could perform some form of ninjutsu. It wasn't an exaggeration to call it a "nation of ninja." This realization made him frown slightly.

In the shinobi world, becoming a ninja wasn't particularly difficult—anyone who learned to mold chakra, perform basic jutsu, and handle weapons like kunai could become a genin. However, such entry-level ninja would only serve as cannon fodder in war and wouldn't be suited for professional tasks during peacetime. An overabundance of ninja would mean fewer contracts per individual, reducing overall income and bringing more harm than benefit.

For this reason, the Five Great Nations, with the exception of Iwa, carefully controlled the number of shinobi to maintain a balance.

Amegakure's policy of training all citizens in ninjutsu made Jiraiya wonder if the village might be planning some form of external expansion. The Land of Rain couldn't support so many ninja indefinitely. Still, Yahiko didn't seem like the type who would initiate war.

Not long after, they arrived at Amegakure's central building, where Yahiko and Konan personally greeted Jiraiya, ushering him to a reception room and treating him as a distinguished guest.

After some small talk, Jiraiya decided to address his lingering question. "Yahiko, why does Amegakure have so many ninja?"

In Jiraiya's mind, it was better to ask directly than to speculate.

Yahiko looked momentarily surprised, then smiled and replied, "Ah, Jiraiya-sensei, you're probably talking about the villagers who know a bit of ninjutsu. They're not ninja; they're just ordinary people."

"Ordinary people? People with ninjutsu can still be considered 'ordinary'?" Jiraiya frowned slightly.

Yahiko nodded and continued, "Of course. The ninja profession is that of a mercenary. Those villagers are just tradespeople and laborers. But in the shinobi world, anyone who can perform jutsu is seen as a ninja."

Jiraiya paused, then spoke earnestly, "For these ordinary people, knowing ninjutsu might not be as beneficial as it seems."