Chapter 69
"I want to make a deal with you."
Kaito had already sensed Konan lurking nearby. Now that she had appeared, he cut straight to the point.
"A deal..." Konan repeated, her eyes scanning both of them carefully. Her cold expression remained unreadable, betraying no emotion.
Hikari narrowed her eyes. If this woman made any sudden moves, she would strike immediately, aiming to kill her in one move.Two minutes later, Konan finally nodded. "Alright."
"But she can't go."
Konan's gaze fell upon the young girl, her eyes filled with wariness. Though they had only met briefly before, she could sense that this person's threat level was no less than that mysterious masked man.
"You..."
Konan's arrogant attitude and excessive demands directly angered Hikari, who stepped forward with killing intent radiating from her entire body.
Fortunately, Kaito pulled back his great-grandmother first and quickly explained to her.
"It's fine. The Angel-sama always talks like this."
Hikari: ?
Her strange vocabulary expanded once again, and the anger that had risen in Uchiha Hikari's heart turned into confusion and awkwardness.
Her first thought was that this guy was about to start acting crazy again.
Although her impression of this woman wasn't great, giving someone such an awkward nickname so casually...
Was really quite rude.
Hikari turned to look at the woman, but instead of seeing any embarrassment on her face, she saw...
The other party even lifted her chin slightly, showing a hint of pride.
"?"
At this moment.
This ancient relic from the Warring States period suddenly fell silent.
"It seems you know us quite well," Konan said meaningfully before slowly landing in front of the two.
"Follow me."
"Alright."
Kaito took off his backpack and handed it to Hikari beside him. "Wait for me outside. Nothing will happen."
His actions made Hikari instantly understand—Runtu was hidden inside the backpack. If anything happened, Kaito could retreat immediately.
"Be careful."
Without hesitation, Hikari took the backpack, slung it over her shoulders, and then turned to activate her Kaleidoscope Sharingan, directing her killing intent at the "Angel."
"If anything happens to him..."
"None of you will survive."
Kaito glanced back at his murderously protective great-grandmother and felt an overwhelming sense of security.
So this...
Was the wonderful feeling of having a Sect's ancestor desperately protecting their Heaven's Chosen, just like in the novels!
Though moved, he still didn't forget to trigger another mission for Hikari.
"This Heaven's Chosen is going to negotiate with a minor Sect. With an ancestor backing me up, how would they dare touch me?"
"Just die in there."
Konan: ?
Hikari slung the backpack over her shoulders, coldly left those words behind, and without hesitation turned and disappeared into the woods.
She had absolutely no intention of staying here to indulge this kid's madness.
Honestly...
She really couldn't afford to lose face like this!
Even the Angel-sama showed a strange expression upon hearing their conversation.
The intelligence she had suggested that the Uchiha clan leader's son had some issues. At first, she thought he was just pretending to be foolish in the village, faking his death to escape Konoha.
But now it seemed...
He might genuinely have some problems.
"Shall we... go?"
Seeing Konan standing there dazed, Kaito reminded her, and the two proceeded into Amegakure.
By the time they reached the central area of the village, a light rain had begun to fall. Out of courtesy, Konan even made a paper umbrella and handed it to the kid behind her.
Amegakure's architecture was strikingly different from Konoha's, with the entire village having a somewhat cyberpunk aesthetic.
However, Kaito immediately noticed that the villagers' buildings seemed to be constructed from discarded factory parts—rusty and worn.
Here, he could even see houses pieced together from bricks, wood, steel pipes, gears, and various other materials.
It wasn't hard to tell that this place...
Was very poor.As if noticing Kaito's curious glances around, Konan began recounting the history of Amegakure to the young Uchiha trailing behind her.
"Amegakure was once prosperous."
"This country was even the battleground where your Konoha fought against other villages."
"Many innocent lives were lost because of it..."
Kaito followed silently, offering no opinion.
Given his identity...
Anything he said would sound strange.
"This is why our Akatsuki Organization exists..."
"To make the people of this world cease their endless conflicts and move toward a peaceful future."
Konan's voice had lost its earlier coldness—whether she was sharing her dream or attempting to recruit this Uchiha brat was unclear.
Yet, Kaito still didn't respond. Having known the original story, he was aware that Akatsuki would ultimately fail.
"Wait here. I'll inform the leader."
Konan led Kaito to a rooftop resembling the architecture of Pain's Deva Path, then left to notify Nagato.
Kaito didn't stand on ceremony, finding a spot with a good view and sitting down, gazing down at the sparse crowds moving through Amegakure's streets.
The village was poor, but the smiles on the villagers' faces were genuine.
Watching them, Kaito couldn't help but think of Amegakure after Akatsuki's downfall in the original story...
Perhaps...
The destruction of Akatsuki would mean this village losing its last hope.
After some time, Pain's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"They have all experienced suffering."
"That's why they cherish each day now."
Pain walked over and knelt beside Kaito on the roof's edge, his Samsara Eyes also fixed on the villagers below.
His tone remained as cold as before, but Kaito detected complex emotions beneath it.
At this moment, the figure beside him didn't seem like the god of Amegakure—just a village leader concerned for his people.
"You know this is temporary."
Kaito leaned back and casually replied.
He suddenly found Nagato surprisingly reasonable—at least not the type to immediately spout "one tail" or "Kami-da" like in his memories.
"We are working toward it."
Pain's voice was firm and resolute, as if the entire Shinobi World would one day mirror Amegakure's current state.
However, he misunderstood Kaito's words, assuming he was referring to other villages attacking Amegakure, and continued.
"All invaders..."
"Will perish here."
A hint of killing intent seeped into his words—both an answer to Kaito and a warning against any ill intentions.
"This time, the Uchiha clan will join the battle..."
Kaito's gaze suddenly shifted toward Konoha before he turned back to Pain beside him.
"Leave them to me."
"I'll take the Uchiha clan away... In exchange, I'll help you deal with the other enemies."
Pain stared expressionlessly at the scenery below, taking a long moment before finally speaking.
"If they seek death, they can't blame me."
"Good."
...
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