Chapter 76: Conspiracy

Not long after, Yahiko, stationed at an outdoor base, received a personal letter from Hanzo.

Unlike the previous occasions, this time the emissary from Hanzo wore a pleasing smile, behaving cautiously, afraid of angering Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki.

The reason was simple.

Since Yahiko began assembling his forces, he was no longer merely a subordinate of Amegakure in name but the leader of a rebel faction in the Land of Rain, on par with Hanzo of the Salamander in terms of status.

Upon opening the letter, Yahiko only glanced at it briefly, before a peculiar expression crossed his face.

Seeing this, Nagato and Konan hurried over and asked, "Yahiko, what did Hanzo write in the letter to make you show such an expression?"

Yahiko placed the personal letter on the table, gesturing for Nagato and Konan to read it together. After they finished, their expressions turned also stiffened.

Hanzo actually claimed that capturing Byakuya was a misunderstanding, merely a test of their mettle to see if they were qualified to become successors of the Amegakure.

Seeing that the Akatsuki had assembled their forces and still hadn't harmed civilians, Hanzo knew he hadn't misjudged them. Just like during Hanzo's time, their actions were all for the Land of Rain.

They had passed this test and were now qualified to become heirs of Amegakure.

As the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo decided to forge an alliance with the Akatsuki and, on that day, he would release Byakuya, who had already been taken in as a disciple.

After reading this news, Yahiko and the others found it somewhat unbelievable.

Hanzo's act of capturing Byakuya turned out to be just a test, and after capturing him, he actually accepted Byakuya as his disciple?

This news sounded absurd and full of loopholes upon careful consideration.

If Hanzo truly wanted to take in disciples, there was no need for such roundabout methods. He could have just accepted them directly. In the Land of Rain, no ninja could refuse to become Hanzo's disciple.

Despite their doubts, only Yahiko made the final decision.

With Nagato and Konan watching him closely, Yahiko said solemnly, "I have decided to accept Hanzo's request and go to the designated location for negotiations."

"Why? This is obviously a trap!" Konan objected in confusion.

"To avoid ambushes, I will send people to scout ahead and bring all members to witness the alliance ceremony on that day."

Yahiko seemed prepared and resolute in his decision.

"But..." Konan wanted to say more but was stopped by Nagato.

Seeing Konan's confusion, Yahiko sighed softly and said, "The Land of Rain has suffered too much pain. If there's a chance to peacefully resolve this, I will do my best. And if we don't agree to these conditions, Byakuya will be in danger."

Upon hearing Yahiko mention Byakuya, Konan fell silent.

Yes, if they didn't agree to Hanzo's peaceful invitation, Byakuya would be in danger. Even for Byakuya's sake, they had to attend this meeting.

Ultimately, before Hanzo of the Salamander, they had no choice at all.

However, it's quite ironic.

Byakuya had always boasted about showing them the cruelty of the ninja world, yet in the end, he turned out to be the most naive of them all.

To avoid putting the organization at risk, Byakuya actually willingly surrendered himself.

If they were to genuinely reconcile or abandon thoughts of negotiation, wouldn't Byakuya, as their prisoner, be the most at risk, even possibly being sacrificed?

After the three made their decision, Yahiko headed towards the direction of Hanzo's emissary.

Nagato, who remained behind, patted Konan's shoulder at this moment, somewhat weary, and said, "Konan, you have to trust Byakuya."

"?" Konan was somewhat dazed, had she forgotten something?

Nagato smiled mysteriously and continued, "Konan, haven't you noticed that there are fewer ninjas in the organization? What happened to those spies Byakuya recruited? Where did they go?"

"Aren't those spies already escaped?" Konan frowned. She didn't have much impression of Byakuya's subordinates.

"I think Byakuya, with his ability, wouldn't overlook such a thing. Those spies are probably carrying out missions assigned by Byakuya... I don't know the specifics."

"It seems like you have a lot of confidence in Byakuya," Konan couldn't help but say.

Nagato nodded. He did indeed have confidence in Byakuya. Unlike him and Konan, Byakuya was a genius descendant of the Uzumaki clan, possessing unimaginable determination and ambition.

As an ordinary person, he didn't need to know what Byakuya intended to do; he just needed to trust him.

---

Just half a day later, Hanzo and Danzo, who were guests in the Amegakure, received a letter from Yahiko.

After reading Yahiko's letter, Hanzo expressed his doubts, "Is Yahiko so easily deceived? I thought I would have to write several more letters."

Danzo smiled and replied, "Byakuya is the cleverest person in the Akatsuki. After you captured Byakuya, they lost their brains. So naturally, they were easily fooled."

Hanzo pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

Yesterday, after reaching an agreement with Hanzo, the two of them immediately discussed the Akatsuki and eventually devised a plan under the pretext of negotiations and grooming successors, actually aiming to eliminate the Akatsuki's high-ranking members.

However, due to time constraints, the plan was somewhat rough.

But from the final result, the plan was very successful. As long as they figured out where the main force of the Akatsuki was, they could eradicate the Akatsuki.

At this moment, Danzo seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, Lord Hanzo, don't forget about taking in disciples. Today, you must complete the disciple-taking ceremony and make Byakuya your disciple."

Upon hearing this, Hanzo of the Salamander furrowed his brow, "Must I take Byakuya as my disciple? I don't want to bear the stigma of killing a disciple."

"Everything is for eliminating the Akatsuki."

Danzo paused for a moment before continuing, "As long as you take Byakuya as your disciple, you can gain the trust of the Akatsuki and avoid arousing their suspicions."

Hanzo of the Salamander sighed but still agreed to the matter.

He didn't want his reputation to be tarnished, but more importantly, he didn't want to see the rapidly expanding Akatsuki threaten his position. Ultimately, he had to choose between face and substance.

However, once the Akatsuki were eliminated, he would still need to manage the Amegakure more closely. It wouldn't be good if another Akatsuki organization appeared again.

Thinking about this, Hanzo of the Salamander said to Danzo, "I'm going to find Byakuya now. Do you want to come and see too? He's a genius even more formidable than your Konoha's Kakashi."

"No, I'll leave the matters of the Amegakure to you, Lord Hanzo," Danzo shook his head in refusal. Although Byakuya didn't know his appearance, Danzo somewhat saw Byakuya as another version of himself.

It was just unfortunate that Byakuya, unlike himself, couldn't fully showcase his talent in the small Amegakure.

If he had been born in Konoha, everything would have been different.

(SO SORRY! I remember seeing draft chapters a few days back but forgot that I didn't put the timer on them. I will release it in mass so keep reading and supporting.)