Naruto: Help Madara rejuvenate and launch a counterattack on Konoha

A group of people dressed in gray-white ninja armor and wearing masks appeared and stood to Hanzo's right.

The leader was a slender man with short black hair, a bandage around his right eye, an indifferent expression, and a ninja sword on his back.

What shocked Akatsuki was the headband on that person's head—it was a Konoha ninja headband!

Ryoma Aburame grabbed Yahiko, adjusted his sunglasses with a hint of regret. He had originally intended to capture Nagato, but Nagato's eye technique was too strange.

In a single encounter, they wiped out his swarm of insects, leaving them no choice but to capture the leader of the Akatsuki organization.

Ryoma gave Yahiko to Hanzo, then retreated to Danzo's side.

Danzo stared intently at Nagato's position, unable to contain the greed in his eyes.

Without Ryoma's information, he would never have dreamed that Nagato's rippled eye was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan!

Yahiko was captured by Hanzo, and he looked at Danzo and questioned him, "Konoha ninjas, why did you join us? Akatsuki has never provoked you!"

Danzo wasn't interested in such minor characters, but Hanzo was standing nearby, and he himself had advised Hanzo to bring more men yesterday.

Danzo lied, "Because your Akatsuki harbored a rogue ninja from Konoha and let him go."

Yahiko's face darkened with anger: "Damn it, it's all because of Uchiha Ryou!"

Hanzo sneered: "Even without Uchiha Ryogo, your Akatsuki still has a way to die."

Yahiko turned to look at Hanzo, his expression puzzled: "Why?"

Hanzo picked up a kunai and held it against Yahiko's neck: "Why? Because your ideas are too inflammatory and too naive."

"Peace in the ninja world? Hmph! The Land of Rain is caught between three great powers. Only when the great powers are at war can the Land of Rain get a chance to breathe."

Yahiko shouted, "Hanzo, are you really that narrow-minded?"

Hanzo shook his head: "This is not narrow-mindedness, but prioritizing the interests of the country and the village. Akatsuki is not the Akatsuki of the Land of Rain, but the Akatsuki of the Ninja World."

"An organization like Akatsuki shouldn't be established in a small country like ours. We can't afford it, and we don't have time to play peaceful games with you."

Danzo snorted: "Hanzo, you've seen Akatsuki's immense appeal, and it could potentially instigate a revolution in Amegakure at any time, overthrowing your authoritarian rule."

"..."

Hanzo remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Yahiko then realized that even without Ryougo and Nagato's Rinnegan, Hanzo would still have attacked Akatsuki.

Because—Xiao threatened his rule!

"Hanzo, you've changed. You're no longer the demigod Hanzo. You're now just a rotting monster of power."

Hanzo suddenly struggled a little, looking at Yahiko as if he were seeing his younger self.

At that time, Hanzo had lofty ambitions and was determined to turn Amegakure into the sixth great ninja village and rescue the Land of Rain from the control of powerful nations.

But reality still delivered a harsh blow.

Even if he could defeat the three young and impetuous Sannin, Amegakure would still struggle against the Konoha army; the Land of Rain's foundation was too shallow.

The three great nations also refused to allow the Land of Rain to rise, leaving Amegakure as nothing more than a puppet of the great nations.

He changed; he became afraid of death and became cautious, needing guards to protect him 24 hours a day.

Even though the Akatsuki could be wiped out with just the Anbu, Hanzo still went all out, personally taking charge and deploying all the Anbu.

Where is the demigod-like demeanor that once defeated the three ninjas and bestowed upon them their titles?

Danzo, shoving Hanzo, said, "Hanzo, why are you wasting your breath talking to him? Just get rid of Akatsuki already."

Hanzo's struggles gradually subsided, and he tossed a kunai in front of Konan: "You blue-haired woman, pick up this kunai and kill the red-haired one!"

"Otherwise—I'll kill your comrades!"

Hanzo gripped the kunai held across Yahiko's neck, a clear trace of blood visible on Yahiko's skin.

Just how far did Hanzo manage to survive?

All the Anbu members of Amegakure, plus dozens of Root members, were all Chunin or Jonin, and there were also elite ninjas like Hanzo, Danzo, and Ryoma Aburame.

This force is more than capable of destroying a small country.

However, Hanzo remained cautious. He had noticed Nagato's strange technique of not using hand seals just now, and thought that this red-haired kid was rather strange!

He must be killed first.

"..."

Konan looked at the kunai on the ground, then at Yahiko whose neck was marked with blood, and struggled with her thoughts.

"Xiao Nan, no—"

Yahiko struggled desperately, trying to break through Hanzo's kunai to commit suicide.

Hanzo discovered his little scheme, grabbed his hair, and Yahiko instantly became an incompetent husband.

He could only watch helplessly as Konan trembled as she picked up the kunai from the ground.

Konan regretted it, Nagato regretted it, and Yahiko regretted it too.

Liao Wu is right, this is a trap, a trap specifically designed for Xiao.

Unfortunately, because of their distrust of Liao Wu, they obediently lined up and walked into Hanzo and Danzo's trap.

A desperate situation! The Akatsuki are in dire straits!

A dense forest beside the hills.

Hong and Lin watched with extreme reluctance.

Lin, her face pale, said, "Mr. Minato, is this really necessary?"

Minato gripped his sword, Shinobi, tightly. He desperately wanted to throw the Flying Thunder God Kunai out and take Nagato and the others away.

Minato has tried his best to understand Akatsuki, which is a volunteer organization dedicated to achieving peace through dialogue.

Its philosophy is the same as Jiraiya's: to break the curse of the ninja world through mutual understanding, and thus achieve peace.

Although Yahiko and his two companions were not Konoha ninjas, they inherited Jiraiya's Will of Fire and were spiritual Konoha people.

Although Minato and they had just met yesterday and even clashed, their ideologies were in line with each other to some extent.

Both sides hope to achieve mutual understanding through dialogue and promote world peace.

Minato, being Yahiko's senior, should have stepped forward to protect them.

But that won't work—

If it were Jiraiya, he would have already rushed out.

The water gate is different.

He loves Konoha and aims to become Hokage; the village's interests must outweigh all personal interests.

Nagato's eyes are Madara Uchiha's eyes; they cannot save him.

Moreover, Uchiha Ryogoku is nearby, possibly hiding underground. Minato must be constantly on guard against him taking Nagato away.

Minato remained silent, while Kakashi comforted Rin, "Rin, don't blame yourself. In a small country like this, Akatsuki's fate won't be good."

"Even without us, Akatsuki would have been eliminated by Hanzo."

Lin closed her eyes.

Kurenai sighed as well, realizing that even in the peaceful village of Konoha, war could still cause disturbances.

Their relatives and friends died in the war, more or less.

Konoha can only try its best to maintain a balance of coexistence among the five great ninja nations, because the Land of Fire is the richest country in the ninja world and does not need to plunder the resources of other countries.

The suffering they experienced was not as profound as that of the Xiaos, so they naturally did not know their yearning for peace.

Hanzo threatened Konan: "Hurry up and kill that red-haired guy, or I'll kill Yahiko."

Hanzo had not conducted any detailed investigation into Akatsuki. He only knew that their leader was named Yahiko, and that the others knew that Ryouwu's medical ninjutsu was superb.

He didn't even bother to investigate Konan and Nagato's names before he started attacking people!

"Yahiko..."

Konan watched in agony as Yahiko was grabbed by the hair and had a kunai pressed against his neck, struggling terribly.

Konan likes Yahiko, and Yahiko likes Konan too, but their relationship couldn't be fulfilled because of Nagato.

Before Nagato joined them, Konan and Yahiko had already relied on each other for survival; they were family and partners.

This relationship spanning so many years cannot be summed up in a simple "we met at one place"; it is a relationship where we would give our lives for each other.