Chapter 73: Plan to Ambush Hanzō
Konan lifted her chin from Uehara Naraka's shoulder, her eyes holding faint doubt and confusion, not quite understanding her disciple's train of thought.
Her eyes seemed to ask Uehara:
Right now, should we be talking about the umbrella?
Uehara Naraka stood on tiptoe, reached out his palm over Konan's head, shielding her from the raindrops falling from the sky, "Teacher, the rain is too heavy. Let's find a place to take shelter first?"
"...Okay."
Konan could only nod.
There's something very magical about the ninja world.
If a ninja appears in the wild, the probability of finding a cave is extremely high, especially in a country like the Land of Rain that frequently experiences war.
Kaguya Kimimaro, Haku, Hattori Hirakawa, and the others hid inside the cave. Uehara Naraka and Konan sat at the cave entrance roasting fish, idly chatting about the story of the first-generation Akatsuki organization.
For the first time, Konan told Uehara Naraka the truth of those years ago.
"...When the Akatsuki organization was at its peak, its numbers even exceeded one hundred ninjas. At that time, we just wanted to use Akatsuki's power to eliminate the wars in the Land of Rain and even the entire ninja world, to make people understand the value of peace."
"However, this power was too weak relative to the entire ninja world, and we were all unknown minor ninjas. Very few people were willing to listen to our persuasion."
"Coincidentally, at that time, there was another person also working hard to eliminate the wars among the ninja world's Five Great Nations. To spread Akatsuki's beliefs, we decided to join him."
As Konan spoke here, a flame burned in her eyes, making it hard to tell if it was anger or the reflection of the bonfire.
While continuing to speak, Konan tended the fire before her, "His name was Hanzō of the Salamander, also the most renowned ninja at the time."
"The title of Ninja Demigod is indeed astonishing."
Uehara Naraka nodded, softly agreeing with Konan's words, "If I hadn't met Lord Yahiko and Konan-sensei back then, I probably would have joined Amegakure (Village Hidden in the Rain) too?"
"We didn't want you to be deceived by his false image, which is why we forced you to join Akatsuki."
Konan shook her head, softly continuing the story of the past, "Initially, our negotiations with Hanzō of the Salamander went very smoothly. The Ninja Demigod was a powerhouse who had defeated Jiraiya-sensei; we believed him without reservation."
"Until, just before the negotiation, while I was patrolling the border with others, we encountered a premeditated ambush. Everyone else died in battle protecting me..."
"Among them, was also your father."
Konan slowly turned her head, a flash of guilt and distress crossing her eyes as she looked at Uehara Naraka.
Uehara Naraka stopped turning the roast fish, looking directly into Konan's eyes, "So that's why Konan-sensei didn't want me to risk myself saving you?"
"Yes."
Konan nodded, continuing softly, "But that battle was just the beginning... the beginning of the first-generation Akatsuki's destruction."
Konan didn't hide what happened next.
It was precisely because Konan herself was captured by Hanzō of the Salamander that Akatsuki was constrained at every turn during the meeting with Hanzō.
To rescue Konan, Yahiko was forced to commit suicide on the spot.
To rescue Konan, Nagato used the power of the Gedo Statue, nearly having his life force and chakra drained dry, and his legs were furthermore destroyed by Hanzō of the Salamander's exploding tags.
"The one who should have died there was me..."
Konan's fingers tightly gripped the wooden stick in her hand, the sound of wood splintering merging with the crackling noise of the burning fire.
"No one should have died."
Uehara Naraka shook his head, slowly reached out and grasped Konan's hand, saying softly, "The evil deeds committed by sinful people are not reasons for us to feel guilty here for that calamity."
"..."
Konan silently lowered her head.
Clearly, her spirits wouldn't improve just because of Uehara's comfort.
Uehara Naraka sighed, rubbed his forehead, and said softly, "If Lord Nagato and Konan-sensei are willing, perhaps we could try... letting Hanzō of the Salamander experience the despair of being deceived?"
"What?"
Konan looked up at Uehara Naraka, somewhat not understanding what her disciple's words meant.
Uehara Naraka softly continued explaining, "Amegakure and Hanzō of the Salamander don't know Shimura Danzō cannot leave Konoha to attend the meeting... Then couldn't we transform into the appearance of Konoha ninjas and arrange a meeting with him in Shimura Danzō's name?"
After speaking, Uehara Naraka formed a hand-knife gesture, "If it's a major matter involving Shimura Danzō, Hanzō should appear himself, right? We'll use this opportunity to surround and kill Hanzō of the Salamander!"
"How could that be possible..."
Konan shook her head, strongly disagreeing with Uehara Naraka's plan, "Hanzō of the Salamander is extremely suspicious. He won't show himself easily. If he discovers a flaw..."
"Anyway, we have nothing to lose."
Uehara Naraka spread his hands, looking helplessly at his teacher, "If he doesn't come, we just waste a little time."
Konan raised another question, "What if Hanzō of the Salamander uses this opportunity to order a group of Amegakure ninjas to besiege us?"
"Teacher..."
Uehara Naraka felt somewhat like breaking down. He still forced himself to muster his spirits and explain, "We set up hundreds of millions of exploding tags at the negotiation site in advance. Eliminating a group of enemies shouldn't be a problem, right?"
A spark instantly flashed in Konan's eyes. She pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Previously, to deal with Uchiha Obito, I experimented with the Technique of the Paper Person of God twice, using two hundred billion exploding tags and four hundred billion exploding tags respectively..."
"..."
Uehara Naraka's gaze turned vacant for a second.
Konan's expression gradually turned serious, "This time, I can use them to experiment with the Technique of the Paper Person of God using six hundred billion exploding tags, to determine exactly how long six hundred billion exploding tags can explode for..."
Uehara Naraka looked up at Konan with profound admiration. Seeing six hundred billion exploding tags in the anime and seeing it in reality were definitely completely different concepts.
Especially since just today he saw Konan use one million exploding tags to directly blow away a mountain.
Uehara Naraka swallowed hard, his voice somewhat strained, "Teacher... isn't this many exploding tags too wasteful?"
"It won't be wasted."
Konan patted Uehara Naraka's head and said softly, "This experiment with six hundred billion exploding tags is aimed at dealing with Uchiha Obito. After I confirm the experimental results, I can find ways to ambush that guy."
"..."
Uehara Naraka sighed inwardly. In the original history, six hundred billion exploding tags actually didn't kill Uchiha Obito.
"Naraka, I am your teacher."
Konan reached out her palm, caressing Uehara Naraka's cheek, "Therefore, I will not allow anyone to want to harm you."
"Konan-sensei..."
Uehara Naraka grasped Konan's hand and said in a low voice, "Those who harmed Teacher, I won't let them go either!"
Hearing a twelve-year-old boy speak in such a tone, Konan couldn't help chuckling lightly, "Alright, we might not necessarily succeed in ambushing Hanzō of the Salamander..."
"Then we can still scare him, let Teacher vent some anger!"
Uehara Naraka was somewhat indignant; he was clearly speaking seriously.
(End of Chapter)
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