Part 2
Traitor
Obito-Sensei Chapter 34
The Village Hidden in the Rain
Amegakure was like no other city Sakura had ever seen.
It pierced high into the sky, almost to the low grey clouds, a towering edifice of steel and light. Konohagakure was a broad city with many short buildings that sprawled out in every direction, hidden behind tall walls: Amegakure was smaller, Sakura was sure, but its buildings were massive, a metropolis that Konoha would never have dreamed of becoming.
It didn't have a wall. Instead, there was a vast lake that surrounded the whole village, with two massive concrete bridges leading in and out of it connecting to the land. It reminded Sakura of Waterfall for a brief moment, and she shuddered, easily covered by the pouring rain. They had appeared atop a muddy hill covered in dropping trees and slippery grass looking out over the village-
'Your new home.'
-and the vicious wind and rain that had greeted them immediately was already cutting through her like a knife.
"Hmm." Konan sounded amused, and when Sakura glanced at her she was astonished to find the water just slipping right off her, as if she was frictionless. "Seems you all chose a particularly lousy day." The boiling chakra that had filled Sakura's body was receding like a rapid fever, and after a second she was left shivering at its absence as she realized just how cold the rain was. She'd never experienced weather like this in the Land of Fire: when it rained there, it was usually light and warm, and even when it was heavy it wasn't being hurled by an outright evil wind right into your face.
"Blech," she heard Naruto say, and turned to find him at her right. Sasuke was behind her, and when she glanced back he was giving the sky a disgusted look. The rain was slamming down on them all in a solid sheet. "So it's not usually like this?"
Konan laughed. "No. This is a pretty nasty storm," she said. "Of course… this is the Land of Rain."
She gestured and they began trooping down the hill behind her, chakra keeping them from sliding down the slick mud and grass.
"Why all the way out here?" Sasuke asked, and Konan looked back at him. "If you could summon us in, why not just right into the village?"
"A safety precaution," she said easily, as if it were the most obvious and benevolent thing in the world. "There are plenty who wish to harm the Nation of Rain, so even with shinobi like yourself we try not to invite anyone into the village without ample warning." As she spoke, a piece of paper peeled itself off her cheek and flitted away through the crushing rain. "Plus," she said in a lighter tone, "it gives everyone a chance to enjoy our lovely weather."
Sakura snorted, and Konan gave her a grin. They walked in silence for another ten minutes, drawing closer and closer to one of the bridges that led into the village, and eventually the mud gave way to concrete. As they walked, Sakura watched the village and her friends.
Konoha never slept, but it looked like Ame never even bothered to close its eyes. The whole city was lit up everywhere she looked, strung with power lines and bridges between the towering buildings. There were glowing neon signs and elaborate designs, faces and animals and kanji, carved into the buildings and covered with their own lights on everything, a unique tapestry that stretched over the entire city. Sakura couldn't hope to take it all in with a single look; she could have stood there staring at it for the rest of the day and still been picking out new details, she was sure.
Her teammates were easier. Neither Naruto or Sasuke were showing a hint of regret. They both marched alongside her, unfaltering, and when both of them caught her looking they gave her a smile: Naruto's cheerful and Sasuke's amused.
She still didn't understand why they'd come, even after their explanation, but she'd given up on that. There was no point in questioning it, she thought; she should just be glad they'd come. Now she wouldn't be alone.
'You dragged them with you. If anything happens to them, it'll be your fault.'
Shut up. Now wasn't the time for that. She saw long before they reached the bridge that it was busy, even this early in the day, long before the sunrise. There were caravans of covered wagons moving back and forth across it and dozens of people keeping to the footpaths on the side. The bridge was a tremendous feat of construction, about half a kilometer long and more than thirty feet wide. As they approached some of the people walking it noticed them emerging from the dark.
Most gave them no mind, but there were several shinobi wearing flak jackets and Rain's headband, and they all kneeled as Konan approached and passed them, dropping their heads to the ground. Sakura blinked at the show of deference; kneeling to the Hokage wasn't something she'd ever seen anyone but ANBU do, but these men and women didn't have concealed faces. One of them was barely older than her, she was sure.
As Konan passed, the shinobi raised their heads. One of them, a man with shaggy red hair that was matted down by the rain and a small mustache, glanced at Sakura and her teammates. His eyes went wide, and he elbowed the woman next to him, who had a similar reaction.
They were staring at all of them, and Naruto in particular. Sakura didn't know what she would have done in his situation, but Naruto just smiled wide and genuinely, and gave the group a little wave. They rose to their feet and began whispering to one another, the sound concealed by the pouring Rain.
"You've got some fans," Sasuke grunted, and Naruto laughed.
"I'll always have fans," he said, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his cockiness, not sure how real it was.
If Konan could hear them, she didn't give any indication. They followed her for another couple minutes, crossing more than half the bridge and drawing more stares with every step. The closer they got, the more Sakura realized that even if Rain had been a minor village once upon a time, it definitely wasn't now. Even Konoha did not get this kind of traffic at this time of day: Amegakure had all the energy of a country's capital and Hidden Village rolled into one.
At the halfway point of the bridge, they came to a sudden stop. Konan held up her hand and turned to them, taking in their soggy state.
"Sorry about that," she said, and Sakura shrugged. "We'll get you out of the cold." She dropped her hand and gestured at Naruto, and Sakura looked between the two of them in confusion.
A second later, Naruto's feet lifted off the ground.
"Uh, guys?" Naruto asked, and Sakura reached out to grab his arm in alarm. She could feel him drifting farther up, dragging her arm with him. "I think I'm getting abducted?"
There was a sudden tug and he was yanked out of Sakura's grip. She and Sasuke watched with no idea of what to do as Naruto floated away, picking up more and more speed as he began rocketing towards Amegakure and cutting a swath through the pouring rain. In just a second, he had vanished into the skyline, out of sight.
"What?" Sakura asked, looking back at Konan. "What did you do?!"
Konan pointed at Sasuke, and he lifted off the ground as well. Unlike Naruto, he didn't struggle: he just crossed his arms with an unimpressed look as he was sent flying off into the sky, refusing to change his posture at all as he soared into Amegakure.
It was a show, Sakura thought with a blink. She looked around, not bothering trying to catch her teammate: she was focused on the other people on the bridge. Civilians and shinobi alike were pointing and gasping in awe, a couple whooping enthusiastically. Like a little Chunin Exam for each new arrival, showing anyone who was around just how powerful Rain was, that they could scoop someone up and drag them inside without any effort. Posturing for foreigners, reassuring the local ninja… and even if they didn't mean it that way, a threat for new defectors.
'You won't be able to just walk away.'
Konan saw the flash of realization in her eyes and smiled indulgently. "You'll see them in just a moment," she said, and as she did Sakura felt an infinite and irresistible gravity gently seize hold of her. Her feet lifted off the ground, and for a second the feeling of total weightlessness overwhelmed her.
The rain stopped hitting her. Sakura blinked. She was still outside, only just picking up speed, but she wasn't getting wet anymore. She moved her hand out as she started accelerating, moving farther from the bridge every moment, and watched with open fascination as her hand cut through the rain. It was still wet, but any additional drops that hit it were turned away by an invisible force, rebounding off and soaring into the dark. She was wrapped in a thick invisible chakra of incredible power that was sucking her up into the city at a ludicrous speed.
What kind of technique was this? Less than a second had passed, but she was already so far from the bridge that she could barely see it. She was rushing up and up, straight towards one of Amegakure's tallest towers, already over the other ridiculously tall buildings. Sakura felt her heart start to beat out of her chest, her brain finally catching up to her insane speed. She was going to crash; she was going to splatter across the skyline. The building was right there-!
And then, just as she was sure she was going to strike the tower, Sakura stopped. It was a stop without a stop. There was no inertia: her velocity went from past the speed of sound to zero, and Sakura's head didn't even bob forward.
That total impossibility only made her heart beat faster even though she was no longer hurtling through darkness. The rain started hitting her again, and Sakura was gently deposited on a balcony that jutted out from the tower's upper levels. It didn't have railings, and she immediately shuffled away from the edge, not wanting to look down. She'd never been this high up before, and the wind was even stronger here.
There was a wide double door made of the same dark steel as the tower, and after waiting for a moment to see if Konan had followed her or not Sakura made her way towards it, trying to project confidence. She was meant to be here; there was no reason for her to be nervous. They wanted her to be here.
Right before she reached the door, it opened, both sides swinging open soundlessly. Konan was on the other side.
Sakura stopped, and the woman made a welcoming gesture. Had the other been a clone? That would make sense. One of the Amekage probably couldn't afford to leave the village whenever someone wanted to defect.
"Naruto and Sasuke are waiting," she said, clearly waiting for Sakura. "Come in, won't you?"
Sakura obliged, stepping past Konan, and the door closed behind them. She was telling the truth: Naruto and Sasuke were both there, already drying off and seated on the floor. They both smiled as Sakura sat down next to them, luxuriating in the dry warmth of the tower.
"Can we do that again?" Naruto asked, and Konan laughed.
"Stay here for now," she said. The room had three different doors leading into it including the double one that led to the balcony, and she stepped through one of them as she kept talking. "It'll be just a moment."
Then she was gone, and Team Seven were left alone. They looked at each other, and Sakura could see they were just as much at a loss for words as she was. After a second, she shrugged.
"Wanna look around?" she asked. Sasuke gave her a questioning look, and she raised an eyebrow.
"The room? I doubt they'll care," he said. He stood up and Sakura mirrored him: Naruto stayed on the floor, leaning back on both hands and staring at the ceiling.
It was an interesting design, Sakura thought. The room was circular and the ceiling was slightly raised in the center. It was covered in swirling art of the elements: fire, water, air, earth, and lightning all mixed together and traced intricate figures across the whole space, drawing countless elegant designs. She tried to follow one arc of lightning from its beginning to its end and was lost halfway through in a snarl of water.
The room itself was pretty spartan. There were a half dozen chairs lining one of the walls, an odd egg-like design with a cushion in the center. There was a short coffee table in the center with mats set around it, but it looked old and dingy. In general, the room looked like people didn't spend much time in it, but if that was the case why had they been brought here?
"Hmm," Sasuke said. Sakura looked over to find him examining the hardwood floor.
"What?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"Just dunno what kind of wood this is," he said, and Naruto laughed.
"It's wood," he said, rapping his knuckle on it. "What's the difference?"
There was a difference, Sakura thought. They were in a foreign country, in a foreign village, surrounded by foreign ninja and foreign weather. Even the floor was unfamiliar. She felt the enormity of her decision rear up behind her like a hungry shadow and dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
She was meant to be here.
There was a click, and they all turned to look as one of the doors opened. It wasn't Konan who came through this time, but two men instead. They were both tall and lithe, and dressed in simple black armor with a half-cloak covered in the Akatsuki's symbols hanging off their left and right arm respectively. One of them had orange hair and brown eyes, and was the taller of the two; the other was shorter, with a lazier posture, and had long red hair that almost fell to the small of his back. His eyes were hidden in its shadow.
'Amekage.' Sakura knew it the second she saw them. Both men bled obvious and effortless authority, straightening her spine with just their presence. She remembered what the Hokage had told her before she'd left.
`The very first test any defector faces in Amegakure is administered by him.'
Nagato, the man with the Rinnegan. That must have been the man with red hair. The other one was Yahiko. They'd replaced one Amekage with two others.
"Good morning!" Yahiko said, and his cheerful voice almost knocked them down. Naruto sprung to his feet, meeting the enthusiasm head on. "Good to see you!"
"Good morning!" Naruto said right back, and Sakura and Sasuke echoed him at a much lower volume.
"I'm Yahiko, Amekage," Yahiko said as he walked right up to Naruto and stuck out his hand. Naruto took his hand without hesitation and gave it a firm shake, and the handsome man gave him a toothy grin. "Naruto Namikaze, huh? I'm surprised to see you here."
"Why?" Naruto asked, sounding genuinely confused, and Sakura couldn't tell if he was just suddenly a much better actor or if he was being sincere. Yahiko laughed.
"You've got a lot of integrity," he said, finishing the handshake and drawing back. "To stand by your team like this? You must be fearless."
Naruto took the compliment with a grin, and Yahiko's eyes wandered over to Sasuke. "And Sasuke Uchiha too," he said, his voice dropping a little. Sasuke gave him a small nod. Yahiko smiled, his entire existence at odds with Rain's cold and dreary reality, and Sakura was keenly aware of how a man like this could have taken over a country. "I'm glad to have you here, you know."
"I'm only here for my brother," Sasuke said. Yahiko's smile didn't crack. "And for my team."
"Then you're in the right place," he said, suddenly quite serious, before he winked as if sharing a private joke. "And thanks for the honesty."
Yahiko turned to Sakura last and considered her for a moment, stroking his chin with a sly grin. "And you, Sakura Haruno. Konan told me you were the most impressive shinobi at the Exams. You humiliated Sand's Jinchuriki, right?" He stuck out his hand, the same he had for Naruto's, and Sakura found herself taking it without thinking, drawn in by his smile. "I wish I could have seen it myself."
He sounded sincere. Sakura didn't know how to feel about a foreign Kage praising her to her face so guilelessly. She shook the man's hand and spoke quietly.
"Thank you. I'm glad it got Haku's attention."
"Oh, it definitely did. He wouldn't shut up about you," Yahiko said, and Sakura ignored the jolt of electricity that surged through her body at the thought. "Speaking of not shutting up," he continued, releasing Sakura's hand and gesturing at the red-haired man. "This is my friend and fellow Amekage, Nagato." He grinned, and Nagato smiled back. "As you can see, he's very talkative."
Sakura bowed her head, but Nagato stepped forward and stuck out his hand. He moved with much more deliberateness than Yahiko did, as though he were afraid of breaking something with even a small action. He smiled down at Sakura, and spoke in a quiet and calm voice, like a gentle tide breaking against a smooth stone. She could see the gleam of something purple now, behind his hair.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura Haruno."
Sakura took Nagato's hand and opened her mouth to return the greeting.
She froze.
Sakura couldn't move. She tried to make a sound, but her mouth refused to move, staying open mid-greeting. She could feel Nagato's chakra rushing from her hand throughout her whole body, the same burning stuff that had invaded her when she'd pierced her palm with the black rod. It was what was rooting her in place.
"Sakura?" Naruto took a step forward but before he could get far Yahiko placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto," he said, and Sakura could just barely watch them out of the corner of her eye. "Konan told you you would be questioned when you arrived, right?"
"Yeah, something like that," Naruto said. Sakura's attention was drawn away, back to Nagato, as something started to rip its way out of the ground behind him. She watched in horror as the leering face of a demon tore itself into reality at Nagato's back, staring over his shoulder and right into her eyes.
She gagged, blinking in alarm as her tongue suddenly grew heavy. It snaked out of her mouth, slithering through the air and growing longer by the second, and she glanced back over towards Naruto and Sasuke, eyes wide. They were both talking with Yahiko, their voices distant.
"That's what Nagato is doing," Yahiko said with a reassuring look. "It's a technique of his; he's just going to ask Sakura a few questions, and then you guys will be all set, all right?"
Naruto gave a hesitant nod. He couldn't see it, Sakura realized with a jolt. Not her tongue, not the face. To him, she was just standing there holding Nagato's hand. He glanced over at her and caught her wide eyed look. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything: he just gave a fake smile and gave her a thumbs up.
"Sakura." Her attention was jerked back towards Nagato once more. A hand emerged from the mouth of the demonic face, and then another, both questing forward over Nagato's shoulder until they reached her twisting, extended tongue. She gagged, and they seized her, painfully squeezing the thing coming out of her mouth.
Sakura knew she would have been jittering if she could, but her body was still frozen. It wasn't a tongue coming out of her mouth: it was her chakra, or her soul, something, and the Amekage had just quite literally grabbed hold of it. Her breathing stayed steady; right now, her body wasn't hers.
"Yes or no questions, okay?" Nagato said, and Sakura was allowed to nod. Naruto and Sasuke didn't react; they didn't hear the question, or see her motion. She and the Amekage were frozen to the both of them. "Unfortunately, if you lie you will die, so please be honest."
Lie and die. The Amekage's words were echoed by the memory of the Hokage saying the exact same thing. He was completely attuned to her right now and in some way, the connection went both ways. That was why she wasn't allowed to speak, Sakura realized: so that she couldn't ask questions herself. If she could, she could finish her mission right now.
"I don't want to be responsible for your death," the man muttered, and Sakura could tell he was completely sincere. She nodded again, and he gave her a smile.
"Is there a traitor in Rain who works for the Leaf?
Yes, Sakura tried to say, the vibration traveling down the connection between them. Nagato gave her a thoughtful look.
"Do you know who they are?"
No. She didn't die, and Nagato's look changed to approving.
"Then, the important thing." He leaned in, the Rinnegan dominating her vision. "Were you sent here to spy on us, Sakura Haruno?"
For a second, Sakura hesitated.
It was the starkest binary she'd ever seen. Betray the village's trust, or die. To her surprise, she found herself grappling with it. That was interesting, she thought, that she would even consider death for Konoha. She thought that she had moved past that as soon as she'd taken the mission, but that was childish. Of course it wasn't as simple as just changing her mind; it was how she'd been raised.
But in the end, she'd been sent here to betray the village. The Hokage had even told her what to do in this exact situation. Tell the truth, no matter what. Become a loyal shinobi of the Nation of Rain, no matter what. Her mission wasn't to die.
'Even if you have to deceive yourself.'
Yes. She matched Nagato's gaze without flinching, and he raised his eyebrows.
The hands wrapped around her soul released her, withdrawing back into the demon's face with a snap, and it sunk beneath the ground and out of sight. Nagato straightened up and released Sakura's hand, and she was suddenly in control of her body once more. She gagged at the phantom sensation of her tongue filling her mouth, and Sasuke came to her side.
"You alright?" he asked, and she nodded.
"She's perfectly fine," Nagato said gently. "My apologies for that; safety can be an uncomfortable business." He turned to Yahiko, who gave him a curious look. "It's just as we thought."
"Oh?" Yahiko asked, giving Sakura another obvious appraisal. "Brave of you to tell him."
"Wouldn't you have known anyway if I'd died?" Sakura asked, and Yahiko laughed. Both Naruto and Sasuke flinched in alarm.
"That part's a bluff," he said, and Sakura had no idea if he was telling the truth or not. It was so strange to have to return to body language and tone of voice after being so thoroughly wired to Nagato's soul.
"What?" Naruto asked. "Sakura, what happened?"
"I told him the truth," Sakura said, and Naruto gave her an incredulous look. "About why I'm here."
As Naruto sputtered, at a loss for words, she turned back to Yahiko. "But I was only using that as an excuse."
"To come here?" Yahiko asked. She nodded.
"I was curious ever since Haku told me about the Akatsuki during the Chunin Exam." She couldn't afford to focus on anything else: it was just her and Yahiko now. She had to make this the truth, dig up a part of her where it was and make that her entire reality. Sakura was sure that was her only chance. "I'm too young to have seen war; I don't ever want to. My sensei's friends died in the Third War, and my parents both fought in it too. They never talked to me about it even when we liked each other." She shifted, trying to sell some very real uncertainty for another purpose. "What Haku told me made me think the Akatsuki were the only ones really trying to prevent that sort of conflict: that all of the other villages, Konoha included, were just stuck on that path, always creating more violence. That's why I wanted to come here, to see if that was true."
She gestured at Naruto and Sasuke. "They didn't know about my mission; they caught me while I was trying to leave. That's why they're beat up." All the truth, missing some words. She smiled. "They refused to let me go alone, and I was selfish. I was scared to go leave, so I let them come."
"Let us." Naruto rolled his eyes. He'd caught on, Sakura thought. No matter what the circumstances, their teamwork was still perfect. "It was either that or we'd beat the crap out of her and drag her back."
"Ha!" Yahiko chuckled. "I guess you're even better friends than I figured." He leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed. "You felt out of place in Konoha," he said, directly addressing Sakura. "You felt like you were asking questions you weren't supposed to."
"Yes." She didn't have to think about lying: that was completely true.
"That's all that matters," Nagato said, his soft voice almost wistful. He gestured delicately to the designs flowing across the room. "Rain is always happy to welcome spies." He smiled. "We are the greatest confluence of spies in the world."
"Spy central," Yahiko laughed, and Nagato chuckled. "And I'm sure Minato knew that when he chose you, Sakura." He grin went a little sideways. "You being sent as a spy isn't a problem."
"I don't even know how I'd do it," she admitted. "So that's kinda a relief."
"It should be! Being a spy is hard!" Yahiko said with his easy laugh. "You shouldn't worry about it: the only thing you should worry about is whether you can take the Nation's beliefs into your heart."
He shifted, his posture changing a little, and Sakura cocked her head. For the first time, Yahiko seemed completely serious; he reminded her of the Hokage, the way he'd focused as they'd sat at his desk and discussed her mission.
"If you can, that's great," he said. "But if you can't…" His face grew hard. "If you don't become a true shinobi of Rain, you'll be a traitor to both the Leaf and the Rain." He was like a knife, so sharp that his words pierced right through her. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Sakura swallowed, feeling her sword at her hip. It wasn't a crass threat, nothing so blatant as 'I'll kill you.'
'He definitely could though.'
But the meaning was obvious. She wouldn't have a home. She wouldn't have any allies. No one would trust her; she would be as good as dead, just another rogue ninja with nothing to live for but themselves.
"I understand," she said.
Yahiko's cold face vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he was back to his normal self. He winked, as if what he'd just said hadn't made Sakura's heart drop into her stomach. The world opened up again as she breathed out, and Naruto and Sasuke and Nagato were there once again, silently watching the proceedings.
"Awesome," he said.
Another one of the doors opened, and two Konan's stepped through, apparently identical.
"Come with me," the one closer to the door said, and Team Seven faced her as one. "I'll get you all situated."
"Good to meet you, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke," Yahiko said with a jaunty wave as they passed him. "I imagine we'll be talking again soon. Until then, get to know the village." He grinned. "After all, it's your new home."
The door closed behind them, and with no idea of what else to do, Sakura and her friends followed Konan deeper into the tower.
###
After the children had left, Konan waited by the door a moment until the sound of her clone's footsteps had completely dissipated. When it was gone, she nodded, and Yahiko sighed and sunk down in one of the circular chairs lining the walls.
"Yeesh," he said, and Nagato let out a little laugh. "I didn't expect this."
"It was optimistic," Nagato said, joining him in another chair, "to think all three of them would come." His ringed eyes shined with amusement. "Too good to be true."
"And yet that's precisely what happened," Konan said, walking away from the door and pacing in front of the two of them. She'd been just as surprised when she'd met Sakura and her team in that field, but the situation had been obvious to her immediately. The injuries on the boys, Sakura's tense attitude: it didn't matter if she was genuinely defecting or not, she'd been caught in the act and that shame had only sharpened her resolve. "But it's a dangerous gift that the Leaf has sent us."
"Very," Yahiko acknowledged. "They've got enormous potential, all three of them." He leaned back in the chair, hands laced behind his head. "That alone would bring a lot of attention, but the fact we've got the Hokage's son and a genius Uchiha…"
"Two," Konan gently reminded him, and Yahiko rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that's why they're here. It's certainly why Sasuke is."
"To see if it's true?" Yahiko said, and Konan gave him an unimpressed look. He laughed. "Well, I guess that's sensible."
"Them being here only puts Rain in more danger," Nagato said. He was always quiet and always focused, and that meant that when he spoke, both Konan and Yahiko always listened. It was always so surreal to Konan that their friend who had been so little and pale as a child now held the power of a god in his hands, but her life had taught her that the world worked in funny ways. Had she ever dreamed of being the head of a village, the object of the whole world's disdain?
Certainly not, but that only made it funnier.
"What do you mean, Nagato?" she asked, and he steepled his fingers in his lap, staring down at them with his legendary eyes.
"The attention they bring will far outstrip their ability for years," he said, and as always Konan was trapped between being impressed and disturbed at just how quickly Nagato could cut to the heart of a person's worth to the Nation. Maybe it was because he could see inside them in a way no one else could dream of, or because he had been the Akatsuki's pillar of strength for so long. "Even if they're all prodigies, which is very possible." He drummed a finger against his knee. "I saw in her that all of them have already mastered the Rasengan: at their age, that's a remarkable feat."
"That would be impressive," Yahiko said, "but we don't need them for that. Rain already has plenty of powerful ninja." He grinned. "Them being here shows that our message, the Akatsuki's message, works. To others, it'll be proof that even Minato Namikaze's son doesn't believe in Konoha."
"Or they'll think he came for petty reasons," Konan pointed out. "Sakura grew distant from her parents after the Exam according to our sources; perhaps it was the same for Naruto." She considered the problem, her eyebrows pushing in as Yahiko gave her a funny look. "Or perhaps he found out about the mission his father had given her, and the realization that he was willing to send his friend away was the final straw."
"It's pointless to speculate," Nagato said with a shake of his head. "What matters is that they're here, and you're obviously determined to keep them." He glanced at Yahiko and the man raised his hands.
"Guilty," he said guilelessly. "I think they are spectacular shinobi." He grinned. "And I like them. She's fearless, and so are Namikaze and the Uchiha."
"She's not fearless," Konan and Nagato said at the same time, and they shot each other an amused look. Yahiko glanced back and forth between the two of them and laughed, and Nagato made a deferential gesture. Konan smiled and continued. "She's terrified to be here, and she's terrified for her comrades. That was obvious to me."
"And to me," Nagato said, his Rinnegan gleaming. "But that only makes it more impressive, doesn't it?"
"It does," Yahiko said, teeth shining. "But let's back up." He stroked his chin, an old nervous tic of his that Konan still found endearing. "If we want to keep them here, we'll have to keep their mission running for as long as possible. Otherwise, I'm sure they'll run the first chance they get, no matter how curious Sakura is about the Akatsuki." He glanced back at Konan. "You think they're all here for Sasuke's brother?"
"Him and the Nanabi," she confirmed. "It's the only thing that could have driven Namikaze to such rash action, don't you think?"
"He's normally such a careful one," Yahiko agreed. "But that'll be tricky, won't it?"
"Very," Nagato said, his voice subdued. He closed his eyes. "It will be simple enough to conceal the truth at first. They will expect us to hide the presence of Itachi and the Nanabi Jinchuriki."
Konan spoke. "But eventually, Kakuzu will return to the village." She was sure of it, even if the man had not checked in since he'd been given his mission. The ancient shinobi from Waterfall was brusque but loyal to money, and Rain had plenty of that.
"Precisely," Nagato said. He opened his eyes. "We'll have to keep him out of the village. The truth would be too complicated for a spy to accurately relay, and that could cause Konoha to behave even more rashly."
Konan looked up, taking in the intermixed elemental design on the ceiling and sighing. It was true. If they called Sakura and her friends back in right now and told them exactly what had occurred at Waterfall, they wouldn't be believed. More than that, they'd probably be despised. If they meant to keep them, they would have to hide that until they were converted, or in too deep to consider leaving over personal feelings. The alliance was still fragile right now: it wasn't a matter of loyalty between shinobi and Kage, but a new and novel relationship where they were almost equals.
"The other villages finally see us as a true equal, with a Bijuu of our own," Yahiko mused, drawing their attention back to him. He was at his handsomest when he was thinking, Konan thought. "And a ninja as frightening as Itachi on top of that. They'll begin treating us more seriously, and even more so when word that a team as promising as this one has defected to join us wholesale."
"We may not want 'more seriously,'" Nagato cautioned. "They'll assume the worst of our every move now."
"They already did," Konan said with a laugh, and Nagato couldn't help but chuckle. "And we've always acted with that in mind. Do any of the villages trust their competition? It's just the way things are."
"Maybe that's why Itachi agreed to work with Kakuzu," Yahiko said suddenly. Konan blinked at his stark tone.
"Making the other villages respect us more?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, and Yahiko nodded.
"Respect and fear are the same thing to a lot of ninja," he said. "Itachi knows that: I can't believe otherwise. And since Kakuzu still hasn't returned..." He frowned. "They're the most powerful men in the world right now, and yet no one knows where they are, not even us. That sort of leverage is pretty unbelievable." His frown grew more severe. "We can't let them hold it for long."
"All true," Konan said, "but it's like Nagato said. Right now, speculation is pointless." She stopped pacing, standing before the both of them like a monolith. "We should focus on our new ninja."
"They have enormous loyalty to each other," Nagato said. "It's why they're here in the first place. We need to keep that in mind."
"Splitting them up would be too overt," Yahiko completed the thought with a grin. "And turn them against us. Every crass rumor about Rain would be proved true."
"But we also can't let them stay as a three man cell," Konan said. "That would isolate them from the rest of the village. If the only ones they work with are each other, they'll still be outsiders in Rain."
"Each of them formed a bond with someone in the team we sent," Yahiko said, and he jumped up out of his chair. Now, he was the one pacing, to Konan's amusement. "They were perfectly matched, I'd say." He snapped his fingers several times, recalling the report they'd received from their Chunin Exam team and Zabuza Momochi. "Haku and Sakura, obviously. Peas in a pod, that's obvious. Their jutsu are even complimentary; it's like it's meant to be. Kabuto and Naruto got along well, and he's perceptive enough to be the perfect bodyguard."
Konan nodded, since it was self-evident the Hokage's son would have to be guarded. He, more than anyone else on the team, would attract unpleasant attention from the other villages.
"And Suigetsu and Sasuke…" Yahiko trailed off, and laughed. "From what Haku said, they just bickered, but they're teenagers. There might be something there. And if not, Sasuke strikes me as an independent guy. He could operate in just about any cell successfully, I bet." He stopped pacing with a grin. "Friendship and trust are a powerful thing," he said, squeezing Konan's hand. She squeezed him back, and Nagato snorted at their show of affection. "They're what let us overthrow this country. We just need to rely on them forming those bonds, and they'll do all the work."
"You're right," Nagato said. "As usual, Yahiko."
"Anything to add besides flattery?" Yahiko said with a roll of his eyes, and Nagato gave him a grin.
"Don't forget that we're dealing with the lives of rather brilliant teenagers," he said. "They will surprise us; it's inevitable. You say that our friendship let us overthrow the Daimyo, and that's true, but now, we're the status quo in this country: if we're not careful, their friendship could overthrow us."
What a cheater, Konan thought. She was sure that Nagato would be just as insightful even if he couldn't read people's minds, but that extra help from the Rinnegan definitely helped.
She squeezed Yahiko's hand again and stepped away, regarding both her teammates. "Leave them to me," she said. Nagato gave a grateful nod, and Yahiko a curious look. "I'll take care of their lodging, assignments, and integration. I believe they're important enough the extra attention will be worth it." She pointed at each of them in turn with a small smile. "You keep yourself busy running the country. The Nation has to keep growing stronger, and the Daimyo's hold on the world weaker."
Her smile grew a little cold. "More than anyone, we have that responsibility. Things will only escalate now."
"If you'll take them," Yahiko said cheerfully. "I bet they'll prove a handful."
"I'll take them," she said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "To tell you the truth, I'm excited."
Yahiko blushed like he was still a teenager, and Nagato stood up with a mocking grin. The Amekage left the room as one, returning to their duties as the rain poured down outside, a distant crack of thunder barely penetrating the room.
"I think this could be the thing we've been waiting for; the last little push that could change everything."
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Part 2 is here, and exciting times are ahead! Thanks for coming on this journey with me: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and what's to come.