Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand

Chapter 235: Terms

Yahiko’s life was a death point for both Nagato and Konan. Konan’s death was equally something neither Yahiko nor Nagato could accept. Yahiko especially could not watch Konan sacrifice herself in this way.

If it had not been for the threat hanging over Konan’s life, he would have fought the Sand Village to the very end regardless of how overwhelming the odds were, maintaining Akatsuki’s convictions without compromise.

Even if the Sand Village was a far more powerful opponent than the Hidden Rain Village had ever been.

But he was not foolish in the end. Standing against the Fourth Kazekage was not a reason worth giving up everyone’s lives for.

The Kazekage had said he would kill everyone here, and he was entirely capable of making good on that. Therefore Akatsuki had no choice but to accept the situation first, then work within the constraints of the Land of Rain’s reality to find a path forward.

"The Land of Rain will become part of the Land of Wind. We will establish a second hidden village here to consolidate this territory’s military strength. I am not the same as Hanzo. I am genuinely willing to give you an opportunity, for the sake of the peace you speak of."

Yuji said it calmly.

"Once the Land of Wind has fully absorbed the Land of Rain, it will work across every dimension, economy, population, governance, and public sentiment, to restore stability and win the hearts of this country’s people. A land that has suffered this much deserves to know peace."

"Before that happens, if Akatsuki is willing to operate under the Sand Village’s umbrella, you can be integrated into the regular forces of the hidden village. Once the country has been properly stabilized and managed, administrative responsibility can be handed over to you."

"But understand this clearly. You will always be a subordinate organization under the Sand Village. Nothing more."

"If you choose not to operate under us, there are two options. First, leave the Land of Rain entirely. Second, for a set period of time, the Sand Village will refrain from imposing its management over the Land of Rain and allow you to observe what happens. If within that period the Land of Rain shows no signs of moving toward genuine peace, I will permit you to continue your resistance."

"Why would you offer us that?" Yahiko caught the implication in those words immediately.

The Fourth Kazekage held complete and absolute initiative here. Offering two options like these seemed almost too generous. With the Sand Village’s strength, they could simply eliminate Akatsuki during the process of taking the Land of Rain and be done with it. Doing so might cost some military losses, but from the Land of Wind’s strategic perspective, it would clearly be the more profitable choice.

"Peace dissolves resentment over time. Akatsuki has been able to build this level of influence in the Land of Rain precisely because suffering brought so many people to your side. Your organization itself is not the threat."

"Destroying you through simple physical elimination would be pointless. What matters more is the spirit."

"I want to show you what peace in this land actually looks like when achieved through the right methods. Your path was wrong. Follow mine instead."

Yahiko said nothing.

Behind them, Sasori’s eyes flickered briefly.

He did not cut Yuji off. Because in his assessment, Yuji had absolutely no need to negotiate with these people at all. A direct elimination would have ended the matter cleanly. But he also knew Yuji’s nature. If Yuji was doing this, there was a reason behind it.

"If you truly want to make enemies of the Sand Village, even if we let you walk away today, understand this. You have no chance of winning."

"Do not let your personal ideals become the reason everyone around you is destroyed. That is not conviction. That is foolishness."

"The fact that you nearly died at Hanzo’s hands today is the best possible proof that reality will never lie to you."

"What you want is simply for the people of this land to stop suffering. Who holds the authority is not something you actually care that deeply about, is it? Otherwise you would never have agreed to negotiate with Hanzo at all, and you would not have allowed so many innocent comrades to die along the way."

Yuji spoke the words plainly.

Silence.

"How long?" Yahiko said in a low voice.

He was asking about the second option, specifically how long the Land of Wind would be given to restore peace to the Land of Rain before the agreement expired.

This was essentially a wager between him and the Kazekage. If the Kazekage failed to make the Land of Rain genuinely better, Akatsuki would have grounds to rise again.

Of course, the reason he was reluctantly accepting any of this was Konan’s life being held in the Kazekage’s hands. And the other critical point was that the Sand Village was not the Hidden Rain Village. The external threat from Konoha was real. With Akatsuki’s current strength, they could still maneuver against the Hidden Rain Village’s remnants. But against the Sand Village, resistance would mean complete annihilation.

Akatsuki would not disband. They would continue developing and expanding their military until the day came when they could stand against the Sand Village as equals.

But that day was not today.

"Five years," Yuji said.

"Agreed. If five years from now the Land of Rain has seen no meaningful change, Akatsuki will reclaim sovereignty from the Sand Village by force."

Yahiko said it plainly.

"Done," Yuji said with a quiet smile.

"But before anything else, you will remove the curse mark from Konan."

Yahiko added this immediately.

"This is not a negotiation. It is the essential condition for Akatsuki honoring any agreement at all."

The bond between the three of them was their most important guarantee to each other.

"Acceptable," Yuji nodded.

He had placed the curse mark on Konan specifically to create leverage for this exact negotiation.

"Removing the curse mark presents no problem. But first you need to give me something in return."

Yuji extended a single finger.

Something?

All three of them were taken aback.

Yuji’s gaze shifted to Nagato.

"Give me your eyes. I will remove her curse mark."

The moment those words landed, Yahiko’s expression went rigid.

Konan’s pupils expanded.

Neither of them had anticipated the Fourth Kazekage would make this kind of demand.

"Do not worry. I will take his eyes, but I also know how to use ninjutsu to restore the wound and allow him to grow a normal pair of eyes again. These eyes were never originally his to begin with. Losing them simply means losing a degree of strength."

"Compared to saving a dear friend’s life, that is a small price, is it not?"

Yuji said it with a light amusement in his voice.

He had planted the measure involving Konan specifically for this moment. Using the bond between the three of them as leverage. He knew with certainty that Nagato would agree. Given Nagato’s nature, there was never any real question.

"Alright."

Nagato hesitated for only a single moment before responding.

"Nagato!"

Yahiko and Konan both reacted simultaneously, their expressions shifting.

Konan looked at Yuji with open hatred in her eyes.

Only now, in this moment, did she fully understand what had been happening from the very beginning. This Fourth Kazekage had been using her throughout, and through her had been maneuvering Yahiko, the organization, and Nagato into exactly this position.

First he had exploited her inability to bear Yahiko’s death, forcing her to bow her head. Once she had walked into the arrangement, the Fourth Kazekage had clearly anticipated this and had planned from the start to use the curse mark against Yahiko and Nagato in turn.

Layer upon layer.

No wonder the ninja world said the Fourth Kazekage was not simple. His mind ran this deep. She had been completely outplayed. And she could not even argue against it, because every step had been something she had entered into of her own will. She had no one to blame. She could only swallow the bitterness in silence.

"It is fine," Nagato said, offering quiet reassurance to his two companions, then stepped forward and stood before Yuji.

"Go ahead."

His voice was entirely composed.

Compared to the brush with death today, and the grief of nearly losing Yahiko, protecting Konan right now carried more meaning for Nagato than any pair of eyes ever could. Even losing both eyes was something he accepted with willingness.

"Ah."

A second later, Yuji acted without any hesitation.

Blood sprayed. Nagato let out a sharp cry of pain.

Because Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, represented a genuine threat in Yuji’s eyes. More than that, he was the single most dangerous potential hazard within Akatsuki, a variable that could reach a level of power capable of genuinely threatening the Sand Village if left to develop unchecked.

Of course, none of the three of them had any awareness of this yet. They knew Nagato’s eyes were unusual, but they did not understand what those eyes truly represented or how critically important they were.

When Yuji’s blood-stained fingers finally withdrew, his palm held a pair of eyeballs.

The Rinnegan.

Even Yuji, feeling the warmth of those eyes resting in his hand, could not suppress the surge of emotion that rose in him.

Finally. They were his.

At the lowest possible cost, he had obtained the single most important item the story could have offered him.

He immediately extended his hand again, sending chakra flowing toward Nagato’s bleeding empty sockets in a gentle and steady stream. The Reverse Cursed Technique activated.

Very quickly, Nagato’s eyes grew back, restoring themselves to their original state.

But these new eyes were ordinary. Plain dark pupils.

No longer the Rinnegan.

Watching this extraordinary healing technique work in real time, both Yahiko and Konan were visibly stunned.

"Your turn," Yuji said, turning to Konan.

Konan stepped forward. She parted her clothing partially, exposing the curse mark pattern on her chest.

Yuji pressed a fingertip laced with chakra against her skin. As his hand moved through the necessary sequence, the black markings on her skin dissolved in an instant, turning into wisps of fading smoke. Then the red point at the center of the seal was drawn outward and extracted, condensing into a single rotating blood bead as it left her body.

The curse mark was officially removed.

Only at this moment did Yahiko and Nagato finally feel the tension release from their chests.

They had half-expected the Fourth Kazekage to play some trick at the last moment. They had not expected him to genuinely and completely honor his word without any deviation.

After completing everything, Yuji pocketed the Rinnegan, turned, and walked away with Sasori and Rasa.

"Akatsuki can continue to develop, and you can continue pursuing your ideals. But remember clearly: involvement in any further military conflicts is not permitted."

He glanced back at Yahiko once as he turned, delivering the warning in a calm and final tone.

Without the Rinnegan, Akatsuki now posed no practical threat to the Sand Village. The warning was a formality more than a necessity.

With that, the three of them walked away slowly.

They left behind Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and the assembled Akatsuki fighters, who watched the three figures recede into the distance.

"Why did you not simply kill them?"

After they had put a sufficient distance between themselves and the group, Sasori glanced back at the black-robed figures still standing in the rain and turned to Yuji with the question.

They had no intention of operating under the Sand Village. Eliminating them would have been cleaner, would it not?

"When did the ninja world ever consist only of killing? Killing them would have resolved things on the surface, but it would also have destroyed their value."

Yuji walked forward with unhurried attention.

Value?

Rasa did not follow the logic immediately.

"Danzo is still alive and we cannot touch him yet. What we have done here in the Land of Rain will spread through the ninja world before long. The other major hidden villages may lack the immediate capacity to respond, but they will certainly develop wariness toward us. In this world there have never been permanent enemies or permanent allies, only interests."

"The Land of Rain’s geographical position means the villages that will feel the most direct and tangible threat from our presence here are the Hidden Stone Village and Konoha."

"If our village pursues military expansion and governs the Land of Rain through sheer force, the other hidden villages will move to contain us. A single-village monopoly over the ninja world will not be allowed to emerge so easily. When that happens, it will not just be the Hidden Stone and Konoha forming an alliance. All four of the other villages could end up on the same side."

"We have broken the balance. We must be prepared to absorb the consequences of that imbalance."

"In the short term, this seems unlikely. But in a few years, once the other villages have recovered their strength and war ignites again, the Land of Rain will be the first place the flames reach. Trying to hold off all four of the other great villages with the Sand Village’s strength alone would not be easy under any circumstances."

"I see," Rasa said, understanding fully now.

"Do not worry. When the next Great Ninja War eventually begins, it will certainly be directed at the Sand Village. The genuinely difficult part still lies ahead."

Yuji narrowed his eyes.

As long as Yahiko survived, Akatsuki would not scatter. That particular blade, if wielded with the right timing and in the right direction, would prove extremely useful.

The ninja world’s fate line had already been altered. It was no longer possible to calculate the future by simply following the original story’s logic. The chain reactions ahead were impossible to predict in full.

One against four was still too difficult a position to hold.

The Sand Village was, in comparison to Konoha, a newcomer to this level of power. Whatever advantages it currently held were recent and not yet deeply rooted. Reshaping the structure of the ninja world would require surviving and winning the next Great Ninja War. That was the decisive threshold that could not be avoided.

He currently appeared to hold many cards. But measured against the Sage of Six Paths, he was still far behind.

And beyond the strategic calculations, something else had begun to settle in Yuji’s instincts. Something closer to an intuition. Perhaps even a premonition of danger.

The original story’s fate line had been thrown into chaos. He had continued reshaping the ninja world’s development at every step. And now he had effectively taken on a position similar to the role Obito and Madara had once occupied from the shadows.

In a certain sense, his own fate was beginning to curve toward the same trajectory as Obito, Madara, and Kaguya. If there was some force operating from behind the scenes, the Sage of Six Paths, or something older and larger than even that, pushing history forward from the shadows, then there was a meaningful possibility that in the future the world itself might turn its attention toward him.

That the Indra and Ashura reincarnations might no longer be aimed at sealing Kaguya, but aimed at him instead. Unless some other variable emerged to redirect things.

These were all possibilities now.

"One step at a time," Yuji thought, his eyes settling into quiet resolve. "I set out to change this world. I have already prepared myself to welcome whatever comes."

..

"Yahiko."

On the other side, within Akatsuki’s remaining group, everyone looked toward Yahiko, who stood quietly in the falling rain with an expression that was calm and unreadable, clearly lost in thought. Several people began to speak and stopped themselves.

"Leader, we will keep fighting. The Sand Village has just replaced the Hidden Rain Village as our obstacle. For us, nothing has fundamentally changed."

"Exactly. We agreed to his terms with our mouths, but that does not mean we have to follow them."

"That is right."

Several of Akatsuki’s senior members spoke up in sequence.

"I made peace sound too simple," Yahiko said suddenly, and laughed quietly.

There was a note of self-mockery in it.

Everyone who heard it fell silent.

Because what their leader had said was the truth.

"I understand now why the two of you trusted Yoru so completely, even in secret. Everything he said was right."

Yahiko let out a slow breath and looked at Konan and Nagato.

"Yahiko," Konan said, her expression heavy with worry.

"I am fine. I am only reflecting."

Yahiko smiled with genuine warmth. Then he looked around at the comrades gathered near him.

"There is nothing to worry about. I simply suddenly understood some things I had not seen clearly before. My understanding of peace has shifted. Our conviction has not been extinguished so easily. Akatsuki still stands. Our path continues. It will simply be harder going forward."

Hearing him say this, the tension in everyone’s faces gave way to quiet and relieved smiles one after another.

"As long as you are leading us, leader, no matter how hard the road gets, we will keep walking it with you."

"That is right."

Their voices were steady with conviction.

"The Sand Village’s strength is far above the Hidden Rain Village’s. It is genuinely beyond anything we can match right now."

"We bide our time. I believe there will come a day when we have built a strength they cannot look down on."

Yahiko looked in the direction where the three Sand Village figures had disappeared and spoke.

"I want to thank him. Today, he gave us a lesson worth learning."

They had underestimated the true weight and meaning of peace by some measure.

Put another way, with their current resources and strength, they did not yet have the standing to place peace on the negotiating table at all. Even if they brought the word peace to the table, they lacked the capital to make anyone take it seriously.

Whether it was Konoha or the Sand Village, a major hidden village could intervene casually and reshape the Land of Rain’s situation and direction with ease.

They had been exhausted for years, grinding out every card they had, accumulating painfully.

And it still was not enough.

...

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