[Active Missions: 1/2] Mission: Founding Akatsuki Description: Witness the first meeting between the three founders of Akatsuki—Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
Rank: Blue Time Limit: 69 Days Reward: 2,000 Points Status: Completed Current Points: 2,200 (200 + 2,000) Looking at the mission that had been triggered three months earlier, Unkawa shook his head inwardly.
“So merely ‘witnessing’ the three kids’ first meeting was enough…” “The room for interpretation on this mission was surprisingly broad.” Simply bringing Yahiko and Konan back and letting the three children meet one another was enough to complete it.
That was fine with him.
As long as the mission didn’t require him to join Akatsuki, he had no complaints.
After all…
If it had required him to sit back, do nothing, wait for events to unfold exactly as they had in the original story, and only then join Akatsuki…
He would never have accepted it.
Nagato had been the first of the three whom Unkawa found.
Several months ago…
He had been searching for someone when he heard a loud explosion and immediately rushed toward it.
And then…
Well…
There was nothing more to say.
Even Unkawa had been dumbfounded when he found the unconscious red-haired boy lying beside the corpses of two Konoha shinobi.
He had never expected to find Nagato before Yahiko and Konan.
For a moment…
He had even suspected that some old schemer had deliberately lured him there.
Because…
Unkawa firmly believed that luck was an exception.
Misfortune was the norm.
Yet after carefully retracing everything that had happened…
He found nothing suspicious.
In the end…
He could only attribute it to coincidence.
Even so…
His vigilance increased severalfold.
Although he knew approaching Nagato would inevitably place him within the sights of those two old monsters…
There was no way he could simply pretend he hadn’t seen anything and walk away.
The Rinnegan…
Was simply too important.
Unkawa understood that his influence upon the shinobi world was steadily increasing.
He couldn’t afford to remain passive while waiting for the main storyline to begin.
Sooner or later…
His existence would inevitably alter history itself.
When that happened…
His limited advantage as someone who knew the future would disappear.
Yahiko and Konan were already living proof.
Originally…
Neither of them had possessed any special significance.
Yet because Unkawa—the butterfly—had merely flapped his wings…
They encountered a deadly crisis they were never supposed to face.
Had that trap not been Unkawa’s…
They might never have survived.
Because within this world…
Their importance had been negligible.
Without meeting Nagato…
They would have remained nothing more than two of countless war orphans.
Which was precisely why…
Even if it meant attracting the attention of Madara and Black Zetsu…
Unkawa had to keep the Rinnegan within his grasp.
Nagato had to remain under his watch.
Only then…
Could he seize control of the future.
Besides…
Not just any Uzumaki could wield the majority of the Rinnegan’s power.
Nagato was the vessel personally chosen by Madara after countless years of searching.
Even among the Uzumaki Clan…
His talent was exceptional.
A genius among geniuses.
The combination of the Rinnegan…
And an Uzumaki prodigy…
Was simply too tempting.
After all…
When a kidnapper finds an extraordinarily gifted child…
Who would ever leave empty-handed?
Fortunately…
Until Nagato matured enough to stand on his own…
Madara would never personally interfere with the people around him.
At the very least…
He would wait until Nagato could summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path…
Or even master Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
By the time Nagato reached that level…
If Unkawa still feared an ancient Madara who could barely even breathe…
Then he deserved whatever fate awaited him.
The only regret…
Was that by the time Unkawa arrived…
Nagato’s parents were already dead.
Otherwise…
He might have gained another member of the Uzumaki Clan.
When Nagato first awakened…
He had been a completely withdrawn child.
Over the following months…
He watched Unkawa gather companions through countless methods…
And through the force of his personality.
He watched the City of Dawn slowly rise from nothing.
Only after months of Unkawa’s guidance…
Did Nagato finally begin opening up.
Unfortunately…
He opened up in the exact opposite direction.
“Sigh…” Thinking of that, Unkawa couldn’t help sighing.
Then…
Without warning…
He grabbed Nagato’s cheeks and pulled them outward.
“Could you smile once in a while?” “Stop walking around with that gloomy face all day.” “You look like you’ve spent your entire life carrying the world’s grudges.” “You’ve already made seven children cry.” “Half the complaints in the suggestion box outside my office are from kids saying you bullied them!” To reduce the number of times Nagato relied upon the Rinnegan…
And slow his adaptation to its abilities—allowing him to better develop his own Uzumaki talents— Unkawa had designed a specialized training program for him.
Borrowing Tobirama’s logic as an excuse…
He had also insisted Nagato keep his eyes covered.
His explanation had been simple.
“These are cursed eyes.” Besides…
In the original story…
Nagato had hidden his eyes beneath long hair anyway.
This was simply another method.
At first…
Nagato found the blindfold uncomfortable.
But as he followed Unkawa…
Witnessing ever more filth…
Corruption…
Cruelty…
And chaos…
He gradually grew accustomed to keeping his eyes closed.
His extraordinary Uzumaki sensory abilities blossomed rapidly.
Whether he blamed himself for his parents’ deaths…
Or whether witnessing so much darkness gradually twisted his heart…
In the end…
He became the cold, silent boy standing here today.
At present…
There were only two things Nagato truly cared about.
The first…
Was Unkawa.
The man who had saved him.
His elder brother.
His father figure.
The second…
Was the City of Dawn.
The name itself had been Nagato’s idea.
A symbol of the last sanctuary remaining within a world consumed by darkness.
That was why…
The moment he heard Yahiko’s earlier remarks…
He had attacked without hesitation.
No one understood better than Nagato…
How much he and his brother had sacrificed to build everything they now possessed.
How could he possibly allow some naïve fool to slander it?
“Brother.” Nagato stepped closer and quietly whispered something into Unkawa’s ear.
“…I see.” After a brief silence…
A smile returned to Unkawa’s face.
Yet…
There wasn’t the slightest trace of warmth in his blue eyes.
They resembled a bottomless lake…
Too deep to reflect even a single ray of light.
“In the future…” “You don’t need my permission for matters like this.” “Don’t hesitate.” “I entrusted Akatsuki to you.” “So handle it however you believe is appropriate.” “Just submit a report afterward.” “Understood.” Nagato lowered his head.
A cold glint flashed across his face.
“Then…” “I’ll deal with it now.” His brother…
Was still the same as ever.
Even when it concerned people close to himself…
He would never allow sentimentality to cloud his judgment.
If Nagato still needed permission before acting…
It simply meant his resolve wasn’t strong enough.
With that thought…
He turned to leave.
“Hey!” “Red-haired brat!” Nagato stopped.
Expressionless…
He turned back toward Yahiko.
“I don’t like you anymore.” A vein bulged across Yahiko’s forehead.
“One day…” “I’m paying you back for that slam.” “So you’d better not give me the chance.” For some reason…
Everything about this guy irritated him.
Just looking at that permanently gloomy face made him want to punch it.
“Finished?” Nagato asked calmly.
“If you’re done…” “My turn.” “From now on…” “Don’t let me hear you using that pitiful brain of yours to maliciously question my brother’s intentions ever again.” This idiot simply didn’t understand.
Just as Brother had once told him…
“The more a tree grows…” “The more it longs for the light above…” “The deeper its roots must reach.” “Into the earth.” “Into even greater darkness.” And his own duty…
Was to eliminate the insects beneath the soil.
To keep them from stealing the tree’s nourishment…
Or gathering together until they gnawed the tree apart.
Trying to explain something like that…
To an idiot missing half his brain…
Was completely pointless.
“And one more thing.” Nagato paused.
“Even if it sounds childish…” “I really don’t like you.” Having thoroughly infuriated Yahiko…
Nagato turned and walked away without another glance.
Unlike that fool…
He still had work to do.
To…
Crush the filthy insects beneath the roots.
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