Konoha: Start from untying the caged bird

Page 201

Is Pain, who possesses the Rinnegan, a worthy opponent?

After much deliberation, Hinata Yuzuru concluded that he still had a better chance of winning.

At worst, all tactics can be switched to stealing the base, and Nagato can be kicked off his wheelchair right in front of Konan with a Flying Thunder God Technique.

There's no way we can lose.

Not afraid to set a flag, Hyuga Yuzuru dismissed the meeting, but before leaving, Uchiha Itachi suddenly said, "Orochimaru's whereabouts have been found. He has now established the Hidden Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields and has been secretly maintaining contact with the Akatsuki organization."

During our initial investigation, we suspected the other party was Orochimaru—but he was always very cautious and never showed his face. It wasn't until recently, when we analyzed and compared voice recordings during wiretapping, that we were able to confirm his identity.

Hyuga Yuzuru raised an eyebrow: "I understand... Orochimaru is a dangerous guy, don't be careless."

"clear."

Uchiha Itachi said calmly, "We will continue to monitor the situation."

Hyuga Yuzuru nodded and couldn't help but laugh: "Orochimaru is certainly a genius ninja in the ninja world, but he probably never imagined that technology could achieve this level."

The thought of Orochimaru making calls on a Konoha-made phone while being eavesdropped on without his knowledge made Hyuga Yuzuru shake his head with a smile—even someone as strong as Orochimaru seems to have fallen behind the times over the years.

However, Hyuga Yuzuru was not careless—Orochimaru has an extremely strong research talent in biology. In Boruto, he even accomplished the incredible feat of creating 'artificial humans', and he seems to be as handsome as ever, with the potential to become immortal.

He's been keeping a low profile all these years, and I wonder if he has any plans to make another big splash.

Hinata Yuzuru pondered that leaving such a person outside was both dangerous and a waste, so he should take some time to bring him back.

As a criminal, he should have no objection to serving a sentence for several hundred years.

However, his continued contact with the Akatsuki organization is something to be wary of.

Hinata Yuzuru pondered for a moment, then finally decided to patiently observe the situation first.

After dealing with Pain, let's go see what Orochimaru's situation is.

...

Pain's actions in Konoha were both discreet and slow.

Seemingly worried about being discovered by Konoha, Pain was very patient in his intelligence gathering and observation along the way. He didn't even use the Human Path to read other people's memories, but purely used his own eyes to measure the current situation of Konoha.

After surveying the outskirts of Konoha from the border, they gradually began to venture deeper into the area.

On January 21st, Pain arrived at Shangyan City, the closest city to the present-day Konoha New Capital. As always, he observed the lives of the Konoha people and pondered the meaning of peace. Finally, he made up his mind to go and see the New Capital.

If possible, Nagato even wanted to meet with the Fifth Hokage and have a good chat.

But Nagato never expected that his wish would come true when he left Shangyan and headed towards Xinjing, only halfway there.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes.

A black sedan was parked on the side of the road. A man wearing a divine robe and with white hair cascading over his shoulders sat in the back seat, his arm resting on the car door. He was staring blankly at the news playing on the screen in the back seat, his hand supporting his cheek. The other door was open, and Uchiha Itachi and Shisui stood in front of it. Uchiha Izumi stood next to the driver's seat, leaning against the door where Hyuga Yuzuru was.

Pain stopped in his tracks.

He wasn't surprised that the other party would discover his whereabouts. After all, no matter how low-key they were, Pain's actions couldn't be completely without leaving a trace. Even if they wanted to find his whereabouts and confirm his identity, it would still be difficult. But Nagato was prepared.

He never expected that the other party would actually dare to come out of the village to wait for him...

How confident you are!

The Fifth Hokage, Yuzuru Hyuga.

Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Izumi were all wearing the black overcoats issued as uniforms by the Konoha ninjas. At this moment, their hands were naturally clasped in front of them, giving them the air of bodyguards.

"Come in, Payne, or rather, Nagato."

Hyuga Yuzuru's voice came from inside the car seat. Pain's Six Paths, including Tendo Yahiko, raised an eyebrow and, with interest, first looked at Uchiha Itachi and Shisui, who were staring at him calmly.

If nothing unexpected happens, both of them should possess the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It's incredible that Konoha now possesses so many outstanding ninjas...

The remaining five members of Pain stood indifferently in the snow and stopped. Pain walked alone, calmly approaching Itachi and Shisui. They merely glanced at him with calm eyes for a moment before stepping aside slightly.

Payne got into the back seat of the car.

Itachi Uchiha casually closed the car door.

Payne turned his head and looked around the car's interior. Finally, he reached out and gently touched the air vent next to the car, praising it in a calm voice: "Nice car. This, is this what's called a car heater?"

"Not bad, right? Even in the heavy snow, it's very warm inside the car." Hinata Yuzuru smiled, casually turned off the LCD TV on the back seat, turned his head to look at Tendo, who had black rods stuck in his face, and after a while, nodded slightly.

"As expected of the Rinnegan, even though it's just a puppet, its eye power is so abundant."

Hyuga Yuzuru's words made Payne tilt his head slightly: "You seem to know me quite well."

"Of course, but before we start talking, how should I address you? Nagato? Yahiko, or Pain?"

After Hyuga Yuzuru finished speaking, Pain remained silent for a moment. It seemed that the name Yahiko had dampened his spirits, but in the end, he simply said softly, "Pain."

Even though this was just an avatar controlled by Nagato, Nagato had already gotten used to being called Pain when using this body.

"Hmm." Hyuga Yuzuru nodded to show that he understood, and then said easily, "As the Fifth Hokage, especially the Fifth Hokage who dealt with Danzo, it is not difficult for him to find information related to the Land of Rain and to find out the origins of the Akatsuki."

Besides... I always see things very clearly.

Hinata Yuzuru smiled and pointed to his deep blue eyes, saying, "I do know you very well, including your purpose, your motives, and your experiences."

Being thoroughly understood by others is not a good thing, especially when the person in front of you might be your enemy.

But Payne's expression remained calm. He quietly examined Hyuga Yuzuru's eyes, and after a while, he said, "Is that so?"

"Of course, in a sense, I think we share the same ideals and the same ideas, which is why I decided to come and meet you in person."

Even though you caused Konoha quite a bit of trouble during the Chunin Exams.”

Hinata Yuzuru spoke calmly.

The atmosphere between the two sides became slightly tense.

Payne paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "So?"

"You'd better make the Land of Rain prepare for compensation. On this point, I will treat you the same as the Land of Wind...the Land of Sand, and the Land of Mist," Hyuga Yuzuru said.

Payne remained silent, showing no intention of responding, but he couldn't help but marvel once again at the thoroughness of the other party's intelligence, which even revealed that the Akatsuki was now the de facto leader behind the Land of Rain.

"Tell me, what is your purpose in coming to Konoha this time?"

Hinata Yuzuru raised a question.

Pain looked at him quietly for a while, his voice still not much of an emotion: "Do you really think that the ninja world can achieve peace by acting like this?"

"You mean the various changes that have occurred in the ninja world and the current situation?" Hyuga Yuzuru summarized his words first, and when Pain nodded slightly, he shook his head with a smile and said, "Of course not."

"The current calm is just the beginning of a final, great storm." After saying this, Hyuga Yuzuru seemed to remember something, picked up a newspaper that was lying to the side, and handed it to Payne: "Look at this."

Payne looked in the direction he was pointing, and there was a description of the situation in the Moon Kingdom.

The Land of the Moon is a small country that borders the Land of Frost. The two countries once had a serious territorial dispute. However, after the Land of Frost disintegrated and was absorbed by the Land of Lightning, the Cloud Village ninjas transformed into the Lightning Village ninjas and became the next target of the Land of Lightning.

In the Land of the Moon today, the polarization is very obvious. On one hand, the agents supported by the Land of Lightning have received a lot of aid, factories, soldiers, and money, and have begun to gradually gain control of the domestic discourse.

On the other hand, there are the patriots loyal to the Moon Kingdom, struggling to survive in the cracks. Because they resolutely oppose the capital invasion of the Thunder Kingdom and the agents supported by the Thunder Kingdom, they cannot find work in the country, are impoverished, and struggle to make a living.

Judging from the news reports, technological advancements seem to have no impact on them whatsoever—they still live in dilapidated thatched huts, can't afford electric lights or pay their electricity bills, wear tattered clothes, eat all sorts of unpalatable 'food,' and cry to Konoha reporters for help.

"You tell me, even though there's no more war... can their lives be considered peaceful?"

Hyuga Yuzuru's words made Payne look away. In the picture in the newspaper, he saw a boy who looked a lot like him when he was a child.

For a moment, I felt somewhat dazed.

He thought the ninja world had changed.

But now it seems that in some places, nothing has changed.

"The war continues, and the oppression of smaller nations by larger ones remains unchanged, but..."

Hyuga Yuzuru laughed and said, "Aren't they rebelling? For true peace."

Payne then realized the significance of that news story.

The value of that news story lies not in what happened in the Land of the Moon, but in the fact that the tragedy that occurred there could be spread throughout the world through Konoha's news, and in the fact that those people, while facing all of this, were still trying to find a way out, rather than choosing to surrender and let the Land of Lightning annex the Land of the Moon.

Those people were not high-ranking officials or nobles, but ordinary poor people.

“Even so, the ninja world remains unchanged.” Pain’s expression was grim.

He finally realized the current state of the ninja world.

Even though the quality of life for most people has soared and it seems that the winds of peace have blown to every corner of the world, behind the scenes, there are more bloodless invasions and persecutions of these small countries by the major ninja nations.

The Land of Lightning has indeed grasped the essence—supporting proxies, raking in huge profits while controlling the discourse of smaller nations, and finally silently turning those smaller nations into the Land of Lightning, causing them to disintegrate amidst division. Then, the Land of Lightning raises the banner of justice and peace to rescue these refugees.

Without losing a single soldier, the territory was expanded further.

"So do you think the ninja world can achieve true peace based on your ideas?" Hyuga Yuzuru retorted.

He began by saying, "Tell me your purpose first."

"By collecting the tailed beasts, I will become the strongest being in the world, and then use my strength to force all countries to stop their aggression against smaller nations and end the conflicts."

After Hyuga Yuzuru finished speaking, Pain glanced at him sideways, then nodded: "Is it not possible? If my plan succeeds, the Moon Kingdom will no longer suffer all this hardship!"

"But the Land of Lightning will still prosper—its economic development means that the gap between them and the Land of the Moon will only widen. At that time, will you force other ninja nations to help the Land of the Moon?"

If you choose not to interfere, the result will be that the people of the Moon Kingdom will continue to live in poverty. The gap in economy and technology will determine that they will still not live a good life, struggling to make ends meet, and even going hungry and cold.

How can the Moon Kingdom become better?

How do you know that the pro-Raikage faction in the Moon Kingdom is full of 'traitors'?

Perhaps they also believe that by cultivating good relations with the Land of Lightning and gaining its assistance, the Land of the Moon can also experience a revival and its people's quality of life can improve?

Hyuga Yuzuru's question made Pain think deeply. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his previous ideas seemed somewhat unrealistic.

If the ninja world hadn't changed at all, his thoughts wouldn't be entirely wrong. After all, at that time, the biggest problem and conflict in the ninja world was the conflict and war between ninja villages, which indirectly caused other small countries to suffer greatly and their people to live in misery.

And all of this seems destined to continue indefinitely.

If Payne could truly transform into a god and stop the war, it might very well be a monumental act of righteousness that would last for generations. At the very least, those small countries would finally have a chance to catch their breath and develop properly, and everyone could focus on improving their own lives first.

The problem now is that the main conflict in the ninja world is no longer the persecution caused by war, but the gap between productivity and living standards, which has led to frequent problems.

Even if a god were to step forward and stop everything, small countries would not be able to catch up with the level of large countries immediately. They would be forced to choose sides and, in terms of commerce, trade, and industry, they could only barely participate in the commercial activities of the ninja world by relying on the support and assistance of various countries.

If the goal is truly to bring everything to a standstill, then forcibly severing connections between countries will only lead to more severe polarization.

Who knows, while major powers like Konoha and the Land of Lightning have begun exploring the universe, small countries like the Land of the Moon are still struggling to make ends meet.

What should we do then?

Payne's gaze fell on Hyuga Yuzuru.

Hyuga Yuzuru calmly replied, "Therefore, my thinking has always been very realistic."

There is no absolute peace in this world, only relative peace.

Even if one were to become a god, one could only extend this relative peace, while simultaneously preventing various inhumane tragedies from occurring in the process.

For example, right now...

Hinata Yuzuru turned on the car's TV.

Payne followed the gaze and saw that the news channel was broadcasting the news.

"At 10:00 AM on January 21st, an official spokesperson for Konoha issued a statement strongly condemning the Land of Lightning's improper business practices in the Land of the Moon, deciding to provide certain assistance and support to the Land of the Moon, and resolutely opposing any actions that undermine..."

It is expected that a national loan totaling 21 billion Konoha yen will be provided to the Land of the Moon before March, in the hope that the Land of Lightning will face up to the current state of international relations in the ninja world...

Payne watched the news intently.

In fact, he has been living a similar life in the Land of Rain recently.

Since he couldn't walk anyway, Nagato set up a television in front of him and watched all the news programs on time every day. Even if he missed something, he would watch the recordings and replays to deepen his understanding of the ninja world.

"Is life in the Moon Country bad? It's terrible. The current productivity level is still at the level of the old era, and the per capita income is less than half that of the Sand Country, not to mention the Fire Country."

But will things get better afterward?

Will.

Once the industrial system was established and agricultural levels were improved, they were able to escape their previous predicament, and the people were able to obtain the most basic sustenance.

As for whether they can live better, whether they can live in peace and prosperity like the people of Konoha, and obtain more favorable living conditions...

It depends on them.