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Naruto: IHCS Ch. 111
🕑 Added 2025-09-09 15:18:48 +0000 UTC"Dawn represents hope."
"The dark era of the shinobi world is about to end, and a new era filled with peace, understanding, and light is about to arrive."
"We are the ones who will bring the light of dawn to the shinobi world."
"We will protect peace through dialogue, mutual understanding, and great strength, naturally dispersing the darkness like the coming of dawn."
Shiratori looked at Himura, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
His voice flowed quietly into their ears.
"Dawn... Akatsuki?"
Yahiko's breathing quickened. A glow spread across his face as he clenched his fists, gazing at Shiratori with shining eyes:
"This name is perfect!"
"Does that mean… we are like Dawn itself?"
He looked at him excitedly.
Shiratori nodded toward him.
"Yes. We ourselves are Dawn."
"Akatsuki…" Himura laughed. "From now on, we are Akatsuki."
The corners of Nagato's lips also curved into a faint smile.
"Then let's make Kikyōhara our base of operations for Akatsuki…"
Himura turned to Shiratori. "What do you think?"
Kikyōhara lay nestled between mountains, and with Himura's ability to conceal the village, there truly was no better place to serve as Akatsuki's headquarters.
"Good!"
He nodded firmly, and looked at Himura.
"We'll go recruit people who share our ideals. Himura, I'll leave the base construction to you."
Himura smiled broadly and waved his hand with boldness.
"What trouble is that? I'm a member of Akatsuki too!"
Yahiko's face broke into a radiant smile.
Wonderful!
Suddenly, he felt the road ahead was no longer uncertain. His gaze naturally fell on Shiratori.
If not for him, perhaps he would still be lost in confusion. It was his existence that gave him direction.
They had the same experiences, the same will. They understood each other better than anyone else.
[Affection detected: Himura +5000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 46.1%]
Shiratori raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at Yahiko, who flashed him a wide, bright smile.
"..."
He looked away.
"Then let's set out!"
Yahiko said excitedly, rubbing his fists together, hardly able to contain himself.
What he wanted most right now was to accomplish something big: to establish Akatsuki, to give it real form and presence. But with only the five of them, it was too few.
Shiratori couldn't help but chuckle:
"Aren't you tired?"
Yahiko shook his head without hesitation.
"Not tired at all! I'm overflowing with energy!"
"And Konan…"
Shiratori looked at Konan. She, perhaps, needed a little rest.
But Konan's pupils lit up, and she looked at him.
"I'm not tired either! I won't drag you down! Don't underestimate me!"
He gave her a thumbs-up.
"I've always known you are amazing."
Konan pressed her lips together and smiled shyly.
[Affection detected: Himura +2000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 46.3%]
"Nagato…"
He had just spoken his name when Nagato immediately said, "I can keep going too."
Shiratori froze for a moment, then smiled at him.
"Thank you all for supporting me, for standing on the same front line with me."
He looked deeply at Nagato and Konan. The brightness in his eyes was so radiant that they almost couldn't look at him directly.
Nagato's pupils shrank slightly, as though the damp, rainy space inside his heart had finally been pierced by sunlight.
Konan's eyes welled with tears again.
How wonderful!
[Affection detected]
[Nagato: +5000 points]
[Konan: +5000 points]
[Total accumulated: 10,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 47.3%]
"Why are you thanking us?"
"We're your best friends!"
"We're the most important people to each other!"
Yahiko draped his arm firmly across Shiratori's shoulder.
"Your dream is my dream, and my dream is your dream! We are one!"
Shiratori's expression almost slipped out of control.
Who's "one" with you?
Please choose your words more carefully.
After giving Yahiko a moved glance, he turned to Himura. He stood up and said, "Then we'll head out first! I'll leave things here to you!"
Himura nodded. "Don't worry!"
The cawing of a crow came from outside.
The sound of wings beating drew closer, and a dark shadow flew in through the open wooden door, landing on Shiratori's forearm.
Himura's startled gaze shifted between the crow and him.
With years of experience as a ninja, he quickly judged.
"This is your crow?"
Shiratori nodded, a little embarrassed, and explained, "I asked them to help me track down hidden ninjas."
A smile spread across Himura's face.
"So that's it. No wonder I kept noticing crows around me lately. I thought it meant my luck was about to turn for the better."
He looked at the crow and nodded.
"With their help, I'm sure our group will grow quickly."
He didn't mind at all that Shiratori had been using crows to watch him. If the crows hadn't led him to Shiratori, he might never have joined in creating Akatsuki, might never have found kindred spirits at this age.
Crows truly were auspicious birds, hadn't they just brought him good fortune?
But more than that, his ability to communicate with them proved that he himself was an omen of good fortune.
"If you ever need to tell me something, you can entrust it to them, and I'll know."
Shiratori placed the crow on Himura's shoulder.
Its dark eyes shifted and fixed intently on him.
Himura nodded seriously.
"Good. That will make it much easier for us to stay in touch."
Of course, crows could not only deliver messages, they could also help Shiratori keep an eye on Himura.
Though he seemed fanatically loyal, you can never truly know a person's heart. And Shiratori himself was a master of acting, how could he ever fully trust someone he'd only just met?
---
Shiratori and the other three left Kikyōhara, setting off on a new journey. No one complained of being tired along the way; what kept them going was a shared dream.
"What did you learn from Hanzō?"
Yahiko leaned close to him, whispering the question in his ear.
Ever since learning that Hanzō was his teacher, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of ninjutsu he had been taught.
No matter how he imagined it, he couldn't picture Hanzō patiently instructing Shiratori in ninjutsu.
He figured Hanzō must be extremely strict.
Definitely not as gentle as Jiraiya.
When Jiraiya taught them ninjutsu, he was always so kind.
Jiraiya…
Yahiko missed Jiraiya dearly.
"I've learned a lot of ninjutsu," Shiratori said seriously, nodding.
He had the Copy technique.
With Rika's power fully awakened, he was now able to copy any ninjutsu. By now, he had already copied most of Hanzō's ninjutsu. Of course, his poisons were the one thing he couldn't copy.
He had decided that once Hanzō died, he would curse him and make him part of his cursed spirit army.
At the same time, he would take some of his hair.
When Hanzō was well and truly dead, and he needed him, he would summon him with the Séance Technique and have him unleash poisons for him.
He believed Hanzō would be willing. The man was honorable, and besides, he was his one and only student.
He turned his head and saw Yahiko's eyes sparkling, filled with hope as he looked at him.
"Most of it was water jutsu."
He remembered that Yahiko excelled at Water Release techniques.
In the original storyline, Jiraiya had stayed with them in a seaside hut for three years, teaching Yahiko and the others much knowledge. But now, because his arrival had ended the Land of Rain war early, Jiraiya had left earlier as well. Yahiko and the others had only received about a year and a half of instruction.
At present, their abilities were just barely enough to protect themselves, far weaker than what they should have been in the original story.
Shiratori realized he needed to find a way to strengthen them.
Other than Hanzō's techniques, he had copied many ninjutsu from the Ame ninjas he had encountered.
He had gathered techniques of all elements.
One could say that he himself was practically a walking encyclopedia of ninjutsu.
The strength of his Copy technique lay in the fact that once he used his cursed energy to cast a ninjutsu even once, he could gradually grasp its principles.
"Let me teach you all ninjutsu!" he suggested.
What Jiraiya hadn't had time to teach them, he would teach instead. He knew even more ninjutsu than Jiraiya did.
Now, with his vast reserves of cursed energy, the effects of his ninjutsu were powerful. He felt confident enough to be Yahiko and the others' teacher.
Yahiko froze in place, staring at him. "Teach us ninjutsu?"
Baffled, he turned to look at Konan and Nagato.
"I've learned many ninjutsu from Hanzō-sama, and I've also copied techniques from the Ame ninjas. In my battle with the Suna ninjas, I mastered many others as well. I should be able to teach you."
"Our upcoming missions will be dangerous."
"Not every ninja is as kind as Himura. We won't be able to avoid fighting ninjas."
"I care about you all very much, I don't want to see you get hurt."
Shiratori pressed his lips together shyly and lowered his head.
[Affection detected]
[Multiple sources: +5000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 15,000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 48.8%]
Yahiko's eyes sparkled as he looked at him, answering without hesitation:
"Alright! I really care about you too, I don't want you to worry about us!"
"..."
Yahiko and Naruto really were both masters of straightforward, heart-piercing persuasion.
He almost suspected Yahiko had some kind of natural charm system.
Nagato nodded seriously. "I will protect everyone."
Shiratori smiled. "I'll protect everyone too. But I also hope each of us can grow stronger, training while pursuing our ideals."
"Mm!"
Konan nodded vigorously. She winked at him.
"Then from now on, please take care of us!"
He smiled again, holding both Konan's and Nagato's hands.
"We'll keep getting stronger together."
"Mm!"
Nagato and Konan could feel strength radiating from him.
"I want to learn the strongest ninjutsu!" Yahiko shouted, throwing his arms around his neck.
"Alright!" He nodded.
"Me too!" Konan chimed in enthusiastically.
"…Me too." Nagato pressed his lips together.
He not only wanted to learn ninjutsu, but also to gradually master the power of his eyes. He wanted to use that power to protect Shiratori. To protect everyone.
"..."
Even Nagato had become cheerful now.
Shiratori could see everything moving toward a beautiful future.
Unfortunately, happiness was fleeting and easily lost.
"So then, what ninjutsu should we start with?"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique?"
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave?"
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique?"
"..."
Compared to other elements, the ninjas of Ame were much more skilled in Water Release.
He had copied quite a few Water Release techniques from them.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"So many!"
"I want to learn them all!" Yahiko yelled in delight.
Konan watched the backs of Yahiko and Shiratori walking ahead, a soft smile slowly curving her lips, her gaze gentle.
Nagato walked beside her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He couldn't help but touch his own eyes.
Suddenly, a weight fell on his shoulder, Shiratori had wrapped an arm around him.
"I haven't told you yet, but I've already learned how to control my cursed power."
He needed to push Nagato to start using the power of the Rinnegan as soon as possible.
That way, he could copy its abilities.
And who wouldn't be tempted by the Rinnegan's powers?
He had been itching to try for a long time.
Nagato froze.
He remembered how Shiratori used to resist his cursed power the same way he resisted the power of his eyes. They were both afraid of such uncontrollable strength harming others.
That was why, in his heart, Shiratori was the one who understood him best.
The one who could truly share his feelings.
But now, he was saying he had already mastered his cursed power…
