Coreal
patreon
[RNZO] Ch 321: Better Safe Than Sorry
🕑 Added 2025-07-09 17:28:28 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
"Whew! Finally, some peace and quiet!" Minato let out a long sigh of relief and turned to Renzo. "So, what's next?"
The others also tossed their captured Akatsuki members onto the ground one by one—including the One-Tail, who'd gotten beaten into submission by Kushina and had willingly retreated back into Gaara.
Everyone looked toward Uchiha Renzo for answers.
Renzo spoke up calmly, "Black Zetsu already made a move on Nagato and took him away. According to Uchiha Aiko's intel, they're probably preparing to use Edo Tensei to resurrect Uchiha Madara, along with several other powerful dead shinobi. Looks like they're getting ready for an all-out war."
"Of course, they're not going to act right away. They'll need time to gather the Tailed Beasts first."
"All we need to do… is wait."
There was no need to rush things.
If they pushed too early and Black Zetsu wasn't fully prepared, he might fail to drag the entire ninja world into the Fourth Great War.
And let's be honest—if it came down to Konoha having to take the initiative and start a unification war, that'd just be a massive pain in the ass.
If Konoha really wanted to go down that road, they wouldn't have waited this long. They just didn't want to be the villains of the story.
"But with Akatsuki wiped out, their plans to collect the Tailed Beasts must've taken a huge hit, right?" Tsunade said, frowning. "This definitely wasn't part of their original plan."
"Yeah, no doubt about that," Minato nodded. "This whole operation was probably meant to gauge Konoha's strength. And at the same time, they wanted to steal Edo Tensei, and maybe even capture the Nine-Tails and One-Tail while they were at it."
"Too bad they seriously underestimated us," Tsunade snorted. "Now that they've lost almost all of Akatsuki's manpower, Black Zetsu's gonna have his hands full."
"Not exactly."
Just then, Konan came flying over from the distance.
Konan landed and looked up, her eyes red from emotion. "Most of us knew from the start that we weren't making it back alive. At least… that's how that guy who called himself Madara planned it."
"He intended to sacrifice part of Akatsuki from the very beginning—to test Konoha's strength."
"Besides, even if they died, he could always just bring them back with Edo Tensei."
"Before we left, he even made an excuse to collect all of our blood. I didn't realize what he was doing at the time—but now it all makes sense."
Her voice trembled slightly as she turned to Renzo. "Nagato's been taken by Black Zetsu. I want to save him—and get revenge on those bastards. I'll pay any price. Please… let me fight alongside you."
"…Also, I want you to return Yahiko's body to me."
She glanced at the battered remains of the Deva Path (Tendo) on the ground, her eyes full of sorrow.
"…Alright."
Renzo nodded after a brief pause. He didn't even bother discussing the conditions—he'd let Minato handle that. After all, they were both Jiraiya's students. No need for him to get involved.
"Well then, time to head back. From here on out, it's full-on war prep. Be sure to send word to the other villages, too. Don't want them whining later that we didn't warn them," Renzo said with a small grin.
With a wave of his hand, a projection of his domain surrounded them, and in an instant, everyone was back at the gates of Konoha.
"Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!!"
They immediately heard a loud voice roar from inside the village.
BOOM!!
The ground shook violently, and a massive toad came crashing down from above, squashing an enormous summoned beast beneath it.
"That voice… is that Jiraiya-sensei?" Konan's expression turned complicated as she spotted the familiar figure riding on the toad's back.
"Alright, I've got stuff to take care of," Minato said with a wry smile. "Things are probably gonna get wild."
With that, he vanished in a flash of movement.
Renzo and the others began walking into the village. Some buildings had taken damage during the battle, but compared to how things went in the original timeline, it was nothing.
Clearly, Kakashi and the others had responded quickly. And thanks to Minato's reforms, Konoha wasn't nearly as vulnerable as it had been back then.
"Yo! You're finally back! Everything taken care of?"
Jiraiya landed nearby with a big grin, greeting the group. But his eyes quickly landed on Konan, and his expression froze.
"…Konan? That outfit—!"
He'd noticed the Akatsuki cloak she was still wearing.
"…It's been a while, Jiraiya-sensei," Konan said flatly, nodding slightly.
After everything she'd been through over the years, her heart had grown numb.
To be honest, part of her still blamed Jiraiya.
She'd wondered so many times—if Jiraiya hadn't left them back then… would Yahiko still be alive? Would Nagato have become the person he did?
Of course, deep down she knew those thoughts weren't fair. Jiraiya had done a lot for them. He didn't owe them anything.
But emotions aren't always rational. Sometimes, those thoughts just sneak in anyway.
Still… if she was being honest with herself, seeing him again stirred something inside her. Maybe even happiness?
After all, she was still a girl at heart.
"You joined Akatsuki? What about Yahiko and Nagato? How've you all been… these past few years?"
Jiraiya's voice was soft, his eyes full of concern. Even though Konan's expression was distant, he could already tell something wasn't right.
Clearly, he hadn't seen the Six Paths of Pain yet—otherwise, he'd have even more questions.
"You two should talk," Renzo said casually, patting Jiraiya on the shoulder with a smirk. "Just so you know, today's whole invasion was led by her."
With that, he turned and walked off with Kurenai and Tsunade in tow.
Obito and Rin nodded politely to Jiraiya before leaving together.
Orochimaru, unsurprisingly, had already disappeared—probably off to the research division.
"Why don't we talk over there in the park?" Jiraiya suggested quietly, already feeling a bad premonition creeping in.
"…Okay."
Konan didn't resist.
...
A few minutes later, the two sat together on a bench in the quiet park.
"Can you… tell me what happened over the years? What really happened to Yahiko and Nagato?" Jiraiya asked, barely able to contain his worry.
"…Yahiko died over ten years ago. And just earlier, Nagato was taken… I don't even know if he's still alive."
Konan's voice was calm, but her eyes were filled with sorrow.
"…What?"
Jiraiya stiffened, his eyes wide. "How? How did Yahiko die? And Nagato—who took him?!"
Konan stared at him, her tone bitter. "Heh. Yahiko was set up—killed by a trap laid by Hanzo of the Salamander… and Konoha's Danzo."
"Originally, it should've been me who died. Yahiko sacrificed himself to save me. That battle… it shattered Nagato, inside and out."
Her eyes were filled with sadness, regret, and deep hatred.
Hanzo and Danzo—those two were the real culprits.
Too bad Danzo had already died years ago. Executed, publicly, by Konoha itself.
But Konan didn't feel any closure from that. No satisfaction. If anything, it only left her more hollow.
She had wanted to take revenge with her own hands.
Jiraiya's fists clenched. His eyes turned red with rage. "Danzo? Are you saying Danzo was responsible for Yahiko's death?! What the hell happened?!"
He was furious.
His own village had betrayed his students?
If Danzo wasn't already six feet under, Jiraiya would've dragged him out of the grave just to kill him again.
That bastard!
"…It happened like this," Konan said softly. And for once, she didn't hold back. Her voice was heavy with emotion as she told Jiraiya everything—the whole story of that fateful day.
Jiraiya sat and listened, heart burning with fury and guilt.
As for what happened later—how Akatsuki lost its way—he couldn't even bring himself to blame them.
How could he? He wasn't qualified.
The guilt was suffocating. If only… if only he hadn't left them back then—would things have turned out differently?
"Renzo mentioned you were the ones who attacked Konoha today… Can you tell me what your goal was? And why was Nagato, your leader, taken?" Jiraiya asked, still trying to make sense of it all.
"It was Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara." Konan's voice dripped with hatred.
She and Nagato had already suspected something was wrong with those two.
But they didn't know the full story, and for the most part, their relationship had been one of mutual exploitation.
Besides… Nagato had been confident in his own strength.
None of them expected things to go this badly.
They underestimated Black Zetsu.
"Madara? But… wasn't he long dead?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.
As for Black Zetsu, he'd never even heard the name before.
"That Madara was probably a fake," Konan said. "And that fake? He's already been taken down by Uchiha Renzo."
"I don't know exactly who he was, but Renzo seems to know. He knows a lot more than he's letting on."
Just mentioning Uchiha Renzo made Konan visibly uneasy.
She'd never been able to figure him out.
They'd all misjudged him from the start—completely underestimated what he was capable of.
The two of them continued talking for a long time.
They spoke about Akatsuki, about the years after Jiraiya left… about everything Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko had endured.
And slowly, Konan began to open up.
But her desire to get revenge on Black Zetsu—and to rescue Nagato—only grew stronger.
— — —
While Konoha began repairs in the aftermath of the invasion, messengers were sent out to warn the other Great Ninja Villages: Akatsuki might be planning to launch sneak attacks to steal their Tailed Beasts.
..
Kumogakure
"Hmph! Another of Konoha's tricks, no doubt."
The Fourth Raikage snorted after reading the message.
Konoha and their schemes… He hadn't forgotten.
Not after what Renzo had done to his father.
Just thinking about him made the Fourth Raikage's bones ache.
The hatred simmered quietly in his heart.
"Maybe. Maybe not," Mabui said gently. "But it doesn't hurt to be cautious. It might not be baseless."
"…Fine. Tighten security around Bee and Yugito. Don't let them leave the village for now. Especially Bee."
The Fourth Raikage frowned and nodded.
Better safe than sorry.
.
.
.
