Chapter 254: The Wooden House in the Memories
In the past, Danzō would have spoken in his usual sarcastic tone, saying things like, "Hiruzen, your disciples have betrayed the village; you're incapable, let me handle it." Today, however, he was unusually quiet. The loss of his Mangekyo Sharingan was equivalent to breaking his very spine. He understood the Akatsuki organization deeply. If he hadn't colluded with Hanzo the Salamander all those years ago, Yahiko would never have died. He bore half the responsibility for how the organization, including Konan, had ended up.
Now, Danzō sat there like an old monk, listening but saying nothing.
Seeing that no one else had objections, Jiraiya issued orders in his capacity as Hokage: the entire village was to enter a state of alert. He considered closing the main gates for a moment but decided it was unlikely the Akatsuki would attack from there. Instead, he simply ordered an increase in guard levels, leaving the gates open.
As a military organization, the Leaf Village's execution was flawless. With the order given, the village immediately raised its alert level.
"Why the sudden increase in alert level? Did something happen?" Rino Yamanaka asked Ino as she packed their belongings.
"Honestly, I don't really know what's going on," Ino replied with a look of innocent confusion, as if she had nothing to do with the whole affair. "But Kakashi-sensei said it was pretty serious."
"Oh, honestly, the Leaf Village has been having so many problems these past two years. What a shame about all the flowers I've planted..." Despite her reluctance, Rino had been a ninja herself in her youth and understood the gravity of the situation. After packing their things, she and Ino left the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
Just like during the Konoha Crush, during times like these, the ninja clans would immediately gather their women and children and arrange for their safe relocation. Ino actually wanted to pretend to be a child, but her strength level wouldn't allow it! On her way back to the village, she had felt quite uneasy, specifically worried about the one carrying rice suddenly appearing. One massive Shinra Tensei, a deafening boom, and the Leaf Village would be gone. If it were any other powerful opponent, she might still be able to try transplanting a Mangekyo Sharingan to fight them. But how could she fight Pain? Use Kotoamatsukami to rewrite the Rinnegan's will? That ability had a limit; it wasn't that powerful.
As soon as she got home, she urged Rino Yamanaka to pack. By the time they were mostly ready, the village's order to raise the alert level had also been issued. Inoichi was still in the Interrogation Department, so Ino took charge of organizing the Yamanaka women and children to temporarily shelter at the Nara family's manor outside the village. The Ino-Shika-Cho clans had been doing this for years. Ino calculated the range of Shinra Tensei and the distance from the village center to the manor, concluding that the Nara family's location was extremely safe.
On the way, they also encountered the Hyūga family's group. Little Hanabi Hyūga waved to her from a distance, and she smiled and waved back. Karin had already taken the construction team back to Takigakure earlier, so Ino didn't need to make specific arrangements for her.
After settling the family members, as a Chunin, she naturally had to return to her duty station. Team 10, as a squad with extremely high overall combat capability, reassembled and was stationed at the southeast corner of the village to defend the first line of defense. Last year, the Sand Village and Sound Village had entered the Leaf Village from this very spot. Asuma hadn't even gone home; he came directly to this post. Ino and Shikamaru arrived shortly after. Choji, weakened from eating spinach and curry dumplings, also returned to the squad despite his injuries. The large young man was particularly serious, his face taut, looking as if he was about to eat a Chili Pill at any moment.
Ino was also quite nervous this time. She sat on the wall, occasionally using her sensory ability to scan the surroundings. Jiraiya sent instructions: she didn't need to engage in combat; she just needed to conserve enough chakra to summon Katsuyu, the Slug Sage, when the time came.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado had also changed into their combat gear. The former was a medical ninja, the latter skilled in Sealing Jutsu. If pushed, both of them had combat capabilities. Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, Naruto, Sasuke, and other ninjas were all at their respective posts, awaiting the potential enemy.
The village was outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense. They waited for a full day, but the enemy... did not come!
"Crunch, crunch," Choji ate potato chips from a high vantage point. If he had known the enemy wasn't coming, he would have started eating yesterday. Shikamaru lay beside him, sleeping. Executing missions, fighting, and then having to stand guard vigilantly – it was exhausting him.
Another day passed with still no movement. Many ninjas from the Hyūga clan's Branch Family and the Inuzuka clan went out to scout, expanding their search to a hundred-mile radius, but found no trace of the enemy. Jiraiya was a bit bewildered. Shikaku Nara speculated on several possibilities, the most likely being that the Akatsuki simply didn't value Konan and were indifferent to their member being captured.
"That shouldn't be the case..." Jiraiya knew the bond between the three of them and didn't believe Nagato and Yahiko would abandon Konan. But the facts were before him; he had no choice but to believe. Since the interrogation squad couldn't extract any information, he decided to go see Konan himself.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Konan greeted him calmly and gently as Jiraiya entered the prison cell, showing great politeness.
Jiraiya smiled in response. "Konan, you've grown into a young woman. I almost didn't recognize you, hahaha—" He chuckled a couple of times, then his voice gradually deepened. "You, who loved origami, were always the gentlest of the three children. Konan, tell me, who is the leader of the Akatsuki? What about Nagato and Yahiko? The rumors of their deaths aren't true, are they?" Jiraiya closely watched Konan's expression, and a realization dawned on him. "Just as I thought. It seems the leader is one of them."
Konan slowly shook her head. "Sensei, at this point, what's the meaning of saying all this? Just kill me. I won't tell you anything."
Jiraiya repeatedly tried to persuade her, but Konan remained silent. Having no other choice, he decided to let the Yamanaka clan try. Inoichi stated that his current Yin Release level was far inferior to Ino's. Jiraiya knew Ino could use the Spirilization Jutsu and immediately called her back from the front lines to the interrogation room.
"So your name is Konan, huh? Konan-oneechan, we really have fate on our side, don't we?" Ino's tone was sweet.
Konan glanced at her. Why are you everywhere?Calling me 'oneechan' now? Isn't this the girl who tried to rip off my clothes?
Ino focused for a moment, then touched Konan's forehead with a finger. Konan had placed many sealing jutsu on her own memory, and encountering them unexpectedly made them difficult to break through. Fortunately, Ino had spent time experimenting on the Fourth Kazekage's head. The Akatsuki's sealing jutsu, in the end, couldn't compare to those of a major ninja village with a long history. Ino didn't need to wear the Yamanaka clan's brainwave amplifier for concentrating spiritual energy, nor did she need excessive focus. While bypassing the various sealing jutsu in Konan's mind, she could still speak.
"Hokage-sama, I'll take you into her memories to take a look."
"Alright. Thank you, Ino."
Using her Sensory Transmission ability, Ino pulled Jiraiya into the depths of Konan's memory. They walked through a dark passage and arrived in front of a slightly dilapidated wooden house. They entered the house. It was dim inside, with sunlight leaking through the roof, illuminating the eastern wall. Hanging there were three small, square wooden boards. Below the boards were names: Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, in order.
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