Chapter 1: Uehara Naraka

Chapter 1: Uehara Naraka

Inside a dark, gloomy cave.

The sound of dripping water echoed sporadically, endlessly.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps splashing through water appeared, reverberating in the secluded cave. A man and a woman hidden within immediately became alert.

"Pain, someone's coming!"

The woman furrowed her brows, her palms instantly transforming into sheets of paper. Imbued with chakra, they appeared exceptionally sharp. Her voice was somewhat calm: "Besides us two, only Madara and Zetsu know about this place... Is it them?"

"No, it's an unfamiliar ninja."

The man looked up, his pair of strange eyes fixed on the cave entrance, watching the arriving figure. His voice sounded cold and emotionless: "Konan, go kill him!"

Even though they had abandoned the ideals of the first-generation Akatsuki here twelve years ago due to the death of their old friend, it didn't mean they were willing to see the place where their friend once lived entered by a stranger.

Killing an unknown ninja who dared to set foot in this inviolable place burdened neither the man nor the woman's conscience.

They were accustomed to killing.

"Excuse me, is this... the Akatsuki's base?"

Before they could make a move, the figure who had appeared in the cave spoke first to the man and woman standing inside: "I am Uehara Naraka, son of Uehara Nochū. Twelve years ago, he told my mother he joined an organization called Akatsuki, wanting to follow Lord Yahiko, but he never returned after that."

"..."

The woman stopped her motion of throwing paper shuriken. The man's expression also became stiff, hard to conceal. They heard a somewhat unfamiliar name.

No, or rather, it was somewhat familiar.

At least, to the woman, it was familiar.

Because the ninja named Uehara Nochū had once died under an enemy's blade while protecting her. It felt like a meaningless sacrifice.

As the figure from the entrance slowly walked closer, the man and woman saw the newcomer's appearance clearly.

It was a young boy who even wore his ninja headband crookedly. He wore a loose, wide-sleeved robe, clearly too large for someone his age.

The uniform of the first-generation Akatsuki. Looking at it now, it seemed quite simple, because the Akatsuki back then was incredibly poor.

But still, it couldn't help but evoke a sense of nostalgia.

"You are Uehara Nochū's son?"

The man shifted his strange eyes, staring intently at the boy before him. Seeing the boy's resemblance to his father, he said in a deep voice, "There was never such a person in our organization. Leave!"

"..."

The woman opened her mouth as if to say something. When she looked up pleadingly at the man beside her, she only saw him shake his head slightly.

The woman bit her lip and ultimately fell silent.

The boy tightly gripped a kunai in his hand, seemingly forcing himself to stay calm. Just as he stopped and was about to turn and leave, he inadvertently saw the faces of the man and woman. He suddenly put away the kunai and reached into his pocket.

The man and woman in the cave glanced at each other, a hint of surprise in their eyes. Just as their vigilance heightened, the boy took out a photograph.

"..."

The boy looked down at the photo.

He looked up again, at the man, then at the woman.

Then, the boy held the photo up towards them and asked softly, "Excuse me, are you Lady Konan and Lord Yahiko?"

"..."

The man and woman fell silent.

That photo was the only one ever taken of the first-generation Akatsuki. Many later members were missing. At that time, because everyone considered the Akatsuki a peace organization, they weren't very strict about members' information, and many had sent copies to their families.

Furthermore, the Yahiko mentioned by the boy was the first leader of the Akatsuki and the source of the pair's growing depression.

The man looked exactly like Yahiko because his body was originally Yahiko's corpse, turned into a powerful puppet by him.

The person controlling the puppet from behind was the red-haired boy in the photo.

"Lord Yahiko doesn't seem to have changed much."

The boy mumbled, "Although Lady Konan looks a bit older, you can still see the outline of her younger self..."

"..."

The woman's face darkened.

The man calmly watched the boy and suddenly said, "Your father is dead. He died in battle twelve years ago. I've already forgotten his name. The weak are not worth remembering."

"Pain!"

A flash of panic crossed the woman's face!

She never expected the man would reveal the truth so bluntly. After all, this was the descendant of their former comrade!

The boy's expression fell. He retorted forcefully, "If you don't remember his name, how can you say he died in battle?"

"Because..."

The man looked at the boy's face and stated coldly, word by word, "Twelve years ago, only two people from the entire Akatsuki survived."

"...He could have survived!"

The woman suddenly exclaimed loudly, then added, "If it weren't for me, many people could have survived."

"..."

The man beside her seemed about to say something comforting, but seeing her downcast expression, he ultimately stopped himself.

"I understand."

The boy's expression instantly became closed off. With a face full of indifference, he waved his hand, "Since he died twelve years ago, I won't blame him anymore."

After saying this, the boy turned to leave.

However, Uehara Naraka hadn't taken two steps before a strange gravitational force pulled his body back. The man grabbed his collar fiercely!

"Although your father wasn't extremely powerful, he was a ninja worthy of respect. Do you feel nothing for him?"

"Pain, let him go!"

The woman beside them anxiously reached out, grabbing the man's arm, trying to make him release the boy's collar.

Uehara Naraka tugged at Pain's hand, looked up at the man's strange eyes, a trace of mockery flashing across his face: "So sorry, I was just born twelve years ago. Apart from this photo and this robe at home, I have no impression of him whatsoever."

From his words, the image of a man who abandoned his wife and child emerged vividly.

Regardless, the ninja named Uehara Nochū leaving his wife, who had just given birth, and his newborn son to follow some obscure Akatsuki organization sounded rather strange.

"...I'm sorry."

The woman beside him stammered an apology.

Moisture gathered in the corners of Konan's eyes. Twelve years ago, they were both only fifteen. They couldn't possibly understand the immense sacrifices made by the ninjas who followed them back then.

Now, they knew a fraction of it, the tip of the iceberg.

"No need to apologize. That was his choice."

The boy shook his head, pulled the man's hand away, and said softly, "I came looking for the Akatsuki base only because my mother, before she passed away, always wanted to know what happened to him."

Konan looked at the boy and asked nervously, "Both your parents have passed away? Then... where will you go now?"

"Of course, I'll go join Lord Hanzo!"

Uehara Naraka spread his hands and explained, "For the past few months, I've been a wandering ninja, trying to find news about Akatsuki and my father... Now that my wish is fulfilled, naturally, I'll go join Lord Hanzo and become an official ninja."

"..."

Pain and Konan looked at each other. The descendant of an original Akatsuki member wanted to join his father's murderer?

This kid named Uehara Naraka didn't know the truth. How could they, who knew the truth, especially Konan, tolerate such a thing?

"No."

Konan reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and knelt in front of him. Her face was cold as she said, "Your father, Uehara Nochū, joined Akatsuki. Therefore, his child is also a member of the organization!"

"Your organization... sounds a bit like a pyramid scheme!"

Uehara Naraka looked back and forth between Konan and Pain, couldn't help but blink, and subconsciously blurted out the comment.

But...

He had finally achieved his true goal.

A 'ding' sound echoed in Uehara Naraka's mind. Side Quest: Join an organization (1/1). Mission Complete. Reward: [Justice Colossus Galio] Summoning Contract.