Chapter 6: The Boy Who Carries Akatsuki's Light

Chapter 6: The Boy Who Carries Akatsuki's Light

The Akatsuki cloak is quite cool.

Perhaps because Uehara Naraka's acting was too convincing, it directly led to Konan being unwilling to let him be tainted by Akatsuki's darkness, wanting him to have a bright future instead.

Uehara Naraka didn't get the new clothes, only able to watch with envious eyes as Uchiha Itachi donned the black cloak with red clouds.

Konan glanced at the boy whose eyes were full of envy, reached out and ruffled his hair, "Naraka, your future will be very bright."

"Actually, this is fine too."

Uehara pouted and muttered casually.

However, when he saw Konan take out two bottles of purple nail polish and hand them to Uchiha Itachi, his face couldn't help but twitch.

Does the Akatsuki's look have to be this intense?

Do men have to wear nail polish too?

Konan watched Uchiha Itachi calmly accept the nail polish, then suddenly spoke to him, "Uchiha Itachi... stay away from Uehara from now on. If I see anyone trying to harm him, I won't show any mercy."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head, glanced at Uehara Naraka standing beside Konan, and gave a slight nod.

"Konan-senpai, reasonable combat can also help kids grow faster!"

The Masked Man standing next to Uchiha Itachi looked at Uehara with interest and said, "This kid's card throwing feels very similar to Konan-senpai's Paper Jutsu secret techniques. Could he be Konan-senpai's younger brother or something?"

"..."

The light-blue-haired woman frowned, neither answering nor denying, and shooed them away, "If you have no other business, you can leave."

"Okay, okay! Leaving, leaving, I'm going to buy dango!"

The Masked Man held his head and left, whistling.

As for Uchiha Itachi, having just joined, he would temporarily stay at the organization's secret base, waiting for Pain to assign him to a combat team.

Because of the Masked Man's words just now, Konan suddenly became somewhat interested in Uehara Naraka's abilities.

She also wanted to know Uehara's current strength, how he could fight a well-trained Konoha rogue ninja to a standstill in a spar where both held back.

When Konan saw the card in Uehara Naraka's hand, she reached out, took it, and looked down at the design.

It was the King of Hearts.

"Are these playing cards used in casinos?"

Konan's expression turned slightly cold. Her gaze towards Uehara gradually filled with dissatisfaction as she asked coldly, "Have you... gotten involved in gambling?"

"...No."

The boy spread his hands and explained, "Because when I was little, my family couldn't afford shuriken, so I could only use cheap playing cards to practice shuriken throwing. I've gotten used to it now, and I've also developed techniques that use cards for combat."

Besides saying that, there wasn't a good explanation!

After all, the Card Master's throwing technique was quite practical. Not to mention anything else, just the effect of the card explosion was equivalent to the power of an exploding tag.

"Is that so? Naraka, from now on, you'll be my disciple!"

Konan opened her palm, and sheets of paper floated out, transforming into paper butterflies that fluttered gracefully around them.

Konan guided a paper butterfly to land on her fingertip and said softly, "My Paper Jutsu secret techniques and your cards are quite similar in nature. It just so happens I can teach you many ways to fight using paper."

Not just to teach him to grow, but also for the inheritance of the Will of Akatsuki.

"..."

Uehara Naraka felt a bit dazed. Was there some misunderstanding here? With his strength, did he still need a teacher?

But if he wanted to continue staying in Akatsuki, it seemed inappropriate to refuse Konan.

"Then, please take good care of me, Lady Konan!"

Another strange side quest completion popped up in Uehara Naraka's mind; he hadn't looked through these carefully yet.

Mission Complete: Become Konan's Disciple (1/1), Reward: Gold Coins +150.

Just this little money? Did it think he was a beggar?

Based on Uehara Naraka's understanding of the system's side quests, he vaguely grasped its operating mechanism: the more widely accepted a task was, the more generous the reward upon completion.

Konan knelt in front of Uehara Naraka, tidying his clothes, her voice gradually softening, "Naraka, from now on... call me Sensei."

"...Yes, Konan-sensei."

Uehara Naraka blinked his eyes and readily complied.

Actually, Konan didn't really have a natural talent for teaching. The woman thought back and forth, unsure what ninjutsu to teach Uehara for the first lesson, and decided to rely on her former teacher's method: conduct a combat test.

Although Konan's teacher was a Konoha ninja, she hadn't experienced the Bell Test, but rather worked with her teammates to defeat their teacher's Shadow Clone.

Clearly, she intended to do the same.

Konan brushed her bangs aside and explained softly, "In a few days, I will test you. I'll have my Paper Clone fight you to decide which ninjutsu to teach you, and also to judge whether you can participate in our next mission..."

"Mission?"

"Yes."

Konan nodded, placing her hand on Uehara's shoulder, and whispered, "Our mission to avenge the former members of Akatsuki, to avenge your father... I don't want you to live in hatred, but I think you still need to know these things, because some things shouldn't be buried by time."

"..."

Uehara Naraka nodded awkwardly.

Actually, he knew all about those things. The truth he understood was even more, deeper, and further-reaching than what Konan and Nagato saw.

So, it was time to test his acting skills again?

Konan's face slowly darkened, her expression gradually turning cold, as she stated word by word, "Twelve years ago... the ones who killed the other members of Akatsuki were the leader of Amegakure (Village Hidden in the Rain), Hanzō of the Salamander, and the Konoha higher-up, Shimura Danzō."

"What?"

Uehara Naraka showed just the right amount of surprise on his face, "So... are we attacking Konoha or Amegakure?"

Pain overheard this, walked over to stand beside them, and said in a deep voice, "Konan, just tell him the mission! Uehara Naraka must participate in this mission; it is his destiny from birth."

"No, with Naraka's strength, participating might be dangerous..."

For the first time, Konan directly conflicted with Pain, "I must test him first to ensure he can survive the mission."

"If he dies in this mission, it's because his power is too weak, unworthy of surviving in this world!"

"Pain!"

Konan abruptly raised her head, meeting his gaze fearlessly for a moment, but ultimately lowered her head again and said softly, "I still remember Jiraiya-sensei's teaching, the young children are the sparks of the future... Besides, Naraka is also the only one."

Since Yahiko died in battle, this was the first time she had defied Pain's will. Something like this hadn't happened in a very, very long time.

This boy's appearance was like a ray of light, illuminating their past.

Letting Konan know from now on that she also carried a responsibility; she wanted the Will of the Dawn [Akatsuki] that once sought to illuminate the ninja world to be inherited by Uehara Naraka.

"..."

The orange-haired man [Pain] fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked away, leaving only a sentence behind in the rain, "Do as you please! We have prepared for this war for twelve years; whether one kid participates or not won't affect the outcome."

(End of Chapter)