Land of Rain.
The rain poured down endlessly, a curtain of cold needles drenching the earth. Although the weather was miserable, Yahiko, leader of the Akatsuki, was in an unusually good mood.
For the first time in the history of the shinobi world, true peace seemed to be forming, faint but tangible, thanks to his efforts. After confirming that the letter from the Konohagakure Anbu was legitimate and truly from that senior he had never personally met, Yahiko led the Akatsuki to make their first official contact with Amegakure, mediated by Konohagakure's Anbu.
The results were more than promising. Yahiko, who had once admired Hanzō of the Salamander, was surprised and pleased to find that Hanzō genuinely expressed a desire for peace. He agreed to certain conditions for reconciliation and was even willing to grant Akatsuki official status within the Land of Rain so both sides could work together for peace in Amegakure. This Five Kage Summit had become a collaborative effort, a unified attempt by former enemies to create a peaceful path forward.
Everything seemed to be on track until a letter arrived that shattered the calm like a stone breaking glass.
Inside a dark cave at the Akatsuki's base, Yahiko stood frozen as he read the handwritten letter from the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure. His expression went blank. He had been expecting a meaningful reply. Just recently, he had written a heartfelt letter of his own and sent it to Sunagakure through an Akatsuki shinobi.
In it, he had poured out his ideals, sharing his dream of a peaceful shinobi world and his sincere hope to end the wars. He had believed Rasa would understand. After all, they had met only twice, but Yahiko had sensed that Rasa, too, disliked war.
What he received instead were just two words scrawled across the page in the Kazekage's own hand: "Good" and "Evil"
The message stunned the Akatsuki leadership.
"What does this mean?"
Confused glances were exchanged around the room. Everyone knew the words, of course, but this was not the kind of response they had anticipated. What was Rasa trying to say?
Konan, more thoughtful than the others, was the first to speak.
"Could it be that Rasa-san is trying to warn us about something?"
"Why would he?"
All eyes turned to her. Among the three Akatsuki leaders, Yahiko's idealism often clouded his judgment, Nagato tended to remain quiet and withdrawn, and only Konan, wise beyond her years, approached things with caution and analysis.
"I..."
Konan hesitated. It was only a feeling, a vague intuition.
She remembered something someone had said during their last meeting with Rasa, not directly but implied, that Yahiko's flaw was his naivety. But she couldn't bring herself to say that aloud. As she thought back on recent events, a realization struck her.
"Maybe Rasa-san is warning us that Amegakure's intentions in accepting us might not be so pure."
Her words snapped everyone out of their thoughts.
It made sense. As contact between the Akatsuki and Amegakure had deepened, Hanzō of the Salamander had gone so far as to express his willingness to merge the Akatsuki into the village's structure. He had even extended a personal invitation to Yahiko, asking him to come to Amegakure as its leader.
It was a dangerous proposition, yet Yahiko had agreed.
"Konan, I know you're worried. But this is a rare opportunity. A real chance to pursue peace"
"But...?"
"Don't worry. I'm not being reckless. I'll go with Nagato. If Amegakure tries anything, he'll make sure we get out safely."
Konan's heart settled somewhat. She had lived beside Nagato since childhood. Only she knew how terrifying the power sealed within his eyes truly was.
"What about Rasa-san?"
"I'll write another letter to him."
Yahiko replied calmly.
"Okay"
---
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
The day of the agreed meeting between Yahiko and Hanzō of the Salamander had arrived.
"Don't worry."
After once again comforting the anxious Konan, Yahiko turned to glance at Kyūsuke and Daibutsu standing silently behind her.
"I'll leave things here to you two."
With that, Yahiko and Nagato led a unit from the Akatsuki, their cloaked figures quickly swallowed by the endless downpour. Time crept forward, each minute stretching longer than the last. Inside the dim, stone cave, the candlelight trembled against the damp walls, its flicker casting shadows across Konan's uneasy face. Her expression was calm on the surface, but the worry in her eyes betrayed her heart.
Kyūsuke, who had long harbored silent feelings for her, recognized the expression immediately. He knew then and there that no matter what he did, he could never reach her heart. Even so, seeing her like this was unbearable. Taking a step forward, he tried to offer comfort.
"Don't worry, Konan. Yahiko and the others will be fine. With Yahiko's strength and the others' combined, even if they've walked into an ambush, they'll definitely find a way out."
His voice was steady, and his reasoning sound. Yet the tight line on Konan's lips didn't ease. The memory of Rasa's reply, those two unsettling words, and his subtle judgment of Yahiko, all lingered in her mind like a warning she had failed to understand in time.
Seeing that she remained tense, Kyūsuke turned to Daibutsu, who stood nearby.
"Don't you think so, Daibutsu?"
But at that moment, something unexplainable stirred within Daibutsu. A chill snaked up his spine, and unease crept into his thoughts, heavy and suffocating.
A bolt of lightning suddenly tore across the sky, flooding the cave with blinding white for a split second. In the flash, a figure stumbled toward them through the curtain of rain, soaked in blood and draped in the familiar black cloak of the Akatsuki.
"Something's wrong… We were ambushed by Hanzō and Konohagakure's Anbu. The leader… they've been trapped…"
Konan's entire body froze. All color drained from her face. If it had only been Amegakure, she might have been able to remain composed, but now—Konohagakure's Anbu?
"!!!"
Her heart pounded violently as questions tore through her mind. So this entire trap… had been orchestrated by Konohagakure? But the Hokage was their sensei's student. Their sensei still lived in the village, didn't he? Why?
The thoughts collided chaotically, but when her eyes fell on the blood-soaked shinobi in front of her, she couldn't deny the truth any longer. It wasn't just a betrayal—it was a calculated act from someone who had known them well.
Daibutsu was the first to act.
"Konan, stay here and prepare to support. I'm taking a squad to back up the leader."
"I'm going too!"
Without hesitation, Kyūsuke joined him. Together, they gathered the remaining Akatsuki members and disappeared into the pounding rain.
Konan stood alone at the cave's entrance, staring after them as the storm swallowed their silhouettes. Her mind was racing. She was about to question what exactly had happened on the frontlines when her gaze landed again on the wounded shinobi. A sudden flash of lightning revealed his face clearly.
There was no desperation. No panic. Only a twisted grin, dark and triumphant.
In that chilling moment, something buried in her memory surged to the surface. Her blood ran cold. She stepped back instinctively, heart pounding in alarm, but it was already too late. A sharp, searing pain ripped through her back.
"What…?!"
Konan turned around in shock, her vision spinning, and saw the faces of those she had trusted, comrades she had fought beside. Each one twisted into a monstrous smile.
In that instant, everything became clear.
The true meaning behind Rasa's message had never been about the world outside. The real danger had already seeped inside. The Akatsuki had been infiltrated to its core.
Konan no longer knew who in this world could still be called good… and who was truly evil.