Sora felt uneasy when White Snake mentioned that the White Snake Sage must have known Yahiko was in Ryūchi Cave.
From what Sora knew, the White Snake Sage was eccentric, cunning, moody, difficult to please, and quite devious. Sora had been prepared to be reverse-summoned back to Ryūchi Cave at any moment. If the timing wasn't right, Sora wouldn't have allowed White Snake to bring Yahiko to Ryūchi Cave.
It seemed strange that the White Snake Sage would permit Yahiko to stay in Ryūchi Cave without a summoning contract. Something didn't add up.
However, Sora decided not to dwell on it and turned to White Snake. "Thank you for your efforts. I won't trouble you anymore. Please release him."
White Snake spat Yahiko out once more.
"Very well, Master Sora. Don't forget our agreement. I'll return to Ryūchi Cave now," the serpent said.
Sora nodded. "I won't forget. You may go."
The white snake transformed into smoke and vanished.
Sora crouched beside Yahiko, wrinkling his nose at the slimy, fishy smell that clung to the unconscious shinobi. After checking Yahiko's condition, he determined that while the man was still very weak, his life wasn't in danger.
As Sora began lifting Yahiko's clothes to examine his wounds, Yahiko suddenly awakened and grabbed Sora's wrist. Their eyes met, and Yahiko stared blankly. "What are you doing?"
Sora's expression remained neutral as he let go of Yahiko's clothes. "Nothing."
Yahiko glanced around in confusion. "Where am I? Where is the divine messenger?"
Sora's eye twitched. Did Yahiko truly believe the white snake was some sort of divine messenger?
"That snake is not a divine messenger," Sora explained. "It's my Summoning beast."
Yahiko's eyes widened in disbelief. "Summoning beast?! Then..."
"Yes," Sora confirmed. "You're still alive, not dead."
Yahiko stared at Sora intently. In the next second, he swung his fist toward Sora's face.
Without effort, Sora caught Yahiko's fist and subdued him with his other hand.
"I know you!" Yahiko struggled angrily. "You're the one who stood beside Danzō that day!"
Sora scratched his cheek, looking troubled. "Hey, I saved you."
"Saved me?" Yahiko spat. "You captured me!"
"It's just as White Snake said—I am a fool," Sora sighed. "Why would I capture you? What value do you have to me now? And if I hadn't intervened, Nagato and Konan would have died right there. You thought your suicide would convince Hanzō of the Salamander to spare them? He never intended to let any of you three live."
Yahiko stopped struggling and frowned. "What exactly happened?!"
Sora explained the situation to Yahiko. Seeing that Yahiko wasn't going to resist further, he released his hold.
Yahiko clutched his head, his face contorted with pain. "Why? Why is this happening? Why would Hanzō-sama, who clearly desires peace in the shinobi world, betray us?"
Sora sat in a chair and regarded Yahiko coolly. "Because your Akatsuki organization has threatened the interests of those in power."
Yahiko stared at Sora blankly. "Threatened... interests? But isn't peace in the shinobi world beneficial for most people?"
Sora sneered. "You're already leading an organization, yet you're this naive? True, peace might benefit most people, but you must understand that the majority are ruled by a small group. When you threaten the interests of that small group, you're effectively challenging the interests of everyone under their control."
Confusion still clouded Yahiko's eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Sora continued, "Let me first explain why Hanzō of the Salamander wants to eliminate you. His motives are the easiest to understand—your Akatsuki organization threatens his authority."
"We never even thought about taking his authority," Yahiko protested.
Sora smiled. "You might not have thought about it, but your actions are threatening him nonetheless. No ruler can tolerate an uncontrolled organization in their territory. Your Akatsuki is growing daily, and many of its members are shinobi from Amegakure. These ninja were originally Hanzō's subordinates, but now they follow you. In Hanzō's eyes, these shinobi have betrayed him. Honestly, the fact that he didn't attack you sooner shows remarkable restraint."
Yahiko's mouth opened and closed before he finally whispered, "We never meant for this..."
Ignoring Yahiko's murmurs, Sora continued, "Now I'll tell you why Konohagakure would cooperate with Hanzō. The Great Shinobi War has raged for years now. The situation has reached a stalemate, but one thing is certain—all Five Great Nations have suffered significant losses, and no hidden village has benefited from this conflict."
"You should know why this war started. Iwagakure and Kumogakure joined forces to carve up Konoha's resources. But they failed, and now things are looking favorable for Konoha. After enduring such pressure and losses, the situation has finally improved. How could they possibly want to end the war now? Konoha needs to recover their losses through the next phase of conflict. If peace comes now, how will they make up for those losses? Therefore, from Konoha's perspective, your organization—dedicated to peace—must be eliminated as an unpredictable factor."
Sora glanced at the stunned Yahiko, took a sip of water, and summarized, "Even if it wasn't Konoha, even if you actually initiated peace talks, the outcome would still be failure. As one of the instigators of the war, how could Iwagakure agree to peace when their objectives remain unfulfilled? And with the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure missing, if you mention peace talks now, they might suspect your Akatsuki organization of killing him to force negotiations. So no matter what, as long as Akatsuki pushes for peace talks, destruction will be your only outcome!"
Yahiko sat dumbfounded. He had believed that if everyone was willing to talk and address their conflicts, peace could be achieved. In his mind, no one truly wanted war.
But after listening to Sora's explanation, Yahiko felt his entire worldview crumbling. It seemed that the moment they mentioned peace talks, their Akatsuki organization was doomed.
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