Chapter 376: Akatsuki

"Take this mission in the Land of Rivers." Muyue picked up the scroll and said to the registration ninja.

In the Land of Rivers, there was a chance of encountering Cloud ninja or Sand ninja. Moreover, on this battlefield, there were no ninjas so strong that Muyue couldn't handle them. Even if luck was extremely bad and they encountered the strongest ninja on the Land of Rivers battlefield, Muyue could still retreat safely with Shisui and the others.

High safety with the opportunity to train disciples—that was Muyue's standard for choosing missions.

Of course, it was only an opportunity; after all, it was just a C-rank mission, and unless something unexpected happened, they wouldn't encounter ninjas.

After completing the registration, Muyue showed the mission scroll to his disciples.

"Target: Land of Rivers, let's go!" said Anko, who had never left Konoha, very excitedly.

The Hokage had granted the privilege to carry out a C-rank mission, and Anko had already thought about how she would show off to her good buddies after finishing the mission.

When they met, it would be "How did you know I just came back from a C-rank mission?" and then when they were curious about the reason, she would tell them about the Third Hokage granting the privilege.

"Anko, you're eager, but hold on. We still need to take the client with us," Shizune reminded.

Although her path was different from ordinary ninjas, Shizune was still a proper ninja and knew what she should know.

"Oh, right, there's also the client," Anko said, her steps toward the Konoha gate suddenly stopping.

"Don't be so careless when doing a mission, forgetting the client." Muyue tapped Anko's head with his finger, then took the three to meet the client.

The client was a middle-aged man who looked ordinary but quite steady.

"I'll leave the mission to you all," the middle-aged client said. Although Anko and Shisui looked very young, he did not look down on them.

After all, Konoha, as one of the five great ninja villages, would not tarnish its own reputation.

Muyue nodded and didn't waste words, directly asking, "Do you have any business here? We're ready to leave anytime."

"I have no problems. Let's go now," the middle-aged client nodded and replied.

Then Muyue led Shisui and the others and quickly headed to the Land of Rivers.

To increase the chance of encountering opportunities to train his disciples, Muyue traveled as fast as possible in the Land of Fire, then immediately slowed down after entering the Land of Rivers.

Muyue explained to his disciples that the Land of Fire had good public order, so they could go fast, while the Land of Rivers was currently in chaos, so going slower would better protect the client.

Hearing that even travel speed had such considerations, Anko looked as if she had learned something.

Perhaps Shisui and the others were lucky; no accident occurred along the way, and Muyue and his team quickly arrived at Iwaki Mountain, located in the northernmost part of the Land of Rivers.

"These bandits are extremely vicious. According to rumors, they not only plunder here but even go to the Land of Rain to plunder," the middle-aged client warned before Muyue and the others set out.

Trusting Konoha was one thing, but the ages of Shisui and Anko were indeed deceptive, so he added an extra reminder.

"The Land of Rain... Is it close to here?" Shisui asked with a thoughtful expression.

Because Shisui hadn't seen his uncle for a long time, he had talked with Uchiha Nobuhiro for a long time that time, and Uchiha Nobuhiro mentioned a bit about the Land of Rain when talking about his mission.

If he remembered correctly, the Land of Rain seemed to be in some chaos. First, Iwa ninja appeared in the Land of Rain for unknown reasons. Suna, worried about Iwa's invasion, also sent ninja into the Land of Rain. Kumo, seeing their opponents send ninja in, also sent ninja.

Although the number of ninjas might not be very large, at that time the Land of Rain had gathered ninjas from three major ninja villages.

Being able to go plunder under such chaotic circumstances, Shisui thought there might be rogue ninjas among the bandits; ordinary mountain bandits probably wouldn't dare to run around in this situation.

"It's just on the other side of the mountain," the middle-aged client explained.

Soon Muyue bid farewell to the client and followed the mission clues to find the bandits, while Shisui voiced his speculation on the way.

"Excellent analysis. It seems you've taken what I taught you to heart." Muyue praised without stint.

Although in Muyue's view it was still lacking, considering that Shisui was only seven years old, it was no problem. A seven-year-old child thinking so much was already quite impressive.

So where was Shisui lacking? Shisui had not considered the reaction of his own ninja village, Konoha.

The Land of Rain, as the only country in the ninja world that borders three great nations, was a rare strategic location. With so many ninja from great villages entering such a place, how could Konoha remain indifferent? Muyue guessed that Danzo had long sent Root members into the Land of Rain.

"Shisui, Teacher Muyue, what are you talking about? Is there a possibility of fighting ninja enemies next?" Anko scratched her head and asked in confusion.

She couldn't understand Shisui's analysis process, but she knew the outcome they might face.

"Mm, everyone be careful," Muyue nodded slightly and said.

Hearing the three of them talk, Shizune was a little nervous. She had never truly fought ninjas before.

Under Muyue's leadership, they successfully found the bandits' hideout. However, when Muyue and the others arrived, there were only two ordinary bandits inside.

Two ordinary bandits simply couldn't stir up such a big commotion. Muyue judged that the main force of the bandits had likely gone out to rob.

Next, Muyue repeated the same trick, interrogating the two separately, giving Shisui and the others a lesson on the prisoner's dilemma.

After careful thought about the reasoning behind it, Shisui had to admit it was a very effective interrogation technique.

If both men could absolutely trust each other and neither would betray the other, this method would be ineffective, but two ordinary bandits clearly couldn't reach that level.

Under Muyue's interrogation, the two bandits blurted out everything they knew.

The reality was as Muyue had thought: the main bandit force had left a week ago, and the two ordinary bandits were left to guard the hideout.

Additionally, Shisui's guess was confirmed: the leader of this bandit group was actually a rogue ninja from the Land of Rain.

"Walk faster, don't try any tricks."

Just then, Shisui, who had been searching the bandit hideout, suddenly heard noise from outside.

Shisui went out to check and saw several people outside.

Swish!

The moment Shisui stepped out, a shuriken shot toward him at extreme speed.

But how could Shisui come out unprepared? He slightly sidestepped to dodge the incoming tool, then pulled a kunai from his tool pouch.

He had held back because the newcomers didn't look like bandits, but since they attacked, they were enemies.

"Namiki, don't attack. Where would you find such a young bandit?" Yahiko shook his head at Namiki Kō.

Namiki Kō looked at the bandit leader at the front of the group, whose hands were bound.

"Kid, that's underestimating people. A ten-year-old kid's knife can still kill." The bandit leader grinned insinuatingly.

Although he didn't know Shisui, that didn't stop him from hoping Shisui would cause trouble for Yahiko and the others.

They were just peacefully robbing a village when some meddling ninja wiped them out; the bandit leader couldn't hate Yahiko and them more.

"Chief Yahiko, this guy's skills aren't simple. He might be a specially trained successor." With the bandit leader's hint, Namiki Kō thought Shisui, appearing in a bandit hideout, must be no ordinary person.

Just then, Shizune and Anko sensed the disturbance and quickly arrived at Shisui's side.

"So you're Leaf ninja." Seeing the forehead protector on Shizune's head, Yahiko showed a look of sudden realization.

Shisui was a trainee ninja without a Leaf forehead protector. With Shizune's presence, Shisui's identity became clear: a Leaf ninja who had accepted a mission.

Hearing the words "Leaf ninja," Nagato, who had been following behind Yahiko, unconsciously twitched his finger, then quickly calmed down.

"Who are you people? Why are you here?" Shisui asked in a low voice, kunai in hand.

Although the arrivals all looked like ninjas older than them, Shisui wasn't flustered at all—they had come out with Muyue.

"My name is Yahiko. I'm the leader of the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rain. Sorry about what just happened; my companion thought you were a bandit and attacked." Yahiko briefly introduced himself, then apologized and explained.

"We encountered a group of bandits plundering villagers in a Land of Rain village. After dealing with them, we worried there might be remnants seeking revenge on the villagers, so we came here."

"Leader of a ninja organization?" Shisui found that somewhat strange in his mind.

Shisui knew that ninja organizations existed in the ninja world, but Yahiko looked too young—around thirteen or fourteen, not much older than them.

"You must have accepted a mission related to this group of bandits. We've saved you some effort, so don't worry about what just happened." Yahiko said with a smile.

Shisui remained silent, waiting for Muyue's decision.

Although Muyue hadn't appeared yet, Shisui knew he had already arrived—after all, if even Anko and Shisui could sense the disturbance, how could Muyue not know?

As Shisui thought, Muyue had indeed come and had noticed Yahiko and the others' arrival even earlier than Shisui, because he had activated his Byakugan while searching for the bandits.

【Name: Yahiko】

【Chakra: 7300】

【Potential: S-】

【Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 100/), Water Release: Water Wave (Proficient), Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet (Proficient)…】

Given Yahiko's age, this stat sheet marked him as a prodigy ninja. Muyue estimated that if Yahiko didn't die early, he could probably train himself to Kage-level.

【Name: Konan】

【Chakra: 8000】

【Potential: S】

【Skills: Paper Secret Technique (Proficiency: 2000/3000), Paper Shuriken (Proficient)...】

Konan's potential is slightly higher than Yahiko's, but at this stage the two are nearly equal in strength.

Mu Yue finally looked at Nagato. He had a feeling that Nagato's potential might surpass anyone he had ever seen before — after all, this was the Rinnegan plus the Uzumaki clan.

【Name: Nagato】

【Chakra: 】

【Potential: SS+ (Six Paths Bloodline + Rinnegan + Basic Talent)】

【Skills: Fire Nature Transformation (Mastery: 1000/), Wind Nature Transformation (Mastery: 750/), Yang Nature Transformation (Mastery), Water Nature Transformation (Mastery)...】

Mu Yue could only describe Nagato's stats as extraordinary. His potential even exceeded SS to reach SS+. Except for Yin Nature Transformation, all other nature transformations were at Mastery level. Although their proficiency wasn't very high, the fact that it was mastery in six nature transformations could be said to be extremely terrifying. At the same time, Nagato also possessed hundreds of ninjutsu at the proficient level, a rich repertoire of ninjutsu.

Of course, what attracted Mu Yue's attention the most was Nagato's terrifyingly immense chakra reserves.

Mu Yue was really tempted. At Nagato's current age, he still had plenty of room to grow. If he were to become a disciple and undergo the Teacher's Return, the chakra Mu Yue would gain would be several times more than that from all his other disciples combined.

Although Mu Yue really wanted to, he knew this was not a simple matter — there were many difficulties.

First, becoming Nagato's teacher itself was very difficult, because Nagato had experienced three years of guidance from Jiraiya and already had an excellent teacher in his heart. Moreover, Nagato had mastered six chakra natures and knew many ninjutsu, so he didn't have a great need for a teacher in terms of strength.

Another problem was that Nagato probably didn't like Konoha ninja, because his parents were killed by Konoha ninja.

When Mu Yue wanted to become Nagato's teacher, besides Nagato's own issues, there were two noteworthy people: Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara.

The Rinnegan on Nagato was transplanted by Uchiha Madara. Even if Madara was carefree, he wouldn't just give the Rinnegan to Nagato and then ignore it; he was definitely watching secretly. As for Black Zetsu, needless to say, he had been scheming for this Rinnegan for a thousand years. Black Zetsu valued these eyes even more than Uchiha Madara did, because the Rinnegan was a necessary condition for Kaguya's revival.

"They really don't have any ill intent," Mu Yue said as he flashed over beside Shisui.

To become Nagato's teacher, one needed a thorough and meticulous plan. Mu Yue wasn't in a particular hurry.

In the original story, Nagato's corruption was the result of many factors. One of the instigators, Obito, was not yet ten years old, so he still had plenty of time.

"So fast!" Yahiko said in surprise. He hadn't even noticed when Mu Yue had arrived.

Although young in age, he had the strength to become the leader of the ninja organization; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to command respect.

After learning that Mu Yue's strength was considerable, Yahiko was even less inclined to clash with this group of Konoha ninja, as it would cause trouble for the Rain Country.

With Mu Yue speaking up, the two sides quickly reached a consensus — it was a misunderstanding.

"Teacher Mu Yue, how strong were those people just now?" Shisui asked, watching the retreating figures of Yahiko and the others.

"Strong. There are two you might not be a match for, and one could potentially oneshot you," Mu Yue replied after some thought.

PS: Nagato and Minato are not the same age. Nagato died at 35, and at that time Naruto was 16. Minato died at 24 giving birth to Naruto. Minato was quite a bit older than Nagato.

Also, Nagato's six chakra natures and knowledge of many ninjutsu were stated by Jiraiya in the manga; I didn't make it up.