Chapter 85: Hanzō's Hesitation
Because they were close to the border, Ishiro and the merchant caravan soon reached the boundary between the Earth Country and the Rain Country. As expected, Yahiko and the others were not present here. Ishiro handed over the caravan to members of the Akatsuki as usual and prepared to wait at the border.
However, after this handover, Ishiro noticed something unusual. Using sensory ninjutsu to scout the area, he locked onto four ninja about two kilometers away. Judging by their chakra levels, they appeared to be four chūnin, with one of them having slightly more chakra—possibly a tokubetsu jōnin.
After some thought, Ishiro concluded that they were likely from Amegakure's Anbu.
Ishiro didn't act rashly. He had expected that Hanzō would take an interest in the cross-border trade, but he hadn't expected the response to come this quickly. This was only the second transaction, and already Amegakure's Anbu were nearby?
After the merchant caravan departed, Ishiro sensed the Rain Anbu following after it. He signaled to his team to tail them quietly.
If the Anbu didn't make a move, Ishiro wouldn't either. But if they attacked the caravan, he wouldn't show mercy. This trade route had only just begun. If something happened now, it would be hard to attract other caravans without the promise of safety.
Fortunately, this Rain Anbu squad seemed to have only been ordered to observe. They followed the caravan all the way to a small border town and then left, likely sensing the presence of many Akatsuki members in the area.
Squad 7 tailed them for a while to confirm they had indeed withdrawn before returning to the town.
After giving his three subordinates a few instructions, Ishiro entered the town alone.
Sure enough, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were there. The town was lively—thanks to Hirosho's caravan carrying double the goods of last time, plus two additional merchant teams, the scale of this trade was significantly larger. Rain Country had also organized a caravan, so the town was bursting with activity. Children roamed the streets like it was a festival, laughing and exploring.
Seeing this made Ishiro feel warm. Although his own goals weren't entirely pure, it was still nice to see ordinary people's lives improving.
Due to the popularity of the first two trades with the Earth Country, even the townsfolk's attitude toward Ishiro, a ninja bearing Iwagakure's forehead protector, had softened.
Unhindered, he made his way to where Yahiko and the others were. Ishiro didn't conceal his presence, and Nagato immediately sensed his arrival, happily informing Yahiko and Konan.
The three of them set aside their tasks and came over.
Yahiko greeted him with a warm sentiment before asking why Ishiro had come in person.
Ishiro explained, "During the handover at the border, I discovered a squad of Rain Anbu monitoring the caravan. I was worried they might cause trouble, so I followed them. They tailed the caravan until just outside the town, then left."
He noticed the trio looked surprised, but not particularly alarmed. Ishiro sighed inwardly. He was from the Earth Country, while they—and Hanzō—were from the Rain Country. In their eyes, perhaps he was the outsider. Better not to say too much.
Instead, he told them about the two new caravans and added that after this run, there would be a pause before the next. He needed to return to Iwagakure to report and apply for expanded support from the village.
Yahiko was thrilled. His dream was becoming a reality.
Not wanting to dampen their spirits, Ishiro shifted the topic to the Rain Country's caravan. Given the country's heavy losses during the Second Ninja War, it shouldn't have recovered this quickly. This caravan's scale was even larger than all three Earth caravans combined—it had to have significant backing.
Sure enough, Yahiko said, "This caravan was dispatched directly by the Daimyō of the Rain Country."
Apparently, after Yahiko contacted the Daimyō, he received full support—not only was he paid for his efforts, but the Daimyō even organized a merchant caravan. With the Daimyō's backing, the Akatsuki members became very motivated and quickly mobilized to support the operation.
"No wonder," Ishiro thought.
So it was the Rain Country's Daimyō who supported Akatsuki. Only someone of his authority could casually organize such a large caravan. Hanzō's swift response likely had to do with this involvement from the Daimyō.
Whether this early attention from Hanzō was a good thing or a bad thing for Akatsuki remained to be seen.
It seemed like it was time to pay attention to Root's movements.
Even though it was hard to monitor Rain Village directly, tracking Root's activities might be more feasible. However, if Root really did get involved, they'd likely avoid detection by Akatsuki, which meant using Akatsuki to watch Root wouldn't work anymore.
This put Ishiro in a bind. He had no idea how his village was positioned within Rain Country, and keeping tabs on Root's movements would be tough. Looks like he'd have to report this to Ōnoki back at the village.
After a bit more chatting, Ishiro told Yahiko to get back to work. Since Konan and Nagato weren't as busy, they stayed to stroll around town with him.
Ishiro and Nagato discussed chakra nature transformation, particularly Fire Release.
Nagato was surprised and pleased to hear that Ishiro had managed to grasp Fire-nature transformation just from their earlier conversation. He had always felt that Ishiro gave them so much, yet they offered little in return.
Ishiro had previously given them all his money—twice—helped the Akatsuki find a growth path, personally opened a trade route between the Rain and Earth Countries, helped Nagato break through to Kage-level, and guided the three of them on their ninja paths.
In their eyes now, Ishiro had become just as important as Jiraiya once was.
Nagato shared his own insights on Fire Release with Ishiro. Although his Fire training stemmed from the Rinnegan, his experiences still offered valuable reference points.
Then came an unexpected surprise—Nagato handed Ishiro four scrolls: two Fire Release jutsu, one Water, and one Earth—all C-rank.
Ishiro blinked. "Wait, did I just get free jutsu again?"
Noticing Ishiro's stunned expression, Konan explained with a smile, "We know your jutsu from Iwagakure can't be shared, but ours can. After we parted last time, we talked with Yahiko and decided to give you some suitable jutsu. You've helped us so much—please let us help you for once. You must take them."
Scratching his head awkwardly, Ishiro replied, "You're giving me jutsu? Of course I'm taking them!" Then, under their surprised gazes, he quickly scooped the scrolls into his pouch.
Nagato and Konan were dumbfounded for a moment—then all three burst into laughter.
From a distance, Yahiko, now done with his tasks, heard them laughing and hurried over to share in the joy.
Because Yahiko had planned ahead, the trade on their end finished quickly—half a day was all it took. Afterward, Ishiro and his three subordinates again followed the merchant caravan back toward the Earth Country.
This time, Ishiro sensed no Rain Anbu following them.
He figured Hanzō had only just received word and was still trying to understand what was going on, assessing the threat level posed by Akatsuki. From Hanzō's perspective, Akatsuki had made contact with the Daimyō on one hand and established trade with Iwagakure on the other—a maneuver that probably made him cautious.
Knowing he couldn't intervene in Rain Country affairs for now, Ishiro accompanied the caravan past the border.
Once inside the Earth Country, the two caravans that had joined them at the border split off first. Before departing, they spoke with old man Hirosho and agreed to accompany the next trip to the Rain Country.
Hirosho's caravan and the Rain Country's then proceeded toward Iwagakure, intending to conduct trade in towns near the village.
After escorting the caravans to their destination, Ishiro led his team back to the village and reported to Owl.
After hearing the report, Owl was speechless. "Why is it that every time you report something, I can't make the decision? I always have to pass it to the Tsuchikage. What kind of team leader does that make me?"
Ishiro scratched his head, embarrassed. It's not like he wanted to—his imagination just kept getting him into wild situations.
Owl took Ishiro to Ōnoki's office. This time, only the two of them went—his three subordinates were left behind, as Owl had noticed they were basically useless for intelligence.
Ōnoki wasn't surprised to see Ishiro—he had already heard that the merchant caravan had returned for the second time.
After getting a general overview, Ōnoki summoned his four advisors. It wasn't that he was making a big fuss, but Ishiro was already being considered for an advisor position. The upper echelon was more focused on his judgment than his strength.
Once everyone was present, Ishiro began detailing the two trade missions.
The expansion of the trade route was visible to all; all Ishiro had to do was recommend increasing ninja support. The leadership had no objections and swiftly moved to the next topic.
Then came Ishiro's big revelation: "Nagato possesses the legendary Rinnegan."
"What?!" several voices exclaimed, but Ishiro couldn't tell who said what.
There was a reason for revealing this now. It couldn't be kept secret forever. With increased contact between Akatsuki and the Earth Country, it would eventually come to light. By reporting it first, Ishiro avoided trouble and also increased his value in the eyes of the leadership.
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