Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 188 Negotiation with the Three Little Ones

"Damn it, are you Hanzo's men?"

The strength of Yahiko and his two companions put immense pressure on the young ninja with striped faces. In the entire Land of Rain, only Hanzo's subordinates possessed such power.

"No, although we wear headbands and want to fight for the peace of the ninja world like Lord Hanzo, we are not his people."

Yahiko smiled slightly, a hint of anticipation on his upturned face. He had heard the story of Hanzo traveling to the five great nations for peace in the ninja world since he was a child, and he also wanted to be like Hanzo, working for peace in the ninja world and becoming a man who brought peace to the ninja world.

It must be said that Hanzo's publicity was quite good; Yahiko greatly admired Hanzo.

Li Yao, who was hiding to the side, shook his head as he listened.

Hanzo may have indeed worked for peace, but the Hanzo of today is not the same Hanzo of the past.

Otherwise, Amegakure wouldn't be what it is today.

They are divided into two groups: those under Hanzo's command and those not under Hanzo's command.

"Hmph, to put it bluntly, it's all about solving everything with force!"

Many people believe that Hanzo launched the war because he felt that his military strength was strong enough, so he became arrogant and wanted to defeat the three great hidden villages of the country by himself.

This isn't Hanzo's fault; it's Hanzo's fault for not recognizing his own strength.

The ninja with stripes painted on his face looked at Yahiko with disdain, thinking that Yahiko was just like Hanzo, an arrogant and reckless person who wanted to gamble the fate of the country with a little strength.

To his surprise, Yahiko's answer left him completely stunned.

"No."

Yahiko said earnestly, "It's not about resolving this with force, but about communication and dialogue."

"Communication and dialogue?" The ninja with striped faces looked at Yahiko with an incredulous expression. In the ninja world where strength reigns supreme, they wanted to resolve battles through communication and dialogue?

"Are you serious?" the ninja with striped face couldn't help but question. "This country is located between three great powers. As long as they keep fighting, war will never end. The law of the jungle is the only truth in the world."

"So," Yahiko followed up firmly, "we fight precisely to change this outcome."

With that, Yahiko stepped forward and invited, "I believe you also want to see true peace. Come, let's change this country together, and change this world plagued by war!"

What... The five people on the other side were shocked. This guy actually invited us, who had just tried to kill him.

It has to be said that at this moment, the numb heartstrings of the five people were violently plucked.

"Listen." At this moment, Yahiko produced three straws from somewhere and said, "A single straw is easy to break, but if three are put together, they are very..."

It was quite awkward. Before Yahiko could put the three straws together, they broke on their own, making the scene very embarrassing.

Fortunately, Yahiko was thick-skinned enough to force himself to finish his speech.

After Yahiko's awkward actions, the five people on the other side recovered. Faced with Yahiko's offer of recruitment, they certainly wouldn't immediately bow down to him; otherwise, wouldn't it have been better to worship the more powerful Hanzo?

The five were prepared to fight to the death, but Yahiko did not kill them. He simply said that they would protect the village and that no matter how many times the five or others came, he would not kill them, but would only teach them a lesson.

"I hope you'll still be here next time I come."

Before leaving, the guy with striped faces said something meaningful to the three innocent Yahikos.

After the five people had walked away, Yahiko's composed expression instantly lit up. He excitedly said to Konan and Nagato, "Konan, Nagato, did you see that? I did it! That guy said he hopes we'll be here again next time. He must really want us to keep our word and join us who yearn for peace."

"Hehe..." Xiao Nan chuckled softly.

"Sigh..." Nagato glanced at Yahiko, then turned away.

The two couldn't bear to tell Yahiko the truth; what that person said before leaving wasn't what Yahiko had imagined.

Instead, it was a reminder that the village was being targeted by many wandering ninjas, and that they shouldn't die before they could see each other again.

"Hey, what do you mean by this?"

Yahiko relentlessly moved closer to the two of them, just like when they were children.

"who!"

Suddenly, two figures came into Nagato's view. He was startled and quickly called out a warning.

Yahiko and Konan looked over upon hearing the sound, and were immediately startled. The person was too close to them, only ten meters away.

They didn't even realize the person was getting so close; if the person hadn't deliberately exposed themselves, they might have been attacked before they even noticed.

In other words, if the attackers had launched an attack, they would have been seriously injured, if not killed.

The three had no choice but to be on high alert.

"take it easy."

Li Yao stopped and waved his hand, saying with a smile.

He showed no sign of killing intent and appeared completely relaxed, with no intention of making a move.

Xiao Yezi looked at Nagato's red hair, a hint of reminiscence flashing in her eyes, before quickly falling silent again, standing beside Li Yao without saying a word.

"Are you here to rob this village too?"

Despite Li Yao's words, Yahiko and the other two did not lower their guard. Jiraiya had told them that the stronger a ninja was, the better they controlled their own aura.

In short, the better a ninja can conceal their aura, the stronger they are.

However... they will not back down because of a powerful enemy; they will protect the village and vow to fight to the death.

Nagato and Konan stood on either side of Li Yao and Xiao Yezi, their eyes firm and without a trace of fear.

No wonder he has experienced life-and-death hardships since childhood.

Their courage is commendable, and they are also quite mature.

To get close to such a person, being too deliberate will only make you less likely to gain their trust.

This was the conclusion Li Yao reached after observing Yahiko and the other two for a month.

Therefore, the best way to join TFBOYS is to be direct and sincere, which will earn their trust.

So Li Yao changed his mindset. He no longer came to replicate the Rinnegan's eye power and chakra, but genuinely wanted to join them, witness the birth of Akatsuki, and see if Yahiko could achieve his ideal of peace through talk-no-jutsu, just like Naruto.

With his mindset changed, Li Yao relaxed completely and went straight to find Yahiko and the other two.

Faced with the three children's wariness, Li Yao smiled slightly and said, "I heard there are three big idiots here who protect the village without asking for anything in return. One of the girls uses paper magic, so it must be you guys."

"Idiot, you're the real idiot!" As soon as Li Yao finished speaking, Ya Yan retorted loudly, his face flushed. He was getting impatient.

Nagato and Konan shook their heads speechlessly at Yahiko's reaction. Yahiko, shouldn't your focus be on why these two came to them?

Fortunately, Yahiko quickly regained his composure. Seeing that Li Yao and Xiao Yezi truly had no intention of making a move, he asked curiously, "Did you need something from us?"

Li Yao smiled and said, "I came because I've heard so much about you."

"Does he have a mission for us?" Yahiko asked, his eyes lighting up.

"No." Li Yao shook his head, took out an arrest warrant from his pocket, and tossed it to Yahiko.

"Be careful," Nagato and Konan instinctively warned, thinking there might be something wrong with the wanted poster, such as it being laced with poison.

"It's alright." Yahiko caught the wanted poster that was thrown to him without hesitation. He trusted his intuition; these two weren't here to attack the village.

"Hmm...this is..." Yahiko suddenly looked up at Xiao Yezi beside Li Yao, then looked down at the portrait on the wanted poster in his hand, his expression momentarily confused. "You...what...does this mean?"

What does that mean?

Nagato and Konan curiously peeked over and looked up in surprise at Xiao Yezi, whose portrait on the wanted poster was none other than Xiao Yezi.

"You...you're a wanted ninja!"

"It's worth thirty million taels!!"

"Who exactly are you?"

The three stared in shock at Xiao Yezi and Li Yao. They were only a few years older than them, so how could they be wanted by the underground bounty agency? The three couldn't understand it. Wasn't this a privilege reserved for ninjas from the five great nations?

Are these two people from one of the five great nations?

Upon realizing this, all three became wary.

Ignoring the three men's wariness, Li Yao glanced at Xiao Yezi and said, "My name is Li, and her name is Whirlpool Yezi. She's from the Whirlpool Clan, and we're here..."

Li Yao recounted the experiences of Xiao Yezi and her mother after the annihilation of the Uzumaki clan, concealing the fact that the Five Kage had joined forces. He only mentioned that during the escape after he rescued the mother and daughter, Xiao Yezi's mother, Gui Mo, sacrificed herself, he and Xiao Yezi were separated, and Xiao Yezi was captured by the Cloud Village and subjected to various experiments.

Three years ago, a mysterious ninja from Iwagakure attacked Kumogakure, which allowed Little Leaf to escape.

Afterwards, Xiao Yezi was implicated and wanted by the underground bounty agency. Then she met Li Yao again, and the two fled to the Land of Rain together.

(End of this chapter)