Yes, the Hokage!

Unlike the new three ninjas of Konoha, the Amegakure trio's relationship doesn't involve a love triangle; it's simply that Yahiko and Konan like each other, with Nagato playing the wing of the relationship.

"Xiao Nan..."

Seeing that his two companions trusted him so much, Yahiko made up his mind and looked up at Fenglan again: "If we form an alliance, what can Konoha give Amegakure, and what does it hope to get from us?"

“First, let’s clarify one concept: you are not vassals, but allies.” Feng Lan knew what the other party feared most, so she first reassured him, “Everything in Amegakure will be under your self-governance, and Konoha will absolutely not interfere.”

Hearing this, Nagato and Konan both breathed a sigh of relief, but Yahiko remained wary: "Does what you say represent Konoha?"

“Of course.” At this moment, Feng Lan was no longer saying the same thing as when she was talking to Kong Que, and her face was no longer all smiles. “What I mean is what Konoha means.”

The sharp look on his face when he said this made even the resolute Yahiko feel his hair stand on end, as if he were prey being watched by a snake.

"At the alliance ceremony, the Fourth Hokage will clearly state that he respects the sovereignty of Amegakure and publicly declare his stance to the ninja world. Is that enough?" Feng Lan leaned forward slightly.

Yahiko instinctively leaned back, but immediately realized he couldn't be suppressed, and suddenly looked back: "This is just the foundation of the alliance. Tell me what you want and need."

"Konoha is a great country with abundant resources, and we can give you a lot," Feng Lan said, listing the best of everything. "Food, building materials, daily necessities, we can also help you build schools, hospitals, orphanages... and provide you with Konoha's advanced concepts and models to learn from."

No matter how much Yahiko despised Konoha, he had to admit that Konoha's model was the best, and even the other four great nations were imitating it. If Amegakure could learn from it, they would be in luck.

For Feng Lan, Amegakure was a testing ground. Any projects he was unsure about could be tried out in Amegakure first. If they were suitable, he would then give them to Minato. In any case, he would provide all the resources during the implementation period in Amegakure, so both sides could say that they got what they needed.

Yahiko was somewhat tempted, but remained very wary: "I want to see tangible results, not wait for you to hold a meeting and discuss it."

“Of course.” Feng Lan snapped his fingers. “As long as you nod, I will immediately send a ninja hawk back to the village to deliver the message, and the first batch of supplies will arrive soon.”

“So…” Yahiko narrowed his eyes, unconsciously mimicking Feng Lan, “what does Konoha want from us?”

"The power of the Rinnegan." Feng Lan said without hesitation.

"That's impossible!" Yahiko immediately stood up and stood in front of Nagato.

"Easy, easy." Feng Lan waved her hand dismissively. "Young people who are impulsive and reckless are unlikely to amount to much."

Yahiko then realized that he had gotten a little too excited, but there was nothing he could do. He was only in his early twenties and was still a young man at heart.

He sat down awkwardly and couldn't help but retort, "You're not that much older than me, are you?"

“But I’m more mature mentally.” Feng Lan maintained her smiling expression. “For example, you can only imitate my appearance briefly, but I can always have this face.”

"cut……"

Although Yahiko was very unhappy, he couldn't find any reason to refute it, nor could he shrug like the factory manager and say, "How am I supposed to go to the bottom lane if they keep telling me to go?" So he could only shut his mouth.

“I won’t directly ask for the Rinnegan, but since we’ve formed an alliance, Konoha hopes that Amegakure can provide military support when needed.” Feng Lan then revealed his true intentions: “We don’t need a lot of people, but we must have Nagato.”

"Can't……"

Yahiko still wanted to refuse this time, but his words were not as firm. The Rinnegan was indeed powerful, but with only the Rinnegan, Amegakure could not develop.

“This is my bottom line.” This time, Feng Lan wouldn’t back down. “If you can’t even agree to this request, then you have no value in forming an alliance. I will try to seize the Rinnegan for Konoha’s use!”

"You!" Yahiko felt a mix of anger and frustration, but there was nothing he could do. In this world, the one with the strongest fist is the boss, and Nagato was clearly not strong enough at the moment.

The other Akatsuki members also gripped their weapons and roared angrily. If they were Deidara, Kakuzu, or others from the original work, Feng Lan might have been wary, but they were just bystanders, and their anger was meaningless.

Jiraiya looked over with concern, wanting to speak several times, but ultimately remained silent. He knew that the conditions offered by Fenglan were already very good; even if it were the old man himself, they wouldn't be so lenient.

“Alright!” Nagato finally spoke decisively, “I will provide the Rinnegan support… but only to a limited extent. The main objective remains to protect the Akatsuki organization and the village.”

"Nagato!" Yahiko and Konan both looked over with concern.

“No problem.” The somewhat introverted young man smiled reassuringly at his companion. “Just like Jiraiya-sensei said, if these eyes can be used to protect our companions, then they are not a curse or a burden, but a gift from a sage.”

“No problem.” Feng Lan readily agreed. “I won’t let you leave the village for long. You belong to Amegakure and Akatsuki, but I must remind you that Konoha and Kumogakure may soon clash. If the other side deploys the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, I will need your strength to fight against them.”

Nagato answered decisively without any hesitation, "Alright!"

All three could see that Konoha had formed an alliance for this very purpose, and Nagato, not wanting to put Yahiko and Konan in a difficult position, took the initiative to agree: "I hope you will keep your promise, otherwise I will definitely unleash all my power and destroy Konoha!"

[You're still too young. If I truly harbored malicious intent, I have a hundred ways to use you until you're dead on the roadside, never even seeing the walls of Konoha.]

Feng Lan sneered inwardly, then stood up and extended her hand: "So... shall we make a deal?"

Nagato was about to reach out when Yahiko grabbed him, saying, "We need to... think about it some more."

Upon hearing this, impatient voices began to rise within the delegation, especially among the hot-tempered Uchiha brothers. In their view, Lord Fenglan had already offered very generous treatment, and these guys were still acting arrogantly, simply ungrateful.

"can."

Unexpectedly, Feng Lan readily agreed: "Three days. During these three days, our delegation will be stationed outside Yuyin Village. We can send a message by eagle first and purchase a batch of food and supplies at the border of the Land of Fire. You can agree after you see the goods."

"It's not like we're going to agree." Yahiko was now left with nothing but stubbornness.

Feng Lan didn't argue with him anymore, but continued to maintain her smiling tiger mode: "Then, I will definitely give everyone a surprise in three days."

Without his translation, everyone knew what the surprise was: if the alliance succeeded, it would be material aid; if they still didn't know what was good for them, it would be a bloodbath.

Chapter 79 Jiraiya, the Meal Delivery Master

After a fierce battle, peace arrived abruptly. Fenglan forbade his subordinates from setting foot inside Amegakure. Instead, he found a flat spot outside the village entrance and had Obito use Wood Release ninjutsu to build a batch of houses, where they settled down.

Although the Konoha ninjas had no objection to Feng Lan's orders, they couldn't help but secretly grumble a few words:

"We're the ones who saved them, but they're all acting all high and mighty. It's really annoying."

"Exactly, look at the way they talk to Lord Fenglan, I feel like I could blow a fireball at them."

"It's one thing that they won't let us into the village to rest, but they won't even bring us any food. What kind of people are they?"

"..."

That's not how you say it.

Hearing the voice, the muttering ninjas quickly turned around: "Lord Fenglan! We..."

"It's alright, it's alright." Feng Lan waved his hand with a smile. "It's normal to be angry when you're met with indifference. But put yourself in their shoes. If one day the ninjas of Amegakure were to launch a fierce attack on Konoha and blow up the village, causing countless deaths and injuries, would you forgive them so easily?"

"But it's not us..."

“It’s true that we didn’t do it.” Fenglan interrupted the ninja who was refuting, “But to that group of people, the person wearing the Konoha headband is the murderer who killed their relatives and friends. They can’t tell whether it’s from the Second World War or now, just like you can’t tell whether the Cloud Village is from the Third Raikage’s time or the Fourth Raikage’s time… If you encounter them, the only thing to do is kill, kill, kill.”

"If you want to apologize, atone for your sins, and gain forgiveness, you must first show the proper attitude. You can't turn your back on someone just because you've been given the cold shoulder; that will only reinforce their stereotypes."

After he said that, the few ninjas who were somewhat annoyed fell silent.

"As for the food..." Feng Lan put on an innocent expression, "They didn't even bring it over; it's questionable whether they'll have anything to eat themselves."

……

"Damn it! Everything's gone!"

On the other side, upon entering Amegakure and seeing the village's empty warehouses, Yahiko and the others couldn't help but blush.

It can only be said that Hanzo the Salamander did indeed teach his subordinates well. He himself absconded with most of his wealth, and his subordinates also divided up all the food and supplies in the warehouse. If they weren't worried about being caught, they might have burned, killed, and looted the villagers before fleeing.

All that was left for the Akatsuki was an empty shell, a Rain Village in ruins, and countless villagers who couldn't even get enough to eat.

“That Feng Lan…” Ya Yan’s intuition was indeed very sharp. “He must have done it on purpose!”

“Yahiko…” Konan tugged at his sleeve, “Don’t always think so badly of people.”

After all, she was saved by Feng Lan himself, so her initial favorability rating is higher.

"……never mind."

Yahiko wanted to explain, but in the end he gave up. His companions were still too young, and if he hadn't been in the position of leader for so long, scheming and deceiving with other forces, he probably wouldn't have been able to see through so many things.

Feng Lan did indeed have the sincerity to form an alliance, but he definitely harbored some other intentions as well, but...

"Gurgle!"

It's unclear whose stomach rumbled first, but everyone exchanged awkward glances and couldn't help but laugh.

But as they laughed, the energy they had been holding back dissipated. Now that they were out of danger and fighting, exhaustion and hunger overwhelmed them, and some of them simply plopped down on the ground.

Nagato, in particular, had overused his Rinnegan and was now practically collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to utter a single word.

“Everyone is hungry and injured. If they don’t get enough food, treatment, and rest, they won’t be able to hold on.” Xiao Nan, being a girl, usually handles logistical work, so she gave the conclusion immediately.

“But our base was destroyed in the previous battle, and all our remaining supplies and food were burned,” another Akatsuki member frowned. “And this damn warehouse was completely looted…”

"What about the money?" Yahiko asked. "How much money do we have left?"

“Almost none,” Xiao Nan said helplessly. “You forgot, we encountered another group of displaced children the day before yesterday, and we used our last emergency funds to buy food.”

"Sigh..." Yahiko, like a skilled cook without rice, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Otherwise..." someone timidly suggested, "Let's go ask the villagers for some food, at least to fill our stomachs first."

"No!" Yahiko said resolutely, "If we do that, how are we any different from Hanzo?!"

The person fell silent, but it was clear that most people still leaned towards this view, after all, food is essential for survival.

“Don’t forget, we are not recognized as leaders by the villagers.” Yahiko hurriedly explained, “The Akatsuki is ultimately just a clandestine force. If they want to truly lead Amegakure, they need the support of the villagers. Otherwise, if they force their way into power, they will inevitably alienate the villagers.”

"Hanzo was able to rule Amegakure for so many years not only because of the strength he showed during World War II, but also because of his great talent and ambition in his youth, which gave the villagers hope and a sense of security. That's why so many people followed him willingly, and even in his old age, he was still able to firmly control the entire village."

“Although we have it, we haven’t shown that kind of strength and ideal worth following. Now, if we go directly to the villagers to ask for food... the first impression will be so bad, and it will be difficult to gain their trust again.”

“Yahiko is right!” Konan stood firmly beside him. “Since we’ve chosen this path, we absolutely cannot use that method!”

"As Jiraiya-sensei said, we have to persevere through this!" Nagato, who couldn't even stand up, still tried his best to cheer him on.

"That's right!"

The three leaders' insistence strengthened the resolve of the others. Some sat down again to rest, some began to check their few remaining ninja tools, and others silently handed their only water bottles to their injured comrades.

……

Just as they decided to make do for the night, a hearty laugh came from outside the door: "Hey, hey, I'm saying that willpower is important, but you can't go hungry either."

"Jiraiya-sensei!"

This was the only Konoha ninja that the Akatsuki didn't reject. When they looked up, they saw Jiraiya carrying large and small bags of food, followed by two toads, which carried various daily necessities and medicines.

What are you still standing there for?

Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively: "You guys can't be so weak that you don't even have the strength to move things, can you? What happened to your perseverance?"

Yahiko was the first to realize what was happening, but he didn't make a sound. He quickly had the other members take the items, distribute supplies, treat their comrades, and start a fire to cook...

The aroma of food filled the air, and the Akatsuki members could no longer hold back. They gathered around in twos and threes, taking the rice balls and dry rations and wolfing them down. Some of them even shed tears as they ate.

These tears expressed complex emotions: mourning for fallen comrades, joy at surviving, and a simpler reason: people really do cry when they are starving.