Naruto: People are in Konoha, the system arrived 20 years earlier Chapter 172

Faced with Yahiko’s goodwill, Hayato didn’t push him away.

He also extended his right hand and shook it warmly.

After a brief friendly exchange, Yahiko withdrew his hand and introduced himself to Hayato.

“Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself first. I’m Yahiko, this is Konan, and this is Nagato.”

“Just call me Hayato.”

After a simple introduction, Yahiko sized up Hayato and asked, “Hayato, you’re not from Amegakure, are you?”

Seeing that Hayato wasn’t wearing an Amegakure forehead protector, Yahiko asked this question.

Hayato didn’t hide anything and nodded frankly.

If he truly wanted to deceive Yahiko and the others, he would have found an Amegakure forehead protector to wear first.

Originally, his plan was just to simply make contact with other Akatsuki members.

He didn’t expect to meet Konan directly, and now to meet all three of them.

On the other side, upon hearing Hayato say he wasn’t from Amegakure, Nagato couldn’t help but frown.

He pondered Hayato’s purpose in coming here.

Yahiko, on the other hand, didn’t think too much and directly engaged in a deeper conversation with Hayato.

“Hayato, what do you think of the current ninja world?”

Hearing the other party proactively bring up this topic, Hayato was somewhat surprised.

What’s going on? Are they directly discussing such a sensitive topic with someone they just met?

The three of them were indeed too influenced by Jiraiya and their yearning for peace, so much so that when they met someone who might share their ideals, they would try their best to win them over.

Previously, Konan had already told Yahiko about Hayato’s “rescue” incident.

Without considering the possibility that Hayato was setting them up, from their first impression, Hayato wasn’t a bad person.

Besides, they were self-aware; what was there for them to be deceived about?

After a while, Hayato slowly spoke.

“It’s relatively chaotic, but that’s understandable. Wherever there are people, there will be conflict.”

Upon hearing this answer, Yahiko’s eyes lit up. Konan had said before that Hayato’s words were very mature.

This was also the key reason he brought up this topic with Hayato.

After a while, Yahiko continued, “Then Hayato, what do you think of the situation of small countries in the struggles between great nations?”

Before Hayato responded, Yahiko first expressed his own view, “For great nations, when they are about to wage war, they generally won’t choose to fight in their own countries. At such times, small countries like ours become sacrifices.”

This was also to ease any pressure on Hayato, to “cast a brick to attract jade.”

Seeing Hayato fall into thought, Yahiko smiled and said, “It’s alright, don’t worry too much. It’s just a simple exchange of ideas.”

After a while, Hayato softly said, “Actually, you have a certain misconception. Who said that wars between great nations, who said they wouldn’t choose to fight within their own borders? As far as I know, recent wars between great nations have all taken place within their own territories.”

Hayato directly laid out the recent Ninja World War.

This made Yahiko choke. This was indeed true; they weren’t sure why the Five Great Nations chose to directly invade each other’s territories in this Ninja World War.

Seeing Yahiko remain silent, Hayato continued to express his views.

“So, in fact, it’s not that small countries become sacrifices in wars between great nations, but rather that when the intertwining interests between great nations haven’t escalated to a corresponding level, they tacitly choose another relatively fair method.”

“And small countries can never expect great nations to give them equal treatment. To break out of this cycle, there are only two choices.”

When the three heard Hayato say this, they all focused their attention on him.

“What two choices?” Yahiko asked softly.

Hayato smiled slightly and continued, “One is to completely grow strong and become a great nation yourself.”

This answer somewhat disappointed Yahiko and the others. That was not an easy feat. First, small countries had a world of difference from great nations in terms of territory, let alone economically.

In fact, the most important difference was in population.

“Then… what’s the other choice?” Konan, who was beside him, asked curiously.

Hearing this, Hayato turned to look at Konan and said with a smile, “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

“Since you can’t do anything about great nations, and you can’t become a great nation, why not become a part of a great nation?” Hayato spread his hands, explaining.

“Join?” Yahiko and the other two exchanged glances.

This indeed seemed to be a direction they hadn’t considered before, but was it truly feasible?

And they themselves couldn’t influence the decisions of the entire Land of Rain.

After all, Hanzō was still in charge of the entire Amegakure.

He definitely wouldn’t want to become a subordinate of another country; he’d rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

“So, you’re a ninja from a great nation?” Nagato, who had been silent, spoke for the first time, his question directly hitting the mark.

Since the topic had already reached this point, Hayato didn’t want to deceive them. After all, the mission required him to change Akatsuki’s mistaken ideas and gain the recognition of the entire Akatsuki.

So, it was better to exchange sincerity for sincerity.

This meeting completely disrupted Hayato’s previous plans, but he didn’t know what direction it would take.

Hayato took off his rain cloak, revealing the Uchiha clan crest on his clothes.

That conspicuous clan crest immediately startled the three of them.

“The Uchiha clan, so you’re a Konoha ninja.” Yahiko met Hayato’s gaze.

No matter what, he still had a certain positive impression of Konoha ninjas, as the days he spent with Jiraiya were very happy.

So, the three of them weren’t particularly resistant to Konoha ninjas.

Their ability to form this organization, and even to be alive today, was inseparable from Jiraiya’s teachings.

“Hayato, if I said I wanted to create a peaceful country with my own hands, would you think I was daydreaming?” After a while, Yahiko spoke softly, looking at Hayato with anticipation.

Hayato, however, didn’t dampen his enthusiasm.

“People always need to have dreams! But sometimes, achieving dreams with help isn’t shameful. I hope you understand that.”

Yahiko smiled frankly, “Perhaps, but I still want to try hard myself first. I can’t always rely on others.”

They knew that Hayato hadn’t explicitly stated his intention to assimilate them; he was merely offering advice, providing a path that might seem easier to walk.

After all, he was the one who initiated this topic, not Hayato.