"You actually dared to make it all the way to Konoha Village? Getting through the Land of Fire must've been quite difficult... Especially during wartime, considering how limited the already strained relationship between Konoha and the Land of Rain has always been."
Haseo spoke toward the trio of Yahiko standing before him.
As he spoke, he waved away the Anbu Ninja who had been on standby inside his office. With him present, there was no need to be so tense facing these three kids supposedly "from an enemy nation."
But really... what did he mean by "limited"? The relationship between Konoha and the Land of Rain was clearly extremely hostile.
Theoretically speaking, the most likely scenario would have been that these three would've been eliminated on sight while entering the Land of Fire, long before even reaching Konoha.
Their safe arrival before Haseo was already a stroke of luck—truly, they were fortunate indeed, as students personally taught by Jiraiya.
"If it's about eyes you're here, then this whole journey was pointless, wasn't it? Replacing a pair of eyes shouldn't be such a big surgery, right?"
"..."
Yahiko looked puzzled, "Lord Haseo, we believe such a procedure should be an extremely delicate and complex operation... Common sense dictates exactly that."
"Is that so?"
Evidently, Haseo's thinking was seriously flawed. The idea that eyes could simply be plugged in and function immediately—what kind of illusion was that?
This was eye transplantation—not like popping in a lightbulb. How could it possibly work that easily?
What about connecting the visual system? What about suppressing immune rejection? What about light perception issues?
Only highly skilled medical ninja could achieve perfect transplants—this was true for ordinary people. Not everyone could be like those Uchiha, effortlessly plucking an eye from one socket and placing it into another, with immediate success.
Only beings beyond normal humans, like the Uchiha, could pull off something like that.
On the flip side, take someone like Kakashi, for example—he might've suffered from suboptimal battlefield conditions combined with mediocre medical skills, which potentially caused his problem of needing a week of rest after each usage of the donated eye.
Faced with Haseo's confusion, all three nodded together—even Nagato, though he couldn't see.
Haseo mused, "Connecting organs to the nervous system requires extreme precision." He realized that swapping eyes might actually be a major procedure after all. "Still, after having attacked you, aren't you afraid I might take hostile actions again if given another chance?
This is Konoha, after all. If I wanted to eliminate you, nothing could be more convenient."
"Lord Haseo, we can still distinguish right from wrong... We came to Konoha primarily to express our gratitude for your help. Otherwise, had we remained unaware of the conspiracy, our fate would've been easy to foresee.
Besides, if Lord Haseo truly intended us harm, you could've acted when we were still in the Land of Rain. Instead, back then, you simply neutralized those powers."
Yahiko had his head in the game—clear and unaffected by fleeting emotions... This kid seemed destined for greatness, and he definitely had leadership potential.
If only he didn't have to die so young.
"The second reason is Nagato's eyes. Lord Haseo promised us help, which is why we took the risk to come to Konoha."
Actually, Yahiko felt it was their own decision to come to Konoha. Even though Haseo had promised assistance, that didn't mean they should just sit around waiting for help... Waiting around like that just didn't sit right with him, and naturally, he believed they should take more initiative.
"Ahem... Right, my promise stands, definitely."
A promise? Haseo hadn't thought much of what he said before—it was just a joke to him. But since they'd already made it to Konoha, then of course he'd honor this "promise."
Thankfully Yahiko had taken action first; otherwise, he might've waited forever for Haseo's help.
As he spoke, Haseo stood up and led the three of them toward Konoha Hospital.
"You haven't asked too much about what happened to Nagato, and restraining your curiosity is wise... The Conspiracy, now that you've removed yourselves from it, the best thing going forward is to stay as far away as possible.
The less you know, the safer you are. After all, it's no longer any of your concern.
Losing those eyes… might not be such a bad thing after all."
As they walked, Haseo unusually offered these words of caution—as much to silence further questions as anything else. Naturally, he couldn't possibly offer more detailed explanations.
"We understand, Lord Haseo. Matters concerning Amegakure aren't things we're meant to know. For us right now, resolving the issues in Amegakure is already an enormous task, one we still remain far from achieving."
Though still young, Yahiko had already begun thinking about peace—but his vision remained limited to the Land of Rain, not because of narrow-mindedness, but simply because he was being realistic.
"It's best that you think this way. Once we resolve the issue with his eyes, I'll arrange for our Sensor Ninja to thoroughly examine Nagato... to make sure there's nothing lingering inside him."
Haseo's spontaneous decision represented exactly why this trio came to Konoha in the first place—it was key to completely severing themselves from The Conspiracy... although neither party had realized it yet.
The matter of the eyes had become secondary now—not even the main issue anymore.
"Although you've lost those eyes, they've already provided you substantial benefits."
Nagato had lost his Rinnegan, but until now, at the very least, he'd already mastered [Five Elements]—abilities that wouldn't disappear merely because the Rinnegan was gone...
And this 'minor' additional benefit alone would be something many Ninja could only dream of acquiring in their entire lives—it was progress far beyond even the legendary [Ninjutsu Genius] who learned [Five Elements] at a mature age. In short, Nagato was already far ahead of where Haseo used to be.
"So, regarding the eye problem... did you bring anything to replace them?"
After making the matter of the Rinnegan perfectly clear from both direct and subtle angles, Haseo finally moved on to a more practical issue... Those who come to Konoha for organ transplants surely don't expect Konoha to provide the 'donors' as well?
"It's like this, Lord Haseo. Konan and I have decided to each transplant one of our eyes into Nagato... We don't want to harm others in order to achieve salvation. That would contradict our purpose and that of Akatsuki."
Love and peace, right? How could they just go around hurting people... That's why Yahiko valued restraint and discipline so much.
Nagato wanted to say something, but Yahiko spoke first. "We've already talked it through completely."
Haseo stopped walking and blinked his eyes.
Hmm... The Elric brothers? Saving yourself without hurting others? Their philosophy sounds strangely familiar.
Nagato held back his words—he'd always been quiet and reserved by nature. Ever since meeting Yahiko and Konan, they had looked after him like an older brother and sister.
Compared to the eyes themselves, their presence was his greatest source of salvation, which explained why he became so extreme after losing them. With that kind of personality and past, it'd be way too easy to manipulate him.
"Lord Haseo, is there any problem?" Haseo's sudden pause made Yahiko slightly nervous.
"No, I think your idea is great. It's just... there's a color mismatch."
Both Yahiko and Konan had brown eyes, but their shades weren't exactly the same—Yahiko's were lighter while Konan's leaned toward orange.
Yahiko: "..."
That definitely wasn't the issue he expected Haseo to focus on.
Were they supposed to worry about aesthetics now too?
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