Some Time Earlier
In the administrative building of Amegakure, Konan sat behind her desk, listening to a report from one of her subordinates. The woman had just handed her a document outlining the progress of various construction projects.
"All the work that had been stopped has resumed. The workers returned to their respective sites shortly after Ren-sama came back two days ago," the woman reported.
Konan barely seemed to be listening. Her attention was elsewhere.
"How much did he make this time?"
The woman paused. She had blonde hair and wore a pair of round glasses. Her name was Nono.
"We haven't been able to determine the exact amount," Nono replied after a moment's thought. "However, based on the reports we've received, it's certainly more than a hundred million ryo."
Hearing that, Konan crumpled the report in her hand.
Seeing her reaction, Nono continued, "Konan-sama, I believe he should share the profits from healing-tag sales. Even though those tags aren't produced here, they're sold in Land of Rain. We could at least impose a tax on them."
Konan looked at the crumpled report in her hand, her expression growing increasingly displeased.
Before she could respond, someone entered the office.
It was Ren.
He was whistling cheerfully, apparently in an excellent mood. Without bothering to knock, he walked inside as though the place belonged to him.
"Konan, I'm going to meet Hanzo. You can come along if you want."
Konan stared at him.
His habit of entering whenever he pleased, completely ignoring the usual code of conduct, was becoming increasingly irritating. He behaved as though he owned the entire building.
Nevertheless, she stood up and followed him.
When Ren entered Hanzo's office, Konan came in right behind him. Hanzo was seated inside. As soon as he noticed Ren, he rose from his chair and walked towards the hidden room behind his office.
A moment later, Nagato emerged.
"Why are you here? Is there something you want to discuss?" Nagato asked.
"Yes."
Ren reached into his Shadow Realm and took out several large sheets of paper. He handed them to Konan.
She examined them briefly before asking, "What are these?"
"Complete blueprints for the construction projects scheduled to take place over the next three months."
"Then why are you giving them to me?"
"Because I'll be leaving for three months."
Konan immediately frowned.
"How do you expect the construction work to continue without you? You were gone for a week last time, and almost every project came to a halt. What makes you think things will be any different now?"
"Well, I got a little caught up in something." Ren shrugged. "Besides, I wasn't prepared for that absence. I hadn't made any arrangements before leaving. This time, things are different. I've planned the everything in advance, and the ones included in those blueprints only require construction. They don't need my constant supervision. Once I return, I'll take over the remaining work."
Nagato considered his explanation. The arrangement seemed reasonable enough. If the projects had already been planned and only required construction, there was little reason to insist that Ren remain in Rain.
"Very well," he said.
Konan, however, wasn't finished.
"What is so urgent that you need to leave for three months?"
Ren paused.
He thought about the conversation he'd had with his parents. They had talked about the difficulties they were facing while teaching the children who had recently awakened their kekkei genkai. The problem was more serious than it initially appeared.
There were two ways he could approach it.
The first was to find people who already possessed the same kekkei genkai, study their experiences, and learn the techniques they had developed. However, finding suitable people for every bloodline would be a tedious process, and even then, their knowledge might not be sufficient.
The second option was to study the bloodlines himself, understand how they worked, and develop basic techniques and training methods from scratch.
He had already decided to pursue the second approach. It would take considerable time, but the results could benefit every child struggling to understand their newly awakened abilities.
However, there was no particular reason to share all those details with Nagato and Konan.
"I'm going to write some books and distribute them so the children can study from them," he answered.
Konan looked at him for a moment.
"Fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Ren didn't respond. Instead, his attention shifted towards the direction of the entrance of the Hidden Rain Village.
"Why is he heading this way?"
Konan turned towards him. "What are you talking about?"
"An old acquaintance seems to be coming here."
Ren had sensed Jiraiya approaching.
Present
Inside Hanzo's office, Konan handed the scroll she had received from Jiraiya to Nagato.
"What is this?" Nagato asked.
"It's an invitation for Hanzo. Konoha is inviting him to attend the Chūnin Exams."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Neither of them felt the need to discuss the matter further. They already knew what the answer would be: Hanzo wouldn't attend.
Had Konan known the contents of the scroll when Jiraiya first arrived, she would have refused to accept it in the first place.
While the two were discussing the invitation, Ren entered the office.
"What's in the scroll?" he asked.
"It's simply an invitation for Hanzo to attend the Chūnin Exams," Konan replied.
"Oh, is that all?"
Ren seemed rather uninterested. However, after a moment, he asked, "Are you going to send your shinobi to participate in the chunin exams?"
"We'll send a few," Konan answered before Nagato could object. "We don't particularly need our shinobi to participate, but we should maintain a good relationship with the Land of Fire."
She then turned towards Ren.
"What about you?"
"Me? What about me?"
Konan pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"I mean, are you going to send shinobi from the Land of Rice Fields?"
"But the invitation was sent to the Land of Rain," Ren pointed out.
"Yes, the invitation is for Rain. However, we can send our shinobi under Rain's banner and present the Alliance as a unified organisation. Militarily, we have the Alliance, not a collection of separate nations."
Nagato nodded.
"I agree. It would be a good opportunity to demonstrate our unity."
Ren considered the idea. It was indeed a sensible approach. Representing the Alliance under a single banner would strengthen its image among the Great Nations.
However, there was a problem.
He could send some of his own shinobi to participate in the examinations, but all of them has Evolution Seal. Sending them to Konoha would invite unnecessary scrutiny. He had no intention of exposing that.
"That's a good idea," Ren said after a moment. "You could use Yugakure headbands as well."
Nagato looked at him.
"Why can't you send shinobi from the Land of Rice Fields yourself? Why are you suggesting that we use Yugakure headbands?"
Ren answered without hesitation.
"You see, the Land of Rice Fields doesn't have an established shinobi village. We have very few shinobi of our own, and most of them, including those from the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost, are occupied with patrolling our borders. Besides, not many people are interested in becoming shinobi."
Among the three countries under Ren's direct control, only the Land of Hot Water had a prominent shinobi village. Yugakure could therefore serve as a military representative for all three nations, giving them a common identity without requiring the establishment of an entirely new village.
Ren had offered the suggestion deliberately. It was a convenient way to represent those territories while keeping his own shinobi out of the examinations.
His explanation about the scarcity of shinobi in the Land of Rice Fields, however, was not entirely true.
Konan and Nagato had previously received information from Zetsu suggesting that Ren possessed some kind of seal capable of helping people develop chakra. The information was old and incomplete. They knew neither its exact nature nor how extensively Ren had used it, but they suspected that he had developed a method of his own.
Neither of them brought it up.
For one thing, explaining how they had obtained that information would be difficult. More importantly, they understood that a technique capable of helping ordinary people develop chakra was an extremely valuable secret. Ren would hardly want such a thing becoming public knowledge.
They had no reason to force the subject.
"I'll stay here for another three days," Ren said, bringing the discussion to an end. "During that time, I'll explain the remaining arrangements to you, Konan, so you can manage the construction projects while I'm away."
Konan nodded.
Before leaving, Ren turned towards Nagato.
"Keep an eye on Jiraiya."
Nagato gave a brief nod.
Ren then looked at Konan again. "I'm heading to the construction site."
"I'll join you in a little while," she replied.
With that, Ren left the office.
A/U: Just a quick question should I publish advance chapter on Patreon.