A rare moment of the Amegakure orphans smiling, during the time when they had formed the original Akatsuki. I was kind of sad when I was drawing this because Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato had such a tragic storyline. Those trio only knew suffering ever since they were small children.
More in-depth description is below, in the "SPOILERS" section.
Also, I drew them to appear as if they are in their late teens. Because the timeline of Shippuden (and just the manga in general) can be a little confusing. I was getting info on the time between the Shinobi Wars, and when "Madara" had met them, and the whole thing when Hanzou had captured Konan...the ages are odd. It stated Yahiko was 15 during that time, but he seemed older to me. I thought Konan and Nagato were the same age, but once again...they seemed like they were in their late teens, early 20s. But then that would not fit the storyline/timeline?
Drawn with Pandafly micro pens. (They work just as well as the Copic Multiliners, which I used to work with "back in the days", but the Pandafly's are cheaper.) Coloured in with Copic Markers and just a wee bit of Prismacolor coloured pencils. I didnt want to leave the background a plain white, so I used a "Fill Bucket" with a textured paper pattern in Photoshop Essentials.
Naruto Shippuden & Characters © 岸本 斉史/Kishimoto Masashi
Fan Artwork © Jacqueline E. McNeese
{SPOILERS!!!! Since I am not sure who is viewing this & if you haven't watched all of Shippuden or read the manga.}
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I wanted to draw them during that time-frame when they thought they had found happiness when they had formed the Akatsuki, believing that it was going to make their nation get better. Damn you, Hanzou! And damn you, too, Shimura Danzou! Danzou had always been an arse, and the fact that he was so obsessed with wanting to become Hokage, he went to sleazy Hanzou (well, Danzo was sleazy, too, ha ha!) to get help (from Hanzou) so he could become Hokage...which in return, he would help Hanzou to deal with Yahiko's Akatsuki. They're the reason for ruining things for the Ame trio. They all could have had happiness, but you know how Shippuden is...nothing really cheerful in that series. It was like the Game of Thrones of anime, characters getting killed off. (But it's sooooo good!)
So yeah, that is what inspired me to draw this...I wanted that one moment when the three of them had that hope and happiness. Too bad it didn't happen...they deserved so much better. Konan and Yahiko could have had their romantic relationship blossoms (they would have been so darned cute together) and Nagato was like the brother to them. After all they went through, I believe they truly cared and loved each other. No wonder Nagato and Konan turned the Akatsuki into something darker. The larger shinobi nations did not even care that they made everybody in Amegakure suffer for life.
According to the databooks, it stated that Yahiko was killed at 15. But he seemed older that that, right? Were Konan and Nagato a bit older than him? I hated that part...more reasons to hate Hanzou and Danzou.
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{END OF SPOILERS}
