Land of Rain. Amegakure, the Village Hidden by Rain.
Evening. On the platform of a towering steel structure, Tendo Pain, clad in his black robe adorned with red clouds, stood in the encroaching night, his head tilted upwards as he silently observed the sky above. A bright, full moon hung high in the heavens, and under its clear, pure moonlight, wisps of clouds could occasionally be seen drifting lazily past.
Rustle, rustle, rustle~
With the soft, distinctive sound of rustling paper, a cascade of origami butterflies flew up from below the tower, coalescing behind Tendo Pain to form the figure of Konan.
Hearing the movement behind him, Tendo Pain didn't turn. With his back still to Konan, he asked, his voice devoid of inflection, "Have all the intruders been dealt with?"
Konan's voice was slightly grave as she replied, "Mm. They've all been eliminated. The ones who infiltrated the village this time were an ANBU squad from Iwagakure. It seems they discovered something."
"Iwagakure?" Tendo Pain's voice remained flat, unmoved. "These are all expected developments. Pay them no mind. Given that old fox Onoki's cunning, it's not surprising that he was able to glean some insights from our organization's previous… cooperation with Iwagakure."
Konan asked, a hint of concern in her tone, "Then, isn't our location exposed?"
Tendo Pain replied, "Our location was exposed several years ago."
Konan looked puzzled. "Exposed long ago? Then why haven't the allied elite squads of the Five Great Villages ever come to the Land of Rain to investigate before now?"
Hearing this, Tendo Pain finally turned his head, looking at Konan as he slowly shook his own. "Konan, do you truly believe the Five Great Villages called off their hunt because they couldn't find the Akatsuki's location? That Five Kage Summit was nothing more than a show, a performance for the world to see! They were merely demonstrating their resolve to us and to the other powers in the ninja world."
"The Akatsuki's very existence has become a serious threat to the security of the Five Great Shinobi Villages," Tendo Pain continued, his Rinnegan eyes impassive. "They are unwilling to be picked off by us one by one, yet they are also reluctant to engage us in a direct, all-out confrontation. After all, regarding the Moon battle five years ago, the rumor that we suppressed the Divine Court has been circulating in the outside world ever since. And the subsequent mysterious disappearance of both the Divine Court and Yakugakure seemed to, from a certain perspective, confirm this. Faced with us, they lack the courage and the unwavering determination for a decisive battle. As long as we don't stir up any major waves, the Five Great Villages naturally don't want to engage in a mutually destructive conflict with us either!"
Konan fell silent upon hearing Nagato's assessment. Everything seemed to be just as Nagato had said. No wonder that, over these past few years, despite knowing her and Nagato's origins, the Five Great Villages had never dispatched large numbers of operatives to infiltrate Amegakure for reconnaissance. It appeared the Five Great Villages had likely known for a long time that the Akatsuki's base was indeed in Amegakure. Moreover, they seemed to have reached an unspoken, tacit understanding not to proactively provoke the Akatsuki.
But the truth of the matter was not what they imagined! In the Moon battle, Akatsuki had not only failed to gain any advantage but had actually been on the weaker side, thoroughly outmaneuvered. Thinking of this, the image of Jizo unleashing his Perfect Susanoo involuntarily resurfaced in Konan's mind. That kind of world-destroying power… even Nagato might not have been able to withstand it. Konan couldn't help but look up at the bright moon hanging high in the night sky.
After a moment of contemplative silence, Konan spoke, "Nagato, for all these years, the Divine Court seems to have completely vanished from the ninja world. Could it be that they were trapped on the Moon by us back then?" Her voice carried a faint, almost desperate glimmer of hope.
Over these past years, Akatsuki had been secretly and tirelessly searching for any trace of the Divine Court. To this end, Konan had even spent a considerable sum of money to post high-value bounty missions on the underground black market. But so far, they had found nothing. The only lead they had was that Ansei Hall still maintained some kind of mysterious connection with the Divine Court. However, the Ansei Hall personnel stationed in various locations were all merely peripheral members; it was impossible for outsiders to glean any useful information from them.
Hearing Konan's question, Tendo Pain also fell silent. After several tens of seconds, he finally spoke slowly, "Unlikely. I can sense that they are still hidden somewhere in the ninja world. We just haven't found them yet."
Konan remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then said, "If they have already returned to the ninja world, why have they remained completely hidden all these years? With the Divine Court's strength, even if they faced the combined elite squads of the Five Great Shinobi Villages head-on, they should be able to easily defeat them. There seems to be no need for them to hide like this. They even went so far as to relocate the entirety of Yakugakure and the core of Ansei Hall."
Tendo Pain shook his head. "I don't know either. Their movements have always been extremely mysterious. However, one thing is certain: the Divine Court will not remain hidden forever. They too have some unknown objective they are working towards. Sooner or later, they will reappear in the sight of the ninja world."
Konan's expression turned grave. "Then what should we do? The Divine Court's existence will definitely affect our plans."
Tendo Pain replied, his voice firm, "Pay them no mind. Proceed according to plan! The Gedo Statue should be fully revived in about half a month. It will be time to execute the next phase of our plan."
"Alright." After a moment of silence, Konan nodded in agreement.
Mountain Graveyard.
Atop the giant skeletal structure, Obito was also currently gazing up at the starry sky. Staring at the bright moon, Obito's visible eye was calm, his expression unreadable. At this moment, no one could possibly know what thoughts were truly circulating in his mind. Beside him, the conjoined forms of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu quietly observed Obito.
Amidst the silence, Black Zetsu suddenly spoke, "Obito, the Gedo Statue will be revived soon. The Akatsuki's plan is about to be implemented. Faced with the mysterious and unpredictable Divine Court, are you still not planning to retrieve your other eye?"
Obito remained silent, his posture unmoving, offering no reply. After a long moment, Obito finally spoke slowly, his voice low, "Even without that eye, I can still control the entire plan. For now, it is not needed."
Black Zetsu persisted, "But that Uchiha from the Divine Court can already activate a Perfect Susanoo. His strength is likely not much different from what our master possessed back then. If you only rely on one eye to contend with them, I'm afraid you will be at a disadvantage."
Obito fell silent again for a short while before speaking, "The Divine Court has vanished from the ninja world for several years now. All this time, White Zetsu's clones have been searching for them everywhere, yet they still haven't found a single trace. Perhaps… they truly are no longer in this world. Besides, our primary targets are the nine Tailed Beasts. As long as we can successfully revive the Ten-Tails, then even a power as formidable as the Divine Court will become insignificant, like ants before us. There is no need to waste excessive energy on them at this time."
After Obito finished speaking, a flicker of something unreadable passed through Black Zetsu's eyes, but he didn't continue to persuade him. Beside them, White Zetsu wore an expression of keen interest, seemingly fascinated by every word Obito uttered.
Half a month later, within a mysterious, cavernous space.
On the ten outstretched fingers of the Gedo Statue, astral projection figures, formed by thought waves, began to appear one after another.
After many long years, the leader of Akatsuki had, for the first time, convened a full assembly of all its members.
And this momentous gathering signified one thing: Akatsuki's plan to capture the Tailed Beasts had officially begun.