"Uchiha... huh?"
"I'll take this mission!"
Images of that day, of the figure leading his clan out of Konoha, flashed through Sakura's mind. She reached out and took the mission scroll from Jiraiya.
"Alright, now let's discuss how to infiltrate."
Unlike the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain had a small territory.
The city was the Ninja Village, and the Ninja Village was the country!
The Sensory Jutsu utilizing water bodies, combined with the steel structures and cityscape full of drainage pipes, made ordinary infiltration methods utterly useless.
"Can you get a toad inside, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Sakura used her Observation Haki to probe the border of Amegakure. The inland lake used to protect the village had many aquatic creatures, so mixing in one toad shouldn't be difficult.
"Oh, you mean..."
Jiraiya's eyes lit up. He wiped his finger and summoned a toad without Chakra in the air.
Sakura stepped forward, placed her hand on the toad's back, and imprinted a cherry blossom-shaped pattern.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Space-Time Ninjutsu is so convenient~"
Ignoring Jiraiya's interference, Sakura instructed the toad:
"Swim across the inland lake, follow their drainage pipes, and stop somewhere without water!"
"The moment you stop moving for more than three minutes, we'll activate the Flying Thunder God Technique and infiltrate."
The toad, which could understand human speech, struggled for a moment, then nodded its head at Sakura.
With a plop, the toad jumped into the water.
Ten minutes later, in the sewers of Amegakure.
Sakura, pinching her nose, and Jiraiya, each holding a glowing toad, walked through them.
Entering Amegakure's buildings from the drainage pipes, Sakura and Jiraiya knocked out two villagers.
Using the Transformation Technique to take their appearances and donning raincoats, the two could finally walk openly in the rain.
"South street, this is the last sighting location?"
Standing on a set of staggered steps, Sakura looked at the location described in the mission brief.
"But the intelligence provided is indeed vague, and the closed and xenophobic nature of this place makes intelligence gathering quite difficult."
Jiraiya adjusted his conical hat. Beside him, Sakura had already walked into a bun shop by the street to gather information.
"Granny, give us five buns."
Sakura took out money from her pocket and handed it to the old woman. While she was busy, Sakura casually asked:
"Granny, how's business been lately?"
"Haha, same as always. The village's food still has to be bought from outside. Many young people complain things are expensive, but I can't decide the grain prices. The cost is right there."
Happy to have someone willing to listen to her grumble, the old woman opened up, chatting nonstop with Sakura.
"It must be tough for you, granny, running such a big bun shop alone. Isn't it too much for you?"
Sakura took the buns, handed some to Jiraiya, and continued probing indirectly.
"Haha, how could it be? The village's public order is great under the protection of the God. Thieves and such have all been driven away. Even the fire a few days ago was quickly resolved by Paper Angel-sama~"
The old woman's words caught the attention of both Sakura and Jiraiya differently.
"Fire..."
Sakura's eyes lit up, about to press further, but Jiraiya's reaction was more intense!
"Paper Angel!"
"Yes, actually, Paper Angel-sama will be preaching at the central tower today. If you want to hear her teachings, you can go there."
A happy smile spread across the old woman's face, smoothing out all her wrinkles.
Compared to the days of uncertainty in the Land of Rain, although it was still nominally ruled by Hanzo, the common people knew perfectly well who the actual ruler was now.
But they didn't particularly care. After all, merely surviving took all their effort, so they wouldn't bother raising any objections.
As the old woman finished speaking, Jiraiya became somewhat agitated. He stuffed the food into his mouth, stood up, and ran outside.
"Sorry, Sakura, there's something I'm very concerned about and want to check out. If... something happens, evacuate first. We'll meet up within the Land of Rivers!"
With that, Jiraiya pulled on his rain cloak and charged straight into the downpour.
"Hey, Ji-… sensei!"
Sakura ran after him, nearly calling out his name before biting it back.
Just then, on the rain-soaked street, an old man walked toward her.
As they brushed past each other, a faint voice slipped into her ear.
"Rain is dangerous. Don't linger here… beware the legendary Rinnegan."
Sakura froze mid-stride. But when she turned, the old man was already gone.
"Uchiha… Itachi!"
Sakura was sure that the voice had to be Itachi's.
Her mission target was behind her, yet Jiraiya had just rushed into the deadliest part of Amegakure.
This puts Sakura in a dilemma.
'Damn it, what a mess… why are you grown-ups always so unreliable?!'
Grinding her teeth, Sakura spun around and dashed through the rain toward the central tower.
Watching from a building's balcony, a man smirked at her choice before dissolving into a cloud of crows that vanished into the darkness.
…
Beneath the central tower, a sea of people packed together, noise swelling like a storm.
By the time Sakura reached the square, sheets of paper rippled with the wind, gathering into a sweeping tide.
From the heart of that storm, a figure with wings rose and then descended gently onto the tower's summit.
As her wings opened and closed, faint phosphorescence fell. When the sheets of paper drifted down to the ground, they transformed into bills of money.
'Well damn, that's one pragmatic religion. And such generous preaching too. Excuse me, what's the initiation process for joining your religion?'
Witnessing this, Sakura gasped in shock. As she looked upward, she also saw Jiraiya approaching the tower.
"Ji-"
Sakura had just raised her hand-
Boom-!
The explosion atop the tower was more violent and sudden than anyone could have predicted.
Panic spread like something tangible… first consuming the worshippers beneath the tower, then sweeping outward to the bystanders.
The giant tower cracked, black smoke spread, flames fell from the sky, and burning rubble and steel rained down upon the crowd.
Worse still, the Ninjas hidden among the crowd tore off their disguises and charged straight at the people around them.
Terrified, people shoved, cursed, and fled. Every face that rushed past Sakura was twisted in panic.
From the darkness beneath the rain, countless flashes of blades whirled like a vortex, cutting through lives one after another.
Blood splattered, mingling with rainwater, spreading a crimson sheen across the ground.
"Mommy, mommy!"
Among the corpses, a boy with mud smeared on his face knelt before a body growing colder by the second, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yet his cries brought no adult to shield him.
Instead, amid a piercing screech of metal, a flurry of blades hurtled toward him.
Just as the blades were about to pierce the boy, the world abruptly fell into silence… the rain froze midair.
Countless black lightnings intertwined, solemn and cold, the will of a conqueror surging like a pillar into the sky.
The Ninja's short blade could no longer move forward, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
Because before him stood a small pink-haired girl, gripping his hand, her emerald-green eyes blazing with fierce intensity.
A sharp voice, laced with killing intent, rang out: "Hey, that's a child you're going after!"