Hidden Rain Village.
With a flash of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Naruto arrived — the same place where he had once rescued Jiraiya and escaped.
He sealed Danzo's right arm into a storage scroll and then began walking deeper into the Rain Village.
The endless rain poured down, drenching him completely.
Somewhere within Hidden Rain Village, Nagato suddenly opened his eyes.
Konan tilted her head slightly. "What's wrong?"
Nagato's expression darkened. "Someone has intruded — they're blocking my rain. And their chakra… it's incredibly strong! They're very close."
Konan frowned. "Could it be Jiraiya-sensei again?"
Nagato shook his head. "No. I know my teacher's chakra well — this isn't the same feeling. It must be someone else. Konan, as before, I'll leave it to you."
Konan nodded. "Understood."
Nagato released chakra, and outside, the tendō Pain stirred. Stepping out onto the tower's high platform, he began to weave hand seals.
"Rain Tiger at Will — Release!"
The artificial rain that covered the village ceased.
Meanwhile, Konan activated her Dance of the Shikigami, her body dissolving into countless sheets of paper that folded into fluttering butterflies, scattering into the air.
Naruto looked up and noticed the rain suddenly stop.
Looks like they've found me. I'd better hurry.
He leapt high, landing in a secluded area, formed hand seals, and created three shadow clones to help him gather natural energy.
The distance between Konoha and Hidden Rain Village was vast — even Jiraiya had needed three or four days, traveling with the help of toads via water routes.
Though the Flying Thunder God was fast, long-distance teleportation consumed a massive amount of chakra.
As soon as Naruto landed, his sage chakra reserves were already exhausted.
That was also why Nagato's rain hadn't immediately sensed him — the chakra falling on Naruto wasn't that of Sage Mode.
Back during their first encounter, when Naruto fought in Sage Mode, the Rain Tiger at Will Technique had been disrupted by Jiraiya's interference, so Nagato had never directly felt Naruto's natural energy signature.
Thus, at first, he hadn't realized that it was Naruto returning.
Inside an abandoned water-pipe structure, Naruto sat cross-legged.
Before long, his sage chakra filled up again — Sage Mode: Activated.
His sensory field spread out in an instant.
Just then, a paper butterfly drifted leisurely toward him. Naruto smiled slightly, walked over, and caught it between his fingers.
"No need to keep searching, senior. It's me."
The surrounding paper folded together rapidly, gathering into a human shape.
Moments later, a woman in a black cloak with red clouds appeared — though still formed entirely of paper.
"You are… Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Naruto?"
Naruto gave a wry smile. "Senior, is that really how you're going to address me?"
Konan's face was expressionless. "That's what the records in Akatsuki say you are."
Naruto shook his head helplessly. Fair enough. Right now, Nagato and Konan had already killed their beloved teacher without hesitation. Hoping for any camaraderie between them was pointless.
"What are you doing here?" Konan asked flatly.
Naruto replied calmly, "I've come to see my senior brother, Nagato — to fulfill our agreement. I told him before I left that I'd come find him again."
From behind Konan, two great paper wings unfolded, and she rose into the air, looking down at him.
"There's no such person as your so-called 'senior brother Nagato' here," she said coldly. "You're in the domain of God. You've trespassed — and that crime is punishable by death!"
The next instant, her twin wings unleashed a storm of razor-sharp paper projectiles — like twin Gatling guns spewing bullets toward Naruto.
But in Sage Mode, Naruto dodged easily.
Konan pressed the assault relentlessly, her paper barrage chasing him through the rain-washed steel towers of Hidden Rain Village. Naruto darted along the walls, evading shot after shot as the paper bullets shredded through metal and concrete behind him.
"Is that all you've got?" Konan called from above.
Naruto snorted. "I just don't like fighting women, that's all."
He drove a kunai into the ground and threw another straight toward Konan. As it flew past her, he vanished — reappearing beside it in a golden flash.
"Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!"
He swung it forward in a spinning blast of violent wind chakra, striking directly at her!
The storming Rasengan tore through the whirling paper barrage, shredding every sheet into fluttering confetti. Its pressure surged forward, closing rapidly on Konan's paper form.
If this kept up, she'd be reduced to pulp and scraps of paper.
Suddenly, a figure in the same cloud-embroidered robe appeared behind her.
A hand extended.
"Shinra tensei!"
A massive repulsive force exploded outward, deflecting Naruto's Rasengan.
Naruto reacted instantly, teleporting back to the kunai marker he'd left earlier to avoid being caught in the blast.
Konan turned to the man behind her. "Sorry. He's stronger than I am."
Pain — the Deva Path — nodded slightly. "You can leave. I'll handle this."
Konan withdrew, and Pain slowly rose into the air, floating across from Naruto.
Naruto looked up at the levitating Deva Path and couldn't help but show a glint of envy.
The Rinnegan… what an incredible thing.
In his previous life, he had only gained the power of the Six Paths and the Truth-Seeking Orbs before he could fly freely.
In this era, only Gaara, who rode sand, and the old Tsuchikage Ōnoki, who manipulated his body's weight with Earth Release, could truly fly.
Six Paths power was out of reach for now. Gaara and Ōnoki's methods didn't appeal to him. The Rinnegan was the real deal.
The thought made Naruto's eyes burn even more determinedly.
Looking at the man before him, he smiled faintly.
"Senior brother," Naruto said, "let's talk — face to face."
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