The Village Hidden in the Rain
Atop a high tower, an orange-haired young man sat on the edge of the roof, his hands resting beside him. He gazed out at the heavy rain falling over the village, his mind filled with a mess of thoughts.
A woman approached, her footsteps echoing in the downpour. She stood beside him and said in a low voice, "Pain, we've just received news. Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, is heading to the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. A large number of Konoha ANBU have moved north and entered the Land of Waterfalls."
The orange-haired man tapped his fingers on his knee. He murmured, "It seems our little junior is also targeting the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, then?"
While other ninjas thought Naruto was seeking revenge for the Daimyo of the Land of Rice, he believed Naruto's real goal was to capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and disrupt the Akatsuki's plans.
"...That's highly possible."
The paper iris in the woman's hair swayed in the wind. Her brow furrowed as she replied softly, "After we ambushed Naruto and Master Jiraiya, he went to the Sand Village alone, captured their One-Tail Jinchuriki, and brought him back to Konoha."
The One-Tail Jinchuriki was also Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage. He had been Kazekage for less than a month when Naruto Uzumaki invaded the village, captured him, and used him as a hostage to force the Sand's surrender to Konoha. He could be called the most miserable Kazekage, his fate even worse than his father's. It seemed the Kazekages never had a good ending.
"An interesting person," the orange-haired man said, tapping his knee again. He gave an order, "If he captures the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, gathering intelligence will be useless."
"Should I send Kakuzu and Hidan immediately? We must capture the Seven-Tails before he does."
"No need."
The orange-haired man shook his head, rejecting her suggestion. "Konoha now has the Nine-Tails and One-Tail Jinchuriki. No matter what, we will have to attack Konoha when our plan officially begins. We can capture the Seven-Tails then."
"But judging by his current actions... I'm very worried." Konan's brow furrowed, a look that only seemed to enhance her charm.
The orange-haired man waved his hand and suddenly clapped. The rain in the village immediately grew heavier.
He lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Don't worry. The Three-Tails hasn't been reborn yet, and the other Tailed Beasts are all in the hands of the major ninja villages. Unless he wants to start a world war, the only one he can capture is the Seven-Tails. However, we can't just do nothing."
"Ask those who returned from the Land of Rice what happened there. We need more information about Naruto Uzumaki. Later, I will contact 'Madara Uchiha' and have him find a way to stop the Fifth Hokage from collecting Tailed Beasts."
"I understand." Konan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stood behind him, saying softly, "Nagato, I'm going to go down and check on you."
"..." The orange-haired young man was silent for a moment before replying, "Konan, right now, I am Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki."
Tap, tap, tap...
The woman turned and left.
-----
A remote cave outside the Village Hidden in the Rain.
Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had just returned. They were still discussing Sasuke. Apparently, the shark-faced man had some opinions about Itachi not killing his brother. Being targeted by a Mangekyo Sharingan user was no small trouble.
"He's too young, and his Mangekyo's visual power isn't developed enough yet," Itachi said, casually finding a reason. After all, when it came to the Mangekyo Sharingan, he was the authority.
Kisame gave up arguing and sighed. "Whatever makes you happy, Itachi-san. I just hope you don't regret it later."
"I won't." Itachi slowly raised his head to look at Kisame, a crimson light flashing in his eyes. "Everything is under my control."
Kisame thought, You always say that, but I'm starting to have my doubts.
Recently, Kisame felt that his teammate had undergone some strange changes. Occasionally, he would even show a faint smile. Can this person even smile?
They didn't have much time for leisure. A woman with a bad temper soon arrived.
Konan looked around the base, where only the two of them were present, and her brow furrowed even tighter. "Where are Sasori and Deidara? Haven't they returned yet?"
"It might take some time," Kisame said with a grin. "That blond brat mocked Itachi-san in front of me, so we had a... small disagreement. I accidentally broke Sasori's Hiruko puppet. He's probably repairing it now."
It wasn't just Sasori's puppet. The giant clay bird Deidara had worked so hard to create was also destroyed by him. If the Akatsuki didn't need the manpower, Kisame could have killed them both by himself. Sasori and Deidara's performance was pathetic against a ninja like Kisame, who fought without holding anything back.
"..." Although she had expected they might fight, Konan still felt uneasy now that it had actually happened. Can members like these really be companions with a common ideal?
Konan didn't bother pursuing the matter and got straight to the point. "Did you run into the young Hokage from Konoha on your way? Did you get any information about him?"
"No, that kid is too dangerous."
"Is that so? Any other news?"
"Of course," Kisame replied with a smile. "We have even worse news. Konoha has one more ninja capable of killing our members... Itachi-san's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. He has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. He will probably become very strong, very quickly."
"..." Itachi didn't understand why Kisame would leak information about Sasuke. It couldn't be for the sake of camaraderie, could it?
A moment later, he realized he'd given Kisame too much credit.
After finishing his report on Sasuke, Kisame continued, "Konan-san, you can also tell that brat Deidara that if he wants to pick a fight with Itachi-san in the future, he can try his luck with his little brother first."
Itachi thought, How kind of Kisame, arranging troublesome opponents for Sasuke before he even comes for his revenge.
"Don't give me that look!" Kisame's smile widened, and he put on a helpless expression. "If you weren't so soft-hearted, Itachi-san, we would have already dealt with that little problem. But it's normal for you to find a reason to spare him. After all, that kid is your only living relative. Since we've already decided to leave the unripe fruit on the vine, we might as well let it ripen and become even sweeter."
Itachi thought, When did my teammate become such a chatterbox?
Kisame didn't seem to want to stop. His small eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides, if we killed that kid so soon, on a rainy day like this, who would you have left to miss, Itachi-san?"
-----
Bonus:
Kisame: Why not kill Sasuke?
Itachi: Because... he is my little brother!
Kisame: A ninja doesn't need a little brother. A ninja needs a teammate!
Itachi: ...
Kisame: Am I not a good teammate? What can your little brother do for you? He just yells and tries to kill you whenever he sees you. When he can't win, he still acts tough and insults you.
Itachi: ...
Kisame: Will he buy you three-colored dango? Will he buy you natto?
Itachi: Sasuke actually dislikes both of those things...
Kisame: See? What good is he?
Itachi: ...