In The Hidden Rain Village.
Panic set in among the people.
Their leader, Hanzo of the Salamander's corpse, was hung on the tallest tower in the village, causing many ninjas to feel fear and unease, worried about the destruction of The Hidden Rain Village.
"From today onwards, we take over this place."
A young ninja sat atop the tower, with Hidden Rain Jonin Hattori Heikawa and two kids standing respectfully behind him, posing in a gesture of submission.
Hanzo of the Salamander had taken most of his loyal followers, and those who remained fled upon seeing his corpse, leaving only ordinary ninjas of The Hidden Rain Village.
These ordinary Rain Village Ninjas looked up at the young figure on the tower in terror.
Was this kid the one who killed Lord Hanzo?
This...
What on earth happened?
A blue-haired woman walked up beside the young ninja and knocked on his head: "Naraku, stop standing in the rain, go check out the room I got ready for you..."
"..."
Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku couldn't help but chuckle.
Even Hattori Heikawa covered his mouth.
Uehara Naraku, helplessly rubbing his forehead, took Teacher Konan's hand and stood up: "Teacher, stop treating me like a kid who needs taking care of!"
"Okay, I have something to say to the ninjas here."
Konan unfurled her paper wings and flew into the air, looking down at the numerous Rain Village Ninjas below: "That was my disciple, Naraku. He wasn't wrong, from today on, The Hidden Rain Village is taken over by Akatsuki.
Since the Second Ninja World War, until now, The Land of Rain has always been a battlefield for powerful nations, and Hanzo of the Salamander never changed that situation!
But from today onwards, Lord Pain has decided to change the status of The Hidden Rain Village; he will let the great nations experience the agony of war and never again allow any foreign ninjas to wage war in The Land of Rain…
Lord Pain is the true god...
From now on, The Land of Rain will no longer be bullied…"
"..."
Uehara Naraku listened to Konan's speech for a while, glanced at the somewhat saintly figure of Konan in the air, and turned to walk into the tower.
From today on, Konan will be the angel of The Hidden Rain Village.
Nagato hides inside this tower, arranging the resting place of Six Paths of Pain to save his chakra.
Except for Deva Path of Pain, who is tracking Hanzo's loyalists and blocking information, the other Pains are all placed here.
"Uehara, why are you here?"
Nagato frowned slightly, coughing a few times before speaking softly: "Didn't I ask you to follow Konan and learn how to manage The Hidden Rain Village in the future?"
This person seemed to really want Uehara Naraku to be the head of The Hidden Rain Village!
Uehara Naraku felt his acting was overdone, just scratched his head and said: "Forget it, Lord Nagato, we are short on manpower right now, I should go out and carry out missions!"
"..."
Nagato, watching Uehara Naraku about to leave, suddenly remembered something and called him back: "Wait, take this!"
Nagato suddenly tossed over a ring!
The ring was clearly engraved with a unique symbol.
It seemed this ring had never appeared before, possibly made specifically by Nagato.
Uehara Naraku's eyes lit up, reaching to catch the ring: "Isn't this a formal member's ring? Has Teacher Konan acknowledged me as an official member? Where do I collect my uniform? I don't need the nail polish…"
"Cough, cough… Konan didn't agree."
Nagato coughed a few times, softly said: "This is a ring for Akatsuki communication; by inputting chakra into it, I can sense your contact information through the Rinnegan…"
"So it's just a ring!"
Uehara Naraku, somewhat dissatisfied, said: "Besides, I can borrow Lord Nagato's black rods to summon the Six Paths of Pain anytime, it seems useless…"
"If you don't want it, you can return it to me."
"Of course, I want it."
Uehara Naraku disappeared in a flash.
Nagato stretched out a hand to hold back, looking like a widower watching Uehara Naraku's wind-like departure: "Wait, you haven't learned the Illusionary Body Jutsu yet…"
"Illusionary Body Jutsu?"
Uehara Naraku turned back around.
"Never mind, you don't need to contact the other members of Akatsuki."
Nagato waved his hand at Uehara: "You only need to contact me and Konan, so you don't need the Illusionary Body Jutsu, go on your mission, and drive out those invading The Land of Rain!"
The entire Hidden Rain Village is in need of rebuilding.
Besides pursuing Hanzo's loyalists, they need to block information within The Hidden Rain Village, and drive out and assassinate enemy ninjas active in The Land of Rain.
However, Uehara's mission execution was just an excuse.
The most important thing was that when they left yesterday, Hoshigaki Kisame gave him a secretive glance, indicating that he had important information to pass on.
After leaving The Hidden Rain Village, Uehara Naraku used his destiny skill to teleport directly to Hoshigaki Kisame's side, who happened to be waiting for his arrival.
"What's going on?"
Uehara Naraku frowned slightly.
If it wasn't for particularly important information, he would've punched Hoshigaki Kisame.
Hoshigaki Kisame wasn't vague either, he spoke in a deep voice: "Mr. Itachi is going to meet with Uchiha Obito in private. Do you want to ambush Uchiha Obito from the shadows? You could quietly follow Mr. Itachi to find Uchiha Obito."
"It's been only a short while and you're already calling him Mr. Itachi..."
Uehara Naraku sneered, as he wasn't really planning to ambush Uchiha Obito. Without absolute certainty, he wouldn't risk taking action against Uchiha Obito.
Of course, this intel wasn't unimportant.
He could conveniently cause some trouble for Uchiha Obito.
"Alright, I got it."
Uehara Naraku waved his hand, just about to leave, when he suddenly turned back to add: "When we run into each other in Akatsuki, you might show me a bit more respect, at least treat me like the others, okay?"
"Huh? Aren't interns supposed to be bossed around?"
Hoshigaki Kisame's beady little eyes showed great puzzlement, so much so that Uehara couldn't discern his true intentions.
Uehara Naraku: "..."
Encountering such a straightforward subordinate was really helpless.
If he hadn't just seen Uchiha Itachi's icon rapidly moving on the fate board, he would've definitely argued with Hoshigaki Kisame...
"Alright, I'm off."
Uehara Naraku symbolically advised Hoshigaki Kisame: "As a spy, you must learn to protect yourself."
"Okay."
Hoshigaki Kisame nodded, then asked: "Wait, Uehara-sama, I've invented a new set of beautiful hand seal gestures..."
"Not learning, not learning, I've practiced hand seals until my hands cramped."
Uehara Naraku quickly shook his head, and like a diver, he slowly dove into the ground, following Uchiha Itachi's path at a fast pace.
Even if Uchiha Itachi's speed was fast, it couldn't compare to the Mayfly Jutsu.
Within a small grove, Uehara Naraku successfully arrived ahead of Uchiha Itachi. After momentarily pondering, he transformed into a masked Konoha Anbu.
This time, Uehara planned to give Obito another gift.
Uchiha Itachi's perception was extraordinarily sharp. As soon as he stepped into the grove, he noticed the forest birds taking flight.
A kunai instantly landed in his hand.
As a Konoha Anbu spotted Uchiha Itachi and was about to reveal himself, crows suddenly appeared, forming a vague shape of Uchiha Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
"Are you from Konoha Village's Anbu?"
A trace of red light flashed in Uchiha Itachi's eyes. His body became solid as he grasped the kunai and landed it on the shoulder of the person before him: "Did Konoha send you to assassinate me?"
"No!"
The Konoha Anbu ninja quickly shook his head and rapidly clarified his identity: "Due to an urgent situation in Konoha, the Third Hokage hopes you can gather some intel on Uchiha Obito!"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi's mind tightened.
There weren't many in the Ninja World who knew he was a Konoha spy.
The only one who might believe he was still working for Konoha was the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, wasn't it? That old man thought he still believed in the Will of Fire...
More importantly, Uchiha Sasuke was still in Konoha!
However, even if this Konoha Anbu claimed to be sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Itachi still thought about using genjutsu to test him.
To see if he could unearth his true identity!
What if he was sent by Shimura Danzo?
The version of Konoha Anbu created by Uehara Naraku instantly felt anxious. Perhaps this was too hasty, all just to inconvenience Uchiha Obito!
If he were attacked by Uchiha Itachi, he would inevitably reveal himself. At that point, he might only be able to kill Uchiha Itachi...
Or perhaps use his brother to threaten him?
Just as Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan began to spin, the Konoha Anbu suddenly lowered his head and said: "Please don't cast genjutsu on me, as I have a special curse seal in my brain that can't withstand any genjutsu attacks.
Before I die, please allow me to deliver the crucial intel to you."
"..."
The Sharingan in Uchiha Itachi's eyes slowly stopped, his voice somewhat obscure as he said: "It sounds like... Are you a doomed spy, senior?"