After nearly a week of travel, Hyuga Shin'ichi and his group had now entered the waters of the Land of Rain.
This was a small country situated in a perpetual squeeze between the great powers. The city, with its towering buildings in the distance, was the heart of the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain was known for its constant precipitation. Jiraiya and Orochimaru, having both been to the country before, were not surprised by the gloomy weather. However, the seemingly prosperous, high-rise city in the distance startled them.
Compared to the Land of Rain of the past, the current nation has clearly undergone massive development. Previously, the Land of Rain mostly consisted of low buildings, and due to years of conflict, the city's structures were often dilapidated—a landscape of dangerous ruins at a glance.
The large number of casualties during the wars had also led to a sharp decline in the domestic economy, leaving the city lifeless and devoid of vitality.
But over a decade later, the Land of Rain was utterly different from the broken nation Jiraiya and Orochimaru remembered. Even before entering the city, their sensory abilities allowed them to feel the vigorous life emanating from within.
"The Land of Rain has changed so much."
"Hanzō the Salamander has governed this country excellently!"
Jiraiya's impression of the Land of Rain was still stuck in the period of Hanzō's rule. Gazing at the distant city, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
His rain cloak shrouded Orochimaru's body. Hearing Jiraiya's comment, he slightly raised his head, a hint of wariness added to his look toward the distant city.
A snake's sixth sense told him that there was something unusual—and very dangerous—inside that city.
Shisui, Kakashi, and the others were visiting the Land of Rain for the first time. Seeing the cluster of buildings even taller than those in Konoha Village, they were all surprised.
They had traveled to many places in the Shinobi World and seen various nations and regions with different cultures and customs, but this was the first time they had encountered such a "developed" place. They found it hard to believe that a small country stuck between great nations could flourish so well.
However, hearing the name Hanzō the Salamander from Jiraiya's mouth brought a look of slight relief to their faces. The demigod Hanzō the Salamander... This was a powerful ninja whose reputation was far greater than that of the Legendary Sannin.
Even they, Konoha ninja, were no strangers to that name.
While Jiraiya and the others were speaking, Hyuga Shin'ichi remained silent. He reached out and silently sensed the rain that covered the entire Land of Rain, carefully feeling the chakra contained within it. Then, he used sensory ninjutsu to search the city for Nagato's presence.
The range of the Byakugan was limited, and Nagato's figure was not within his field of vision.
Since he had decided to infiltrate the Land of Rain with Jiraiya and the others, Hyuga Shin'ichi would naturally go all out to search for Nagato's whereabouts, hoping to resolve this matter once and for all.
If he could cut off Obito's right-hand man, even exposing his full strength, would not be something unacceptable to Shin'ichi. As long as the gain outweighed the cost, there was nothing that couldn't be done.
As for whether killing Nagato here would affect Naruto's personal growth by depriving him of a worthy opponent in the future... that was not Shin'ichi's most pressing concern at the moment.
He believed that Naruto would become a powerful ninja even without Nagato as a "stepping stone"... or rather, Shin'ichi believed that the reincarnation of Asura would absolutely not be an "ordinary" person.
Just as Shin'ichi was carefully sensing and searching for Nagato's trail, the keen-minded Orochimaru noticed Shin'ichi's unusual behavior. He silently approached Shin'ichi and suddenly asked:
"Hey, brat, what are you doing?"
Although he used the term "brat" to address Shin'ichi, in Orochimaru's heart, he already regarded Hyuga Shin'ichi as a powerful ninja comparable to himself.
Orochimaru had very accurate judgment and was well aware of the power of his forbidden technique, the Edo Tensei. Hyuga Shin'ichi's ability to hold his own against the combined assault of the First and Second Hokage had already proven his strength.
Furthermore, even with relatively less experience in reconnaissance, Hyuga Shin'ichi, possessing the Byakugan, could certainly notice things others could not. At this moment, Orochimaru was speculating about Shin'ichi's actions.
"Hmm... This rain is problematic. There's someone's chakra mixed into the rainwater."
Since Orochimaru was willing to play the straight man, Shin'ichi took the opportunity to reveal the intelligence he had. As for how Shin'ichi knew this... the Byakugan wasn't just for show, so why wouldn't he know?!
Hearing Shin'ichi's words, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the others all changed their expressions. Shisui and Kakashi immediately activated their Sharingan, carefully scrutinizing Shin'ichi's words.
Upon deliberately checking, the two of them easily discovered the faint wisps of chakra mixed in the rain.
If Shin'ichi hadn't alerted them, they wouldn't have even thought to use their Sharingan to examine what was going on with this rain!
"It's true!"
"This rain is clearly some kind of sophisticated sensory ninjutsu!"
Kakashi gasped softly, shaking his hand, his expression one of surprise. A weather-based ninjutsu of this enormous scale... it had already surpassed Kakashi's understanding of what a ninja was capable of.
"Shin'ichi... are you saying... has the enemy detected us?"
Jiraiya had never encountered such a technique and asked with some uncertainty at the moment. Their knowledge of the Land of Rain was not as deep as they had imagined.
"Has the enemy noticed us?"
"Hmm... who knows?"
"But we have to be prepared that we have been discovered."
"Do not split up."
Jiraiya's original intention was for everyone to split into groups after entering the Land of Rain to expand the search area.
But now, it seemed this plan wouldn't work. If their movements were being watched by the enemy, they had to stick together and maximize their collective team strength. They were already in enemy territory and had to prevent being defeated one by one.
"Such a vast range of sensory ninjutsu... who could it be?"
"Could it be Hanzō the Salamander?"
Looking up at the gloomy sky, Jiraiya couldn't help but murmur. In his mind, the only person in the Land of Rain with this kind of strength was Hanzō the Salamander. After all, he was the powerful ninja who had once defeated the Legendary Sannin and was known as the Demigod.
Hyuga Shin'ichi, who knew the answer, did not reply. He merely and silently distributed his Flying Thunder God Kunai to the team members.
Orochimaru had not brought his subordinates for this cooperation. In his view, even if his two subordinates came, they wouldn't be much help and might even be a hindrance. Instead of having them follow him, it was better to keep them in the lab to continue the unfinished, closely monitored experiments.
After observing outside the city for a long time, Hyuga Shin'ichi did not find any trace of Nagato.
Realizing that they might have been detected by the enemy, Jiraiya and the others were no longer as relaxed as before.
"Let's go. Whether we've been discovered or not, we have to enter the city to investigate."
"We'll capture a few living Rain Ninja first and simply try to gather some intelligence on the Land of Rain."
Jiraiya, an experienced investigator, made a swift decision.
None of Shin'ichi or the others spoke up to refute. Instead, Orochimaru reached out and silently stopped Jiraiya, saying in a deep voice:
"You're still the same as you were back then, so impulsive, you haven't progressed at all."
"Rushing straight in to investigate is still too dangerous. Let's... test the waters first!"
As he spoke, Orochimaru formed hand signs, and a coffin slowly rose from the sea surface, standing upright before the group.
As the coffin lid opened, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, appeared before their eyes.
Orochimaru formed a single hand sign and slowly crouched down. At the same time, the previously lifeless eyes of Tobirama Senju suddenly flashed with a sharp brilliance, and a glint of intelligence entered his pupils.
"Hehehehe..."
Orochimaru let out bursts of inexplicable light laughter, seemingly pleased with the successful execution of his jutsu.
Ignoring the surprised, disgusted, and curious expressions of the people around him, he simply controlled Tobirama Senju to rush toward the distant city. Moments later, Tobirama Senju disappeared from everyone's sight.
"The ninjutsu of manipulating the dead... You really have a sick sense of humor, Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's voice was full of disdain for his former friend's secret technique.
"Truly convenient!"
On the other hand, Shin'ichi didn't care at all about the "goodness" or "badness" of the technique itself. Concerned only with practicality, he couldn't help but praise the sight of Orochimaru controlling Tobirama to enter the city for reconnaissance.
Unlike Jiraiya's future blind infiltration of the Land of Rain, Orochimaru was clearly much more cautious in gathering intelligence. No wonder he was able to survive until the era of the "unburnable" plot points.
...
Inside a steel tower in the city.
Nagato, sitting in the darkness, suddenly felt something and abruptly widened his eyes.
By the window, Uchiha Obito was sitting sideways on the window frame, looking at the heavy rain outside, and involuntarily thought of Rin.
Although many years had passed, Uchiha Obito still often thought of Rin. His thoughts, like a tide, surged back, increasing his dōjutsu (eye power) with every wave.
Obito remembered that the day Rin was killed by Kakashi, it was also raining heavily, just like today. However, Rin had died in Kirigakure, not the Land of Rain.
Inside the room, Nagato coughed lightly. Konan, who was guarding Nagato, had been watching Uchiha Obito with vigilance, but now, hearing Nagato cough, she looked back worriedly and asked with concern:
"Nagato? Are you alright?"
Ever since Yahiko's death and Nagato's activation of the Gedo Statue, his body had grown progressively weaker. Controlling the Six Paths of Pain required immense chakra. While the black receivers inserted into his body helped him better transmit chakra, that level of external trauma was constantly draining Nagato's life force.
Nagato was a member of the Uzumaki clan; normally, a person his age would be in robust health. However, Nagato was now thin and frail, looking like skin and bones.
His cough was not due to a cold, but to his physical weakness.
"There are intruders."
After coughing for a while, Nagato finally caught his breath and then said in a low voice. His words caused Konan's expression to freeze, leaving her stunned in place. Even Uchiha Obito, who was sitting on the window frame reminiscing, looked serious, a flash of surprise and gravity appearing in the eye exposed by his mask.
"Intruders?!"
"I'll go take care of it."
After a brief moment of shock, Konan immediately spoke. She had handled similar matters many times before. Ever since they killed Hanzō the Salamander and seized control of the Land of Rain, they had imposed a complete blockade on the country. Many "foreigners" had attempted to sneak into the Land of Rain over the years, and all had been eliminated.
However, before Konan could stand up and leave, Nagato immediately stopped her, saying:
"No, Konan, stay here."
"Pain is already on his way to intercept them. This time, the intruders... are very strong!"
Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique (a variation of the Chakra Receiving Rain Technique) covered the entire Amegakure. With this technique, he could not only sense the exact number of intruders but also perceive the intensity of their chakra.
Compared to the chakra reactions of previous intruders, the chakra of these few was terrifyingly strong. The chakra of one of them, in his sensory ninjutsu, was like a "great sun in the sky," even stronger than his own chakra reaction.
Although a strong chakra didn't necessarily mean the ninja was strong, powerful ninjas often had strong chakra reactions. Nagato smelled an extraordinary aura from these intruders and did not want Konan to take the risk.
"Oh?"
"Strong intruders?"
Just as Nagato and Konan were talking, Uchiha Obito, who was not far away, suddenly interjected with interest.
Without waiting for Nagato and Konan to say more, Uchiha Obito's figure slowly sank into the ground and vanished without a trace.
Nagato and Konan seemed to have long been accustomed to "Uchiha Madara's" coming and going without a trace. After exchanging glances, Konan worriedly asked, "What is that guy going to do?"
Neither Konan nor Nagato trusted "Uchiha Madara" one hundred percent. Since Yahiko's death, the only people they trusted in this world were each other.
"Hmph..."
"He merely wants to investigate the power of the Six Paths of Pain."
Nagato snorted softly, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate.
He and "Uchiha Madara" had a relationship of mutual utilization and cooperation. Uchiha Obito was wary of them, and they were equally wary of Uchiha Obito.
Both sides had some understanding of each other's abilities, although that understanding was not complete.
Uchiha Obito wasn't interested in any intruders; he was interested in the Six Paths of Pain, who were about to be deployed.
...
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
Tobirama Senju, summoned by Orochimaru using the Edo Tensei, was speeding across the surface of the sea. Just as he was about to enter the town of Amegakure, a huge shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, enveloping him.
Looking up, Tobirama Senju saw a giant green bird soaring overhead. At the same time, countless "bird eggs" rapidly descended from above as the giant bird flew away.
A moment later, the bird eggs fell.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!"
Explosions rang out on the sea surface, and the blasts and fire instantly engulfed Tobirama Senju.
On top of the giant bird, the Animal Path controlled by Nagato didn't even glance at his "masterpiece," turning to control the summoned beast to fly toward the sea further away.
After a long time, the sea surface returned to calm. The severely damaged body of Tobirama Senju floated on the water, his Edo Tensei body slowly repairing itself.
"That was fast!"
"Hehehehe, was that person just now... the leader of Akatsuki?"
Tobirama Senju looked briefly in the direction the Animal Path had departed, a soft murmur escaping his lips.
Only, that voice was deep and hoarse—it was clearly Orochimaru's voice!
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