Seeing Nagato, Ning Feng didn't even bother checking his system notifications. His brows furrowed deeply.
Even a fool could tell—Akatsuki was in serious trouble.
His gaze then swept toward the area where the fighting had just taken place. Sure enough, the battle there was gradually coming to an end. Several members of Akatsuki, their bodies soaked in blood, staggered over.
"Lord Nagato, these Rain Village assassins were far too strong."
"Yeah… thankfully we finally managed to meet Lord Uchiha Feng!"
The Akatsuki members looked at Ning Feng, then at the corpses scattered across the ground. Only then did the tension gripping their throats finally ease.
They could clearly feel it—compared to before, Lord Uchiha Feng's strength had increased again, and not just by a small margin, but by several times over.
Nagato, standing to the side, was also secretly shaken.
Even with his Rinnegan, he knew he absolutely could not achieve what Ning Feng had just done—casually slaughtering so many Rain Village jōnin in mere moments.
"Why are you looking for me?"
Ning Feng spoke first, even though he had already vaguely guessed the reason.
Nagato fell silent for a moment. After glancing at the Akatsuki members beside him, he finally spoke:
"Lord Feng… ever since you left, and after Lord Hanzō the Salamander was defeated, more and more Rain Village shinobi have joined Akatsuki, becoming our members."
"Because of you, Lord Uchiha Feng, Akatsuki was able to grow rapidly."
"But as our activities became more frequent, the neighboring nations—the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind—began to feel threatened. They sent experts to hunt us down, and even dispatched specialists to sow discord among us."
As he spoke, Nagato's eyes burned with fierce resolve.
"At first, through resistance, the Hidden Rain gradually grew stronger and began to show results. But after that… those rebel Rain shinobi, with secret backing from Sunagakure and Iwagakure, killed countless of our experts in the shadows."
"In the end, Akatsuki couldn't hold out anymore. We were forced to hide around the outskirts of the Rain Village, setting up ambushes just to survive."
"Yesterday, during a fierce battle with several Rain Village jōnin, Konan and Yahiko were separated from us. I searched for them for a long time but couldn't find them anywhere."
"So… I couldn't help but think of you, Lord Feng, and hope you could help Akatsuki escape this crisis."
By the time he finished speaking, Nagato lowered his head slightly, filled with guilt and remorse—for failing to protect his companions.
Only then did Ning Feng fully understand what had happened.
So even after defeating Hanzō the Salamander, Akatsuki's situation had not improved. Konan and Yahiko were now in danger.
But thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
In the Naruto world, the Land of Rain was always wedged between the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire—a terrible geographical position.
Seeing the Rain Village gradually moving toward unification under Akatsuki's growth, it was impossible for the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth to sit back and do nothing.
After all, a divided and chaotic Land of Rain was what benefited the surrounding nations most.
No doubt Konoha had also played a role in this behind the scenes.
But for Ning Feng, this was actually a perfect opportunity—
An opportunity to completely take control of the Hidden Rain, and of Akatsuki itself.
"I understand," Ning Feng said calmly. "Let's head to the Hidden Rain Village first."
He waved his hand, signaling everyone to follow him.
In truth, Nagato was still extremely uneasy at this moment.
He couldn't be sure whether Uchiha Feng would really be willing to wade into this mess and help them.
But what Nagato hadn't expected was that Ning Feng didn't hesitate at all before agreeing.
Thinking of his missing companions, Nagato felt unbearably anxious.
The other Akatsuki members were much the same, their faces filled with worry.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Ning Feng flashed forward, rushing toward the Hidden Rain Village at incredible speed. Nagato and the others hurried to follow.
On the way, Ning Feng activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, vigilantly guarding against any disturbance in the surroundings.
The fact that someone could dispatch Rain Village jōnin to hunt him down near Konoha alone was proof enough—this was no ordinary plotter.
While everyone was moving at high speed, Ning Feng finally opened his system notifications.
Sure enough, after killing so many Rain Village jōnin, the experience gained was enormous. His level had jumped straight to Level 39, just one step away from 40.
But that alone didn't shock him.
What nearly made him stop in his tracks were the system messages above it.
They read:
"Congratulations! Hashirama Cells transplantation successful!""You have awakened the Bloodline Limit: Wood Release!""Vitality increased by 20%!""Health regeneration speed increased by 300%!""Chakra capacity increased by 100%!""All ninjutsu power increased by 20%, range increased by 20%!""Taijutsu increased by 20%!"
Several crisp system prompts had completely gone unnoticed earlier.
If not for these clear numerical displays, Ning Feng would have thought that Hashirama Cells had only provided a modest boost.
He hadn't expected the increase to be this absurd.
And this was after transplanting only a portion of Hashirama Cells.
If more were transplanted… the result was almost unimaginable.
Taking a deep breath, Ning Feng closed the system interface and noticed that, after their rapid advance, they had reached the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.
In this border zone sat a lively town, crowded with people and bustling with activity.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Nagato and the Akatsuki members landed there behind Ning Feng.
"Let's rest here briefly," one Akatsuki member suggested.
"Up ahead is the Hidden Rain Village. There's a good chance we'll face a major battle."
Nagato and the others were about to nod in agreement, preparing to take a short break—
When Ning Feng suddenly frowned slightly.
"The people in these streets are mostly Iwagakure jōnin in disguise. Don't fall for it."
"And judging by their posture, they've been waiting for us for quite some time."
After saying that, Ning Feng casually tossed out a prepared kunai.
When he reappeared—
He was already standing directly above the main camp of the Iwagakure forces.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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