The visage of Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain, was unlike that of any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Due to the Land of Rain's perennial downpours, numerous tower-like structures had been erected throughout the village, equipped with an extensive system of drainage pipes. This gave Amegakure a wild, industrial aesthetic.
These towering edifices, with steel for their bones, stone for their skin, and wood for embellishment, draped in a crisscrossing network of pipes, were a rare sight in the shinobi world. The vertical lines of the ascending pipes and the somber color palette imbued the entire village with an air of mystery.
A ninja with orange hair, his face pierced with black rods, sat atop the head of a giant Buddha-like statue in the center of Amegakure, gazing out over the village.
Behind Pain, a few sheets of white paper were suddenly swept in by the wind. More and more papers converged, and moments later, a woman with blue-purple hair, a paper flower adorning her head, materialized. It was Konan.
"Pain," Konan called out to him.
Pain ceased his observation, slowly rising and turning to Konan. "What is it?"
"Madara has something to discuss with you," Konan said softly.
"Understood," Pain replied with a nod, then turned and leaped from the high tower.
Konan watched him go, a barely perceptible sigh escaping her. Like Yahiko, she didn't much trust the man who called himself Madara. But since Yahiko's death, Nagato was her last pillar of support. So, even if it was for Nagato's dream, Konan wouldn't make things difficult for him.
Subsequently, Konan dissolved into a flurry of paper, following Pain to meet Uchiha Madara. She didn't feel at ease letting Nagato go alone – not because of safety concerns, but because she feared he would be deceived.
"Well, well, fancy you having the interest to enjoy the scenery in this downpour," said a figure entirely encased in white, vine-like extensions, his face hidden by a swirling orange mask, joking flippantly at Pain who had just entered from outside.
Pain's eyes, with their purple, concentric-ringed pattern, stared at him without speaking. However, his previously lowered hand suddenly rose, pointing at the plant-like man. "Where is Uchiha Madara?"
"Ah, hahaha, just a joke, don't be rash," the plant-like man said hastily, seeing the hand pointed at him. "Madara has other matters to attend to, so he asked me to relay a message to you."
Pain did not lower his hand. Just then, Konan also walked in. Pain's voice was devoid of any emotion. "What did he want you to say?"
"Hey, we're on the same side, you know. Can you put your hand down first?" Tobi, the figure in the mask, maintained his usual flippant demeanor.
Pain remained silent for a moment before lowering his hand. He simply stared at Tobi without speaking. Tobi, for his part, dropped the antics and said, "Do you know about that incident in the Land of Grass a month ago?"
Pain nodded silently. He had personally investigated the matter Tobi mentioned but had found nothing. The celestial phenomenon had been extremely spectacular; Amegakure, being so close to the Land of Grass, couldn't possibly have missed it, especially since the phenomenon had occurred near the Land of Grass's border with the Land of Rain.
Having found no useful intelligence, Pain hadn't paid it further attention. To him, his own plan was paramount. He didn't know why Uchiha Madara was bringing this up now.
"That day, Konoha was pursuing a rogue ninja," Tobi said. "The phenomenon was caused by the pursued rogue."
"Is that so? Then what is Madara's intention?" Pain said, a faint suspicion forming in his mind.
"Recently, two members of the organization unfortunately met their end. To avoid affecting the plan, Madara feels it's time to recruit new members," Tobi said with a shrug.
"Who is it?" Pain asked.
The deaths of Kakuzu and Hidan were somewhat regrettable to Pain. Those two had no ties to Uchiha Madara and could be used without reservation.
Nagato, unlike what Konan thought, wasn't entirely subservient to Uchiha Madara. Yahiko's death, aside from making Nagato understand pain, had also taught him that sometimes, one could borrow the strength of others to bolster one's own.
Tobi pulled out two photographs from his robes and handed one to Pain and the other to Konan, who stood behind him. "Lord Madara places particular importance on this individual, so please do your best to recruit her into the organization."
Pain took the photograph and glanced at it casually. Then, his perpetually unchanging expression showed a flicker of disbelief.
Konan, however, gasped, looking at the person in the photo and then nervously at Pain. "This... this person!!!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Tobi asked, puzzled by their strong reactions. Then, his flippant voice chimed in again, "Hahaha, don't be fooled by her young age. Lord Madara says she's very strong..."
"No, it's not that!" Konan interrupted Tobi. "Are you sure she's from Konoha?"
"Yes." Tobi tilted his head, somewhat confused by their attitudes.
"Pain, it's her, isn't it!" Konan said to Pain after hearing Tobi's affirmative answer.
Pain glanced at Konan, signaling her to remain calm. He then looked at Tobi. "We've met this person before."
"Oh, is that so? Since you're acquaintances, it should be even easier. The mission is yours," Tobi said, his body gradually sinking into the ground.
"I'll have Zetsu give you her intel. Bye-bye then."
Neither Pain nor Konan stopped Tobi as he left. Instead, they stood there, pensively looking at the photographs in their hands. After Tobi had traveled some distance through the earth, he still felt uneasy about their reactions.
"Could there be information about this Sakura Haruno that I don't know?" Tobi wondered. He then decided to report this to Black Zetsu.
Indeed, the one who wanted to recruit Sakura Haruno into the organization was not Madara, but Black Zetsu. Therefore, it was he who had come to meet Pain, not Uchiha Madara.
"Are you certain?" In the empty room, Konan asked Pain.
Pain nodded. "It's her, no mistake. A Konoha ninja, with the same diamond-shaped mark on her forehead."
"But she..." Konan frowned. "Wasn't she dead?!"
Pain fell silent for a moment. On the day of the Amegakure coup, Hanzo had fled in disarray under his pursuit. Although Hanzo had escaped Amegakure, his whereabouts had always been known.
It was only after Hanzo's forces obstructing him in Amegakure had been suppressed that Pain had pursued him. However, when he found Hanzo, he discovered, to his surprise, that Hanzo was already dead. And beside him lay the corpse of a young woman.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Hanzo and the young woman had perished together. The forehead protector worn by the young woman bore Konoha's symbol. Though he didn't know why they had clashed, Hanzo was dead, and he had then taken Hanzo's body and left.
Konan had also been at the scene. The kunoichi had died from excessive blood loss and poisoning. But the most fatal wound was the penetrating trauma to her abdomen. Konan herself had even pulled out the scythe left in the girl's body.
Now, they were hearing from Tobi that she was alive and well, and that they were to recruit her into the organization. How could they not be shocked? Although Pain possessed the Rinne Rebirth technique, he certainly hadn't used it on that particular individual.
"She... was indeed dead at the time..." Pain said slowly. "So, we'll have to find her and ask her ourselves."
"If her ability is immortality, it would be a great asset in capturing the Tailed Beasts. The vacancies left by Hidan and Kakuzu could also be filled," Konan mused.
"Hey!"
A voice interrupted their conversation. A figure, half black and half white, encased in a Venus flytrap-like extension, emerged from the wall.
"This is the intelligence on Sakura Haruno. She's currently on a mission. You'd better hurry." Zetsu tossed a file towards them.
"Also, this person is useful to Lord Madara. If she doesn't agree, bring her back by force." With that, Zetsu vanished.
"On a mission?" Konan paused, then opened the file. After flipping through it for a moment, she said coldly, "A rogue ninja who can return to her village... It seems this won't be too smooth..."
Pain showed no reaction after reading the file. "Let's move," he said.
Upon hearing Zetsu say that this kunoichi was useful to Madara, Pain surmised that Madara probably also knew she could be resurrected. Therefore, recruiting her wasn't the most important objective.
But if that was the case, why didn't Madara act personally? Pain was perplexed.
Hmph, never mind. Since it's like this, it's all the more reason to try and recruit her into the organization. It would be best if she could be persuaded.
Pain would never know that this was Black Zetsu's directive and had nothing to do with Uchiha Madara (Obito). Black Zetsu lacked the power to intimidate Sakura Haruno himself, so he had no choice but to use Pain.
Pain, Obito, Black Zetsu – each with their own ulterior motives in the struggle brought about by the butterfly effect of Sakura Haruno. What the final outcome would be, no one knew.
And Sakura Haruno, the center of this vortex, was at that moment looking at Yamato's Wood Style: Four-Pillar House Technique with considerable envy. Now that's an essential jutsu for home and travel! she thought. Although I can cobble something together with Earth Style, it's just not as comfortable as a house made of wood.