The rapidly spinning ball of flesh, wreathed in flames, naturally carried even greater power. Moreover, through its fierce friction with the ground, the flames on Akimichi Chōza's body were gradually extinguished.
Attacking and putting out the fire at the same time—it was killing two birds with one stone.
"So troublesome!"
Uchiha Yasuo controlled Susanoo to swing its staff, knocking Akimichi Chōza back once again. He himself leaped backward several steps, turning his head to glance into the distance. There, vague silhouettes of several shinobi were already appearing. From the emblems on their forehead protectors alone, it was clear they were ninja from the Land of Rain.
He looked up at the sky. The curtain of rain still fell endlessly, and he couldn't help feeling puzzled.
This ceaseless downpour carried faint traces of chakra—it was unmistakably Nagato's "Rain Tiger at Will Technique."
Through this jutsu, Nagato could monitor every corner within the Land of Rain; no one could infiltrate unnoticed.
He had already come to regard Akatsuki as his own home, managing it with devotion, and would absolutely not allow outsiders to act recklessly on his territory.
With such commotion here, even ordinary ninja had rushed over—there was no way he wouldn't know. Why hadn't he shown himself yet?
Or was he watching from the shadows right now?
Uchiha Yasuo's judgment was not wrong. Pain had indeed arrived, but he had not acted rashly.
Akatsuki was currently in its phase of concealing its strength. Provoking a great enemy like Konohagakure without cause was not a wise move.
Pain and Konan were now standing side by side, secretly observing the scene.
"How could that be Uchiha Itachi?" Konan asked in confusion. "Shouldn't he be in the village? Or is that Uchiha Itachi's twin brother?"
"It's a fake," Pain said expressionlessly. "The real Itachi is still in the village. The Six Paths can see him."
"Zetsu already investigated the Uchiha's information before—Uchiha Itachi has only a younger brother, no twin."
"It must be someone using the Transformation Technique to take his appearance and fight the people from Konohagakure here."
"The appearance can be changed with the Transformation Technique, but the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan cannot be created from nothing—and Susanoo even less so," Konan refuted.
"That can only mean this is yet another Mangekyō Uchiha," Pain said indifferently. "If Uchiha Itachi could massacre his own clan and defect, then other Uchiha could certainly do the same."
"With both possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan, even Uchiha Itachi might not necessarily be able to kill him."
"That's true," Konan sighed. "The Uchiha truly are Konoha's noble clan—geniuses emerge one after another."
"First there was Uchiha Madara, then came Uchiha Itachi, and now yet another wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan has appeared."
"Fortunately, they were destroyed by their own internal strife; otherwise, they would surely have become an obstacle to our Tailed Beast Collection Plan in the future."
"It doesn't matter," Pain said proudly. "No matter how many pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan they have, they are nothing more than powerful ordinary humans."
"But I am God."
"The God of the new world."
"No one can defy the will of God!"
Konan looked at Pain with heartache but said nothing more, only nodding quietly before asking in a low voice: "Then, should we recruit him?"
Pain was silent for a while before slowly shaking his head.
"That Uchiha Madara is scheming and unpredictable—who knows what tricks he's plotting."
"Although I'm confident I could suppress him in strength, if he were to secretly play petty games and drag us down, it would be troublesome."
"There are already two Mangekyō Uchiha within the organization; there's no need to add another."
Konan, however, shook her head.
"This Uchiha might not be on the same side as those two with Uchiha Madara."
"He disguised himself as Itachi and fought with the people of Konoha—it's most likely he bears a grudge against Itachi and is deliberately framing him."
"Perhaps he's one of the survivors who narrowly escaped when Uchiha Itachi massacred the clan."
"In that case, he and Itachi share an irreconcilable blood feud. We might be able to bring him in and have him keep watch over those two."
"I see," Pain lowered his head in thought. "Then let's treat this matter before us as his test."
"Akatsuki does not harbor useless men. If he can successfully escape Konoha's pursuit, only then will he be qualified to join us."
After hearing this, Konan said no more. She simply stood shoulder to shoulder with Pain, silently watching the field, observing what would happen next.
...
Uchiha Yasuo suddenly withdrew his hand and stepped back; Shikaku saw it too.
He was glad to take this opportunity to gather his companions, put out fires, treat wounds, rest for a moment, and take the chance to recover some chakra.
Once the fighting on this side stopped, the ninjas from the Rain village hurried forward and shouted.
"This is within the Land of Rain. Who are you, and why are you fighting here?"
Uchiha Yasuo glanced casually at that ninja, saw he was a small fry, and didn't bother to waste words with him; he only turned his gaze to the area behind him, sweeping and searching for any trace where Pain might be hiding.
Shikaku was tactful and polished; he stepped forward politely and said: "We are shinobi of Konohagakure. I am Nara Shikaku, and those behind me are my companions. We came here pursuing a traitor; we have no hostile intent toward the Land of Rain."
"Please inform Hanzo of the Salamander that once we finish killing the traitor we will leave immediately and will not cause damage to the Land of Rain."
"Konoha… " The lead ninja looked at the forehead protectors on the Konoha group with a complicated expression, then turned his head to look at Uchiha Yasuo's conspicuous eyes, and silently nodded, "I understand."
"I will report this matter to the village. Please kill the traitor as soon as possible and leave the Land of Rain; do not loiter here."
"Rest assured. We of Konoha and the Land of Rain are allies and will not do anything excessive. Please convey my greetings to Hanzo-sama."
Now the Land of Rain was under the iron rule of the Akatsuki organization; outsiders had no idea that Hanzo had already passed away. That ninja did not expose the truth; he only nodded and turned to lead his men away.
Half-time ended, and the second half of the battle resumed.
But the combat could not be wrapped up quickly; it became a war of attrition, and Uchiha Yasuo no longer had the heart to continue fighting.
If he could crush them utterly and wipe out the people of Konoha in one stroke, he would not mind collecting a little interest for the annihilation of his clan, but seeing that things were not going his way, he had no need to keep struggling to the death here against a bunch of Konoha tools.
The real culprit had not shown up; fighting so desperately for nothing was not worth it.
He had come here to "present a gift" to Nagato, not to exchange fighting grounds with people.
If the protagonist Nagato did not appear, who was he performing his role for?
He intended to drag Nagato into trouble, so after the battle resumed, he no longer collided head-on with the Ino-Shika-Cho; rather, he fought while retreating, pulling back in the direction of the Rain village.
'Nagato, aren't you hiding in the back?'
'Then I'll see whether, when the peace of the Rain village is broken again, you can still sit tight in the shadows.'
His intent was too obvious; everyone saw it.
However, Nara Shikaku did not care about the lives of the people of the Land of Rain. Even if this drew out Hanzo of the Salamander, between Konohagakure and the traitor Uchiha, Hanzo of the Salamander would only choose to help Konoha.
"Uchiha Itachi" was not an enemy easy to handle. If they could obtain the help of Hanzo of the Salamander, their mission to kill "Uchiha Itachi" and take back the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki would become much easier to complete.
With one side deliberately making trouble and the other deliberately indulging it, the battle line rolled and tumbled toward the Rain village.
Where they passed, forests burned, fields shattered, roads collapsed, sand and stones flew—heaven and earth were turned upside down by the fighting.
"Damn it!"
Pain's face was dark, and murderous intent surged in his heart.
He stepped forward, about to go out and kill these hateful bastards.
Konan hurried up to stop him.
"Nagato, this is not the time for you to appear."
"We are not yet prepared. It is not suitable to have a violent clash with Konoha at this moment."
"Let me do it instead!"
"I won't let them approach the village."
Pain looked back at Konan; seeing the concern filling her eyes, his heart warmed. He drew his step back again and nodded.
"Very well, then I'll leave it to you. You must also be careful. Those Konoha shinobi are not so easy to deal with."
Konan nodded. One sheet after another of pure white paper peeled away from her body, and then, as if it had gained life, it automatically folded into the shape of birds. After circling once overhead, they flew out in flocks.
Pain withdrew the "Rain Tiger at Will Technique." The dark clouds shrouding the sky receded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the unending rain finally stopped. Sunlight, long absent, spilled through the gaps in the clouds onto the land; only the standing water on the ground and the moist air testified that rain had just fallen.
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