A few days later, at an Akatsuki meeting…
Pain, the leader of Akatsuki, announced two pieces of news.
First: Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had failed their mission.
Second: Orochimaru had attacked Itachi—and officially defected from the organization.
No one really cared about the first. It was just some poor, backwater country anyway.
But the second?
That got everyone's attention real quick.
After all, Orochimaru was one of Konoha's legendary Sannin, and his target was Itachi—another Konoha missing-nin. It didn't take a genius to guess he was after the Sharingan.
The room quickly filled with low murmurs.
At this moment, the newbie Tobi (acting all innocent as usual) raised his hand:
"First the Kirigakure investigation failed, and now Orochimaru attacked Itachi… wow, the organization's recent failures all seem to revolve around Itachi-senpai. Kinda suspicious, don't you think?"
Itachi and Kisame both glanced at him.
Tobi immediately shrank back.
"Ahaha—just kidding, just kidding! Didn't mean anything by it, senpai!"
Yeah… totally not suspicious at all.
Ignoring the clown, Pain spoke calmly:
"Orochimaru has betrayed Akatsuki. He must be punished. Who is willing to hunt him down?"
Sasori stepped forward without hesitation.
"Leave Orochimaru to me. I've got unfinished business with that snake."
Pain nodded slightly, but his expression turned more serious.
Not because people refused the mission—but because there were too few members left.
With Orochimaru gone, Akatsuki couldn't even form five full teams anymore.
Collecting the Tailed Beasts like this? Yeah… good luck with that.
After the meeting…
Tobi found Pain and Konan.
Under Konan's sharp gaze, he brought up the issue of manpower.
As the so-called "executor" of the Eye of the Moon Plan, he was clearly more anxious than he let on.
With their current strength, Akatsuki could handle one village.
Maybe.
But two?
That would turn into a complete shitshow.
After a brief discussion, the three agreed to start recruiting from recent defectors across the Five Great Nations.
Fresh meat for Akatsuki.
After Tobi left, Pain and Konan exchanged a look.
Both of them clearly thought the same thing—
This masked idiot has been screwing things up nonstop lately.
Not only did he manipulate Kado into provoking Uzushio Village, but that entire operation also failed—dragging Akatsuki into unnecessary conflict.
After a moment, Konan asked quietly:
"Nagato… what's the next step?"
After thinking for a bit, Nagato replied:
"You go with the masked man and recruit new members. I'll handle Orochimaru myself."
Konan frowned.
"You're going alone?"
"I'm fine," Nagato said calmly. "This is Amegakure—the land of the 'god.' No one dares mess with it. And I'm not as helpless as I look."
Konan didn't look convinced.
"I'm not worried about the village. I'm worried about you. What if that masked bastard makes a move while you're out?"
Nagato's tone softened slightly.
"He won't. No matter how strong his Sharingan is, it can't match the Rinnegan. And Orochimaru must be punished—otherwise others will follow his example."
Konan sighed.
To the world, Nagato was a god.
To her… he was still that fragile boy from back then.
Soon after, Nagato summoned the Six Paths of Pain and left the village.
Walking through the muddy roads of the Land of Rain, he glanced back at the steel-like skyline of Amegakure.
For the first time in a long while, he had left.
Not for peace.
Not for justice.
But to hunt down a traitor.
The Land of Rain… was his home.
A place of endless rain—and endless memories.
Later, he arrived at a small village.
Seeing his condition, the villagers kindly invited him in, offering food and a place to stay.
Nagato tried to refuse—but eventually accepted.
It stirred something in him.
Back when he, Yahiko, and Konan were starving orphans, they survived by stealing.
They thought the villagers were cruel.
But now…
He understood.
Those villagers had allowed them to steal.
Otherwise, three starving kids wouldn't have survived a week.
Later, he repaid that kindness—by killing Hanzō and bringing stability to the Land of Rain.
Peace.
At least… a version of it.
While eating simple bread and mushroom soup, Nagato asked about their lives.
"No bandits? No rogue ninjas?"
The villagers shook their heads.
"Thanks to 'God,' things are peaceful now. We can eat… but…"
Nagato noticed their hesitation.
"But what?"
They lowered their voices.
"Taxes are higher. And the lockdown… it's suffocating. We can't trade, can't leave. Life is safe—but it's… miserable."
Nagato frowned.
"Isn't safety enough?"
The villager gave a bitter smile.
"People always want more than just surviving."
That hit harder than any jutsu.
Nagato fell silent.
For all his god-like power… he had no answer.
Meanwhile…
Orochimaru was wandering through the Land of Fire, recruiting subordinates and scouting locations.
His requirements were simple:
No existing ninja village
Good transport routes
Low visibility
After searching, two options stood out:
Land of Rice Fields (Otogakure's future) — good location, but already had a small ninja presence.
Land of Waves — no ninja village, weak leadership… basically free real estate.
Kill Kado, take everything. Easy.
…Or it would have been.
But Konoha—and especially Danzō Shimura—had their eyes on it.
And trusting Danzo?
Yeah, that's a great way to get stabbed in the back.
Then suddenly—
Orochimaru received new intel from the black market.
He read it once.
Then again.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"The Land of Waves… has already been taken over by Uzushio Village?"
Now that…
Just made things a hell of a lot more interesting.
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