Amegakure — the Village Hidden in the Rain.
Torrential rain poured endlessly from the sky. Countless towering spires pierced through the gray curtain of water, leaving the entire village shrouded in a damp and gloomy atmosphere.
For the shinobi of Amegakure, this scenery was nothing new. From the moment they were born, both the village and the Land of Rain had always been like this—drenched in relentless rainfall, with only a handful of clear days each year.
Beneath this never-ending downpour existed only poverty, slaughter, and crime…
At the top of one of the highest towers, a man wearing the black cloak patterned with red clouds—the uniform of the Akatsuki—sat at the platform's edge, gazing down at the soaked city below.
He walked the world under the name "Uchiha Madara," though his true identity was Uchiha Obito.
Inside the room behind him stood the "Six Paths of Pain," motionless within the shadows, while Konan quietly organized the intelligence reports gathered from across the ninja world.
At present, the Akatsuki had been reduced to only a handful of members: Nagato and Konan, along with Obito posing as "Uchiha Madara," and Zetsu.
The fallen core members of the organization had all been converted by Nagato into the Six Paths of Pain.
Because Nagato's legs had been destroyed by Hanzo of the Salamander's explosive trap—and because he was constantly forced to supply chakra to the Gedo Statue—his real body remained submerged inside a special life-support apparatus, unable to move freely.
As a result, it was Yahiko's corpse, transformed into the "Deva Path," that acted in his place.
"Well well~"
A playful voice echoed through the room.
From the floor emerged a strange, pitcher-plant-like figure split into black and white halves.
"Guess what interesting information I picked up at the Exchange," White Zetsu said in a teasing tone.
"Just get to the point," Obito replied coldly without turning his head, the Sharingan beneath his mask flashing with impatience.
"You're really no fun at all~" White Zetsu complained, before finally producing a freshly printed bounty notice and placing it on the table.
"This is a newly updated seventy-million-ryo bounty. The target calls himself 'Danzo,' codename 'Shura.' The attack on Kumogakure seems to be his doing."
Konan picked up the notice and examined it carefully.
"Danzo…"
The moment she saw that name, painful memories surged to the surface.
But unlike the bandage-wrapped Shimura Danzo she remembered, the face in the sketch was that of a bright, cheerful-looking boy.
For reasons she couldn't explain, it reminded her of Yahiko from long ago.
"How severe were Kumogakure's losses?" Obito asked, stepping closer. What concerned him most was whether this mysterious attacker was the same person who had recently caused chaos in Konoha.
"The White Zetsu I sent reported heavy casualties," White Zetsu answered with exaggerated excitement. "Even the Raikage Building was blown to pieces!"
"Such a massive explosion, and he still escaped unharmed while being pursued by both the Raikage and the jinchūriki. That's no smaller achievement than the damage you caused when you attacked Konoha three years ago."
The number of activated White Zetsu units was limited, and Black Zetsu couldn't afford to station spies in every village—that would risk exposure.
Because of that, the details of the battles within Kumogakure and the Valley of Clouds and Lightning remained largely unknown to outsiders.
The severely injured Killer Bee had also been placed under strict protection.
And since Bee had been prohibited from leaving the village for years, White Zetsu had very little information on him.
"Hmph."
At the mention of the Nine-Tails incident three years ago, Obito let out a cold snort.
Back then, he had been severely wounded by Minato's Flying Thunder God and Rasengan—so badly that half of the White Zetsu-enhanced body fused to him had melted away.
"Do you recognize this 'Shura'?" the Deva Path of Pain asked from the shadows.
Although Nagato and Konan had allowed this self-proclaimed "Uchiha Madara" to join Akatsuki, they remained highly cautious of him.
Now that such a powerful new ninja had appeared, it was reasonable to assume that someone claiming to be the legendary Madara might know something.
Moreover, the mysterious ninja's codename was "Shura," and Uchiha Madara himself had once been known as the "Shura of the Ninja World."
"Never heard of these abilities," Obito replied as he studied the sketch on the bounty notice—a smiling boy's face, with a note suggesting it might be a transformation disguise.
Beside it was another drawing: a white, three-eyed fox mask.
Unheard-of powers. An unknown, overwhelmingly strong ninja…
Would he become an unpredictable variable in his revenge plan?
Obito looked toward Zetsu.
"The moment Konoha eases its internal security, inform me immediately."
After the recent incident where a Kumogakure envoy had been killed and dumped near the Hyuga compound, Konoha had heightened surveillance on its barrier.
The White Zetsu lurking inside Konoha had managed to send back some intelligence, but dared not move recklessly for fear of being detected by the Byakugan or sensory ninja.
Meanwhile, within Konohagakure—
A high-level meeting was taking place inside the Hokage Building.
"I'll say this one last time! This has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
Shimura Danzo slammed his hand onto the table, his face livid as he argued with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
On the table before them lay the updated bounty notice from the Exchange—clearly displaying the sketch of the mysterious attacker along with the name "Danzo."
Homura Mitokado tried to calm the tension.
"It may simply be someone using the same name."
Koharu Utatane added, "It's also possible this is an attempt to frame us."
Then Mitokado turned to Hyuga Hiashi.
"You're certain it was this man?"
Hiashi stared at the notice—the unmistakable three-eyed fox mask—and nodded firmly.
"There's no mistake. That mask is exactly what I saw."
Yet his brow soon furrowed.
"But why would he cause trouble in Konoha, then turn around and attack Kumogakure as well?"
The room fell into heavy silence.
At first, they had assumed the mysterious ninja harbored hatred toward Konoha and sought to ignite war between Konoha and Kumogakure.
But now he had struck Kumogakure directly.
According to intelligence from Konoha spies, the Raikage Building had been obliterated, hundreds had been killed or injured, and even elite jonin were among the casualties.
Reports also suggested the attackers were not a single individual, but three masked figures—two men and one woman.
However, most of Konoha's agents in Kumogakure were lower-ranking ninja, unable to access core intelligence, leaving many details unconfirmed.
"If the enemy holds a deep grudge against Kumogakure, then everything begins to make sense," Nara Shikaku finally spoke.
As the Jonin Commander and chief strategist to both the Third and Fourth Hokage, his analysis carried considerable weight.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a slow puff from his pipe, his aged face solemn beneath the Hokage hat.
Shikaku continued.
"Assassinating the Kumogakure envoy and framing the Hyuga—if that plan had succeeded, the war would likely have continued. Kumogakure's strength would have been further drained."
"Then this mysterious ninja—or perhaps the organization behind him—could have taken advantage of that weakened state to launch a full-scale attack."
His reasoning was sound and, at present, the only plausible explanation.
As the meeting drew to a close and Sarutobi issued final directives, he turned to Hiashi with concern.
"How is Hizashi doing?"
"He… is well," Hiashi replied after a brief hesitation.
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