Hidden Rain Village.
In a secluded underground tower damp with constant moisture and dim with shadow, Nagato Uzumaki sat motionless in a mysterious chamber.
A fog-like haze clung to the corners of the room. Near him, Konan, the White Tiger of the Akatsuki, stood quietly, her expression calm but tender as she looked toward him.
"Konan," Nagato said, his voice hoarse and weary. "Two flies have entered the village. Confirm their positions for me."
Nagato's body was hunched, his face gaunt and pale. Though he bore the powerful bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, the constant strain of controlling the Rinnegan had clearly taken its toll on his body.
"I'll go now," Konan replied softly, her gaze filled with complicated emotions.
In truth, Nagato's condition had always left her feeling guilty. If only she hadn't been captured by Hanzo the Salamander back then…
If only Yahiko hadn't died…
If only Nagato hadn't been forced to awaken the Rinnegan's power…
If only she could go back in time—she would have done everything to convince Yahiko not to attend those fatal negotiations.
But no one can turn back time.
Elsewhere, Yoruha and Jiraiya, disguised as Rain ninja, continued their search through different sections of the Hidden Rain Village.
Yoruha moved soundlessly through the drizzle, keeping his chakra hidden.
This village was far stranger than the Land of Rain itself. At least outside the walls, there were people walking the streets.
Here, the city felt dead.
If it weren't for his Byakugan, which could detect traces of chakra within the surrounding structures, Yoruha might have truly believed this was an abandoned ghost town.
"What a waste of a village," he muttered. "Nagato and the others turned it into this…"
He sighed, shoulders heavy.
In the end, much of the blame lay with Shimura Danzo. If Danzo hadn't manipulated Hanzo into turning on the original Akatsuki, things might have gone very differently.
The Akatsuki could have become a force for peace—an organization to counter the chaos of the ninja world.
But now…
Danzo had twisted the entire shinobi world into madness.
At the same time, Jiraiya was feeling a similar unease.
The Hidden Rain Village now seemed darker, more secretive than the last time he'd infiltrated over a decade ago.
The silence. The atmosphere. The emptiness.
It all pointed to something rotten beneath the surface.
He had just entered a nondescript tower, hoping to investigate further, when—
Flutter—
Dozens of white paper slips floated into the air.
Jiraiya immediately grew tense.
These weren't ordinary papers—they were laced with chakra.
"Enough with the theatrics. Come out," he said firmly.
The Akatsuki were known for being dramatic, eccentric even—but this technique… he hadn't seen anything like it.
As the pieces of paper began multiplying, they whirled into the air, then gradually formed the outline of a person.
A woman. Elegant. Calm. Beautiful.
"…You're Konan?" Jiraiya stared in disbelief.
She had been a child when he last saw her—but he recognized her instantly.
The paper, the aura… there was no mistaking it.
"You're with the Akatsuki? Where are Nagato and Yahiko? Why are you dressed in that robe?"
The red cloud on black was unmistakable.
Konan, Nagato, Yahiko—those three had once been his students. He had trained them, protected them, raised them like his own.
Even now, so many years later, their faces were still clear in his memory.
But the woman before him—so cold, so distant—was no longer the same girl.
"Jiraiya," Konan said flatly, "you're no longer qualified to call me Konan. I'm Angel now. Angel of the Rain. Only God may call me by that name."
She looked down at him with unreadable eyes.
The girl he once knew was gone—replaced by a devoted acolyte, loyal only to Nagato.
"Konan, what happened to you?" Jiraiya asked in anguish. "Where's Nagato? Where's Yahiko? Why did you join the Akatsuki?"
His emotions were all tangled up.
He'd heard vague reports over the years that the three of them had become active in the Rain, but he never imagined… this.
"You're mistaken," Konan said coldly. "We didn't join Akatsuki. We created it."
And with that, she attacked—paper kunai swarming toward Jiraiya.
He didn't want to fight.
He didn't want to hurt his own student.
But she gave him no choice.
The battle began—paper blades versus toad summons and oil techniques.
Eventually, Jiraiya managed to coat Konan in oil, disabling her paper techniques.
She struggled, unable to form her jutsu.
"Konan," he said quietly, "what happened to you? Whatever pain you're carrying, you can talk to me. I'm still your teacher."
He meant it.
A teacher for a day, a father for life.
The moment he chose to take them in as his students, Jiraiya had vowed to protect them like his own children.
"There's nothing left to say," Konan replied bitterly. "You Konoha ninja are all the same. Self-righteous hypocrites."
She tried to break free, but the toad oil held.
"…If that's how it is, I'll have to take you back. Yoruha might be able to help us get the truth out of you," Jiraiya said, voice low.
He had to know what really happened.
If it meant using Yoruha's Yamanaka-style mind techniques, so be it.
But before he could act—
Poof!
One of the Six Paths of Pain appeared.
Summoning a creature, Pain unleashed a wave of foam-like energy, washing Konan clean of the oil and freeing her.
Konan vanished in the retreat, and Jiraiya turned to face the real threat.
The battle began in earnest.
He fought and defeated three of the Pain bodies—Animal Path, Preta Path, and Naraka Path.
His skills, experience, and strategic mind carried him through.
But questions lingered.
Their eyes—those strange, concentric circles—they were just like Nagato's.
"Konan," Jiraiya asked, once again holding her pinned, "their eyes… they're exactly like Nagato's. Is Pain Nagato's body?"
Years ago, Jiraiya had known that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan. He had wanted to bring all three of them—Nagato, Yahiko, Konan—back to Konoha.
But they refused.
Their parents had been killed by Konoha ninja during the wars.
Even if they accepted Jiraiya as their sensei… they could never accept his village.
"No wonder you defeated those three paths so easily," said a cold voice.
Jiraiya turned sharply.
Pain had arrived.
"You knew the secrets of the Rinnegan already…"