Bloody Mist Rises Once More in Kirigakure! Changes in the Hidden Rain Village!
The battle finally came to an end the moment Uchiha Itachi opened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
If not for the terrifying backlash caused by repeatedly using Mangekyō techniques, Yagura Karatachi would never have ended up merely heavily injured and unconscious.
Of course, the most decisive factor behind the outcome of this battle was not Itachi himself, but rather
the man who called himself Uchiha Madara had arrived.
The space before them suddenly distorted, spreading outward like ripples on the surface of water. Immediately afterward, a man wearing an orange spiral mask and exposing a single Mangekyō Sharingan stepped out of the warped space.
Staring at the barely breathing Biwa Jūzō, the expression hidden beneath Uchiha Obito's mask twitched subtly.
He had not expected that being delayed for only a short while would cost Akatsuki one of its members.
However
Better that he died.
What Akatsuki required were warriors capable of standing toe-to-toe with tailed beasts, not this kind of half-finished product.
Because of that, Uchiha Obito felt no regret whatsoever over Biwa Jūzō's death. Instead, contempt welled up within him.
"How did things end up like this?"
Since he had not been present from the beginning, Obito had no idea what had occurred here.
Naturally, he directed the question toward Uchiha Itachi.
"We were preparing to infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village to locate our target," Itachi replied calmly, his tone unchanged.
"But we were discovered by the Fourth Mizukage."
"A battle became unavoidable, and Biwa Jūzō was killed by a Tailed Beast Ball."
Itachi did not embellish anything and simply recounted the events as they had happened.
"You return first," Obito said coldly.
"I will report this matter to Pain myself."
"I'll take over this mission."
Originally, Obito had no intention of intervening personally. However, the instant he saw the unconscious Three-Tails jinchūriki lying on the ground, memories he had sealed away surged up uncontrollably.
Rin.
Violent emotions flooded his heart.
Hatred toward the Hidden Mist Village erupted once more.
Good… very good… extremely good.
I nearly forgot how you destroyed Rin.
If it weren't for you, Rin would never have died!
"Yes."
Although Itachi could clearly sense the emotional turbulence radiating from "Uchiha Madara," he had no spare energy to probe deeper.
He turned around, walked toward Biwa Jūzō's corpse, hoisted the body onto his back, retrieved the broken Kubikiribōchō, and departed without a single backward glance.
Uchiha Obito scoffed inwardly at Itachi's behavior, nearly laughing aloud.
Sharpening the blade for the sake of the clan, yet showing compassion to outsiders!
Biwa Jūzō was nothing more than a temporary companion he had known for a short time, yet Itachi felt enough pity to recover his corpse.
And yet
What about the clan members who truly mattered?
They were slaughtered and placed on operating tables by that old man in Konoha, and Itachi remained completely indifferent!
Did he truly understand nothing at all?
Forget it. Thinking about it is pointless.
This is a world without Rin anyway what difference does it make how it ends?
Obito steadied his emotions and turned his gaze back to Yagura Karatachi.
The painful memories replayed relentlessly in his mind like an unstoppable recording.
The suffocating agony only strengthened his resolve to carry out the Moon Eye Plan.
Very well.
Before initiating the plan in earnest, I'll collect a bit of interest from Kirigakure first.
With that thought, Obito began forming a series of complex hand seals.
This was the hidden control technique Uchiha Madara had once placed upon the Three-Tails, designed specifically to ensure its obedience when the time came to collect the tailed beasts.
It had never been activated before.
Normally, Obito would never act so hastily.
But at this moment, hatred overwhelmed reason, pushing him toward recklessness.
Under Uchiha Obito's manipulation
the Bloody Mist descended upon the Hidden Mist Village once more.
(Author's note: Many works state that Obito controlled Kirigakure from the Nine-Tails Incident until Itachi's defection. However, in the manga, Itachi and Biwa Jūzō encountered a fully conscious Fourth Mizukage. If Yagura had already been controlled before and then suddenly freed later, the village would have noticed something amiss. To maintain narrative logic, this adjustment was made.
Meanwhile, on the other side
Akatsuki also experienced several changes during Itachi's absence.
First, Nagato completely eradicated the remaining loyalists of Hanzō of the Salamander, fully seizing control of the Hidden Rain Village and relocating Akatsuki's base there.
Second, Nagato announced to the outside world in Hanzō's name that the Hidden Rain Village would permanently close its borders and refuse all external contact.
Any intruder would be executed on sight.
At first, many villages doubted this declaration and refused to believe such a unilateral announcement.
They continued sending personnel to investigate.
However, under the surveillance and slaughter enabled by Pain's techniques, any spies no matter how skilled were swiftly discovered and eliminated.
The results shocked the ninja world.
Yet none of the villages dared openly acknowledge that the dead were their own spies.
They could only swallow their anger in silence.
Another crucial factor was that Hanzō's reputation as a "demigod" still exerted immense deterrence.
Even the Five Great Ninja Villages were unwilling to provoke him.
Gradually, the villages cut their losses and abandoned further investigations.
The Hidden Rain Village finally stabilized.
One day, Itachi sought out Tendō Pain.
"…What?"
"You want to spar with me… in taijutsu?"
Pain was genuinely surprised by Itachi's request.
"Yes," Itachi answered calmly.
"I've realized that my taijutsu is lacking. I hope you can guide me."
The sincerity in his voice left Pain momentarily speechless.
He had fought Itachi before and had also received intelligence from Konan.
Itachi's aptitude for ninjutsu was unquestionable.
His Fire Release techniques in particular were refined to a frightening degree.
Logically speaking, shouldn't someone with such talent focus on refining their strengths?
Why devote effort to a field in which you clearly lack aptitude?
Wasn't this
putting the cart before the horse?