At the top floor of the central tower in Amegakure.
"I have captured that woman from the Akatsuki," Danzo stated flatly, his voice cold. "We can use her to wipe out the Akatsuki in one fell swoop."
Seated at the head of the table was Hanzo.
His body was burly, with well-defined muscle lines, the lower half of his face hidden behind a specially made gas mask. His voice was muffled and hoarse: "The Akatsuki? They are merely bringing about their own destruction."
The ideology initially promoted by the Akatsuki organization was to achieve peace not through force, but with sincere hearts.
They were more like a public welfare mutual aid organization, taking in war orphans, aiding displaced civilians, and mediating village disputes.
At first, Hanzo had been quite appreciative of them, even viewing them as pawns to help stabilize the Land of Rain for himself, turning a blind eye to the Akatsuki's growth.
But after hearing Danzo's report, he was shocked to realize that the Akatsuki's prestige had now subtly surpassed his own.
This was absolutely intolerable.
The Land of Rain could only be under his, Hanzo's, control.
Thus, Hanzo and Danzo decided to join forces, intending to completely eradicate the Akatsuki.
To this end, they had captured a member of the Akatsuki.
This woman had a deep connection with the Akatsuki's leader, Yahiko, making her the most fatal leverage.
Hanzo slowly stood up, taking an outer coat from a nearby rack and putting it on.
"Danzo, let's go."
With those words, he strode out first.
Danzo followed silently, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He had no need for peace; what he wanted was war. Only with unending conflict could he seize the greatest benefits from it.
A peace organization like the Akatsuki, growing stronger by the day, was precisely the kind of spark he had to snuff out.
Following Hanzo as they slowly descended the tower, Danzo suddenly spoke: "Lord Hanzo, there is something I must inform you of."
"Speak."
"Two Konohagakure shinobi have arrived in Amegakure. It seems they intend to stop us from eliminating the Akatsuki."
"Konohagakure's people, you cannot command them?"
"Apologies, they are from the Uchiha Clan. They never pay any heed to my orders."
"Then I will deal with them as well."
Hanzo snorted coldly, emanating an intimidating pressure.
He was a man hailed as the "Demigod of the Shinobi World." A mere Sharingan was not worthy of his concern.
A sinister smile curled at the corner of Danzo's mouth.
He would use Hanzo's hand to eliminate Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shinji.
Once accomplished, he could both incite a deadly feud between Konohagakure and Amegakure, and intensify the Uchiha Clan's unrest.
He only needed to leak a little information, directing the Uchiha's focus at Hiruzen.
By then, he could smoothly seize the position of Hokage, and even have the opportunity to completely erase the evil Uchiha Clan from Konohagakure.
...
Shinji finally set foot within the borders of the Land of Rain.
"Finally here."
He let out a soft sigh; the journey had been stifling. Fugaku was already taciturn, and the two of them weren't familiar, focusing solely on traveling the entire way.
The occasional conversation consisted entirely of dry, meaningless chatter, a testament to their incompatible personalities.
Shinji could only silently criticize the other in his mind for being a hypocrite.
In the end, the two simply fell completely silent, traveling without a word.
With their abilities, they encountered no trouble along the way, reaching Amegakure in less than three days.
As soon as he entered the village, Shinji looked up. The sky was completely covered by thick, dark clouds, not a single ray of sunlight visible.
Not long after they started walking, a continuous drizzle began to fall.
Stepping on the muddy ground, splattering mud and water, Shinji couldn't help but frown.
He and Fugaku walked slowly through the village.
Most of the residents here were dressed in rags, their faces sallow and emaciated.
The Land of Rain was surrounded by Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, constantly swept by the flames of war. Coupled with the harsh environment, the people here lived in unbearable hardship.
Compared to Konohagakure, this place was like heaven and earth.
Most of the houses here were haphazardly pieced together from scrap materials, their walls covered in cracks and rust.
Shinji wiped the rain from his face and followed Fugaku into an inn.
At the owner's greeting, the two temporarily settled into a room on the second floor.
The room was cold and damp, with a faint musty smell in the air. The corners of the walls were mottled with green and black stains, making one feel uncomfortable just looking at them.
"This rain is probably going to last a long time."
Shinji gazed out the window at the incessant rain and sighed softly.
The Land of Rain was situated in a basin, surrounded by mountains on three sides. Moisture was trapped inside, circulating without dispersing.
For the people here, seeing the sun was a complete luxury.
Fugaku also nodded, wiping the rain from his body with a towel, and complained for once: "It's really unbearable. Let's find Danzo as soon as possible."
Mentioning Danzo, Shinji's brow furrowed slightly.
According to Fugaku, Danzo had arrived in the Land of Rain early on with Root ninjas, even setting off before Minato's wedding, which was over ten days ago now.
Given Danzo's personality, it was indeed impossible for him to attend anyone's wedding.
But having been here for so long, would he really do nothing?
Shinji glanced at Fugaku, who was still wiping off the rain without a hint of crisis awareness, and felt speechless inside.
This guy was way too confident in his own strength.
Before entering the village, they had left marks along the way. If Root was monitoring nearby intersections, they would definitely have been spotted.
Sure enough, before half a day had passed, the door was pushed open.
A Root ninja walked in, his gaze sweeping over the two of them as he spoke calmly: "Follow me. Lord Danzo is already waiting for you."
Fugaku stood up: "Let's go, Shinji."
The two followed the Root ninja out of the village, arriving at the foot of a valley.
"Lord Danzo will arrive shortly. Please wait a moment."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Root ninja vanished from the spot in a flash.
Before long, Shinji sensed an unusual presence.
His hands swiftly formed Hand Seals.
"Summoning Technique!"
Dozens of Ninja Crows appeared in response, scattering and flying into the sky.
Soon, the crows that had flown out began circling urgently overhead, emitting sharp, piercing cries.
Seeing this, Shinji's alertness instantly peaked.
"Be careful, there's an ambush here!"
Although he had long known that Danzo, that old bastard, never played by the rules, he never expected the other party could stoop to such despicable depths.
They had barely set foot in Amegakure before being completely surrounded and trapped here.
Beside him, Fugaku's expression darkened abruptly, and he gritted his teeth, cursing in a low voice: "Damn Danzo!"
At that moment, two figures came rushing swiftly from the valley entrance.
Within seconds, they noticed Shinji and Fugaku and stopped warily not far away.
One of them, agitated, stepped forward and shouted: "You're Hanzō's men, right? We came as agreed. Where is Konan?"
Shinji's gaze fell on the two—one with orange hair, the other with red hair.
Especially the red-haired man, whose eyes were deep purple with several concentric circles layered within—the Rinnegan.
Yahiko, and Nagato?
He instantly recognized the two.
Konan had been captured? And Yahiko was still alive.
Shinji's heart tightened, realizing exactly where he was.
Without a change in expression, he swiftly scanned his surroundings, thinking to himself.
Is Obito nearby as well?