The Land of Rain, Hidden Rain Village
The rain poured in a never-ending deluge. Countless towering spires pierced through the heavy mist, and the entire village was shrouded in a gloomy, damp atmosphere.
For the shinobi of the Hidden Rain, this was the only world they knew. From the moment of their birth, the village—and indeed the entire Land of Rain—was drenched in this downpour; there were barely any sunny days throughout the year. Beneath this perpetual curtain of water lay a reality defined by poverty, slaughter, and crime.
Atop one of the highest towers, Uchiha Obito—walking under the name of "Uchiha Madara" and clad in the red-clouded black robes of the Akatsuki—sat at the edge of a platform, looking down at the water-soaked city.
In the room behind him, the Six Paths of Pain stood silently in the shadows, while Konan focused on organizing the intelligence they had gathered. Currently, the core of the Akatsuki consisted only of Nagato and Konan, along with Obito and Zetsu. The fallen core members of the original Akatsuki had been repurposed by Nagato into the Six Paths of Pain.
Due to the severe damage his legs sustained from Hanzo of the Salamander's explosive tag trap, and the constant drain of providing chakra to the Gedo Statue, Nagato's true body remained anchored in a specialized life-support device, unable to move freely. Thus, he acted through the "Deva Path," the reanimated corpse of Yahiko.
"My, my."
With a playful, mocking voice, a pitcher-plant-like figure rose from the ground. Its body, split into distinct black and white halves, was unmistakable.
"Guess what interesting intel I picked up at the Bounty Station?" the white half of Zetsu said with a teasing lilt.
"Just give us the report," Obito said, turning his head slightly. The Sharingan behind his mask flashed with a cold light.
"You're so boring~" White Zetsu continued to babble regardless. He produced a fresh bounty poster and placed it on the table. "This is a new seventy-million-rye bounty from the Black Market. The target calls himself 'Danzo,' codename 'Shura.' It seems the assault on the Hidden Cloud was his handiwork."
Konan picked up the poster, studying it intently.
"Danzo..." When she saw the name, painful memories resurfaced.
However, unlike the bandaged Danzō Shimura of her memories, the "Danzo" in the sketch was a bright, sunny youth. For some reason, he reminded her of the days when Yahiko was still alive.
"What were the losses in the Hidden Cloud?" Obito walked over. He was more concerned with whether this mysterious ninja was the same person who had struck Konoha just a few days prior.
"The White Zetsu clones I sent out reported a lot of casualties. Even the Raikage Building was vaporized!" White Zetsu waved his arms excitedly. "An explosion of that scale, and he still managed to slip away while being hunted by the Raikage and a Jinchuriki... the damage isn't any less than what you caused when you attacked Konoha three years ago."
The number of active White Zetsu was limited; Black Zetsu couldn't place a monitor in every village without risking exposure. Therefore, the specifics of the battles inside Kumogakure and Unraikyo remained largely unknown to outsiders. The critically injured Killer Bee was under heavy guard, and since he had been banned from leaving the village for years, Zetsu hadn't gathered much intelligence on him yet.
"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-sensei's Flying Raijin and Rasengan; half of his Zetsu-infused body had practically melted away.
"Do you know this 'Shura'?" The Deva Path's voice echoed from the shadows.
Though they had accepted this masked man claiming to be "Uchiha Madara" into their ranks, Nagato and Konan remained deeply wary of him. If such a powerful ninja had suddenly surfaced, the century-old "Uchiha Madara" should logically know something about him. Furthermore, the stranger's codename was "Shura"—a title Madara himself had once held: the Shura of the Shinobi World.
"I've never heard of those abilities," Obito muttered, staring at the sketch. It depicted a cheerful boy, but a note on the side indicated it was likely a Transformation Jutsu disguise. Next to it was a drawing of the three-eyed fox mask.
Unknown abilities, an unknown powerhouse... will he interfere with my plan for revenge?
Obito looked up at Zetsu. "The moment the state of emergency in Konoha is lifted, let me know immediately."
Due to the recent assassination of the Cloud Envoy and the attempt to frame the Hyuga, Konoha had tightened its sensory barrier. The White Zetsu clones hiding within the village didn't dare move, fearing detection by the Byakugan or other sensory specialists.
——————
Meanwhile, inside Konoha
A high-level meeting was underway at the Hokage Building.
"I will say this one last time! This has absolutely nothing to do with me!" Danzō Shimura slammed his hand on the table, his face ashen as he argued with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Spread across the table was the bounty poster from the Black Market. The sketch of the youth and the name "Danzo" were staring back at them.
Koharu Utatane spoke up to de-escalate the tension. "It's likely just a coincidence in names."
"Or perhaps an attempt to frame us," Homura Mitokado added. He turned to Hiashi Hyuga, who was seated across from them. "Are you certain it's the same person?"
Hiashi looked at the bounty. Seeing the familiar three-eyed fox mask, he nodded firmly. "There is no mistake. That is the mask."
Then, Hiashi frowned. "He stirred up trouble in Konoha, then turned around and caused chaos in the Cloud. What is his objective?"
The elders fell into a deep silence. Previously, they had assumed the ninja had a grudge against Konoha and wanted to spark a war between the Leaf and the Cloud. But now, he had attacked the Cloud directly.
According to reports from Konoha's spies in the Cloud, the Raikage Building was gone, and hundreds were dead or injured—including several elites. The reports even mentioned that the attacker wasn't alone; there were three masked figures: one woman and two men. Since most of Konoha's spies in the Cloud were low-ranking Genin, they couldn't access core secrets, leaving the more detailed intelligence unconfirmed.
"If the target has a deep-seated hatred for the Hidden Cloud, it would make sense," analyzed Shikaku Nara, the man with two distinct scars on his face. As the Jōnin Commander and the chief strategist for both the Third and Fourth Hokage, his insights were highly valued.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe, his face solemn beneath the Hokage hat.
Shikaku continued his deduction. "Assassinating the Cloud Envoy and framing the Hyuga... if that plan had succeeded, the war would have likely continued, and the Cloud's military strength would have been heavily depleted. At that point, this mysterious man—or his organization—would have struck the weakened village."
Shikaku's theory was logical and provided the only plausible explanation they had.
At the end of the meeting, after making several deployment arrangements, Hiruzen turned to Hiashi with concern. "How is Hizashi doing?"
"He is... doing well," Hiashi replied, though he hesitated for a fraction of a second.