Kurogane Ren had no idea that Uchiha Obito had already approached the Akatsuki and was attempting to recruit Nagato and the others.
However, at this moment, he had already received information transmitted by his crows from the distant Land of Rain.
In the past, with such a vast distance, his Clairvoyance Technique would not have been able to directly connect to crows in the Land of Rain. But now, his chakra reserves were more than sufficient.
Although he was certainly not on Uzumaki Naruto's level, and likely hadn't reached a perfect "10" in chakra capacity, he was at least around a "9," roughly equivalent to over a dozen Kakashi-level units.
After all, chakra growth increased exponentially the further one progressed.
At present, Kurogane Ren was quite satisfied with his chakra reserves, and he could clearly feel them continuing to grow. Sooner or later, he would reach that perfect "10," so there was no need to rush.
Still, when he thought about Jiraiya and Might Guy's "10" compared to Naruto's "10"…
He could only sigh. Even among those at the same level, the gap was enormous. Jiraiya and Might Guy's "10" represented their limits, while Naruto's "10" was merely his starting point.
So when compared to people like Naruto or Senju Hashirama, a "10" was probably just the beginning.
Shaking his head, Kurogane Ren formed a hand seal and connected his senses to the crow in the Land of Rain.
Soon, he saw several Rain ninjas gathered together, discussing something.
"I heard Konoha has sent someone here!" one of them said.
"Really? Why would Konoha send someone now? The war isn't even over yet," another asked in surprise.
"Who knows? Probably something related to the war ending. The battles lately haven't been nearly as intense as before," the first replied.
"Shh! Keep your voices down," a third interrupted, glancing around cautiously. "I heard that guy from Konoha—with the scar on his chin—came to talk to our leader about the Akatsuki operating within our country!"
"What? Seriously?" The others immediately turned to him in shock.
With their attention on him, the man puffed up with pride. "I was on guard duty during the meeting. I overheard a bit."
As he spoke, he stood tall, completely unaware that directly above them, perched in a tree, a crow was calmly preening its feathers with its beak.
In the ninja world, crows were incredibly common, so no one suspected them of being information-gathering summons.
In their eyes, summon beasts were usually creatures suited for combat or active reconnaissance, like dogs.
As for crows, their efficiency in gathering intelligence was far too low. Normally, no one would bother training them as summoning beasts.
In truth, that assumption wasn't entirely wrong. Even Kurogane Ren's crows wouldn't act on their own. Each one had to be given specific instructions, often reinforced through the contract itself.
Since the summons weren't particularly capable, the summoner had to put in extra effort.
Kurogane Ren dispelled the Clairvoyance Technique. The moment he heard that a Konoha ninja had arrived in the Land of Rain, he had already figured things out.
The war hadn't ended yet, so the only person who would go to the Land of Rain and directly meet Hanzo at a time like this could only be Shimura Danzo, seeking to deal with the Akatsuki.
As for why Danzo targeted the Akatsuki, it wasn't for the Rinnegan. That made no sense. Even Hanzo, who lived in the Land of Rain, didn't know about the Rinnegan until after Yahiko's death.
Danzo, who was far away in Konoha, would know even less. His reason for helping Hanzo was likely to secure his own path to becoming Hokage by gaining the support of a powerful ally.
One could only say he brought it upon himself. If he hadn't lived in a major village like Konoha—where Nagato was reluctant to attack directly—he might have already been killed by Nagato's Six Paths, just like Hanzo.
At this moment, Kurogane Ren looked at his shadow clones, who were still training. They had already completed exercises like cutting leaves and piercing tree trunks with kunai, and had now begun integrating wind nature into the Rasengan.
But in such a short time, they hadn't yet mastered Wind Release: Rasengan.
There was no time left for him to continue training at leisure.
Soon, Kurogane Ren accepted a suitable mission and left the village.
This time, he didn't use the Summoning Technique. While he didn't have a marked summoning point inside the Land of Rain, he did have one nearby.
He simply wasn't in a hurry.
Hanzo and Danzo's plan to lure out the Akatsuki revolved around a proposal: to use the Akatsuki's influence to present a peace negotiation to the three great nations—Fire, Wind, and Earth.
As the leader of the Akatsuki, Yahiko was an idealist shaped by Jiraiya's teachings, someone who truly believed in peace.
Even if he suspected it might be a trap, he wouldn't pass up a chance to end the war.
But such a meeting wouldn't happen immediately. The Akatsuki would first discuss it internally, then set a time.
That delay was more than enough for Kurogane Ren.
For the first time in a while, Kurogane Ren relied purely on his own speed to head toward the Land of Rain, moving at an astonishing pace—far beyond what Body Flicker Technique alone could explain.
That's right. The reason he didn't use summoning to travel was because he wanted to train his speed.
Speed = one's own ability minus resistance.
Improving one's ability required training—whether in his previous world or this one. Using lightning to enhance muscle activity was also a viable method.
But he hadn't mastered that yet.
For now, he focused on reducing resistance—specifically, using wind nature to lessen air resistance while moving at high speed, even harnessing wind to propel himself forward.
The effect of tailwinds on speed was well known. Even in his previous life, world-class sprinters could shatter records with the help of powerful wind machines.
That alone proved how significant wind was in determining speed.
Kurogane Ren's idea was simple: use wind to reduce resistance and provide external propulsion, then use lightning to enhance his own physical capabilities.
If he could train both methods to the point where they became instinctive, his speed would reach terrifying levels.
In the face of absolute speed, all techniques fail.
Right now, that was exactly what Kurogane Ren was training.
Knowing the theory wasn't enough.
In life-or-death combat, there was no time to consciously control wind and lightning. These things had to become second nature through relentless practice.
And so, Kurogane Ren continued forward—training as he moved, racing toward the Land of Rain.