Chapter 28: Akatsuki
Konoha Year 54 quietly passed, and a new year quietly arrived.
But the friction and at the borders of various nations never ceased. The shadow of war remained like a Sword of Damocles,
Hanging over the heads of everyone in the ninja world.
And at the junction between the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth, existed a small country.
-- The Land of Rain, home to the Village Hidden in the Rain (Amegakure).
In this resource-poor country, Amegakure believed in elite education, pushing each ninja's abilities to the limit and successively developing many unique techniques.
Amegakure's assassination techniques were highly developed, thus they often accepted commissions from other countries to carry out various types of assassination missions.
But to the Five Great Nations, these ninja were merely small fry.
What truly commanded their attention and vigilance was undoubtedly the leader of Amegakure, Hanzō of the Salamander, known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World.
During the Second Shinobi World War, a middle-aged Hanzō faced the young Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, completely dominating the battle and suppressing the three.
Only considering the threat of Konoha, he ultimately didn't kill the three, instead bestowing upon them the title "Sannin of Konoha".
It was both a concession and a humiliation.
But since the end of the Third Shinobi World War, Amegakure's contact with the outside world dwindled.
Hanzō of the Salamander, once hailed as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, hadn't been heard from in a long time.
However, intelligence agents sent by various nations never succeeded in sending back useful information.
They would disappear without a trace, unable even to send a distress signal, their fate unknown.
This also made those great nations and ninja villages, itching to act, abandon their little schemes.
At this moment, in Amegakure, shrouded in rain.
The heavy dark clouds in the sky never dispersed year-round, inevitably creating a sense of oppression in people's hearts.
The buildings here were primarily made of steel, erected with numerous large and small steel pipes inside and out. Huge underground water pipes were visible everywhere, creating a unique landscape with a heavy industrial feel.
The entire village was silent, like a bottomless pool of stagnant water.
Just then, ripples suddenly disturbed the calm surface of the water.
A figure slowly emerged from the water, its body gradually solidifying into human form, revealing its true appearance.
The newcomer had sharp, pointed teeth and wore a forehead protector with the Kirigakure symbol.
However, the slash mark across it and the Hydrification Technique he used indicated he was actually a missing-nin from Kirigakure's Hōzuki clan.
"The security in this Hidden Rain Village isn't as tight as I imagined."
The Hōzuki ninja scratched his head, wondering inwardly: "I really don't understand why those other guys disappeared without a trace."
With that thought, his chakra had mostly recovered, and he intended to use the Hydrification Technique again.
But just then.
Rustle rustle rustle!!
To his surprise, countless pieces of paper rushed towards him accompanied by a gust of wind.
"What the hell is this stuff?"
Though just soft pieces of paper, they sent an involuntary chill through the Hōzuki ninja's heart.
His ninja instincts, honed through long combat experience, made him enter the hydrated state again.
The pieces of paper passed through his body with a piercing whistle.
They then gathered and folded together, forming the shape of a woman with wings, long blue-purple hair, and a light blue paper flower worn on the right side of her head.
"Who is this woman? Is the bizarre ninjutsu she uses a Kekkei Genkai? It wasn't mentioned in the intel!!"
The Hōzuki ninja paused, realizing he had been exposed.
Just as he thought of retreating,
Countless pieces of origami transformed into densely packed sharp blades, shooting towards his location like an inescapable net, leaving him nowhere to dodge.
"Hydrification Technique!"
The Hōzuki ninja liquefied his body again, letting the paper rain attack pass entirely through him.
He sneered: "How boring. Your attacks are useless against me. Better just let me leave!"
This was the unique ninjutsu of the Hōzuki clan, capable of nullifying physical attacks.
Besides easily evading close-combat attacks, it allowed infiltration into buildings and surprise attacks while liquefied, offering great flexibility.
This was the basis of his arrogance; even if discovered, without a Lightning Release user present, he could escape unharmed using the Hydrification Technique.
However, facing the Hōzuki ninja's mockery, the woman remained silent, the paper rain attacking him once more.
As time wore on, the Hōzuki ninja's face grew increasingly pale.
"Wait! Doesn't your jutsu require chakra?!"
Even if the Hydrification Technique could nullify attacks, his own chakra couldn't sustain its use indefinitely.
"Hold on! Let's talk this through!!"
His chakra was almost depleted, but the paper rain seemed endless, continuously assaulting the Hōzuki ninja.
He dodged aside, using a Body Replacement Technique to evade another wave of incoming paper rain.
But clearly, this didn't resolve the crisis.
"You, you don't play fair... Ah!!"
With a miserable, indignant scream, Amegakure returned to silence once more.
The woman watched the corpse in the pool of blood, then extended her hand. Numerous white paper sheets transformed into white butterflies.
They lifted the Hōzuki ninja's corpse and flew with the woman towards the depths of Amegakure.
The tops of Amegakure's towers are generally uninhabited, instead used to store the bodies of the dead; residents live in the lower levels.
But in the very center of the village stood a strangely shaped tower, far taller than any other building, standing out like a crane among chickens.
At the top of the tower was a statue resembling a demon, its long tongue extending several meters.
A man wearing a black robe with red clouds, his face pierced with black rods, sat upon the tongue, expressionlessly gazing into the distance with his purple, ringed eyes (Rinnegan).
The woman slowly approached from behind the man, a purple iris paper flower gently swaying atop her head.
"Konan, is it taken care of?"
The man asked casually, his gaze still fixed on the distance.
Konan nodded, and the paper butterflies dragged the corpse beside him.
The man turned his head to look, remaining silent for a moment before shaking his head: "...A pity. Unsuitable to be used as a body for Pain."
Although he spoke of pity, his expression remained as lifeless as a corpse.
"Hand it over to Orochimaru. That guy should be interested in a Hōzuki clan body."
The man stood up, about to leave.
"Nagato."
Konan suddenly spoke up, reminding him: "It seems Uchiha Madara is preparing something again lately."
"You're overthinking again."
The man called Nagato replied: "Although that guy has his own little schemes, our goal is the same: to bring peace to the ninja world."
"Remember to remind White Zetsu to keep an eye on that unknown ninja from before. Akatsuki's strength is still too weak right now."
(End of Chapter)
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