The reason Orochimaru chose to strike at this particular moment to target the Jinchuriki was actually closely related to Naruto.
After their parting at the Southern Hideout, he had been waiting for Naruto to bring his clone back.
Of course, with Orochimaru's intelligence, he had certainly considered the possibility that Naruto might break the contract.
He also didn't believe such methods could truly threaten the other party.
It was more about having a 'give it a shot and see what happens' mentality.
Orochimaru had done plenty of such things over the years since defecting from the village.
Taking in all sorts of orphans and traitors, meddling in various special events.
In short, wherever there was trouble in the Ninja World, his shadow would be there.
He's a true shit-stirrer of the Ninja World.
In the original timeline, his right-hand man, Kabuto, also inherited this will, consistently walking the path of influencing the major powers of the Ninja World.
Sure enough, after learning through his planted spies that 'Uzumaki Naruto has appeared again in the Land of Fire', he knew the first phase of his plan had likely failed.
Thinking this, he glanced back at the tightly wrapped One-Tail's Jinchuriki, Gaara, a confident smile appearing on his face.
'It didn't matter, I still had a way.'
…
The events in Sunagakure naturally didn't reach Naruto and his group.
But right now, they had no mind to pay attention to such matters anyway.
Because what lay in front of them is the Land of Rain.
"It's been so many years since I last returned, this place seems to have changed a lot."
Jiraiya stood beside Naruto, both looking towards the country shrouded in dark clouds in the distance.
Due to the constant rainfall and the terrain, the Land of Rain possessed extremely extensive underground drainage facilities.
So, it was actually quite easy to infiltrate through here.
-It's just that Naruto and his group didn't plan to do so.
'Speaking of which, this should be the territory of that guy Hanzo the Salamander. I wonder if Nagato and the others have already gotten involved with him.'
Jiraiya pondered silently to himself. His title of one of the legendary [Sannin] came from Hanzo the Salamander, which showed just how strong that guy was.
Just as the group was about to step into the Land of Rain, Naruto suddenly looked up at the sky.
"This rain… it's mixed with Chakra."
Although extremely faint, relying on his Observation Haki combined with the sensory abilities of Sage Mode, Naruto keenly detected the peculiarity of the rainwater.
Hearing this, Karin and Sasuke also tried to sense it, but unfortunately, they couldn't perceive anything.
"Oh… so there's this trick too?"
After being reminded by Naruto, Jiraiya also barely managed to sense the Chakra Presence within the rainwater.
He had almost overlooked it.
'It seemed the dark clouds shrouding the Land of Rain were also man-made.'
Naruto shook his head. Since confirming that his enemies were indeed within the Akatsuki, he no longer intended to waste time on these details.
He raised his hand, aiming at the dark clouds in the sky.
A small black sphere condensed in front of his palm.
Sasuke and Jiraiya immediately sensed that familiar feeling… it was similar to the technique Naruto had used to destroy the Ancor Vantian earlier.
But this time, the Chakra infused into it had become Senjutsu Chakra.
The destructive power and damage range of this Conqueror's Bomb are thus enhanced.
"Let's say hello to them first."
Perhaps due to Sage Mode, Naruto currently seemed somewhat indifferent, different from before.
But both Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Karin simply attributed this change in demeanor to Naruto's emotions upon facing his enemies ahead.
Look at Sasuke, wasn't he also keeping a cold face?
Whoosh-
The black sphere traced a ripple through the air as it flew, as if space itself trembled due to its movement.
The sphere's flight speed wasn't slow, but considering the distance between Naruto and the clouds, it still had to travel for a short while.
The raindrops created by the Rain Tiger at Will Technique fell onto the Senjutsu-enhanced Conqueror's Bomb and were directly absorbed and devoured, giving no feedback at all.
However, no feedback was also a form of feedback.
Inside the Akatsuki's base, Nagato opened his eyes.
He could sense the appearance of a 'sensory black hole' within the borders of the Land of Rain.
Before he could control the Six Paths of Pain to go out and meet the enemy, that black hole had already reached the dark clouds.
Unlike the massive explosions it usually caused-
This time, after the Conqueror's Bomb thrown by Naruto 'bloomed', everything around it began to 'collapse' towards the small sphere.
It was as if the small sphere contained some extremely powerful attractive force.
No, it wasn't an attractive force.
It was devouring.
The Conqueror's Bomb began to devour everything around it.
Chakra, water vapor, even the flowing air.
Everything that approached was being consumed.
The sphere's volume continuously expanded during this process.
Until it reached a certain limit, a shallow crack appeared on its surface.
Crack-
A sound almost like an auditory hallucination.
The black sphere exploded.
There was no deafening roar… instead, it was a silent invasion.
The dark clouds, already reduced by about thirty percent from absorption, were blasted apart by the shockwave of the explosion, leaving a giant void.
The mixture of Haki and Senjutsu Chakra instantly expanded into a giant sphere, as if hanging a black moon in the sky.
The Land of Rain, which was perpetually shrouded in rain, finally cleared.
Sunlight spilled down, causing the residents walking on the streets to instinctively look up.
"Huh?"
"What is… that?"
Among the crowd, a few individuals clearly dressed as Ninja tried to leave upon seeing this.
They were local Ninjas of the Land of Rain. After Nagato led the Akatsuki to eliminate Hanzo, they switched their allegiance to the Akatsuki.
They weren't quite peripheral members yet, but they would usually report any situation to Konan first.
Unfortunately, before their feet could move more than a few steps, the ensuing mental impact from Conqueror's Haki arrived.
In an instant, the crowd collapsed like dominos.
Plop, plop, plop…
The sounds connected into one.
Simultaneously, the Rain Tiger at Will Technique was forcibly interrupted.
Nagato looked at Konan nearby and said in a hoarse voice,
"They're here."
"So soon?"
Compared to before, Konan still seemed somewhat listless… whether it was a side effect of Jiraiya's abilities was unclear.
"Have the others arrived?"
Hearing this, Konan shook her head.
"They came too quickly. The other members are still on their way."
Deidara and Sasori were currently pursuing Orochimaru. Itachi, Kisame, Hiruko, and his several subordinates were on their way to the Land of Rain.
Right now, the only ones here who could fight besides Nagato were the not-very-combat-capable Zetsu and the elusive, not-very-trustworthy [Uchiha Madara].
For example, right now, they couldn't find where that guy was.
"I'll handle it. Konan, you stay here on standby."
Hearing Nagato's words, Konan nodded.
Although the Six Paths of Pain had always been their trump card, with the enemy attacking their home base, there was no need to hide it anymore.
'I'll let these guys know just how powerful a God is!'
Recalling how the Asura Path was previously beaten down by the opponent, Nagato secretly gritted his teeth.