Chapter 24: The Mysterious Ninja Who Won World Renown

Land of Rain, Amegakure.

Heavy rain poured down, and countless towering spires stood amidst the curtain of rain, the entire village shrouded in a gloomy, damp environment and atmosphere.

For the ninjas of Amegakure, it had been raining heavily since the moment they were born; the Land of Rain saw only a few sunny days throughout the entire year.

Beneath this never-ending veil of rain lay poverty, slaughter, and crime...

At the top of a high tower, Obito Uchiha—wearing the red-cloud black robes of the Akatsuki and walking under the name "Madara Uchiha"—sat on the edge of a platform, looking down at the rain-soaked city.

In the room behind him, "Pain of the Six Paths" stood silently in the shadows, while Konan was focused on organizing gathered intelligence.

Currently, the entire Akatsuki organization consisted only of Nagato and Konan, along with Obito and Zetsu, who had joined under the identity of "Madara Uchiha."

The core members of Akatsuki who had died were turned into the "Six Paths of Pain" by Nagato.

Because his legs had been severely injured by Hanzo of the Salamander's explosive tag trap, and because he had to supply chakra to the Gedo Mazo, his true body remained submerged in a special device for long periods, unable to move freely.

Therefore, Nagato operated externally through the "Deva Path," which was constructed from Yahiko's corpse.

"Oh my, oh my." As a flippant voice rang out, a White Zetsu rose from the ground, its distinct black-and-white halved body standing out prominently.

"Guess what interesting intelligence I gathered at the bounty office," the white half of the body said in a teasing tone.

"Just give me the intelligence," Obito said coldly, tilting his head slightly, a cold glint flashing in his Sharingan beneath the mask.

"You really are boring~" White Zetsu continued to chatter incessantly.

At the same time, he produced a brand-new bounty poster and placed it on the table.

"This is a newly updated 70-million bounty poster from the exchange office. The target calls himself 'Danzo,' codename 'Shura.' It seems the attack on Kumogakure was his handiwork."

Konan picked up the bounty poster and examined it closely.

"Danzo..." Seeing this name, painful memories surged into Konan's heart.

However, unlike the bandage-wrapped Danzo Shimura in her memory, the "Danzo" in the portrait was a bright and cheerful youth.

For some reason, it made Konan think of the time when Yahiko was still alive.

"What were the losses from the attack on Kumogakure?" Obito also walked over. He was more concerned with whether this mysterious ninja was the same person as the mysterious ninja who attacked Konoha a few days ago.

"The White Zetsu I sent back intelligence saying many people died; even the Raikage's building was blown to bits!" White Zetsu waved his arms, speaking excitedly. "To be able to escape unscathed under the pursuit of the Raikage and the Jinchuriki after an explosion of that scale... it's not any less devastating than the damage you caused when you attacked Konoha three years ago."

The number of activated White Zetsus was limited; Black Zetsu could not arrange surveillance for every single village, as the risk of exposure would be too high.

Therefore, it was difficult for outsiders to know about the battles that took place within Kumogakure or at the Kaminari Gorge.

The heavily injured Killer Bee had also been placed under strict protection.

Furthermore, since Killer Bee had been forbidden from leaving the village for many years, White Zetsu had not gathered any intelligence regarding him.

"Hmph!" Hearing White Zetsu mention the Nine-Tails incident he had orchestrated three years ago, Obito let out a cold snort.

Back then, he had been dealt significant injuries by Minato-sensei's Flying Raijin and Rasengan; even half of his body fused with White Zetsu had been melted away.

"Do you know this 'Shura'?" The voice of the Deva Path came from the shadows.

Although they had accepted this mysterious masked man claiming to be "Madara Uchiha" into the Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan remained very wary of him.

Now that such a powerful ninja had appeared, the "Madara Uchiha" who had lived for nearly a hundred years should logically have some knowledge of him.

Moreover, this mysterious ninja's codename was "Shura," and while Madara Uchiha was alive, he also held the title of "Asura of the Shinobi World."

"An unknown ability." Obito stared at the sketch on the bounty poster. It was a portrait of a bright, cheerful youth, but it was noted next to it that it might be a disguise using Transformation Jutsu.

Next to the sketch, there was also a portrait of someone wearing a three-eyed fox mask.

An unknown ability, a powerful ninja never heard of...

Would this bring changes to his plan for revenge?

Obito looked up and said to Zetsu, "The moment the martial law within Konoha is lifted, tell me immediately."

Because of the recent incident where a Kumogakure special envoy was killed by a mysterious ninja and his body was dumped in an attempt to frame the Hyuga clan, Konoha had strengthened its monitoring of the village's barrier.

The White Zetsus lurking in Konoha did not dare to act rashly after sending back some intelligence, fearing they would be detected by the Byakugan or other sensory ninjas.

——————

Meanwhile, within Konoha Village.

A high-level meeting was also being held in the Hokage Building.

"I will say it one last time! This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me!" Danzo Shimura slammed the table, arguing with Hiruzen Sarutobi with a face of iron.

On the tables of the participants lay the newly updated bounty poster from the exchange office, with the mysterious person's portrait and the name "Danzo" clearly visible.

Koharu Utatane mediated, "Perhaps it is merely a coincidence of names."

"It is also possible they are trying to frame us." Homura Mitokado looked toward Hiashi Hyuga across from him and asked, "Are you certain it is this person?"

Hiashi Hyuga looked at the bounty on the table, specifically at the familiar three-eyed fox mask, and nodded firmly: "There is no mistake; it is definitely this mask."

But then, Hiashi furrowed his brows and added, "He incites trouble in Konoha and then goes to Kumogakure to cause chaos. What exactly is he trying to do?"

The high-ranking officials in attendance also fell into deep thought.

Previously, they believed this mysterious ninja held a grudge against Konoha and thus wanted to frame Konoha to escalate the war between Konoha and Kumogakure.

But now, this mysterious person had gone and attacked Kumogakure!

According to the intelligence sent back by Konoha's spies embedded in Kumogakure, the Raikage's building was blown away, and hundreds were killed or injured, including many elite Jonin.

The intelligence from the spies even mentioned that the attackers were not just one person, but one woman and two men—three masked individuals!

Since most of Konoha's spies in Kumogakure were Genin, it was difficult to obtain core secrets, so more detailed intelligence could not be confirmed for the time being.

"If the opponent has a deep-seated hatred for Kumogakure, then it makes sense," analyzed Shikaku Nara, whose face bore two scars.

As the leader of the Jonin class and the chief strategist for both the Third and Fourth Hokage, his analysis was highly valued.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe, his aged face solemn beneath his Hokage hat.

Shikaku Nara continued his deduction: "Assassinating the Kumogakure envoy and framing the Hyuga clan—if the plan succeeds, the war will likely continue, and Kumogakure's combat strength will be greatly depleted. At that time, this mysterious person, or rather their organization, could seize the opportunity to launch another attack on Kumogakure..."

Shikaku Nara's speculation was logical and was currently the only plausible explanation available to them.

At the end of the meeting, after Hiruzen Sarutobi made several tactical arrangements, he turned to Hiashi with concern: "How is Hizashi's situation?"

"He... is doing well!" Hiashi Hyuga replied with a slight hesitation.