Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

[Chapter 248. The Rain Tiger's Freedom Technique Awakened]

Rain-Hidden Village.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Seeing sunshine on this land is a luxury that is hard to come by. Long stretches of dark clouds hang in the sky, and when you stand on the high point of the village, you can't see the end of them. It seems that this has been the same for thousands of years. However, the rain has lessened a bit today, which is something to be happy about.

The tallest tower in the center of the village.

"Pain, how have you been lately?" Obito Uchiha, dressed in a long black trench coat and wearing an orange-red vortex mask, appeared at the window of the room on the top floor of the tower. He sat down directly on the windowsill, with one leg dangling down and swaying.

"What are you here for?"

In the center of the room, Pain lay on a deep red sofa. He was of medium height and build, neither too tall nor too short, neither too fat nor too thin, with short, bright orange hair. He wore ear protectors from a rogue ninja from Amegakure on his forehead, and had black nail-like decorations on his ears, lips, nose, and other parts of his body. Hearing the sound, he opened his eyes, revealing his blue-purple eyes that resembled ripples spreading outwards.

He lay motionless on the sofa, his hands clasped in front of his chest, his cold, indifferent gaze fixed on Uchiha Obito.

"Let's see how things are going for you lately."

"Everything is going well here, you don't need to worry about it. Instead of trying to get information from me, you should think about how to regain your lost face! Mr. Uchiha Madara, defeated by his descendants... To be honest, I'm starting to doubt whether you are really Uchiha Madara."

Pain was unaware of the details of the fight between Madara Uchiha and Mugen Uchiha, but the Uchiha fan was an important tool used by the masked man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha to prove his identity. Now, anyone in the ninja world with a discerning eye knows that the youngest clan leader of the Uchiha clan has found the clan's treasure, the Uchiha fan, which had been lost for decades.

After questioning Zetsu, it was learned that Madara Uchiha and Sogen Uchiha had a 'friction' during the war between Konoha and Kirigakure, in which Madara Uchiha was at a disadvantage and lost the Uchiha fan.

"If it weren't for Hashirama Senju, do you think I would need to collaborate with you?"

Beneath the mask, Obito Uchiha's face was ashen. The feeling of being mocked was unbearable. He still harbored resentment over his defeat to Sogen Uchiha; it was a thorn stuck in his heart that he could not remove, and touching it would cause him excruciating pain.

"Humph!"

Payne knew when to quit while he was ahead.

He mocked and ridiculed Obito Uchiha because he genuinely disliked the guy. As for whether Madara Uchiha was really Madara Uchiha, he didn't care at all. He firmly believed that the power of the Rinnegan could wipe out legends like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Their cooperation was simply based on the ancient knowledge and intelligence-gathering abilities possessed by this man who called himself Uchiha Madara.

Collecting the Tailed Beasts, creating terrifying Tailed Beast weapons, gaining the power to instantly destroy a country, and then using humanity's fear of those pains to suppress war, making humanity feel real suffering, thereby guiding the world towards peace... Such a plan indeed came from Pain's heart.

However, the premise and foundation for this plan were brought by Madara Uchiha.

That is, the knowledge of creating tailed beast weapons.

This is not a regular ability of the Rinnegan; it cannot be discovered through trial and error.

To be honest, it would be very difficult to find a starting point for this kind of knowledge now. The reason he believed that Uchiha Madara was really Uchiha Madara was because of this ancient knowledge. You have to know that the Rinnegan is just a legendary thing in the ninja world. Like the story of the Sage of Six Paths creating the world, it is used to coax children.

Unfortunately, Madara Uchiha was extremely knowledgeable about the various abilities of the Rinnegan, and there were many things that even he himself had not yet figured out. After all, the abilities of these eyes were extremely complex. It was precisely because of this that the two parties reached a cooperative relationship.

"After this period of training, I've almost reached the limit of controlling the Six Paths clones' range to five kilometers. As for the Outer Path power you mentioned... I still don't have any clue and am still exploring it." Pain briefly explained his current situation.

"No need to rush. According to historical records, the power of heretics is not so easy to master. Anyway, we still have plenty of time."

Obito Uchiha also regained his composure.

Attention was refocused on the important matter.

According to his and Madara's plan, Nagato could only officially begin the operation to capture the tailed beasts after he mastered the power of the Outer Path. Otherwise, without the Rinne Rebirth technique, Madara would not be able to return to this world. In addition, Nagato did need time to further familiarize himself with and master the power of the Rinnegan.

Despite the fact that Nagato received the Rinnegan, which originally belonged to Madara Uchiha, at a very young age,

But that doesn't change the fact that the Rinnegan doesn't belong to Nagato.

He needs to spend a lot of time and effort to gradually explore the power of the Rinnegan, unlike the Mangekyou Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, where once the eye is successfully awakened, one naturally becomes familiar with and masters one's own eye techniques, without needing to spend time practicing.

"Gathering information on Jinchuriki is very difficult. I just received news that the Fourth Mizukage seems to be dying soon. Once he dies, we'll have to reconfirm the location of the Three-Tails or its Jinchuriki. Also, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki's whereabouts are unpredictable after he defected from Iwagakure, making it difficult to pinpoint his location in a short time. As for the One-Tails Jinchuriki, it's confirmed to be the Fourth Kazekage's youngest son, but the One-Tails Jinchuriki's stability is extremely poor at the moment, and it's uncertain whether a new Jinchuriki will be chosen..."

Gathering information on Jinchuriki is indeed very difficult, as they are strategic weapons for each village, and information about Jinchuriki is top secret.

But if it's just about confirming the identity of the Jinchūriki,

It's not that it's impossible.

Because no matter which village they live in, Jinchuriki are always disliked and are objects of discrimination and fear. Based on this, it is not difficult to confirm the specific identity of a Jinchuriki.

"The matter of Jinchuriki is not useful for the time being. Compared to this... Akatsuki needs more and stronger members, and members who can capture Jinchuriki. So far, the organization has only recruited Kakuzu, which is still too few people." Pain said seriously. Although he could capture all the Jinchuriki by himself, he also knew that the Rinnegan could not be exposed too early.

If the Rinnegan is exposed too early, it may face a full-scale attack from all sides, and the plan to collect the tailed beasts will be affected. Unless all the tailed beasts are collected and a tailed beast weapon that can easily destroy a country is created, then the ninja world can be easily deterred.

"Well... I had found a good candidate, Sasori, the rogue ninja from Sunagakure. I recently investigated and found that it was highly likely that Sasori assassinated the Third Kazekage. I thought I would try to find him and see if I could recruit him, but I haven't found him yet."

Mentioning this incident made Obito Uchiha somewhat depressed.

Since temporarily abandoning his desire to seek revenge on Uchiha Mugen, he has been single-mindedly thinking about recruiting people to his group. In the past few months, he has been wandering all over the ninja world. He finally found Sasori of the Red Sand, but he couldn't recruit anyone no matter what, which was really frustrating.

I wonder if Sasori of the Red Sand has gone into hiding, or if he's already dead in some remote corner?

What a pity!

After all, he was a ruthless man who assassinated the Third Kazekage, who was known as the "strongest Kazekage." Regardless of how much exaggeration there was in that title, the Third Kazekage proved with his undeniable achievements during the Second Shinobi World War that he was no weakling and at least did not tarnish the title of "Kage."

Able to kill the Third Kazekage

Sasori of the Red Sand is definitely strong enough to join the Akatsuki!

"If we can't find anyone, we'll find someone else. Surely there aren't any other suitable targets besides this Crimson Sand Scorpion?"

“If we could easily find a bunch of experts who could capture Jinchuriki, and who weren’t even regular ninjas from the ninja villages, the Five Great Ninja Villages would have been finished long ago.” Obito Uchiha spoke the truth, then added, “But besides Sasori of the Red Sand, there are two other targets.”

"who is it?"

"One of them is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin."

"...The Legendary Sannin?"

Payne fell silent.

Obito Uchiha didn't care about this. He knew very well that Pain, namely Nagato, Yahiko who had died and whose body had been made into a Pain, and Konan, another elder of Akatsuki, were all disciples of Jiraiya, another of the Legendary Sannin.

When the term "Sannin" is mentioned,

It's inevitable to recall that period, which can be described as the happiest and most beautiful time of one's life!

The more beautiful the past was, the more cruel the world seems in the face of reality!

“Orochimaru certainly meets all the requirements.” Pain came to his senses and affirmed Obito Uchiha’s choice. “So where is he now? He is one of the Legendary Sannin, so it would be safer for me to personally invite him to join us.”

"this······"

Obito Uchiha spread his hands and said helplessly, "Orochimaru has lairs everywhere. We haven't found his exact whereabouts yet. I'll contact you when we find him..." Before Obito could finish speaking, Pain suddenly flipped over and stood up.

"What happened?"

"Someone has infiltrated the village."

"Has someone broken in?"

"That's right, my Rain Tiger Free Technique was triggered, and the intruder appeared directly in the heart of the village... Moreover, the quality and quantity of his chakra are both excellent; he is a master."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Drainage pipes are ubiquitous in Amegakure. Huge drainage pipes are placed conspicuously on the ground and hung outside buildings. It's not that the residents of Amegakure like this architectural style, but rather that the drainage systems inside buildings and underground simply cannot handle the astonishing volume of water drained by Amegakure.

therefore,

Large and small, straight and curved, made of steel and assembled of concrete, the village of Amegakure is filled with all kinds of drainage pipes, making it a veritable exhibition of drainage pipes.

A grayish-brown water snake emerged from the lake outside Amegakure and then slithered into a drainage pipe that was temporarily empty due to reduced rainfall. It easily evaded the patrolling and guarding Amegakure ninjas and arrived at a secluded spot. The snake opened its mouth, and a pale white hand emerged from its open mouth.

Two seconds later,

Orochimaru, soaking wet and covered in slime, stood on the land of Amegakure.

"The Rinnegan...is it in a place like this?"

Orochimaru stood in the rain, looking up at the tall buildings surrounded by drainage pipes. His gaze quickly fell on the tallest tower in the distance. Perhaps that was the central hub of Amegakure? He looked for two seconds before looking away, not acting impulsively.

He has lairs and bases in many countries, but not in the Land of Rain.

Orochimaru had no fondness for this country where it rained endlessly, even though he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were in the Land of Rain, and after fighting Hanzo, he earned the title of 'Legendary Sannin'. He simply couldn't bring himself to like this country.

Therefore, he currently knows absolutely nothing about Amegakure.

Moreover, the target of this operation is the Rinnegan. Assuming that what Uchiha Sogen said is true, then no amount of caution is too much. The reason why the operation against the Rinnegan has been delayed until now is because he has been making preparations. He would never take a risk lightly without being fully prepared.

Since they can spend several months preparing, they certainly won't hesitate to spend a few more minutes interrogating people for information.

not far away,

Two Rain Ninjas are walking over.

Orochimaru flicked his sleeve, and two small, grayish-brown snakes fell from his cuffs. They climbed onto the nearby drainpipe, patiently lurking high up. When the two Rain Ninjas who were chatting approached the drainpipe, they sprang down like lightning, tightly coiling around the necks of the two Rain Ninjas. At the same time, they opened their mouths and bit the Rain Ninjas' shoulders, injecting their venom, which had the effect of paralyzing their prey, into their bodies.

This wave of attacks was fleeting.

The two Rain Ninjas didn't even have time to call for help before they lost their ability to resist. Due to the effects of the snake venom, they collapsed to the ground, unable to speak or move. The only thing they could do was stare wide-eyed and try to see the true face of the attackers who were walking towards them.

then,

They saw it.

And he recognized Orochimaru, who had not used transformation techniques or other methods to conceal his identity.

Both Rain Ninja were in their forties. They weren't those greenhorns who had just started out. They had been there during the end of the Second Shinobi World War and had the good fortune to witness the Sannin's unstoppable advance on the battlefield. So they recognized Orochimaru at first glance. Their hearts turned cold. If he could bite his tongue and commit suicide right now, he would have already tried to kill himself.

"Let me see! What secrets is hidden in Amegakure?"

Orochimaru chuckled softly to himself.

He dragged the two prisoners to a secluded and deserted space, released a few small snakes to keep watch, and then reached out and placed his hand on the head of a Rain Ninja, beginning to read his memories. As an expert in manipulating souls, he naturally possessed the means to directly interrogate Rain Ninjas' memories, and had no need for such a low-level method as torture.

[Chapter 249. Angels and the Impure World Reincarnation Technique]

"The civil war in Amegakure is over... Hanzo of the Salamander has been dead for a long time..."

"The current leader of Amegakure is Lord Pain!"

"...The incessant rain is said to be a technique of Lord Pain, capable of monitoring the entire village..."

"Lord Pain's residence is located in a high tower. Apart from the angel who relays Lord Pain's orders, no one knows the details about Lord Pain, or to be precise, no one has ever seen him... However, the angel seems to be a member of the Akatsuki organization, which was once an enemy of the old Amegakure. Perhaps Lord Pain is also related to that Akatsuki organization..."

These are memories in the minds of the Rain Ninja.

After filtering out the vast and useless memories, the useful information was sorted out.

"Has the rain stopped?"