Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

Akatsuki captured eight tailed beasts, but left the Nine-Tails alone for the five great nations to fight over.

This blatant use of the Five Kage as pawns is rather naive.

“They are certainly not fools, some are even too clever, but the Five Shadows—they are all political lives.”

Ninjas are essentially intelligence agents, and those who rise from intelligence agents become political figures who hold the fate of ninjas in their hands.

The Five Shadows are a prime example.

A defining characteristic of political life is the inability to relinquish one's own interests.

Of the five Kage, the third Tsuchikage, Onoki of the Two Scales, who lived too long and became pedantic in his thinking, is the most exemplary figure in political life.

That old codger, for his own benefit, was arguably the Kage who had the most frequent contact with "Akatsuki".

He has used "Akatsuki" more than once to carry out assassinations, weaken the power of other countries, and accumulate his own strength.

This guy... who has seen Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and who understands the power of the Tailed Beasts best—doesn't need to actually take any action, as long as he keeps it a secret from the other four Kage.

This will naturally create a situation where the five shadows restrain each other.

"Akatsuki" is an "organization" that is naturally despised by the "state".

If Akatsuki can truly remain calm and disappear for a while, someone will eventually start preparing to take action against Naruto Uzumaki.

As early as the time of Hashirama Senju, the political principle that the five great nations should not compete for the tailed beasts of other nations had already been established.

But Naruto Uzumaki is a rogue ninja—rogue ninjas are enemies of the ninja world, and this is common knowledge among ninjas.

Moreover, Konoha had concealed the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was a Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast from the very beginning.

Based on Akatsuki's understanding of Onoki, he would be more than willing to try to claim the Nine-Tails for himself before Konoha openly and proactively reveals that Naruto Uzumaki is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

At that time, Danzo Shimura will definitely overstep the Hokage's instructions and make contact with Naruto Uzumaki without authorization.

At this point, the actions of the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire would make it impossible for the hot-tempered Raikage to remain a bystander.

The conflict between the three major powers, whose strength is delicately balanced, will therefore intensify.

As for the relatively weaker Water Country and Wind Country, their opinions and actions were never important.

"Naruto Uzumaki, he might just become the catalyst for the Fourth Shinobi World War."

Pain also had something to say about Madara's plans.

But Madara Uchiha reached out and stopped him.

He is Uchiha "Madara", a being capable of rejecting gods.

"Enough, Pain. We can discuss the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails later if you have any other opinions or suggestions. The most urgent task now is to capture the One-Tails and Three-Tails."

Madara Uchiha issued an order that even gods would obey.

He retreated into the darkness, his Mangekyou Sharingan twisting his body.

In an instant, Uchiha "Madara" was gone.

He came uninvited, and now he's leaving despite all attempts to dissuade him.

The tower where God once resided is now only inhabited by God and His angels.

"Nagato..."

Only after confirming that Madara's chakra had completely disappeared inside the tower did Konan softly call out Pain's real name.

Payne was aware of Minami's concerns.

"He has left Amegakure."

Payne answered.

No one can escape the watchful eyes of the gods under the rain curtain of Amegakure.

"Should we wait for Madara Uchiha to return before capturing the One-Tailed Beast? You just captured the Six-Tailed Beast, and you haven't even had time to rest since you got back to the village."

Konan frowned slightly, worried about Nagato's health.

"No need. Activate the other dormant Pain immediately and head to Sunagakure as soon as possible."

Payne turned to look at Konan, and the face of her long-dead best friend made it difficult for Konan to continue trying to persuade Nagato.

"Pain is invincible."

This is Nagato's belief.

Konan also believed in Pain's invincibility, but she also knew better than anyone else that Nagato was not invincible.

"I understand. I'll go find your original body first."

Konan knew she couldn't persuade Pain, so she would simply stay by Nagato's side as usual.

But just as Konan was about to leave, Payne's body trembled slightly.

"what happened?"

Payne's unusual behavior also made Konan stop in her tracks.

"The rain sensed the intruder; that guy has a huge amount of chakra."

……

……

Rain Village, shrouded in dark clouds, rarely sees the sun. Therefore, the raindrops falling from the sky during a downpour, though transparent, appear as a grayish-black mass to the eye.

The huge inland lake formed by rainwater further lowered the village's temperature, allowing the chill to easily penetrate into people's bodies, skin, muscles, and even bones.

Under the drizzling rain, the villagers of Amegakure, who are used to heavy rain and have long been accustomed to going out in the rain, are living a life of ease.

They were wearing old straw raincoats or smooth raincoats, so the girl lurking in the crowd was not conspicuous.

However, the girl, who had a keen sense of chakra, had already discovered the chakra contained in the rain curtain that was falling on Amegakure.

The girl was merely pretending to have successfully infiltrated the area, and was simply wandering around aimlessly.

Even so, the girl couldn't help but complain.

Because the girl is a sensitive person, what she is most proficient in is not actually her genius perception ability or the sealing technique that can help the boy she admires.

Rather, it was her ability to read people and situations, which she had developed since childhood through a life of wandering and dependence on others.

"The atmosphere here is so oppressive, even more so than the Land of Grass."

In the land of grass, young girls are treated as tools.

But in the Land of Rain now, these guys, though not tools, are nothing more than walking corpses in human skin in the girl's eyes.

Moreover, what the girl disliked most about the Land of Rain was its endless rain throughout the year.

Rainwater, blown by the wind, would splash onto the girl's glasses, and the wet lenses would blur her vision.

A blurred vision can make a young girl lose her already limited sense of security.

The lack of security made the girl subconsciously clutch the kunai hidden under her full-coverage raincoat.

This kunai gave the girl the courage to sneak into Amegakure alone.

Just as the girl was feeling the courage that the boy she admired had given her, the heavy rain, which had shown no signs of stopping, suddenly stopped.

The dark clouds dispersed, and the rain cleared in an instant.

"This is……"

The girl looked up at the sky, a strand of long red hair escaping from the hood of her raincoat.

Without the dense chakra interference from the rain, her sensory abilities immediately came into play.

The girl sensed... a butterfly.

Countless butterflies.

The butterflies gathered at the tallest tower in Amegakure, and then suddenly exploded and spread to every corner of Amegakure.

Some of the butterflies were also flying towards the girl.

Without further hesitation, the girl rushed out of the crowd and slipped into the nearest building.

Chapter 72 Drowning [Interlude: The Demise of Dawn]

The unique climate of the Land of Rain, where the rainy season lasts all year round, has given Amegakure a distinctive architectural style.

The village of Yuyin is filled with tall buildings, all densely packed together. To prevent the water level from rising due to heavy rain, streets have been built suspended between the buildings.

Therefore, the layout and structure of the entire village are extremely intricate.

For someone like Karin, who is "visiting for the first time," it is often difficult to figure out where they are.

They even have difficulty accurately judging whether they are on the ground or on a high-rise building.

Moreover, Karin is currently running through an endless, complex man-made tunnel with routes as numerous and intricate as the tangled roots of a plant.

Fortunately, Karin didn't need to find her way; she was simply avoiding the butterflies that were swarming throughout Amegakure.

However, with Kagura's perception, Karin knew that her time to dodge had reached its limit.

As the "butterflies" gradually narrow their search area, Karin will inevitably have to confront them head-on.

But Karin has already bought enough time.

"Five, six... this chakra, it's the same as Naruto said..."

Surrounded by butterflies, Kagura's Mind's Eye also detected six extremely strange chakras.

These six chakras were exactly the same, powerful yet lifeless.

The appearance of these six chakras indicates that Karin's infiltration has successfully achieved the goal of luring Naruto into a trap.

Sensing the butterflies surrounding her, Karin, with nowhere left to retreat, stopped in her tracks.

She pulled down the hood of her raincoat to make sure her face was truly hidden from others.

Then Karin hooked her fingers, hidden under her raincoat, onto the kunai, preparing to fight.

Tear—!

It was as if they were mocking Karin's decision to accept the challenge.