Konan, her face cold and elegant with a paper flower tucked into her hair, looked at Zetsu in astonishment.
She couldn't understand him.
Could the death of the man claiming to be "Uchiha Madara" have affected him this much? To the point where Zetsu was willing to defy Pain just to ensure Pain avoided a direct confrontation?
It was absurd. As the wielder of the second pair of Rinnegan, Pain's strength had already transcended the mundane. Even if Konan harbored a sliver of worry in her heart, she still blindly believed in Pain's power.
Pain was invincible.
Regarding Black Zetsu, Konan simply spoke with a calm voice:
"I understand. For the time being, you should stay by his side."
In Konan's view, Black Zetsu's actions were ultimately for Pain's benefit. If an accident truly occurred, Zetsu's Mayfly Technique would be enough to facilitate Nagato's escape. This was the only thing Konan could do, even though she felt it was an entirely redundant precaution.
"…Very well."
Black Zetsu looked at the woman before him with a sense of helplessness. Being allowed to stay with Nagato was the best outcome he could hope for right now. He only hoped that, when the time came, the Hokage wouldn't suddenly appear on the battlefield.
Regardless of everything else, nothing could be allowed to happen to the Rinnegan.
The rain continued to fall…
In this city forged entirely of steel, a young couple dressed in ordinary traveling clothes walked through the ubiquitous downpour, huddled under an umbrella. They stepped into a ramen shop illuminated by neon signs.
"Did you get wet?"
The young husband reached out to smooth his wife's slightly disheveled hair. Perhaps due to the cold winter season, her cheeks were tinged with a faint red.
"I'm fine."
Looking at her husband, the wife cast a slightly self-conscious glance at their surroundings. They were still in public, after all…
The scattered diners and the shop owner witnessed the scene, offering knowing smiles.
"Welcome, customers! What can I get for you?" the owner asked with a warm, welcoming grin.
"Two bowls of your signature ramen, please. Thank you, boss," the husband replied with a light smile, leading his wife by the hand to a seat in a less crowded corner.
"Right away! Please wait just a moment."
The owner set to work immediately, his hands moving with practiced efficiency. While the noodles were boiling, a particularly gregarious diner leaned over toward the young couple, winking playfully.
"Young man, you two must be newlyweds, right?"
Faced with the man's teasing, the husband replied with a gentle, refined smile:
"Actually, no. We've been married for over six years. Our child is already five."
The diner looked surprised, then gazed at the couple with a hint of envy and sentimentality. "That's wonderful. Nearly seven years and the spark is still that strong. You two must keep trusting each other as you walk your path together."
The husband nodded with a polite, practiced smile.
"Here you go, folks! Your ramen is ready."
The owner arrived, carrying two steaming bowls of ramen.
"Thank you."
The husband took the bowls, carefully placing one in front of his wife before setting his own down. This gesture made the owner smile again. Just as he was about to turn away, he struck up a conversation.
"Judging by your accents, you two aren't locals, are you?"
The Land of Rain bordered six nations: Wind, Earth, Fire, Grass, River, and Demons. It sat near more borders than any other country except the Land of Fire. Consequently, foreign merchants often used the Land of Rain as a temporary waypoint.
"Yes, we are from the Land of Fire."
"Your craftsmanship is excellent, boss," the wife added, blowing on the hot noodles before taking a bite. "It's not at all inferior to Ichiraku Ramen back in Konoha."
"Thank you for the compliment!" the owner chirped, feeling flattered. "The Land of Fire, eh? That's a fine place. As for Konoha…"
The owner's voice trailed off. His expression suddenly froze.
If they were from any other part of the Land of Fire, it might be fine, but Konoha…
Currently, the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire were effectively hostile powers, especially Konoha, which served as the core military strength of the Land of Fire. And this woman had casually compared his cooking to a specific shop within Konoha.
Which meant…
The atmosphere in the shop suddenly plunged into a heavy silence.
The owner and the surrounding diners all went stiff, their eyes instinctively darting toward the young couple.
"Did I say something wrong?" Hikari whispered, noticing everyone staring at them.
"No. Just warm yourself up, but don't eat until you're too full," Kakashi replied, shaking his head.
He had brought Hikari directly into Amegakure without the slightest intention of hiding his presence. Since she had said it, she had said it. Besides, this omnipresent rain was actually a sensory jutsu maintained by Pain himself.
The Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
"Then… please, enjoy your meal," the owner stammered, his face pale.
"Check, please. Keep the change."
Several diners stood up one after another and began to leave. Though they weren't shinobi, they understood one thing clearly: what did it mean for someone from Konoha to enter Amegakure so boldly? The security checks to enter the village were strict; they didn't believe the village would just let someone from Konoha stroll in during wartime.
Even if there was some misunderstanding, it was better to be safe than sorry. They all made the same choice: stay out of it.
"Safe travels…" the owner muttered, his face a mask of misery as he watched his customers flee. They could leave, but he couldn't. This was his shop.
At that moment, two more figures stepped into the unremarkable ramen shop.
"One bowl of ramen, boss."
The newcomer's voice was cold and distant.
"C-coming right up!"
The owner had been dazed by the presence of Kakashi and Hikari, but when he saw the new arrivals, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"The—the Lady Angel!"
The newcomer was none other than Konan, who usually acted as Pain's representative and was revered as God's Angel. And with her was…
Pain (Tendō)!
"We'll be troubling you," Konan said with a slight nod, moving toward the table adjacent to Kakashi and Hikari.
Pain did not speak a word.
Once they were seated, a bowl of steaming ramen—prepared at the fastest speed of the owner's life—was placed before Konan.
"If you have no urgent business, you should leave, boss," Konan said kindly, looking at the noodles.
The arrival of the Fifth Hokage and his wife in Amegakure would have been a major diplomatic event during peacetime. But in this era of war, as hostile nations, this uninvited visit warranted nothing less than absolute vigilance.
"Yes! Understood!"
The owner nodded frantically and fled his own shop as if his life depended on it. Konan didn't say anything more; she simply picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Now, only four people remained in the ramen shop: Kakashi, Hikari, Pain, and Konan.
The atmosphere settled into a bizarre, heavy silence.
"Fifth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake. Quite an honor," Pain said calmly, being the only one without food in front of him.
"Leader of the Hidden Rain. It seems Hanzo of the Salamander is no longer with us," Kakashi replied. He took a final sip of his soup and looked warmly at Hikari, who was still taking small, delicate bites.
"He was merely a relic of a bygone era. As time passes, past glory inevitably rots. Even the man hailed as the 'Demi-God' of the shinobi world was no exception," Pain stated flatly.
Regardless of Kakashi's purpose, in Pain's eyes, since he was here, he wouldn't be allowed to leave. His intention was to keep the enemy leader here permanently. And to detain the world-renowned Kakashi, combat was unavoidable.
Given the strength of both parties, the entirety of Amegakure would become a battlefield. Thus, from the moment Kakashi stepped into the village, the Rain shinobi had already begun evacuating the civilians.
Pain needed time. He needed to buy time for that evacuation.
Sensing the movement of the villagers departing in the rain, Kakashi smiled. He had no objection to the evacuation. If he could take down the leader of the Hidden Rain without involving innocents, that was for the best.
"That is true," Kakashi nodded slightly.
History was full of men who were brilliant in their youth but grew senile and incompetent in their old age. In his past life, Kakashi had seen many such emperors.
Right, Emperor Wu of Han? Or Emperor Xuanzong of Tang?
"It seems that as Hokage, you are not as short-sighted as ordinary men," Pain said softly, though his tone carried an underlying arrogance. "That is good. At least we share some common ground. It won't be as tedious as dealing with Hanzo."
"Hanzo?" Kakashi's gentle tone vanished, replaced by a cold glint in his eyes. "By comparing him to me, am I to assume you are underestimating me?"
In the twenty years he had lived in this world, he had never stood beneath anyone. Even the legendary Hanzo of the Salamander was nothing more than an afterthought to the current Kakashi.
"Underestimating you?" Pain replied, his gaze clashing with Kakashi's. "Spoken like the man you are. Even Hanzo is like an ant in your eyes. I only wonder if your strength is worthy of such pride."
"Whether it is worthy or not, you are welcome to find out," Kakashi countered, refusing to yield an inch.
The tension in the air snapped like a taut wire as Hikari and Konan both set down their chopsticks.
"I heard that Jiraiya took three students in the Land of Rain," Kakashi said, standing up slowly as a murderous intent began to fluctuate around him. "In hindsight, if he had brought the three of you back to Konoha, it would have saved a lot of trouble today."
Pain stood up as well, staring directly at Kakashi. "Even if Jiraiya-sensei had brought us to Konoha, I would not have helped the village. Furthermore… there are no 'ifs' in this world."
Pain spread his hands slowly. "If everything could be chosen again, this world would not be so cruel."
His voice was level, but his purple, ripple-patterned eyes held a soul-shaking intensity.
"War. Slaughter. Blood."
"This world is too painful. A pain that tears the heart and lungs apart. Everyone reaches for things that don't belong to them because of their own desires." Pain looked at Kakashi with a strange inflection. "Hokage, our goals are actually the same. Your ambition is clear from the way you declared war on the four Great Shinobi Villages simultaneously."
Kakashi let out a soft chuckle and looked into the legendary Rinnegan. "You think my ambition is to rule the world? You're wrong."
Kakashi raised a finger before him, his black eyes meeting the eyes of the Ōtsutsuki lineage without flinching. "My goal has never changed. Merging the shinobi world is simply a necessary step in the process."
Pain seemed intrigued. "Oh? Let's hear it."
Kakashi did not hold back. "I will bring peace to this broken world. Five hundred years of peace."
If an ordinary person had said "five hundred years of peace," others would have scoffed. But the man standing here was Kakashi, the Hokage. He possessed the power to make it a reality.
"Only five hundred years?" Pain didn't look shocked; instead, he sighed with pity. "It seems that even for someone like you, your capacity is limited. I am the exact opposite. I will bring eternal peace to this world. Five hundred years is a mere pittance… I want five hundred times five hundred years!"
Hearing such delusional words, Hikari frowned slightly.
A madman. That was her assessment of the man before her.
"I have a clear understanding of my own capabilities," Kakashi said, his smile turning mocking. "That's why I set the goal at five hundred years. As for you… do you have the strength to match your delusions?"
"My strength?" Pain dismissed the mockery. "The power of a God is something a mortal could never imagine."
"A God?" Kakashi asked. "Then, as a self-proclaimed God, could you answer a question for me?"
"Before you perish, a God shall permit you a question," Pain replied. "Consider it my mercy."
It was just one question; Pain could afford that much.
"Then, could the high and mighty God tell me… can you control color?"
Kakashi's question left Pain momentarily stunned. The shop fell silent. Pain furrowed his brows, staring at the man.
"It seems you are truly nothing special, to be preoccupied with such trivial matters."
Kakashi shook his head.
Trivial?
The essence of color is the wavelength of light. Controlling the wavelength of light… represented absolute invincibility.
"In the future, make sure Mirai and Ichigo read more books," Kakashi said, turning his head toward Hikari.
"???"
Is now really the time for this? Hikari tilted her head, looking at him in confusion.
"The people outside should be mostly gone by now," Kakashi said, looking back at Pain. "Giving you time to evacuate the civilians—that was my mercy. Compared to your ethereal, impractical mercy, I think mine is a bit more tangible."
As Kakashi's words hit Pain's ears, his eyes narrowed.
Which meant…
The enemy was ready to strike!