The sound of raindrops hitting the ground echoed in his ears, while the biting cold wind made Nagato shiver involuntarily.
Waking from his coma, Nagato looked warily at the rain falling outside the cave.
He remembered that he had been chasing Shimura Danzo, the enemy of the Akatsuki, in the desert of the Land of Wind. But he had accidentally destroyed a seal—and then everything went black.
When he woke up again, he was in this dark, damp cave, and the Six Paths of Pain had completely lost contact.
Right—before he lost consciousness, he had seen the leader of Uzushiogakure, Uzumaki Menma, along with Uchiha Shisui. Could it be that after he fainted, Menma attacked him and brought him here?
Raising his palm, a miniature Shinra Tensei condensed within it. After testing it, Nagato dismissed that possibility.
He and Menma could be considered kindred spirits, but neither would ever miss a chance to suppress the other. If Menma had really captured him, his Rinnegan would've been gone already.
But then… what happened to Pain? Even his summoning technique was completely ineffective.
Suppressing his scattered thoughts, Nagato began observing his surroundings.
Inside this dark, damp cave, aside from himself, there were more than a dozen faint chakra signatures.
If these people were supposed to be his guards… they were far too weak.
He stood up and walked toward the cave entrance, looking at the gray sky and inhaling the earthy scent in the air.
An absurd thought surfaced in his mind.
This… couldn't be the Land of Rain, could it?
How long had he been unconscious?
At that moment, the sound of footsteps pulled him back to reality.
A ninja wearing an Amegakure forehead protector approached. The man looked somewhat familiar. With a smile, he said,
"Nagato, you're finally awake. When we found you earlier, we were shocked. What happened? Who attacked you? Why were you lying in a puddle?"
Nagato frowned, quickly searching his memory—and then recognized him.
This carefree guy… Taro. He had been a member of the Akatsuki during Yahiko's era. They had worked together a few times and got along fairly well.
And yet… Taro had died years ago during the negotiations with Hanzō of the Salamander.
Nagato stared at the man in front of him. "Who are you, and why are you pretending to be Taro?"
"Pretending?" Taro blinked in confusion. "Nagato, what are you talking about? We were fighting side by side just a few days ago."
The Akatsuki member named Taro looked puzzled and even reached out, intending to check Nagato's forehead for a fever.
Nagato pushed him away, clasped his hands together, and silently muttered, "Genjutsu Release."
He suspected he had fallen under an illusion. Otherwise, how could a companion who had been dead for nearly ten years appear in front of him?
But the illusion didn't break.
As the wielder of the Rinnegan, it was practically impossible for him to be trapped in a genjutsu.
Could it be…
Had he really traveled back more than ten years, to a time before the original Akatsuki was destroyed?
Nagato couldn't believe it. He grabbed Taro by the collar, intending to use the Human Path's ability to extract information—just to confirm whether these people were impostors.
At that moment, another Akatsuki member rushed into the cave through the heavy rain.
"The Sand Village forces have attacked nearby villages again! Three squads this time. If they take the supplies, the villagers won't have enough food to survive!"
He paused, noticing the situation.
"…Nagato, why are you grabbing Taro? Did you two fight? Forget that—come help us!"
The Akatsuki member stepped forward, trying to pry Nagato's arm loose—but it felt like grabbing a steel bar. He couldn't budge it at all.
"Nagato, Yahiko said you shouldn't go to the battlefield. No need to vent your frustration on us."
Hearing that, Nagato glanced at him, then slowly released Taro.
"Lead the way," he said calmly. "I'll deal with the Sand ninja invading the Land of Rain."
Taro rubbed his neck, looking at Nagato suspiciously.
Something felt off. Just a few days ago, Nagato had been weak—so why did he feel overwhelmingly powerful now?
More than ten minutes later, under the guidance of the Akatsuki members, Nagato arrived at a nearby village.
Rain shinobi stood in opposition to the Sand ninja, preventing them from looting the villagers' supplies. But to avoid escalating the conflict, they held back.
After a brief silence, Taro spoke first. "This is the Land of Rain. Foreign ninja, leave immediately."
The Sand shinobi sized up both sides and sneered. "We're not here to fight Amegakure. We just need food. Are you really going to risk war to stop us?"
Taro hesitated. "If you take these supplies, the villagers won't survive until the next harvest. That's murder. Wars between ninja shouldn't involve civilians."
"If we don't take them," the Sand shinobi scoffed, "Iwagakure or Konoha will. Know your place. Even Hanzō is scared to act—what are you trying to prove? If you've got the guts, then make a move."
"Lord Hanzō restrains himself for the sake of Amegakure's peace!"
At this time, Hanzō was still the hero of Amegakure—the unquestioned leader in every Rain ninja's heart.
The endless arguing irritated Nagato for no reason.
If people could just understand each other, there would be no more wars in the ninja world. That had been Yahiko's dream.
That ideal had drawn many like-minded companions… but it had also provoked Hanzō's fear. And in the end…
Nagato cut off his thoughts.
Slowly raising his arm, he used gravitational force to drag the leader of the Sand squad forward, slammed him into the ground, and said coldly:
"Fuck off… or die?"
The scene stunned not only the Akatsuki members but also the Sand ninja present.
Their captain was a powerful chunin—and he'd been crushed instantly. That meant Nagato's strength was at least at the jōnin level, far beyond what they could handle.
After exchanging glances, the Sand shinobi spoke cautiously. "We'll withdraw this time. But we want your name. Sunagakure will remember you."
Nagato narrowed his eyes. "On second thought… I don't plan on letting you go."
Before the words even finished, a terrifying repulsive force burst from his palm, blasting toward the Sand ninja with devastating power.
Ten seconds later, all twelve Sand ninja lay on the ground—some unconscious, others never waking up again.
Looking at them, Nagato felt much better. He turned to the Akatsuki members behind him.
They stared at him like he was a monster.
This wasn't the Nagato they knew. Yes, he had always been strong—but unless provoked, he never acted first, and he certainly didn't smile like that.
After a while, Taro spoke cautiously. "Nagato… you shouldn't have done that. If this sparks a war between Sunagakure and Amegakure, the people of the Land of Rain will suffer because of us."
Nagato replied calmly, "They were already suffering. I helped them. Your weakness will only make enemies bolder. Only by eliminating them completely can you prevent further harm."
His words made sense… but Taro and the others couldn't accept them. After exchanging looks, they said together:
"Even so, you shouldn't have killed them. If Sunagakure finds out, they won't let it go. If we negotiate, they might understand our intentions."
"That's why I eliminated them all," Nagato said flatly. "If no one survives, it's just an accident."
He looked at the Akatsuki members before him without emotion.
"You people… trust others too easily. That's why you all died pointless deaths."
Nagato understood their opposition. The Akatsuki's philosophy was to make people understand one another. His actions clearly violated that ideal.
But in his view…
Yahiko's dream had always been too idealistic.
Without the strength to support it, no matter how noble the idea was…
…it was nothing more than a fantasy.
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