In the original course of events, Shimura Danzō led his Root shinobi into the territory of the Land of Rain, disguising themselves as ninja from other villages. By ambushing shinobi from different factions under false identities, he attempted to intensify the conflict between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure.
During one such operation—when they impersonated Iwagakure ninja to ambush members of the Akatsuki—Danzō discovered the secret that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan. From that moment on, he began plotting to kill Nagato and seize those eyes.
However, Danzō was not completely confident he could defeat Nagato on his own.
So he approached Hanzo of the Salamander.
Originally, Hanzo had a fairly positive impression of the Akatsuki, a newly formed organization that also advocated peace much like himself. He had not interfered with their development.
But under Danzō's slander and manipulation, Hanzo came to believe that the Akatsuki was merely using the banner of peace as an excuse to compete with him for power.
To protect the authority he held in Amegakure, Hanzo ultimately decided to eliminate them.
And thus the later tragedy of the Akatsuki came to pass.
Hanzo himself lost the ideals he once held. Like a blade that had grown dull, he slowly descended toward ruin.
"Shimura Danzō truly harms countless people… No wonder he's called the Darkness of the Shinobi World."
Uchiha Ren sighed softly. After confirming his direction, he flashed forward and headed toward Amegakure.
A bright orange-red glow flickered faintly within Ren's eyes as he traveled in stealth, carefully avoiding any populated areas. It took him more than half a day before he finally arrived outside the Hidden Rain Village.
At this moment, Amegakure was under extremely tight security.
Armed patrol shinobi could be seen everywhere throughout the village. The streets were nearly empty, filling the entire settlement with a tense and murderous atmosphere.
Combined with the thick storm clouds covering the sky—like dark clouds pressing down upon the city—the entire village felt suffocatingly oppressive.
"Summoning Technique!"
Ren bit his finger and formed hand seals, summoning a black ninja crow that flapped its wings as it appeared.
Within the Uchiha Clan, there were generally two types of summoning animals available for contracts: ninja cats and ninja crows.
The ninja cats were skilled craftsmen capable of forging various ninja tools. They were also adept information brokers, serving as an important source of both weapons and intelligence for the Uchiha.
Ninja crows, on the other hand, specialized in scouting, message delivery, and combat support for Uchiha shinobi.
Ren had naturally formed contracts with both.
"Caw… caw…"
"Crow Concealment Technique."
The black crow possessed a fairly high level of intelligence. After exchanging a few glances with Ren, it immediately understood his intention. It cried twice and opened its beak.
Taking the opportunity, Ren quickly formed hand seals. His body flickered and twisted before disappearing directly into the crow's mouth.
This was a relatively common secret technique in the shinobi world—hiding one's body inside an animal to avoid enemy detection.
Just as Orochimaru could hide his body within snakes, or Jiraiya could conceal himself inside a toad.
Though the methods differed, the overall effect was essentially the same.
"Caw—!"
With a sharp cry, the black crow spread its wings and flew into the sky.
After circling for a moment in the air, it gradually lowered its altitude. While chasing a sparrow, the crow passed through an invisible barrier and slipped into Amegakure.
The crow lingered along the village's outer edges for a while. Only after confirming that it had attracted no attention did it begin flying toward the center of the village.
"Crimson Eye—activate."
The crow's dark brown pupils suddenly dilated, quickly transforming into a three-tomoe Sharingan. The tomoe rotated slowly as an eerie orange-red glow spread outward.
Under the concealment of that crimson light, the crow's field of vision dimmed—then clusters of glowing lights began appearing across the landscape.
This was a unique dōjutsu Ren had developed by combining the Sharingan with the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit (Mera Mera no Mi).
It converted his vision into a thermal imaging field, allowing him to achieve long-distance observation and even limited penetration vision.
The principle behind the technique was heat perception. The stronger Ren's spiritual energy and sensory ability became, the farther and clearer he could see.
Since chakra is the manifestation of a person's physical and spiritual energy, it appeared extremely bright under the vision of the Crimson Eye.
The greater the chakra, the brighter it shone.
Because of this, purely in terms of reconnaissance, Ren's Crimson Eye was not inferior to the Byakugan.
With a sweep of its gaze from the sky, the black crow quickly located the brightest cluster of chakra within Amegakure.
Around that blazing source were numerous additional chakra signatures.
There was no doubt about it—
That must be the location of Hanzo of the Salamander, the strongest shinobi in Amegakure.
The crow beat its wings and flew straight in that direction.
Several dozen seconds later, it arrived above a luxurious mansion complex.
The estate was enormous—containing more than twenty courtyards of varying sizes. Even in Konoha, only the compound of the Hyūga Clan could compare.
Its defenses were equally strict.
While it might not literally be "a guard every three steps and a sentry every five," every important intersection was watched by shinobi, and patrol units passed through one after another without pause.
The crow did not recklessly descend into the estate.
After carefully determining everyone's position, it deactivated the Crimson Eye.
That ability was best suited for reconnaissance. Though it offered some benefits in combat, it also came with numerous limitations, making it inefficient in battle.
The crow naturally flew past the mansion and wandered elsewhere for a while, perching briefly in several places.
Only later did it circle back above the estate and descend toward a remote courtyard.
The courtyard appeared to be used for storing miscellaneous supplies. Though patrol shinobi occasionally passed by, there were no guards stationed directly at the entrance.
Most importantly—
There was no one inside the courtyard at the moment.
The black crow landed in a dark corner and opened its beak.
Ren's figure emerged from within.
"Infiltration…"
Ren crouched low on the ground, but his expression suddenly changed.
"…failed."
He slowly raised his head.
Not far ahead stood a tall, heavily armed figure.
The man had long yellow-gray hair, wore a gray-black armored vest and a black cloak, and carried a special chained sickle in his hand.
Covering his face was a distinctive respirator mask.
"Hanzo of the Salamander?!"
Seeing the man's iconic appearance, Ren felt both surprised—and yet not surprised at all.
"A shinobi from Konoha…"
Hanzo's gaze was calm and unfathomable. His eyes briefly swept over the Leaf forehead protector on Ren's head, then shifted to the Uchiha clan crest on his sleeve.
"The Uchiha Clan, hm… Or perhaps you're here to frame them?"
Ren had not deliberately concealed the symbols identifying his origin. Hanzo recognized his background at a glance.
But this was not carelessness on Ren's part.
Even if he tried to hide it, it would have been pointless.
It wasn't arrogance—Ren simply knew that his abilities were too distinctive within the shinobi world. Anyone who witnessed him fighting could easily trace his identity with a bit of investigation.
Moreover, Ren had already prepared several contingency plans for his journey to the Land of Rain.
Revealing his identity openly would make his intentions appear far more sincere.
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