Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Hidden Rain Village
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Land of Rain, Hidden Rain Village.
Heavy rain poured down relentlessly, countless towering spires piercing the curtain of rain, the entire village shrouded in a gloomy, damp environment and atmosphere.
For the ninjas of Hidden Rain Village, from the moment they were born, the village and the entire Land of Rain had always been like this—heavy rain year-round, with scarcely any clear days.
Beneath this never-ending curtain of rain lay poverty, killing, crime...
Atop one of the high towers, Uchiha Obito—cloaked in the Akatsuki's black robe adorned with red clouds and operating under the name "Uchiha Madara"—sat on the edge of the platform, gazing down at the rain-soaked city.
In the room behind him, the Six Paths of Pain stood motionless in the shadows, while Konan focused intently on sorting through gathered intelligence.
These days, the entire Akatsuki consisted only of Nagato and Konan, along with Obito, who had joined under the "Uchiha Madara" identity, and Zetsu.
Akatsuki's fallen core members had been refashioned by Nagato into the Six Paths of Pain.
His legs had been gravely wounded in Hanzo of the Salamander's explosive tag trap, and with the constant need to supply chakra to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Nagato's true body remained immersed in a special device, rendering free movement impossible.
Thus, he operated externally through the Deva Path Pain, crafted from Yahiko's corpse.
"My my."
A frivolous voice rang out as a pitcher plant emerged from the ground, its stark black-and-white halves particularly striking.
"Guess what interesting intel I picked up at the Bounty Exchange."
The white half of the body spoke in a teasing tone.
"Just spit out the intel."
Obito turned his head slightly, his voice cold. A glint of chill flashed in the Sharingan beneath his mask.
"You're no fun at all~"
White Zetsu kept chattering away.
At the same time, he produced a crisp new bounty poster and set it on the table.
"This is a fresh 70-million-ryo bounty from the Bounty Exchange. Target goes by 'Danzo,' codename 'Asura.' Looks like he's the one behind the Hidden Cloud Village attack."
Konan picked up the poster from the table and examined it closely.
"Danzo..."
At the sight of the name, painful memories flooded Konan's mind.
But this 'Danzo' was nothing like the bandage-wrapped Shimura Danzo from her recollections—he was a sunny, cheerful young boy in the portrait.
For some reason, it reminded her of the days when Yahiko was still alive.
"What were the losses from the Hidden Cloud Village raid?"
Obito approached as well. He was far more interested in whether this mysterious ninja was the same one who had struck Konoha just days ago.
"The White Zetsu I sent back reports tons of casualties—the Raikage's building got totally blown away!"
White Zetsu flailed his arms excitedly as he spoke.
"An explosion on that scale, and he slipped away unscathed from the Raikage and jinchuriki's pursuit? Not much less damage than what you pulled off hitting Konoha three years back."
The number of active White Zetsu was limited. Black Zetsu couldn't plant surveillance in every village—that would've risked too much exposure.
As a result, details of the fighting inside Hidden Cloud Village and at Cloud Lightning Gorge remained largely unknown to outsiders.
The gravely wounded Killer B was under strict protection, too.
Besides, Killer B had been barred from leaving the village for years, so White Zetsu had no prior intel on him.
"Hmph!"
Obito snorted coldly at the mention of the Nine-Tails Night he'd orchestrated three years prior.
Back then, Minato-sensei's Flying Thunder God Technique and Rasengan had left him seriously injured, melting away half his White Zetsu-fused body.
"Do you know this Asura?"
Deva Path Pain's voice emanated from the shadows.
Though they'd accepted this self-proclaimed "Uchiha Madara"—the mysterious masked man—into Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan remained deeply wary of him.
With such a powerful ninja now on the scene, the nearly century-old "Uchiha Madara" ought to know something about him.