The rain, the rain that never stops.
The gray clouds hung extremely low, almost touching the towering structures of Amegakure that pierced the sky like steel thorns.
Rainwater meandered down the cold metal, gathering at the tip to form a continuous curtain of water.
At the highest tower, Deva Path Pain motionless like a statue, his Rinnegan at the enormous Heavenly Screen canvas above. Cold raindrops lashed his face, yet failed to stir even a ripple in his godlike eyes.
The Five Kage unite... to fight against Madara Uchiha.
His voice was colder than the perpetual gloom of Amegakure, and more decaying than the rust on the iron tower.
Rainwater slid down the black Chakra receivers embedded in the face, like black tears flowing for this dead body.
In the Heavenly Screen, the Five Kage gradually went from being unfamiliar to working together seamlessly, like longtime comrades-in-arms rather than former mortal enemies.
Pain's Rinnegan slightly contracted, taking in every tactical detail.
"Just as I thought." A smile, almost divine, swept across his lips. "That masked clown was not Madara Uchiha after all."
Konan's figure coalesced beside him like origami, the blue-purple paper flowers remaining dry in the rain. "Nagato, the shadows of the Five Great Nations are actually..."
"Have they come together?" Pain —or rather, Nagato, who was controlling the corpse—interrupted her.
There was a twisted pleasure in his voice; how ironic. Only when the butcher's knife hangs over their heads do these ants, who call themselves shadows, temporarily set aside their ancestral feuds.
"This power..."
Pain's eyelashes didn't even tremble. "The power of mortals, however great, will ultimately be annihilated before divine punishment."
Watching the Five Kage join forces to fight Madara, a distant memory suddenly stung Nagato's nerves—many years ago, when Yahiko was still alive, the three of them had fought back to back like that, for a beautiful vision that now seemed naively laughable.
But Nagato quickly extinguished that weakness. He was no longer the red-haired boy with fantasies, but Pain, the god of the new world, the arbiter who had to use pain to purify this corrupt world.
"Konan, did you see that?" Pain's voice seemed to come from the bottom of the abyss. "These shadows only barely retract their fangs when faced with power strong enough to crush them."
Konan was silent for a moment, then her paper wings trembled slightly. "This at least proves they can understand..."
"Understand?" Pain's cold laugh froze the surrounding raindrops. "No, this only proves the corrupt nature of the ninja village system. Today's allies will turn against each other tomorrow for an inch of land. Hanzō was like that, Danzo was like that, the entire history of the Shinobi World is a history of betrayal!"
The rain suddenly turned violent, like the fury of a god pouring down. Konan instinctively tried to shield Pain with her paper wings, but was stopped by his cold gaze.
"Yahiko once believed in dialogue and understanding..." Konan's voice was almost swallowed by the sound of rain.
"And Yahiko died. Pain's voice was colder than the blade of the Perfect Susanoo, dying in the conspiracy of Hanzō and Danzo, dying in the so-called 'balance' carefully maintained by the Five Great Nations, dying at the hands of this world full of lies!"
His voice grew louder and louder, as if he were persuading some unseen audience, or perhaps persuading himself:
"Look at the truth revealed by this Heavenly Screen! The Five Great Nations only unite when faced with destruction—that's human nature! That's the root of the problem that must be purified through pain!"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Konan's eyes. "Nagato, perhaps we should reconsider..."
"What are you considering?" Pain instantly reverted to his divine form. "Considering the naive fantasies of that blond-haired brat? Considering the theories of that fool who's hated by the village yet still stupidly wants to protect it?"
He whirled around, his black robe tracing a resolute arc in the rain. "No, Konan. Because I once believed as he did, I know all too well that the end of that road is only despair."
"It'll be soon. The Five Great Nations will understand what true pain is." Pain withdrew his hand, his voice regaining its inhuman calm. "And that brat Naruto, if he dares to obstruct the arrival of the new world..."
The rain continued to fall. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, there was no hesitation in his Rinnegan.
The underground base on the outskirts of Amegakure was filled with the damp air and the smell of rust and mildew.
The Akatsuki members, who hadn't received a decent mission for almost half a month, gathered listlessly in the common area until the Heavenly Screen suddenly lit up, projecting an image of the Five Kage fighting against Madara Uchiha.
"Hmm~ Finally, something interesting to watch, hmm!" Deidara sat cross-legged on the stone table, his golden hair swaying behind his head, casually playing with a lump of clay in his hand. "I've been so bored this past month, hmm!"
Scorpion leaned against the corner of the wall, Hiruko shell creaking slightly. "Shut up, brat. The noise of the living is more repulsive than a rotting corpse."
"Huh? Who are you calling a brat, you old Puppet?!" Deidara's clay instantly transformed into the shape of a small bird. "Want to try some of my art, hmm?"
"You two, be quiet." Kisame grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, his Samehada throbbing excitedly behind him. "This is a rare treat; let me properly appreciate Madara Uchiha's violent aesthetics."
Kakuzu sat on a stone chair, his green eyes fixed on the two sides clashing in the Heavenly Screen, his fingers unconsciously tracing the stitching. "The Five Kage... together they're worth at least 500 million ryo."
"Hey, Kakuzu- senpai, you're not thinking of going to capture them now, are you?" Hidan, carrying the Bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe, his crimson eyes flashing with fanaticism, said, "Although I'd love to offer them to the Lord Jashin..."
"Idiot." Kakuzu said coldly, "Going there is tantamount to courting death."
In the Heavenly Screen, the Raikage activated his Lightning Release Armor, charging straight at Madara Uchiha. Deidara whistled. "Wow, that's faster than my C2 Dragon, hmm!"
"Crude use of force," Sasori commented, Hiruko's tail swaying impatiently. "If it were made into Puppet, its efficiency would increase by at least 30%."
Kisame licked his lips. "But Lord Madara is even more powerful. Look at how he uses the Sharingan —it's like he's dancing as he kills people with such elegance."
Hidan sat bolt upright. "The Lord Jashin should be enjoying their suffering!"
Konan appeared silently in the corner of the room, scraps of paper fluttering around. "Pay close attention, this will be of great reference value for our future actions."
The lights at the Root Base are always dim, as if even the light is being swallowed up by the conspiracies here.
Shimura Danzō in the center of the stone chamber, his only remaining right hand gripping a teacup tightly, his knuckles white from the excessive force. The light and shadow from the Heavenly Screen reflected on his wrinkled face, turning the bandage around his right eye an eerie blue.
"That stupid woman, Tsunade..." The tea trembled as his arm shook. "How dare she exclude me from the Sand Village negotiations again!"
The teacup suddenly shattered, and shards of porcelain pierced the palm. Warm tea and fresh blood dripped together onto the "Root" emblem.
Danzo, however, felt no pain whatsoever; his exposed left eye burned with a flame even colder than the Amaterasu of the Uchiha.
"I am the one who should be sitting in the Hokage's seat." He growled in a low voice, as if it came from the depths of a grave. "Hiruzen's weak policies, Tsunade's indecisiveness... Konoha needs iron-fisted rule!"
In the Heavenly Screen, Madara Uchiha caught the Raikage's full-force attack with one hand and then sent his opponent flying with a backhand.
Danzo's pupils suddenly contracted, and an instinctive fear shot up his spine and up his neck. Even through the Heavenly Screen, the man's oppressive aura was suffocating.
"The evil Uchiha..." Danzo his teeth, the wound on his palm bursting open with force, more blood seeping out. "Even in death, he won't rest in peace."
Memories coiled around me like venomous snakes—that night when the blood moon hung high, and the screams from the Uchiha Clan Compound echoed throughout Konoha.
Danzo stood in the shadows, coldly watching Itachi carry out the mission to exterminate his clan. Looking back now, that decision couldn't have been more correct.
Looking at Madara Uchiha in the Heavenly Screen, and thinking about the remaining Uchiha orphans in the village, Sasuke Uchiha... this cursed bloodline should never have existed in the first place.