Outside Konoha Village, the Death Forest.
Among countless towering trees, one tree was pieced together from thousands of white paper sheets, hiding a man and a woman within its internal space.
The woman had short, straight, blue-purple hair, wore a light blue paper flower on the right side of her head, had lake-colored pupils and light purple eyeshadow, and possessed delicate features, though a black lip piercing below her lips ruined that youthful image.
The man had blood-red long hair, a thin frame, a dozen long black rods inserted into his back, and his lower half completely paralyzed, sitting on a four-legged mechanical device.
These were precisely the only two surviving initial members of the Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan.
Konan said with worry: Nagato! Charging directly into the Uchiha Clan Estate like this is far too risky.
Nagato did not heed Konan's warning, saying stubbornly: The mere Uchiha are nothing but ants in the presence of God.
Looking at the stubborn Nagato, Konan said helplessly: It is still better to be careful. That old man Setsuna Uchiha is extremely profound in sealing techniques. I used the Rain Tiger at Will Technique to scout the barrier of the Uchiha Floating Island.
That is a defensive barrier formed with Tailed Beast chakra as its origin. If you rush up like this, you will not gain any advantage.
Nagato shook his head and said: No matter! The Uchiha family's defensive barrier was blasted apart by Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Particle Style, so I won't be stopped by the barrier when I go up.
Hearing this, Konan whispered to herself: Ōnoki?
The Rain Tiger at Will Technique was a surveillance jutsu cast through rain, and Konan had personally scouted Konoha and the Uchiha as well. It was just that after the Chunin Ninja Exams, Konan feared