Akatsuki

Konoha Year 54 quietly came to an end, and a new year quietly arrived.

Yet the friction and clashes along the borders of various countries never ceased. The shadow of war remained like a Sword of Damocles,

hanging over the heads of everyone in the Shinobi World.

At the border where the Land of Fire, Wind Country, and Earth Country met, there was a small nation.

—the Land of Rain, home to Amegakure.

In this resource-poor country, Amegakure believed in elite education, pushing every ninja's abilities to their limits while continuously developing many unique techniques.

Amegakure's assassination arts were highly advanced, so it often accepted commissions from other countries to carry out all kinds of assassination missions.

But to the Five Great Nations, these ninja were nothing more than insignificant fodder.

The one they truly valued and feared was undoubtedly Amegakure's leader, Hanzo the Salamander, known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the middle-aged Hanzo had faced the young Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, overwhelming and suppressing all three in battle.

Yet, wary of Leaf Village's threat, he had ultimately spared them and instead bestowed upon them the title of the "Legendary Sannin."

It had been both a concession and an insult.

But since the end of the Third Shinobi World War, Amegakure had had less and less contact with the outside world.

Hanzo the Salamander, once hailed as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, had not been heard from for a long time.

Even so, intelligence agents sent by various countries had never successfully transmitted any useful information.

They often vanished without even having time to send out a distress signal, their fate unknown.

This had also made the major nations and shinobi villages with restless ambitions abandon their hidden schemes.

At this moment, Amegakure lay beneath a curtain of rain.

Thick clouds blanketed the sky all year round, inevitably leaving people with a sense of oppression.

The buildings here were mainly made of steel, supported inside and out by countless pipes of varying sizes. Massive underground water pipes could be seen everywhere, giving the place a heavy industrial atmosphere and forming a unique landscape.

The entire village was silent, like a stagnant pool whose depths could not be seen.

Just then, ripples suddenly spread across the previously still water.

A figure slowly emerged from the surface, his body gradually taking human form and revealing his true appearance.

The newcomer had sharp teeth and wore a forehead protector bearing Kirigakure's symbol.

But the slash carved across it, along with the Water Transformation Technique he used, showed that he was actually a rogue ninja from Kirigakure's Hozuki Clan.

"The guards in Amegakure aren't as tight as I imagined."

The Hozuki Shinobi scratched his head, wondering, Why did those guys all vanish without a trace?

With that, his Chakra had mostly recovered, and he prepared to use the Water Transformation Technique again.

Just then.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

Before his startled eyes, countless sheets of paper swept toward him on a gust of wind.

"What the hell is this?"

They were clearly just soft sheets of paper, yet they sent an involuntary chill through the Hozuki Shinobi's heart.

The ninja instincts honed through countless battles made him enter his water-transformed state again.

The sheets of paper shrieked as they passed through his body.

Then they gathered and overlapped, forming the shape of a woman with wings, blue-violet hair, and a pale blue paper flower on the right side of her head.

"Who is she? Is that strange ninjutsu she uses a Kekkei Genkai? The intelligence reports never mentioned this!!"

The Hozuki Shinobi froze for a moment before realizing that he had been exposed.

Just as he was about to retreat.

Sheets of folded paper transformed into densely packed blades, shooting toward his position like an inescapable net and leaving him nowhere to dodge.

Water Transformation Technique!

The Hozuki Shinobi liquefied his body once more, and every attack from the Paper Rain passed through him.

He sneered. "How boring. Your attacks are useless against me. You might as well let me leave!"

This was the Hozuki Clan's unique technique, capable of nullifying physical attacks.

Not only could it easily evade close-range attacks, but it could also infiltrate buildings and launch attacks while liquefied, making it extremely versatile.

That was the source of his arrogance. Even if he were discovered, as long as there were no Lightning Release ninja around, he could escape unscathed with the Water Transformation Technique.

Yet the woman said nothing in response to his mockery. The Paper Rain attacked him again.

As more time passed, the Hozuki Shinobi's face grew paler and paler.

"Wait! Doesn't your ninjutsu require Chakra?!"

Even if the Water Transformation Technique could render attacks ineffective, the Chakra in his body could not sustain it forever.

"Wait! We can talk this out!!"

The Chakra in his body was nearly depleted, but the Paper Rain seemed endless as it relentlessly attacked the Hozuki Shinobi.

He darted to the side and used the Substitution Technique to avoid another wave of Paper Rain.

But clearly, that could not resolve the crisis.

"You... you don't fight fair—Aah!!"

With a miserable, aggrieved scream, Amegakure returned to silence.

The woman looked at the corpse lying in a pool of blood and spread her hand. A large number of white sheets of paper transformed into white butterflies.

They lifted the Hozuki Shinobi's corpse and flew with the woman toward the depths of Amegakure.

Ordinarily, the tops of Amegakure's towers were not inhabited. They were used to store the corpses of the dead, while the residents lived on the lower levels.

But in the center of the village stood a strangely shaped tower, far taller than any other building in the village, like a crane standing among chickens.

At its summit was a statue resembling an evil spirit, its long tongue extending several meters.

A man dressed in a black robe patterned with red clouds sat upon that long tongue. Black rods pierced his face as he gazed expressionlessly into the distance with those purple ripple-patterned eyes.

The woman slowly approached behind him, a purple iris flower gently swaying atop her head.

"Konan, did you take care of it?"

The man asked casually, his gaze still fixed on the distance.

Konan nodded, and the paper butterflies dragged the corpse to his side.

The man turned to look at it. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "...What a pity. It isn't suitable as a body for Pain."

Though he called it a pity, his expression remained as lifeless as a corpse's.

"Give it to Orochimaru. He should be interested in a Hozuki Clan body."

The man stood up, just about to leave.

"Nagato."

Konan suddenly reminded him, "It seems Madara Uchiha has been preparing something again lately."

"You're overthinking it."

The man called Nagato said, "That man may have his own little schemes, but our goals are the same. We both want to bring peace to the Shinobi World."

"Remember to tell White Zetsu to keep an eye on that unknown ninja from before. Akatsuki's strength is still too weak right now."

Thanks to Mo Xin for the reward! And please send some recommendation votes too!