Who Would Cross the Line First?

Uchiha An suddenly stopped and retreated. Nara Shikaku saw it, too.

He was happy to take the opportunity to regroup with his companions, put out the fires, treat their wounds, and rest for a moment while they recovered some Chakra.

As soon as the fighting stopped, the Amegakure Ninja hurried forward to call out to them.

"This is the Land of Rain. Who are you, and why are you fighting here?"

Uchiha An glanced at the ninja. Seeing he was just a nobody, he couldn't be bothered to waste words on him. Instead, he looked past him, searching for any sign of Pain's possible hiding place.

Nara Shikaku, meanwhile, was a smooth diplomat. He stepped forward and said politely:

"We're ninja from Konoha. I'm Nara Shikaku, and the people behind me are my companions. We came here in pursuit of a rogue ninja. We have no ill intentions toward the Land of Rain."

"Please inform Lord Hanzo of the Salamander that we'll leave as soon as we've dealt with the rogue ninja. We won't cause any damage to the Land of Rain."

"Konoha..." The lead ninja gave the Konoha People a complicated look, glancing at the symbols on their forehead protectors, then turned to look at Uchiha An's unmistakable eyes. He nodded silently. "I understand."

"I'll report this to the village. Please deal with the rogue ninja as quickly as possible and leave the Land of Rain. Don't linger here."

"Please rest assured. Konoha and the Land of Rain are allies. We won't do anything excessive. Please give our regards to Lord Hanzo of the Salamander."

The Akatsuki Organization had made the Land of Rain so tightly controlled that outsiders had no idea Hanzo of the Salamander had been dead for a long time. The ninja didn't let on. He simply nodded and turned to leave with his people.

Halftime was over. The second half of the battle began.

But since he hadn't been able to quickly take out Nara Shikaku, turning the fight into a war of attrition, Uchiha An had already lost interest in continuing.

If he could have crushed the Konoha forces and wiped them out in one fell swoop, he wouldn't have minded collecting some interest on the grudge over his clan's destruction. But with things not going smoothly, there was no need to get bogged down fighting a bunch of Konoha tools.

The real culprit hadn't even shown up. Going all out like this was hardly worth it.

He'd come here to "give Nagato a present," not to find a different place to fight someone.

If Nagato, the Protagonist, didn't show up, who was he supposed to be putting on a show for?

He wanted to lure Nagato into the open, so once the fighting resumed, he stopped clashing head-on with Ino-Shika-Cho. Instead, he fought while retreating toward Amegakure.

Come on, Nagato. You're hiding back there, aren't you?

Then let's see whether you can stay put in the shadows when the peace of Amegakure is shattered once again.

His intentions were so obvious that everyone saw through them.

But Nara Shikaku didn't care about the lives of the people of the Land of Rain. Even if it brought Hanzo of the Salamander out, faced with a choice between Konoha and the Konoha Rogue Ninja, Hanzo of the Salamander would only choose to help Konoha.

"Uchiha Itachi" wasn't an easy opponent. With Hanzo of the Salamander's help, killing "Uchiha Itachi" and taking back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would be much easier.

With one side deliberately stirring things up and the other willing to let it happen, the battle gradually shifted toward Amegakure.

Wherever they passed, forests burned, farmland was ruined, roads crumbled, and sand and stones flew everywhere. The battle left the land in chaos.

"Damn it!"

Pain's face darkened, and a murderous intent surged in his heart.

He stepped forward, ready to go out and kill the despicable lot himself.

Konan hurried over to stop him.

"Nagato, this isn't the time for you to show yourself."

"We're not ready yet. We shouldn't get into a major conflict with Konoha right now."

"Let me handle it!"

"I won't let them get near the village."

Pain looked back at Konan. Seeing the concern in her eyes warmed his heart. He stepped back and nodded.

"Fine. I'll leave it to you. Be careful, too. Those Konoha ninja aren't easy to deal with."

Konan nodded. Sheets of white paper peeled away from her body, then folded themselves into birds as if they were alive. They circled above her head before flying off in a flock.

Pain withdrew the Rain Tiger At Will Technique. The clouds covering the sky dispersed at a visible speed, and the unending rain finally stopped. Long-missed sunlight filtered through gaps in the clouds and fell upon the land. Only the puddles and damp air remained as proof that it had been raining.

"Oh, so you've finally appeared!"

As soon as the rain stopped, Uchiha An noticed. He immediately unleashed another Fire Style, forcing Ino-Shika-Cho and the others back. Then he dismissed Susanoo once more and sprang backward, facing off against the Konoha ninja from a distance.

When everyone looked up, they saw countless Paper Birds fluttering down from the sky as if returning to their nest. They landed between the two sides, unfolded, and joined together, merging and reshaping as they gradually formed a human silhouette.

When the last sheet of paper fell into place, the red clouds on the Akatsuki Organization's black cloak stirred gently in the wind, and Konan appeared before them. She spoke coldly:

"Konoha ninja, we warned you before not to cause any harm to the Land of Rain. Didn't you understand?"

Is she a Kekkei Genkai user?

The village intelligence reports hadn't mentioned anyone this powerful in the Land of Rain!

A glint flashed in Nara Shikamaru's eyes. He unconsciously stepped forward and said calmly:

"Please don't misunderstand. We have no ill intentions."

"It's just that this Uchiha Rogue Ninja seems to be trying to use your village's strength to escape Konoha's pursuit."

"If Amegakure is willing to help capture and kill this Konoha Rogue Ninja, Konoha would be deeply grateful."

Konan swept out her hand, sending a White Paper Whip across the ground between the group and Amegakure and leaving a long mark. Her expression cold, she said:

"Amegakure has nothing to do with Konoha's affairs. As long as you don't come any farther, who lives or dies is none of Amegakure's concern."

"But let me make this clear: if anyone tries to cross this line, it will be considered a provocation against Amegakure. I won't show any mercy."

Nara Shikaku found Konan's threat rather amusing.

A mere ninja from the Land of Rain dared to warn Konoha, the greatest village in the Ninja World. It was ridiculous.

But there were more important things to worry about. Their priority was to complete the mission, not pick a fight with ninja from a small country like the Land of Rain.

So Nara Shikaku readily nodded.

"We're only here to kill the rogue ninja. As long as Uchiha Itachi doesn't cross that line, we certainly won't cross it either."

After saying that, he looked coldly at "Uchiha Itachi" on the other side, his gaze full of provocation.

Weren't you planning to use the Land of Rain's strength to escape Konoha's pursuit?

Now the ninja from the Land of Rain have drawn a boundary. Go on, then. If you've got the guts, try crossing it!

To his surprise, Uchiha An didn't move forward at all. He only stood where he was and gave a cold laugh.

"Well, of course I won't cross the line. But the people from Konoha? That's another matter!"

After he spoke, he flicked his hand and tossed the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki he'd been carrying across the boundary.