Rain poured steadily, filling the air with a thin mist. At a glance, it looked as if they were in a dream.
The Dark Dawn members who had just withdrawn from the Land of Fire gathered in the ruins of a town.
Seated beneath a crumbling wall, Scorpion meticulously maintained his puppets.
Nearby,
Deidara complained to Hidan about the wretched weather in the Rain Country, while Juzo Biwa quietly wiped the Kubikiribōchō in his arms.
Kakuzu sat silently in a corner, and Ranmaru stood in the rain, gazing into the distance.
The attack on Konoha had been hastily launched and ended in a messy retreat. Nearly everyone had been injured, including Obito and Zetsu. As for Hiruko, he had even lost both arms on the battlefield.
Worse than their defeat on the battlefield was the fact that the Kara Organization had reaped the benefits, appearing halfway through the battle and snatching away the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, their target.
Standing in the rain as well, Obito asked Zetsu, "Why did they choose this place to gather?"
"Who knows?"
Zetsu shrugged, indicating that the Kara Organization hadn't explained its reasons to him.
Obito's expression immediately darkened.
Their failure to capture Naruto had clearly caused their standing in Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's eyes to plummet, which was obviously bad for their plans.
Obito and Zetsu intended to take advantage of the conflict between Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and "A," profiting from the chaos and looking for an opportunity to reclaim the Rinnegan and Ten-Tails that "A" had taken from Nagato.
To do that, they first needed to earn Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's trust and support. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the heart of the plan.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Just then, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi pierced the curtain of rain and arrived at the gathering place.
"Orochimaru!"
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