As long as the money was safe. The people? Whatever.

The Raikage wasn't sure if there were any other Konoha Ninja nearby, and even if he was sure there weren't, he wouldn't dare to make a move easily.

It's impossible that Konoha only sent Tōka to Tanzaku Town. Could it be because their plan to ambush and Hiruko in conjunction with the Tsuchikage has been exposed?

Raikage frowned, his mind suddenly filled with wild ideas.

If Tōka is merely bait to lure out a larger fish, does that mean that Konoha's main force has already begun to surround him and the Tsuchikage?

Two members of the Cloud Ninja Guard Team have fallen, and the remaining two need to take care of their teammates. As for the Tsuchikage...

Even though the two sides were allies and attacked Konoha, the Raikage never trusted Ōnoki.

Even with his incredibly rich thought process, it only lasted a mere ten seconds before the Raikage, feeling the urge to retreat, made his decision in the blink of an eye.

"Raikage..." The Tsuchikage floated high in the sky, looking down.

On the ravaged land, layers of churned soil stretched as far as the eye could see, the yellowish mud standing out starkly against the grassland.

A bolt of lightning streaked past at breakneck speed, and Raikage flashed back to the Cloud Ninja Guard Team's camp.

With almost no pause, he waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

"Raikage?!" Only then did Ōnoki realize that the Raikage was actually planning to retreat. Wasn't this just sabotaging his teammates?

How could you just leave like that... cough, just like that?

The Raikage is incredibly fast, so the Shadow Guard are naturally no slower.

A Cloud Ninja Jonin, and the five of them sped off towards the Northeast, quickly disappearing into the distance at the edge of the Plain.

"Lord Tsuchikage, what should we do?" a Stone Ninja Jonin in the Tsuchikage Guard Team asked in a low voice.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, it was easy to tell from his expression.

That means that since the Raikage and the Cloud Ninja have retreated, there's no need for them to stay and Hiruko to the death.

One more thing: Konoha Ninja Tōka appeared in Tanzaku Town, so the other Konoha Ninja should be not far away.

Especially the speed of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was almost instantaneous.

"What a coward, let's retreat!" Although Ōnoki was old, he wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he became more shrewd with age. The Raikage had already run away, so he wasn't going to be foolish enough to stay and waste Iwagakure's strength!

At the Tsuchikage's command, four members of the Iwagakure) Shadow Guard swiftly disappeared into the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the auras of the four people were felt to have faded away, while Ōnoki himself floated into the sky like a balloon.

Less than three minutes later, after the Raikage and his group left, the Tsuchikage and his group also left.

Scorpion slowly put away a Scroll inscribed with the word "Lightning." "Looks like we won't need it."

"Are you alright?" Tōka gestured with his lips, intending to ask if Qian was alright, but then hesitated and didn't know how to say it, so he changed his question to asking if Xie was alright.

"It's nothing, let's go." Scorpion replied indifferently, then turned and slowly walked towards the Land of Rain.

Tōka awkwardly opened his mouth, thinking, "I don't care if you're alright! Where's the money? The most important thing is whether the money's alright!"

His handsome little face scrunched up, and he struggled with the decision for a long time.

Tōka ultimately didn't voice his true feelings; he didn't want to be poisoned by a scorpion and then spend half a month in bed.

The Land of Rain, a country where it rains all year round, is divided and embroiled in civil war, with constant warfare, as if even the heavens are weeping for this country.

The tears seemed endless, falling day and night.

Until a man claiming to be God appeared...

On the tallest Tower in the Land of Rain, Deva Path casually leaned against the Rooftop, tilting his head back and letting the raindrops fall and slide down his clothes.

In the silent world, only the pitter-patter of rain could be heard, and he silently watched the raindrops fall from the sky.

Suddenly, the Deva Path Dao, who had been lost in thought, narrowed its eyes slightly.

A detached voice followed, hollow and lifeless, like the voice of a soulless puppet.

"Konan, bring Xie and Tōka over here."

"Scorpion and Tōka? I understand." The blue-haired beauty with Red Clouds on a Black Background responded softly, then transformed into pieces of flying paper and drifted away in one direction.

Walking on the street in the pouring rain, pedestrians hurried by.

Residents rarely go out except when necessary, and even when they do, they seldom use umbrellas, which is a characteristic of the Land of Rain.

At that moment, two dark figures gradually approached through the misty rain.

In the rain, the outline of a dark figure could be vaguely seen.

He was only three and a half inches tall, like a chubby little gourd, and a long Coat with Red Clouds on a Black Background wrapped him up completely.

It makes a rhythmic creaking sound when it walks, like the sound of a prosthetic limb moving.

Another dark figure emerged from the rain, its features becoming clearer. Despite being dressed as a boy, it looked even cuter than a girl.

Dressed casually and carrying an Oil-Paper Umbrella, he walked unhurriedly in the rain.

It's an incredibly beautiful painting, so beautiful that it suddenly evokes a feeling of not wanting to disturb it.

"Everyone's looking at you." Scorpion disliked being stared at, and a hint of murderous intent lingered in his hoarse voice.

"Look at me? Maybe it's because I'm more handsome!" Tōka took his other hand out of his pocket and wiped his cheek, then said in a serious tone.

A row of black lines appeared on Scorpion's forehead; that wasn't the reason at all!

Tōka's attire was originally in the style of the Land of Fire, yet she still flaunted it by carrying an umbrella upon entering the Land of Rain, as if afraid others wouldn't know she was an outsider.

"Why is a ninja like you carrying an umbrella?" Sasori said unhappily.

"Why are you holding an umbrella? Of course, it's to keep out the rain!" Tōka rolled her eyes at Xie, unable to believe that Xie would ask such an idiotic question.

Scorpion was also speechless at Tōka's retort. Of course, he wasn't really asking Tōka why he was holding an umbrella.

It's a rhetorical question, implying that a ninja like you has absolutely no need to carry an umbrella!

"Weren't you hiding inside Hiruko too?" Before Sasori could speak, Tōka glanced at him disdainfully and casually remarked.

Scorpion's face immediately darkened. He hadn't been inside the Hiruko at all to avoid the rain!

With a cold snort, Scorpion had completely lost the desire to speak to Tōka.

Just then, a roll of white paper flew through the air, transforming into a white line that drifted from afar and then coalesced into a human figure.

It was none other than the blue-haired beauty beside Deva Path, Konan, who had come to greet Tōka and Sasori using the Paper Dance.

"Rain Tiger At Will Technique? What a convenient ability!" Tōka glanced at Konan, who was flying in the air with two large wings on her back.

Rain Tiger At Will Technique: This is Sensory Ninjutsu that allows one to freely control the rain by infusing their own chakra into it.

In the Land of Rain, it rains every week except Sunday.

Besides the reasons inherent to the Land of Rain itself, it was also because Nagato used his vast chakra to create Rain Clouds and then caused them to fall.

Every drop of rain that falls during the activation of the Jutsu Formula is closely connected to Nagato's senses.

In the Land of Rain, chakra can block out the rain. If an outsider enters the area covered by rain, Nagato will sense them instantly.

A very powerful, wide-range Sensory Technique, which is extremely useful for Nagato to monitor the situation in the Land of Rain.

"Scorpion, is the money safe?" Konan didn't even glance at Tōka and asked directly.

Scorpion knew Akatsuki's base and didn't need Konan to lead the way.

The reason Nagato sent Konan to greet the two was certainly not to greet the "people," but to greet the "money"!

"Don't worry," Scorpion replied indifferently; he didn't have much feeling for women.

In Scorpion's eyes, "woman" and "man" are just two different names. Scorpion only sees two kinds of people, but definitely not men and women.

Rather, it refers to people who can create Human Puppet people who cannot!

"Let's go, Pain is waiting for you." Konan glanced coldly at Tōka, then turned and flew away.

Tōka squinted at Konan's retreating figure; this guy had always harbored a deep-seated hostility towards him!

Was it a woman's intuition? Or had she already sensed her purpose in approaching Nagato?

It should be the first possibility!

Should we find an opportunity to eliminate him?

The immature thought One Flash and was quickly buried deep within him. Firstly, Nagato was still somewhat useful, and secondly, Tōka really wasn't sure if he could beat Konan.

"What are you thinking about? Everyone's gone." Scorpion said with a hint of mockery when he saw Tōka staring at Konan's back without even blinking.

Click!

The sound was like dried stone cracking. Tōka stared blankly at Sasori. This guy was definitely not Sasori; it must be Yamato in disguise!

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and catch up." Konan's icy voice rang out, and Tōka and Xie fell silent instantly.

One person Earth Flow with an umbrella, while another trudged along, hidden in the Hiruko.

The rain drizzled down, and the sky was always covered by a layer of dark clouds. In the Land of Rain, the number of days when the sun could be seen was very limited.

In the blink of an eye, the three figures disappeared into the misty rain.

Deep within the Land of Rain, atop the Tower where the gods reside.

Knock knock!

Two muffled thuds sounded as the heavy crates fell to the floor.

Although the mission did not take much time, Sasori lost a significant number of puppets in his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.

Scorpion's only thought now was to repair his puppets; he left two large boxes behind and departed.

Deva Path glanced at Konan, gesturing for her to put the box away.

Konan nodded slightly, then, carrying the large box containing the huge sum of money, disappeared into the depths of the passage under Tōka's intense gaze.

For a moment, only Deva Path and Tōka remained atop the Tower.

"What are your plans next?" Deva Path stared intently at Tōka and asked in a deep voice.

"I'll train for a while first; I feel quite weak." Tōka had long planned to use the Tsuchi-e no Jutsu to leave Konoha, and this plan would continue for nearly thirteen years until the start of the story.

Tōka has things she needs to accomplish, things that she naturally cannot let Nagato know.

Upon hearing this, Deva Path scrutinized Tōka with a serious expression, looking her over from head to toe, and then from toe to head.

"That's true. If you need anything, I can help you."

"..." Tōka stared at Deva Path with dead fish eyes.

The atmosphere became strange. Deva Path looked at Tōka with a calm expression, while Tōka stared back at Deva Path expressionlessly.

What you look at, what I look at...

In the end.

"I'll contact you if I need anything!" Tōka uttered slowly, the fakeness of his smile invisible to himself.

As soon as she finished speaking, Tōka didn't give Deva Path a chance to continue, and turned to walk towards the dark passage.

Stepping out of the tallest tower in the Land of Rain, the oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly.

As expected of the Rinnegan, it exudes a mysterious and oppressive aura.

Standing outside the Tower, Tōka picked up the Oil-Paper Umbrella beside her.

Suddenly, a breath of fresh air, carrying a faint fragrance, wafted over, and Tōka immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.

Gazing intently...

A graceful figure stood tall, holding a small white umbrella in the misty drizzle.

"Bai?" Tōka called out uncertainly.

I hadn't seen you for a while, I almost didn't recognize you.

Compared to when I first saw Bai, the Bai in front of me looked much better.

In the rain, Bai, under the umbrella, always had a faint smile on her lips, which was both kind and approachable, yet carried a hint of aloof politeness.

"Lord Tōka, you've finally arrived!" The smile on Bai's lips was a genuine one, reaching to his eyes and pleasing to the eye.

A lotus flower unsullied by mud? For some reason, this phrase suddenly popped into Tōka's mind.

This is somewhat different from the planned crimson snow!

Oh well, let's just let things take their course. Maybe this kind of white isn't so bad.

"Yes, I said I would come." Tōka smiled as she looked at Bai, amidst the misty drizzle and the lotus blossoms blooming under the white umbrella.

"Sister Konan has already prepared a room for you." Bai felt a little strange being stared at by Tōka's direct gaze.

A tempting blush crept onto her small face.

She couldn't look directly into those dark eyes, so she turned away and pretended to take a step forward. "Sister Konan said that you probably don't like being with Senior Scorpion either."

"Therefore, the room was arranged in the Rain Pine Forest."

"Rain Pine Forest?" Tōka raised an eyebrow. The name was nice, but why did it feel a little strange?

"Yes, Sister Pakura and Sister Konan both live in Rain Pine Forest." Bai tilted her head and said in a very cute way.

At that moment, Tōka was savoring Bai's words and didn't notice the One Flash beautiful scene.

No wonder it felt so out of place; it turns out it's a girls' dormitory!

Having figured everything out, Tōka's expression instantly changed, darkening as he turned as black as the bottom of a pot. "Are you looking down on me or something?"

They actually assigned the room to the girls' dormitory?

And that reason is so flimsy! If you're going to monitor someone, fine, but what does it mean you don't like living with Scorpion?

Tōka certainly wouldn't like living with Xie; he's a normal man!

Precisely because he's a normal man, he shouldn't be living in the girls' dormitory!

"Let's go." Tōka waved his hand unhappily, signaling Bai to lead the way.

I don't stoop to the level of women!

Surveillance? Hmph, probably just coveting my good looks... cough, my handsome face.

The rain was falling softly. Under the yellowed Oil-Paper Umbrella and the pure white umbrellas, Tōka and Bai walked one after the other in the rain.

Gradually, it disappeared into the depths of the misty drizzle...