The Conspiracy in the Rain

In the eyes of the world, Uchiha Madara had long since died at the hands of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama.

After all, the battle between the two had shaken the heavens and earth.

Everyone knew about it. No one could claim otherwise.

That battle had even reshaped the map, creating the famous Valley of the End in the Ninja World.

Statues of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara still stood there to this day.

But Qingshui knew that the battle had been nothing more than one of Uchiha Madara's schemes.

Not only had he obtained Senju Hashirama's cells, he had also used the opportunity to fake his death and disappear, concealing himself behind the scenes as he began plotting the Moon Eye Plan.

The Rinnegan in Nagato's possession was the result of that scheme.

He had let his guard down!

Qingshui regretted it. He had thought his group wouldn't attract Uchiha Madara's attention.

Who would have guessed that Uchiha Madara would play by a different set of rules?

Wasn't Uchiha Obito supposed to be the chosen target?

Though he had no proof, Qingshui was certain that Uchiha Madara was behind the Rain Ninja's abnormal behavior, pulling strings in the background.

After all, Uchiha Madara was ruthless enough to control even Kirigakure. What could a mere Amegakure possibly do against him?

The so-called "Demigod," Hanzo of the Salamander, was no different from an ordinary person in Uchiha Madara's eyes.

Uchiha Madara looked down on every ninja except Senju Hashirama, without exception.

But it was too late for regrets now.

Since Uchiha Madara was behind all this, there was a very good chance the Rain Ninja had been ordered to kill them at any cost.

The goal was to make Mikoto awaken her Mangekyō Sharingan.

After all, Uchiha Madara could only be targeting Mikoto, a member of the Uchiha Clan.

With that in mind, Qingshui defended himself against the Rain Ninja's attacks as he spoke to Mikoto.

"Mikoto, these Rain Ninja are clearly trying to kill us. If this drags on, Tomoki and Ayami will be in danger."

Of the five of them, Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami were the only true Genin.

In a situation like this, they could easily become exploitable weaknesses.

After hearing Qingshui, Mikoto fell silent for a moment. Then she gritted her teeth and said, "Since the Rain Ninja are the ones who started this, there's no need to hold back."

Konoha had always believed in keeping the peace, but that didn't mean they would meekly tolerate their enemies.

With permission from Mikoto, their Jonin leader, Qingshui stopped holding back.

At his current level of strength, even a Jonin from Amegakure would be no match for him, let alone these Chunin and Genin.

In almost an instant, Qingshui had taken out every Rain Ninja who had surrounded him.

At the same time, the Jonin who had been holding Mikoto back fell under a Genjutsu.

Although he was a Jonin too, Jonin from a Small Ninja Village were far weaker than their title suggested. Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, he would have ranked no higher than a Special Jonin.

Naturally, he was no match for Mikoto. Once she activated her Sharingan, she could defeat him in an instant.

But Mikoto didn't kill him. She planned to deal with the other Rain Ninja first, then interrogate him for information.

After glancing at Minato, who was about to finish off his opponent, Qingshui and Mikoto immediately went to help Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami.

There was no need to say more. In just a few breaths, every Rain Ninja who had attacked them had fallen, except for their Jonin leader.

"Are you two all right?" Qingshui asked with concern.

"We're fine." Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami both shook their heads.

Thanks to their training over the past few days, their strength had improved. They weren't easily beaten by Rain Ninja Genin, and neither of them had even been injured.

Meanwhile, Mikoto began interrogating the Jonin from Amegakure.

With her Sharingan, she had a tremendous advantage when it came to interrogating enemies.

Mikoto soon obtained the information.

"Someone named Aonosuke gave them orders to kill us at any cost."

"Aonosuke?"

Qingshui looked bewildered. He was sure he had never heard that name before.

In fact, Hanzo of the Salamander was the only person in Amegakure he knew by name.

"He's a high-ranking member of Amegakure's Radical Faction," Mikoto briefly explained.

Qingshui now understood who Aonosuke was.

He realized that Aonosuke was the scapegoat for Uchiha Madara's scheme.

"Should we kill him?" Qingshui asked, referring to the Jonin still trapped in Mikoto's Genjutsu.

"No. We'll keep him as evidence for negotiations with Amegakure."

After a conflict like this, Konoha and Amegakure would certainly have to negotiate. With evidence, Konoha could claim the moral high ground.

But just as Mikoto finished speaking, a Kunai flew in and killed the Jonin.

"Who's there?"

Everyone went on high alert, but they couldn't spot a single enemy.

If the Kunai that had killed the Jonin hadn't been lying in plain sight before them, they might have thought the whole thing was just an illusion.

But that only made them more uneasy.

Although none of the five were sensory-type ninjas, they still had ten eyes between them. And yet they hadn't spotted a single ninja.

If their attacker had targeted them instead of the Jonin, all five of them might already have been wiped out.

It had definitely been White Zetsu. The goal was to silence the witness.

When he realized they couldn't find any trace of their attacker, Qingshui immediately thought of White Zetsu.

Aside from White Zetsu, who had the Mayfly Technique, he couldn't think of anyone in the Ninja World who could kill someone without revealing himself in front of all five of them.

White Zetsu's attack further confirmed Qingshui's suspicions.

Uchiha Madara had been plotting behind the scenes of this Rain Ninja ambush.

Though Qingshui didn't know why Uchiha Madara had changed targets, he did know one thing: they couldn't stay here.

"We need to leave immediately."

Mikoto agreed without hesitation.

But Uchiha Madara's schemes weren't so easy to escape.

They were already surrounded by Rain Ninja. Dozens of them appeared on the surrounding hillsides.

At their head stood the leader of Amegakure, the man known as the "Demigod"—Hanzo of the Salamander.

In this era, when godlike figures were nowhere to be seen, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest people in the Ninja World.

His position was no lower than that of the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

When such a powerful figure appeared before them with his forces, Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami, both Genin, were already frozen with fear.

Even Minato, the young genius, didn't look much better than the two of them.

Only Qingshui and Mikoto managed to stay calm.

Gripping his Ninja Sword, Qingshui looked at Hanzo of the Salamander standing above them, without a trace of fear in his eyes.

If he used every trump card at his disposal without restraint, even Hanzo of the Salamander, the so-called "Demigod," wouldn't be his match.

But what concerned Qingshui was that Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu would inevitably learn everything that had happened here.

Meanwhile, Mikoto, as their Jonin leader, was the first to speak.

"Lord Hanzo, did your Rain Ninja attack us in order to start another war with Konoha?"