Amegakure

That evening, Richard took out the materials he had traded from Tsunade and began reading them.

First was Sealing Technique, a field Richard found quite interesting. Seals and barriers were both fascinating. At their core, whether seals or barriers, they were still applications of energy, not all that different from Ninjutsu. Sealing Technique simply focused on suppression, restriction, and similar effects.

On the other side, Tsunade also took out the cultivation materials Richard had traded to her.

After a while, she put most of them away again, leaving only the parts related to Warrior combat techniques. The rest required a great deal of time to study and research carefully. They were traveling now, so it was not suitable for research.

On the contrary, she might be able to quickly learn these combat techniques.

Not every technique was compatible with Chakra as an energy system, so Tsunade could only try them herself.

Aside from things like "Momentum of Heaven and Earth," which had little to do with combat techniques and leaned more toward comprehending heaven and earth, Tsunade was naturally most interested in advanced techniques like "Lifting Heavy as Light" and "Lifting Light as Heavy."

In fact, Tsunade herself had gained some insight into "Lifting Light as Heavy," but she had not formed a complete system of techniques.

Her Strength of a Hundred Fists carried quite a bit of the flavor of "Lifting Light as Heavy."

Tsunade read while making gestures, trying to find the feeling of "Lifting Heavy as Light." Soon, though, she felt it was not quite right. As the manuals said, this was best practiced with a heavy weapon, preferably beside a waterfall.

Richard noticed her movements as well, and an idea came to him. "How about this? I'll make you a high-quality heavy weapon if you help me research the Clone Technique."

He had purchased clone-related Ninjutsu from the techniques Katsuyu had uploaded, but perhaps because the power systems were incompatible, his research had not gone smoothly. His Wind Element was only one Profound Truth of Clones away from comprehending all its Profound Mysteries, yet he had never figured out what Wind Clone truly was, so he had been unable to gain insight into it.

Naturally, he wanted to see whether he could draw parallels and gain some understanding in this Ninja World. As for Sealing Technique, he could research it anytime. Compared to that, the Profound Truth of Clones was more important.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She did not use weapons, so the offer was not particularly tempting to her, even if she currently needed a heavy weapon.

"I'll use metal with excellent energy conductivity, something similar to Chakra Conductive Metal in your world. It won't be cheap. Do you really not want it?" Richard asked.

"Can I have Shizune cooperate with your research instead?" Tsunade asked, somewhat tempted.

"Sure. As long as someone can cooperate with me," Richard said.

"Deal." Tsunade clapped her hands.

"Ah! Lady Tsunade..." Shizune called out weakly. She had not expected Tsunade to sell her off with a single sentence.

"Come, let's see which metal conducts Chakra best." Richard waved his hand and brought out several high-density ores. His Storage Ring contained more rare ores like these than he could count.

Tsunade went up and tested them one by one. If this batch did not work, they could always switch to another. Before long, she found an ore with excellent conductivity.

Then, after asking Tsunade what kind of weapon she wanted,

Richard used Divine Power to melt the ore, extract its impurities, and shape it into a broadsword. He then used Alchemy to imbue it with properties such as sturdiness and heaviness.

Soon, a broadsword weighing more than eight hundred jin was freshly forged.

This sword would have been nothing special in the Coiling Dragon World, and even Saint Domain experts would not look twice at it. Still, it was decent for those below Saint Domain. In the Ninja World, it was undoubtedly far stronger than any so-called famous blade. Of course, its weight of more than eight hundred jin was not something ordinary ninja could wield.

Tsunade could not use it without her Strength of a Hundred Fists, but with it activated, she could wield it normally.

Over the next few days, Tsunade swung the broadsword while studying the combat technique of "Lifting Heavy as Light," pretending not to see Shizune's resentful looks.

Meanwhile, Shizune cooperated with Richard, repeatedly performing every Clone Technique she knew. This included the Clone Technique from the Three Body Technique, Shadow Clone, Water Clone Technique, Earth Clone Technique, and more. For those she did not know, she learned them on the spot, since Richard had those Ninjutsu in hand.

At last, those few days had not been wasted. Richard found a small clue. He lavishly used Divine Power for experiments, creating one blurry figure after another.

At most, he had only found a hint of the right direction. He was still some distance away from getting started.

A few days later, they reached the Land of Rain, a country where it rained year-round, one that had once declared war on the Five Great Shinobi Villages alone during the Second Shinobi World War.

Unfortunately, its strength had not been enough to support its ambition. After the war, the Land of Rain had been battered into ruin, and its people lived in misery. Salamander Hanzo hid in Amegakure and no longer showed himself. That war had crushed his lofty aspirations. From then on, he only wanted to hole up in Amegakure and retire, turning a blind eye to the Land of Rain being ravaged by the Five Great Nations.

Amegakure was shrouded in endless rain. This small ninja village, believed by outsiders to be controlled by Salamander Hanzo, had actually changed masters in secret long ago. The one controlling it now was Akatsuki, a mercenary organization with some renown in the Ninja World, as well as the mastermind behind the coming decade of turmoil.

As for Salamander Hanzo, he had long since been killed by Nagato, the current leader of Akatsuki, and turned into one of the Six Paths Puppets. After all, he had joined forces with Konoha's Danzo to kill Yahiko, the first leader of Akatsuki.

If the first-generation Akatsuki had been a regional peace organization in the Land of Rain, then the second-generation Akatsuki was a terrorist organization that cast its shadow over the entire Ninja World.

Of course, no one could say what Akatsuki's future would be now, since Richard had set his sights on it.

More precisely, he had set his sights on Nagato's Rinnegan, Obito's Kamui Eye, and Black Zetsu, a creation of Yin-Yang Release.

Outside Amegakure, Richard, Tsunade, and Tsunade's little follower Shizune had arrived after a long journey.

A tiny Katsuyu lay on Tsunade's shoulder.

Bringing Tsunade and Shizune along had slowed him down considerably. The three of them had taken several days to reach the Land of Rain.

"That's far enough. If we go any farther, the hosts will notice us." Richard looked at the rain enveloping the entire ninja village. Nagato's Chakra was mixed within it, and any outsider entering would be detected.

Tsunade and Shizune also examined the village and rain before them. Only after careful observation did they notice the faint Chakra mixed into the rainwater. That was only because both were medical ninja with sufficiently keen Chakra perception.

"Too bad Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu aren't here." Richard spoke after carefully sensing the area with his spiritual power.

In truth, with the range of his current spiritual perception, he could encompass the entire Ninja World. Unfortunately, doing so might alert the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who was hiding somewhere unknown.

Thus, ever since arriving in the Ninja World, he had never used large-scale spiritual perception.

It was not that he feared the Sage of Six Paths. There were simply too many good things he had yet to obtain. What if they got damaged during a fight?

Then he would have to make some noise and lure Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu back.

"Let's go in," he said instead.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered now?" Tsunade teased.

"Now we need to make some noise and draw back those outside," Richard said.

"Then let's go." Tsunade stepped forward and quickly entered the area covered by rain.

Not long after she entered the rain-covered zone, at Amegakure's central tower,

"Someone has arrived. Konan, gather them and go meet our guests," said a thin young man with red hair.

"Nagato, your body..." Konan was deeply worried. Nagato's condition was worsening by the day. She did not know how much longer he could hold on.

"I'm fine. Our work isn't finished yet. How could I die now?" Nagato said.

Not long afterward, Richard and the others calmly watched as the surrounding crowd gradually thinned out. Then several people appeared before them in an encircling formation.

"Surrender without resistance. Since you haven't harmed the villagers, we won't harm you either," Konan said, dressed in a black robe patterned with red clouds.

"Tsunade, do you want to play with them?" Richard asked.

"Then let's play." Tsunade instantly appeared before Sasori of the Red Sands.

She threw a punch, and the person before her burst apart like wood chips.

Dozens of puppets swarmed toward her. Tsunade was instantly surrounded and attacked from all sides. However, she was not panicked. Though there were many puppets, to her, they were merely things she could destroy one at a time with a punch.

On the other side, the others wanted to support Sasori. But Richard felt that one opponent was enough for Tsunade. Any more, and he feared she might lose.

So he waved out several wind blades, blocking their path.

Konan, Kakuzu, and two nameless extras—Akatsuki at this time was not yet as overflowing with talent as it would be in the future, and Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu were absent as well.

With the attitude of someone playing around, Richard killed the two extras in less than two minutes. Kakuzu had three of his hearts destroyed and was ready to flee at any moment. Even Konan could no longer hold out, and the Six Paths of Pain appeared.

"Sure enough, only Konan is treasure. Everyone else in Akatsuki is just grass," Richard remarked.

"Who are you?" Deva Path Pain asked. He acted as though he had not heard Richard's remark.

"You guess." Richard sensed that Nagato's true body was still in the central tower, while two sneaky figures had also returned and were hiding somewhere dark without showing themselves.

Heh, then it was time to cast the net. In an instant, Richard suppressed the six Six Paths Puppets. With Divine Domain combined with Wind Space, he directly stored all six puppets in his Space Ring. After all, they were not living beings, so the ring could store them.

Then, with a flash, he arrived before Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu. Using the same combination of Divine Domain and Wind Space, he casually dug out Obito Uchiha's Kamui Eye and tossed it into the solution Tsunade had prepared.

He then sealed Black Zetsu inside a crystal ball.

Only afterward did he appear in the central tower. At that moment, Nagato had not even reacted to what had happened. He had only suddenly found himself unable to contact the Six Paths of Pain.

Seeing Richard suddenly appear before him, he finally realized that this guy must have been behind it.

He raised his hand, intending to unleash Super Shinra Tensei. At that moment, he no longer cared what would happen to his body. He only wanted the person before him dead.

Unfortunately, Richard was faster. With a wave of his hand, he restrained Nagato, removed his pair of Rinnegan, and even repaired his eyes in passing.

They simply were no longer Rinnegan. The Uzumaki Clan could never have produced Rinnegan in the first place. Even an ancestral mutation would not be enough; their bodies could not bear it. Even for the Uchiha Clan, evolving the Rinnegan was unimaginably difficult.

Richard even suspected that ordinary Uchiha could never evolve the Rinnegan at all. After all, the only two Uchiha who had evolved the Rinnegan were both reincarnations of Indra.