Crisis in the Land of Rain

Throughout the entire year of Konoha Year 43, Nawaki had not had a single idle day. While using the Anbu to monitor developments across the shinobi world, he had also been making every kind of preparation for the coming war.

However, near the end of the year, Nawaki received two pieces of classified intelligence that reminded him of an important event he had nearly forgotten.

One report came from an informant within Root, while the other came from an Anbu outpost in the Land of Rain.

The first report roughly stated that Danzo, who had only recently quieted down for a while, was stirring up trouble again. He had been in close contact with the Land of Rain and had secretly dispatched a large number of personnel there.

The second report was that Hanzo had taken the initiative to invite Akatsuki's three leaders to a meeting.

The moment Nawaki saw these two reports, he realized that Hanzo intended to join forces with Root against Akatsuki!

In the original story, Yahiko had died in this despicable ambush. Driven by Yahiko's death, Nagato had embarked on that edgy and terrifying path of "making the world know pain." The string of tragedies that later befell the shinobi world had all begun with this incident.

Yahiko's death actually had nothing to do with Black Zetsu or Madara. It had been entirely caused by Danzo and Hanzo. Without that tragedy, Obito, while posing as Uchiha Madara, would likely have found it difficult to manipulate Nagato from the shadows into forming Akatsuki and collecting the Tailed Beasts.

With Yahiko's belief in peace and the bond between the three of them, there was no way Nagato and Akatsuki would have been deceived by the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan.

Still, perhaps Black Zetsu and Madara had