The Allied Shinobi Forces quickly crossed the border and quietly entered the Land of Rain.
Clouds and rain shrouded the land year-round. It had always been sparsely populated, but now it was so quiet it felt almost lifeless.
Ōnoki stared ahead, his expression growing graver. "It's too quiet... It shouldn't be like this."
"It's as if..." Mei Terumi said slowly, "the battlefield was deliberately cleared."
"Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
Before he'd finished speaking, Ōnoki shot into the air.
The clouds churned as a white shape emerged from the mist—a giant clay bird soaring across the sky, its wings beating as it exuded a suffocating pressure.
"It's... Deidara!!!"
Ōnoki roared, his voice shaking the heavens.
"Yo, old man. Long time no see." Deidara sat cross-legged on the bird's back, wearing that signature fanatical grin. "You old-timers sure are persistent. You just had to come this way, huh?"
Mei Terumi looked up, her gaze tightening.
Just then, the branches in the forest stirred, and faint rustling seemed to foretell what was coming.
Several figures appeared one after another—
Sasori wore the Akatsuki cloak, his puppet body slowly drawing closer;
Konan stood on high ground, paper wings unfurling behind her as scraps of paper fluttered in the wind;
Kakuzu folded his arms and coldly surveyed the Allied forces;
Orochimaru smiled faintly, his gaze sinister and his presence strange;
Hidan laughed excitedly.
And walking at the very front was Nagato. Though he'd lost his Rinnegan, his presence still seized the heart.
Mei Terumi's gaze narrowed. "The Akatsuki...?"
"It looks that way," Ōnoki said gravely, "but something's... off."
The Akatsuki members were also sizing up the Allied forces.
Nagato slowly closed his eyes. He released the sensory ability unique to the Uzumaki Clan and immediately picked out the targets among the troops.
He opened his eyes,