Under the moonlight, two figures stood atop a mountain not far from Kirigakure, silently gazing at the distant shinobi village shrouded in rain and mist.
One of them was a slender woman. Her simple outfit left nearly all of her smooth back exposed, and she wore a Sand shinobi Forehead Protector with a slash through it. She was none other than the former hero of Sunagakure, Scorch Style Pakura.
Beside her stood a figure who seemed almost to blend into the darkness. He was concealed from head to toe in a black robe, with an expressionless, milky-white mask over his face. He was Lan, disguised as The Fool.
"You're sure someone's going to target Kirigakure soon?
"Kirigakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, after all. I heard the Fourth Mizukage is a perfect Jinchuriki. In an environment like the Land of Water, a Mizukage's power would be greatly enhanced. Even another Kage wouldn't be able to do anything to him, right?
"And Kirigakure has plenty of other strong shinobi, too. Are you sure those people aren't just looking to get themselves killed?"
Unable to believe Lan's prediction, Pakura couldn't help asking again.
"So what if he's a Mizukage? Even the Fourth Hokage of Konoha and his wife, as powerful as they were, died without knowing what hit them.
"In this dangerous world, no one is absolutely safe.
"Since you come from Sunagakure, you should understand that better than most."
There was no doubt Lan was referring to the Third Kazekage, who had once possessed Magnet Release and could control Iron Sand.
This powerful shinobi, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history, had vanished without a trace from his own village. To stabilize morale, Sunagakure insisted that the Third Kazekage had been killed in a plot by Konoha, the strongest shinobi village. That incident then became the fuse that ignited the Third Shinobi World War.
Though she had already betrayed Sunagakure, thinking about it still made Pakura feel ashamed. It was arguably the most humiliating incident in Sunagakure's history.
Of course, if she had known what would happen to the Fourth and Fifth Kazekage, she would have realized that being Sunagakure's Kazekage was an extremely dangerous job.
But more than that, Lan's words gave Pakura the impression that he had a different understanding of the deaths of the former Third Kazekage and, more recently, the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Could he know something about exactly how these powerful shinobi had died?
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, in particular. In a way, the end of the Third Shinobi World War had been tied to him.
The Fourth Hokage, known as the Yellow Flash, had died on the same night as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The other shinobi villages had sent people to confirm it again and again. Otherwise, they never would have believed that the troublesome enemy who had given them so much trouble had been dealt with in such an absurd manner.
A person's reputation preceded them, and Pakura was naturally curious about the exact circumstances of the Fourth Hokage and his wife's deaths. She couldn't imagine what kind of person could have caught two shinobi like them off guard.
Unfortunately, Lan wasn't in the mood to share what he knew with Pakura.
At that moment, he was thinking back to the unremarkable Uchiha Obito who had once been his classmate.
The thought of Obito, that dead-last loser, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan through Madara's schemes left him feeling deeply dissatisfied.
Now, with just one Mangekyō Sharingan, Obito had become a force stirring up trouble from behind the scenes in the Ninja World. Lan couldn't stand the idea of being outdone by him.
Obito had the Mangekyō Sharingan, while Lan possessed the even more powerful Tenseigan. There was no way he could end up doing worse than Obito.
One day, he would fool all the people of this world and become the god who controlled their fates from behind the scenes. He would make the name The Fool a reality.
The night was about to end. As dawn faintly brightened the horizon,
when people were at their least wary, turmoil erupted in Kirigakure.
Squads of Anbu Ninja surrounded the Kekkei Genkai clans, led by the Kaguya Clan. Clearly, the village's leadership under the Mizukage had learned in advance that these powerful clans were about to rebel, so they had chosen to strike first.
But the Kekkei Genkai clans, led by the Kaguya Clan, naturally refused to surrender without a fight.
Soon, the whole of Kirigakure was locked in battle. As casualties mounted, the white mist that had shrouded the village turned red with blood, becoming a bloody fog. That was how the Bloody Mist Rebellion got its name.
In the end, the Kaguya and Yuki Clans, powerful as they were, couldn't stand against the entire village. Before long, they began to lose ground.
At last, only the Kaguya Clan Head and the Yuki Clan Head managed to break out of the encirclement with a small group of followers. But Kirigakure clearly had no intention of letting them escape. A handful of shinobi went to report to the Mizukage, while the rest began pursuing the fugitives.
Following behind the force pursuing the Kaguya Clan Head and the Yuki Clan Head were two figures in Blood-Red Cloud Robes. They were Kakuzu and Sasori of the Akatsuki.
"They split up. I'll go after the Kaguya Clan Head. The Yuki Clan Head is yours. Make sure you bring him back in one piece. I want to turn him into a new work of art."
At Sasori's request, Kakuzu's green eyes widened. "You do know the Yuki Clan Head is a powerful shinobi with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, right?
"Fighting someone like that means I'll have to give it my all. I can't afford to let my guard down. What you're asking might be difficult..."
Kakuzu still wanted to claim the bounty on the man's head. The Yuki Clan Head had a price of thirty million in the black market. Sasori had just asked him to let the prize slip right out of his grasp. Even if they were fellow members of the organization, Kakuzu couldn't let anyone break his rules.
"If you really want the Yuki Clan Head's body intact, there's only one way..."
"What way?"
"You'll have to pay extra!"
Karatachi Yagura followed three Anbu members out of Kirigakure to pursue the fleeing Kaguya Clan Head. The four moved quickly, stopping only when they reached a small island by the sea, far from Kirigakure.
The place was desolate and clearly unsuitable as a hiding spot. Unless the Kaguya Clan Head had completely lost his head, he wouldn't have run somewhere like this.
Frowning as he sensed something was wrong, Karatachi Yagura turned and asked, "Did you take a wrong turn? This place..."
But the three Anbu's faces suddenly changed. Before long, they had become three strange, entirely white figures. They were White Zetsu.
"Something's wrong. Who are you?"
Karatachi Yagura raised his weapon and demanded an answer from the White Zetsu before him.
Looking at the three White Zetsu, he was surprised by how skillful their Transformation Technique was. He hadn't noticed anything amiss before.
Fortunately, judging by their chakra, the three White Zetsu weren't very powerful. So although things had taken an unexpected turn, he didn't panic.
Just as he was about to take them out, the White Zetsu stepped aside, making way for six figures in Blood-Red Cloud Robes.
"So you're the ones behind this. I have to admire your nerve, daring to target me. Wait, those eyes...!
"Who are you?"
As Pain and the others approached, Karatachi Yagura noticed their unusual eyes. The moment he realized what they were, his expression changed.
How is this possible?
Could those eyes be the legendary Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths?
Why are there six pairs? That can't be right!
The appearance of even a single Rinnegan would have been astonishing. Seeing six pairs at once, Karatachi Yagura almost wondered if he had fallen under a genjutsu.
Deva Path Pain stepped forward and pointed at Karatachi Yagura.
"We are Pain. We are God."
"Your power is mine now."