The Uchiha Close Ranks / The Final Stop: Otogakure

Boom!

Nagato took a step back, his face grim.

"Looks like this isn't the original." Uchiha Shingen looked at him. "Same amount, but you're clearly a bit weaker."

Nagato remained silent.

The facts are clear: Uchiha Shingen truly possessed the same Rinnegan as him, even sharing the same abilities.

Nagato, who always used the Rinnegan to fight, never really thought about how to deal with another pair of Rinnegan.

But having been a leader for so many years, he still has some experience in dealing with this situation.

"What is the next step you mentioned?"

"Good move." Uchiha Shingen gave Nagato a thumbs-up. He could tell that Nagato was in a rather wavering state, so he didn't tease him further and started to get down to business.

"The Chunin Ninja Exams are about to begin. Is Rain Village participating? If so, how many people will participate? Give me a list."

Chapter 40 The Uchiha Clan Forming a Group

"You brought so many people here, killing people along the way, just for this?" Nagato asked.

"How can you say that? Don't you understand the concept of ritual? I'm the head of the ANBU now, how can I be the boss if I don't show off a bit?" Uchiha Shingen solemnly recounted his ninja workplace experience to the other party, "For someone like me who is parachuted in, I have to find a powerful force to mess with him at the beginning, otherwise the subordinates will just outwardly comply but inwardly defy me."

"If you want to establish your authority, you should eliminate your own people." Nagato took a deep breath for the first time. "The effect would be even better if I killed Hanzo."

Did you kill Hanzo? You killed his entire family, and a bunch of his close associates too.

Am I such a cruel person? Of course not.

"No way, there are only a few reliable ones, I can't bear to part with them. You're different, you have a lot of spies, why not take them down? After I led them through a few waves, they really like me now."

"But you even killed the Rain Ninja." Nagato took a second deep breath.

"Well, I have to say something to you here. Aren't you spoiling them too much? What's wrong with you? You come up to them like they're all royalty, treating them like they're nothing special."

Nagato: "..."

Can you come up with a plausible excuse? Which Rain Ninja to provoke you?

"I will teach them well, but..." Nagato took one last deep breath, "Next time, I hope you will give me, your ally, at least the basic respect."

"Yes, Nagato. Just look at Cloud Village, and you'll know how much I respect my allies," Uchiha Shingen said with a smile. "Besides, I'm a very loyal person. If I'm hurt by my own people, I'll be heartbroken for the rest of my life."

Nagato habitually dismissed it as nonsense.

However, he understood what Uchiha Shingen meant.

"Me too," he replied curtly, then turned and left.

As Uchiha Shingen watched his untamed figure disappear into the distance, he began to wonder if this meant Amegakure had refused his invitation.

Just then, a voice drifted over from the other side.

"Amegakure will definitely participate. The list is in the village. You come here."

"Just join, why make it so awkward?" Uchiha Shingen sighed.

He activated Flying Thunder God and appeared beside Yamanaka Fū.

Yamanaka Fū instinctively turned around to deliver a fatal blow.

Then he recognized the new boss.

"Lord Shingen, I'm so sorry, I thought..."

"It's nothing." Uchiha Shingen looked at the others and noticed that everyone was covered in blood.

"Everyone's been busy, haven't they?" Uchiha Shingen nodded. "We didn't suffer any losses, did we?"

"No, after the people from Rain Village arrived, things basically quieted down."

"Oh?" Uchiha Shingen sensed it.

Konan is here too, what a coincidence! Let's go over and show off a bit.

As for Nagato, he's heading in Konan's direction.

"Let's go over there too," he said. "Our ally has arrived; we can't leave without saying hello. Our main mission is to visit Amegakure."

He felt that the way people were looking at him was a little strange, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

He felt this was a result of his authority as the leader having been fully established.

Love is like a tornado, it always comes unexpectedly. A real man not only faces the praise of others, but also says in the most heroic tone—"Go harder! Don't stop!"

"Yes."

The original Root ninjas responded in unison, full of energy, as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

A group of people followed Uchiha Shingen towards the direction where the Rain Ninja were.

On the way, as expected, they encountered scattered groups of third-party forces.

With the admirable spirit and noble sentiment of "the enemy of my ally is my enemy," Uchiha Shingen naturally ordered his subordinates to cut down any enemy they saw, and to kill any group of them.

Therefore, when the Rain Ninja discovered these menacing Konoha Ninja, their first impression was not good.

They thought these people were there to kill them.

Nagato's expression was even more unpleasant.

"Didn't I just tell you to give your allies basic respect?" He looked at Uchiha Shingen walking towards him and told himself to stay calm.

"We are allies, as close as family, why distinguish between us?" Uchiha Shingen waved his hand. "I just saw some spies on the road, I'll kill them all for you."

"The affairs of the Land of Rain are best handled by the Land of Rain itself. I ask that everyone in Leaf Village refrain from interfering too much in our internal affairs." After saying this in a calm tone, Nagato turned and called to Konan, "Konan, let's take everyone from Leaf Village back to discuss the Joint Chunin Exams."

But Konan didn't move; she was staring at Uchiha Shingen.

The Rain Ninja are the same.

The original Root ninjas held their heads high.

Turning back from the main entrance.

Are you showing off your eyes to your allies?

"Huh?" Uchiha Shingen seemed to only then realize that he hadn't turned off his Rinnegan. "Sorry, I forgot to turn it off... Wait, don't you always keep it on? So you've been showing off, haven't you?"

Nagato away, really not wanting to talk to this person.

However, he had been quite puzzled about this before.

Since the Rinnegan is Dōjutsu), it should be able to be turned off, but it has been like this ever since he activated it when he was a child.

As for how he awakened the Rinnegan, he had no recollection of it. He only remembered that when his parents died before his eyes, his mind went completely blank. When he regained consciousness, the Konoha Ninja killed his parents were also dead.

He tried turning them off, but it didn't work, so he eventually gave up on them. Anyway, as long as he didn't use his eyes intentionally, they didn't take up much of his energy, except that he got hungry easily.

Moreover, constantly looking at people with those eyes helps him intimidate members of the organization.

But... I just feel really uncomfortable right now.

"I don't have time for your smooth talk. Do you still want the list?" Nagato said.

"Of course I do, it's my job this time."

"What list?" Konan, who had recovered from the shock of discovering that another pair of Rinnegan had appeared in the world, quickly asked upon hearing this.

"This is the list of your Amegakure participating in the Joint Chunin Exams," said Uchiha Shingen. "Since you're participating, I need to take your list to register first."

"You made such a fuss just for this?" Konan's eyes widened.

No, he's clearly after Nagato's power!

I'd long heard that Uchiha Shingen's Sharingan could copy other people's bloodlines, but I never imagined he could actually steal the Rinnegan!?

"Konan, let's go," Nagato said. "Things aren't what you think. I'll tell you the details later."

He felt uncomfortable talking about this.

If we hadn't fought, nothing would have happened.

What a huge loss!

"Report!"

A Rain Ninja appeared next to Konan, her tone somewhat hurried.

"A force is rushing towards us from the north; it's the Hidden Leaf Village Konoha Military Police Force."

The Rain Ninja, who had just relaxed, immediately tensed up again.

The original Root ninjas were also completely bewildered, wondering why the Konoha Military Police Force had also arrived.

"Oh, they're probably here for me. Don't be nervous, everyone." Uchiha Shingen had already closed his Rinnegan, and he looked very amiable and harmless. "I haven't left home in a long time, so my family was probably worried and came to check on me."

He could roughly guess why the Konoha Military Police Force had come.

Sigh, the Uchiha Clan really stick together too much. If you're not Uchiha Clan, you really don't know how warm and caring Uchiha Clan can be. Even I, a former Senju Clan, often feel embarrassed by it. Sometimes, if I slack off too much, I even feel guilty. It's unbelievable.

"Then let's wait," Nagato said.

He only disliked Uchiha Shingen; as for others, it didn't matter how many came.

Until he saw the Konoha Military Police Force come into view.

"Just came to see you?" His face darkened.

As the strongest of the second-tier ninja villages, Amegakure possessed a very comprehensive intelligence-gathering capability. Combined with the traitors within the Akatsuki, Nagato had a sufficiently powerful intelligence network.

He immediately recognized the leader as Uchiha Shisui, the second-in-command among his generation of the Uchiha Clan members, along with several veteran Jonin of the Uchiha Clan, and also Leaf Village Uchiha Itachi.

Besides the Uchiha Clan, the team also includes Hyuga Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and Aburame Clan ninjas.

This Konoha Military Police Force can no longer be called elite; it's a squad capable of launching a full-scale attack on a small ninja village.

"This is my little brother, it's normal for him to come see me. Look... that's one of my former students. As for the other brothers, I do have a lot of friends, maybe everyone's been pretty free lately," Uchiha Shingen said.

Actually, I was surprised myself.

This lineup is a bit... well, you know.

Putting everything else aside, how did they manage to get so many of the clan's elite troops transferred out?

"Brother Shingen!" Uchiha Shisui waved from afar, then arrived in a few swift movements.

That Body Flicker Technique was incredibly beautiful; the Rain Ninja were completely mesmerized.

They figured that if they encountered such Body Flicker Technique, they'd be dead before they even had a chance to react.

The Rain Ninja silently watched the Konoha Military Police Force approaching from afar. After comparing it in their minds, they had to admit that Leaf Village truly had too many talented people.

"Shisui, what are you all doing here?" Uchiha Shingen greeted them.

Why are you so excited, bro? Have you got a girlfriend?

"The chieftain said you are in danger and that we are here to rescue you."

"Thank you all for your kindness, but don't worry, it's over now." Uchiha Shingen was deeply moved. The Uchiha Clan were so kind; he couldn't help but reciprocate. "We're on our way to Amegakure to receive their list of participants for the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"I see." Uchiha Shisui nodded. "I understand now. Then I'll go with Shingen- nii."

"Let's go, Konan." Nagato was displeased with the noisy crowd and called to Konan again.

This time, Konan didn't ask any more questions and followed him.

Then there are the Rain Ninja.

However, the atmosphere in Amegakure suddenly became very gloomy.

The Konoha Ninja then formed a team and followed the Rain Ninja team ahead.

Chapter 41 The Final Stop, Sound Village

As the only country bordering the three great nations of Earth, Fire, and Wind, the Land of Rain is known for its abundance of spies.

The neighboring Land of Grass is famous for buying and selling information.

Thus, these two countries joined forces and became the kings of gossip in the Ninja World.

If a rumor can spread throughout the Ninja World, it is inextricably linked to them.