Desperate Situation at the Land of Rain Border

Rain.

Endless rain.

Cold strands of rain fell from the gray sky, drumming against rusted metal pipes and converging into muddy streams that wound through the maze-like city of steel.

This was the Land of Rain. A tragic nation wedged between the three great countries of Fire, Wind, and Earth, shrouded beneath the clouds of war year-round.

The smoke of the Second Shinobi World War had yet to fully dissipate, yet the undercurrents of the Third Shinobi World War were already surging beneath this damp land.

A black figure moved silently through the city's towering pipes and buildings like a ghost melding into the night.

Uchiha En.

Nearly a month had passed since his "friendly exchange" with Orochimaru. During that month, he had barely rested, madly carrying out all manner of high-difficulty solo missions assigned by the Shadow Guard.

Assassinations, infiltrations, escorts, exterminations...

His codename, "Lava," had gone from an unfamiliar name to a symbol that struck fear into countless hearts among Konoha's enemies and on the underground black market's bounty notices.

Some said he was the Third Hokage's sharpest butcher's blade, hidden up his sleeve.

Some said he was an emotionless war maniac who left behind nothing but scorched earth and ashes wherever he went.

Others claimed he was not an Uchiha at all, but the reincarnation of some ancient fire demon god.

En did not care about those rumors. He focused only on his goals—becoming stronger, and using that strength to deal with the people and things he found unpleasant.

This mission was to recover intelligence stolen by a Konoha spy who had been turned by Iwagakure. That intelligence concerned Konoha's strategic deployment against the Hidden Rock Village in the war that might soon erupt. Its importance went without saying.

According to the intelligence, the traitor's final handoff location was an abandoned factory at the border of the Land of Rain.

En stopped atop the tallest exhaust pipe, rainwater sliding down his dark-red flame-patterned mask. His Observation Haki had long since covered everything within a radius of twelve hundred meters like an invisible tide.

There were three chakra signatures inside the abandoned factory.

One was weak and frantic—the Konoha traitor.

The other two were calm and condensed, carrying the heavy presence of stone—Iwagakure shinobi.

Beyond that, dozens of shinobi with varying chakra levels lay in ambush around the factory, surrounding the area as tightly as a wolf pack.

They really think highly of me.

En mocked himself inwardly.

This did not look like an intelligence exchange. It looked more like a trap prepared specifically for him.

He did not hesitate in the slightest.

His figure flashed, vanishing from the pipe like a phantom.

When he reappeared, he had already silently infiltrated the factory, standing atop a row of enormous rusted fermentation tanks.

Below him, the transaction was underway.

"Where is it?" asked an Iwagakure jonin with a burly build and a massive scroll strapped to his back.

"It's here." The Konoha traitor trembled as he took a scroll from his robes and handed it over. "I'll give you the information. You have to guarantee my safety!"

"Relax. The Hidden Rock Village has always honored its promises." The Iwagakure jonin accepted the scroll, his lips stretching into a cruel smile.

The other Iwagakure shinobi beside him had already begun forming hand seals.

Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!

Two arms made of mud suddenly burst from the ground beneath the Konoha traitor's feet and seized his ankles tightly.

"Y-you..." The traitor's face was filled with terror and despair.

"Someone who can betray his own village... do you really think we would trust your loyalty?" The Iwagakure jonin sneered as he opened the intelligence scroll in his hand. "Your value has come to an end."

Just as he was about to order the traitor silenced, a calm voice came from overhead.

"I think his value has not yet come to an end."

The three shinobi abruptly looked up.

A black-clad ANBU wearing a flame-patterned mask stood above them, looking down with eyes as calm as if he were gazing at three corpses.

"Lava!" The Iwagakure jonin's pupils contracted as he instantly recognized the codename marked as "extremely dangerous" in the Hidden Rock Village's high-level archives.

"Not bad reflexes."

En offered a word of praise.

Then his body dropped straight down from the top of the fermentation tank.

He did not jump. He fell in a straight line, crashing down like a meteor.

"Scatter! Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

The Iwagakure jonin reacted decisively, slamming both hands onto the ground. A thick earthen wall rose from the floor, attempting to block En's attack.

However, En's target was not them at all.

Boom!

His body slammed directly into the restrained Konoha traitor.

There was no spray of flesh and blood.

The instant he touched the traitor, half of En's body had already turned elemental. His body passed directly through the traitor's flesh, while the terrifying heat and impact force carried by his descent instantly vaporized the traitor along with the mud arms beneath his feet.

All that remained was a charred, human-shaped crater glowing red.

The intelligence scroll, meanwhile, landed unscathed in En's hand.

"Intelligence recovered." En straightened up and put away the scroll as though he had merely done something trivial.

The two Iwagakure jonin had been rendered speechless by the bizarre and brutal scene before them.

They had never seen such an efficient method of "silencing" someone.

"Now, it's your turn." En turned toward them.

"You arrogant brat! Don't think killing a few pieces of trash means you can look down on everyone!" The Iwagakure jonin roared, suppressing the fear in his heart as he formed hand seals again. "Let me show you the power of the Iwagakure Demolition Corps!"

His companion completed his hand seals at the same time.

Explosion Release: Landmine Punch!

Earth Release: Rock Fist Jutsu!

The two attacked from either side, their fists respectively wrapped in explosive chakra and hardened rock as they charged En.

At the same time, dozens of ambushing shinobi outside the factory launched their attacks as well.

Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!

Water Release: Water Shockwave!

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!

In an instant, the entire abandoned factory was drowned beneath ninjutsu of every nature. Violent winds, rushing water, and earth and stone intertwined into an airtight net of death, sealing off every possible escape route from all directions.

"Interesting."

Facing the overwhelming attacks, En advanced rather than retreated.

He spread the fingers of his right hand, aiming his palm at the two Iwagakure jonin charging at the front.

"You seem to have some misunderstanding of the term 'high temperature.'"

A dark-red glow gathered in his palm.

The surrounding air was instantly drained away, and the temperature soared at a terrifying rate. The incoming wind blades, water bullets, and earth dragons began to twist, evaporate, and collapse while still several meters away from him.

"Great... Eruption."

A gigantic fist made entirely of lava burst forth from his palm.

It swelled against the wind, instantly expanding until it was large enough to fill the entire factory passage. Carrying the force to incinerate everything, it blasted fiercely forward!

The savage grins on the two Iwagakure jonin's faces froze instantly.

Within their pupils was reflected that blazing "sun," drawing ever closer.

Their ninjutsu and their defenses were as insignificant as dust before that "sun."

BOOM—RUMBLE—!!!

A deafening explosion, accompanied by violent earth-shaking tremors, echoed across the entire border of the Land of Rain.

The abandoned factory of steel collapsed from within, melting and caving in like a pile of blocks stepped on by a giant god.

The flames of the explosion even pierced the Land of Rain's heavy clouds, leaving a brief yet dazzling "scar" across the gray sky.

Several miles away, atop an inconspicuous tower.

A blue-haired woman dressed in Akatsuki's black cloak patterned with red clouds quietly watched the pillar of fire in the distance, a faint ripple passing through her purple eyes.

"So this is... Lava's power..." Konan murmured softly.

Beside her, a man in an orange spiral mask let out a strange, cackling laugh.

"It seems the 'welcome ceremony' we prepared for him was not grand enough." Obito's voice was full of amusement and anticipation. "But don't worry. The real show... has only just begun."