Gathering Storms

Baki's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He saw translucent golden ribs emerge behind Fei Yun, and every speck of dust floating in the air vaporized the instant it touched that energy. The pressure was even more suffocating than when Shukaku went berserk.

Now, Orochimaru's snake-like head glimmered gold in the shadows. "We can talk about Konoha."

The youngest puppeteer in the Sand Village delegation suddenly dropped to one knee. At some point, his chakra threads had snapped, and his index finger was twisted at a grotesque angle.

Only then did everyone realize that the entire conference room had long been enveloped by some kind of barrier, and fear surged into the hearts of every Sand Village ninja.

Even with nine jonin present, the Sand Village side still had no confidence.

If they were enemies, probably very few of the nine would survive.

It was an instinct.

Baki's Adam's apple bobbed violently. At last, he understood why the Fourth Kazekage had insisted on joining forces with the Shadows.

Those two monsters did not need an army. They were war machines themselves.

Although the Shadows as a whole were indeed weak, they did not lack top-tier combat power. After all, they had jonin from major nations.

Baki quickly steadied himself and forced out a smile.

"Not bad. With the Hidden Rain Village around, you're enough—enough to work with us."

Orochimaru nodded politely.

"Then how does the Sand Village intend to proceed?"

"We'll fully assist the Sand Village in winning this battle."

Baki's expression turned solemn. "Lord Kazekage has agreed to your demands. We of the Sand Village will also go all out, and Shukaku will be deployed as well."

However, Baki paused and fixed his one eye on Orochimaru.

"This war must be led by the Sand Village. The primary decisions and action plans will be made by us, and the benefits gained must also go mainly to us. After all, we are the main force. The Hidden Rain Village must fully cooperate with us!"

Baki put forward these demands with a grave expression, then waited for Orochimaru and the others to respond.

Based on his years of diplomatic experience, he knew the other side would not agree so easily.

Still, weren't conditions meant to be negotiated?

Baki had already prepared all kinds of arguments and was ready to fight his case.

He had expected a fierce verbal confrontation and a contest over the division of benefits, but to the surprise of everyone from the Sand Village, Orochimaru and Uchiha Feiyun, who had made such an imposing entrance, were both astonishingly casual.

Orochimaru brushed aside the black hair hanging over his forehead. "Fine. We'll follow your proposal."

Fei Yun could not even be bothered to speak. With his arms folded across his chest, he leisurely walked over to the window.

Baki was a little at a loss.

But whether the Shadows were showing weakness or Orochimaru simply had a small appetite, since the Hidden Rain Village was willing to obey the Sand Village's arrangements and division of benefits, there was no reason for them to refuse.

With that thought, Baki composed himself and placed the prepared document on the desk.

"Then take a look at this agreement. If there are no problems, sign it."

Baki glanced at Uchiha Feiyun beside him. Fei Yun shrugged. "I don't care. Let Orochimaru decide."

Orochimaru picked up a pen, pretended to read it for a few moments, then signed his name and pressed down his fingerprint.

"You two are truly extraordinary. Lord Kazekage certainly did not misjudge you. I believe we will have a pleasant cooperation and take down Konoha in one stroke!"

Baki picked up the alliance agreement, his eyes shining as he smiled and offered a few flattering words.

After that, everyone began discussing specific operational details and deployment arrangements.

No matter what demands the Sand Village representatives made, Orochimaru agreed to them.

The Sand Village jonin, whose nerves had been tightly strung, could not help becoming more polite.

If they had known the Shadows were so agreeable, they would not have needed to play so many little tricks.

Of course Orochimaru would agree to every demand from the Sand Village, because in Orochimaru's eyes, whether it was the Shadows or the Sand Village, both would eventually obey him.

What difference did it make which side led this war?

This had been the plan from the very beginning.

At the same time, Konoha sent invitations to ninja villages large and small across every nation, inviting them to participate in a joint Chūnin Exams, supposedly to promote friendship among nations and maintain peace in the ninja world.

In truth, everyone understood perfectly well that these so-called Chūnin Exams, hosted in rotation by the major nations, were merely meant to display strength through such events while probing the potential of other villages' future generations.

Konoha's invitations were delivered one after another to the major ninja villages.

The Hokage's seal gleamed a dark red beneath the sunlight.

On desks throughout the ninja villages of various nations, documents with gilded covers were spread open.

In the village, the old man Onoki narrowed his eyes.

"Konoha certainly knows how to pick its timing. Only a few years after the Uchiha Clan massacre, that old monkey from Konoha is already eager to hold a joint Chūnin Exams."

"Does he want to intimidate us, or spy on the strength of each village's younger generation?"

Kitsuchi beside him spoke in a low voice.

"Lord Tsuchikage, should we—"

Onoki gave a cold laugh. "No need to pay them any attention. Just use this opportunity to send several teams over to gather intelligence."

Cloud Village directly declined the invitation with the lousy excuse that the journey was too far.

Within Mist Village, word of the joint Chūnin Exams was mentioned.

Fourth Mizukage Yagura's voice was light and airy, as though he were discussing something completely irrelevant.

"Is Konoha trying to gauge the foundation of the Bloody Mist Village?"

Yagura's eyes were hollow as the Three-Tails' chakra churned within his body.

A jonin frowned and asked, "Lord Fourth Mizukage, how should we respond?"

Yagura's voice was cold and empty. "Since they want to show off, let them see that Mist Village's ninja are not flowers raised in a greenhouse."

Within Hidden Rain Village, Pain's feminine male voice rang out.

"Konoha still loves playing these tricks. Do they want to display Konoha's prosperity?"

"Ridiculous!"

"Konan, what do you think?"

"This is probably just the usual tactic of probing the depth of every nation."

Konan paused before continuing, "But we can use the opportunity to gather intelligence on Konoha and Madara Uchiha."

As she spoke, Konan warily glanced toward the door.

Deva Path spoke calmly. "Rest assured. No one can enter Hidden Rain Village without my knowledge."

Konan's eyes were filled with concern. "What Uchiha Feiyun said last time truly deserves attention. The masked man we have always suspected may really be a fake."

"Madara Uchiha may also be the true culprit behind everyone's deaths."

Deva Path fell silent. Though they had agreed to Madara Uchiha's Eye of the Moon Plan back then, Nagato had never taken seriously that man who had been frightened into cowardice by Uchiha Yo.

In Nagato's eyes, no matter what schemes that man had, they would be useless before his Rinnegan. With the Rinnegan, he was a god—the invincible and only god.

Over the years, Nagato and Konan had never fully trusted Madara Uchiha or Kakuzu.

After a moment, Pain's voice sounded. "Then send a few teams to deal with it."

"We also cannot let outsiders learn of Hidden Rain Village's situation yet. They must continue believing Hanzo of the Salamander is alive."

Konan's expression turned serious. "I want to go to Konoha personally. This is an excellent opportunity. We cannot let this chance to obtain intelligence slip away."

"No." Deva Path's voice was firm. "Leave it to those below. You stay at Hidden Rain Village. You know as well as I do that we must uncover the truth of what happened back then. Yahiko's and everyone else's deaths may not have been so simple."

Pain closed his eyes. "Only a body double can enter Konoha."

Konan nodded helplessly. "I understand."

Ever since Yahiko died, Nagato had used his physical inconvenience as an excuse to keep Konan at his side to care for him. He would not let her personally handle anything, at most allowing her to send out a body double.

But in truth, Nagato was simply afraid that Konan would die. She was the person Yahiko had entrusted him to protect, and Nagato's only family and friend left in this world.

Was Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, truly unable to move conveniently?

Not to mention the many summoned beasts capable of carrying him through heaven and earth, among the Six Paths of Pain, which one could not take Nagato anywhere and accomplish any task?

Nagato only needed to control one Pain to take himself anywhere, yet he still insisted that Konan remain by his side. Even when he went to support Deidara, Konan had left behind a body double while her real body secretly went herself.

In Nagato's heart, only peace and Konan remained now.

He was afraid—truly afraid. He did not know whether that so-called peace would still have any meaning if Konan died.

If he were the only one left in the world, what would become of it?

Would it be peace or destruction? Would I really still care?

Nagato controlled Deva Path and slowly spoke.

"Intelligence on Madara Uchiha is not that important. Sooner or later, he and I will fight. There can only be one savior. Haven't we already prepared ourselves for that?"

Deva Path looked at the rain outside that never ceased. "Our relationship with him is nothing more than mutual exploitation."

The dust and haze had not yet fully dispersed when Konoha Village began to grow lively.

Naruto walked down the increasingly bustling streets with both hands behind his head. The rising morning sun reflected in his blue eyes, and his blond hair was especially dazzling in the dawn light.

Today was a special day: the final day of registration for the Chūnin Exams. Genin from every nation would gather in Konoha under the leadership of their jonin.

Many merchants and travelers had also smelled opportunity and poured into Konoha.

"Hahaha, it's so lively!"

"What a big mouth, Yo!"

Naruto opened his mouth wide as he stared at streets several times more crowded than usual.

The shops had opened early. The owner of a ninja tool store was busy placing the latest kunai and shuriken sets onto the shelves. Long lines had already formed before the snack stalls, and the scent of grilled meat and miso soup drifted through the air.

"You super idiot, don't stand in the middle of the road like some country bumpkin."

Sasuke walked up from behind and shot Naruto a disdainful glance, though a trace of amazement flashed through his dark eyes as well.

Sakura Haruno followed behind them, her pink hair drifting gently in the morning breeze as she curiously looked around.

"Move aside—look over there!"

Sakura suddenly pointed toward the village entrance. The three followed her finger and saw unfamiliar ninja teams constantly entering through Konoha's gates. They wore all kinds of forehead protectors, carried a dazzling variety of ninja tools, and spoke with different accents, yet they all had the same sharp eyes.

"Are those people from the Sand Village?"

"Hey, they look strong. What an idiot, Yo!"

Naruto's face lit up with excitement as he looked at a group of ninja dressed in earth-yellow attire. The red-haired youth at their head carried a massive gourd on his back. His cold gaze swept over the street, paused briefly when it reached Naruto's group, then quickly moved away.

Konoha's streets were now like a colorful river. The clothing of ninja from different nations added brilliant colors to that river. Those colors intertwined, painting a map of the ninja world upon Konoha's vast canvas. It was truly a spectacular sight.

Kakashi appeared behind the three at some point. His silver hair glittered beneath the sunlight, and his only visible right eye curved into a crescent.

"The elite genin from every nation have arrived!"

The four faces on Hokage Rock overlooked the boiling village, as though they too were witnessing this grand occasion.

Konoha's prosperity was displayed to the fullest at that moment.

Shops lined both sides of the broad streets, the sounds of ninjutsu practice echoed from the training grounds, and tea houses were packed with ninja exchanging intelligence.

"Hey, look!"

Naruto suddenly jumped up excitedly and pointed at a stall selling Ichiraku ramen.

"Even Uncle Ichiraku has opened a branch!"

Indeed, to deal with the sudden surge of customers, Konoha's merchants had each displayed their own ingenuity.

The ninja tool stores rolled out special Chūnin Exams discount sets, inns hung signs offering special prices for ninja from other nations, and even Konoha's usually quiet Ninja History Museum had long lines.

"I heard that many genin will be participating in this exam." Sakura flipped through the Chūnin Exams guide she had just bought. "The elites from different ninja villages... interesting, isn't it?"