In the Land of Rain, in Amegakure, the rain never stopped.
Shrouded by towering buildings and a jungle of steel, the village lay beneath a gray curtain of rain all year round.
Pedestrians in raincoats hurried through the streets, though Amegakure was far livelier now than it had been before.
Pain stood atop a tower. Rain slid down his pale cheeks and dripped from his chin into the abyss below. He wore a black robe, its red cloud patterns flickering in and out of view through the rain.
Konan stood a few paces behind him as space twisted silently.
A black vortex appeared not far behind Pain, slowly rotating. Obito stepped out of it, his expression hidden behind an orange mask. Only his crimson Sharingan gleamed with a cold light through the mask's eyehole.
His footsteps were light, making no sound on the slick stone slabs. He was like a ghost born from the darkness.
Konan tensed slightly, her voice cold and wary, with a trace of undisguised hostility:
"Madara, what are you doing here?"
Obito did not answer. His gaze passed over Konan and settled on Pain's back, his voice low and raspy:
"I just received intelligence that Hyuga Tianyi captured the Seven-Tails and dug up Takigakure's Hero Tree."
Pain slowly turned around.
"Hyuga Tianyi captured the Seven-Tails? What is he trying to do?" Pain's voice remained hollow.
Another figure slowly rose from the ground in the shadows.
"The Hero Tree is a fragment of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!" Black Zetsu's voice seeped up from underground like an icy gust.
"What!"
A rare flicker of emotion appeared on Pain's face.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was the source of his power, the foundation of his Rinnegan, and the cornerstone of his ascension to "godhood."