Turbulent Undercurrents!

"Rustle..."

Paper butterflies passed through gaps in the branches and leaves, scattering through the vast forest and sensing every slightest disturbance.

"Slash!" In the southern part of the forest, a blade pierced flesh. Startled by the surging killing intent, birds took flight.

An unnamed Hidden Sand Village ninja lay in a pool of blood, his eyes still open in death.

"Click!" Beside the corpse, a man dressed in black ANBU attire pulled out his ninja blade and pressed the switch on the radio earpiece at his right ear. "Seventh Division, Dingmao. Target successfully eliminated!"

A low command came through the radio. "Take the Fourth Hokage's documents. Destroy the body. Leave no evidence that we did it."

"Understood."

Dingmao switched off the radio, bent down to retrieve the documents from the corpse's robes, and said coldly, "If you have anyone to blame, blame yourself for taking such a thankless job. The consensus reached by the Hokage and the Kazekage harms Lord Danzo's interests!"

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

At that moment, something moved in the bushes behind him!

Dingmao spun around sharply, raising his ninja blade in alert, only to see a wild rabbit dart past.

"So it was just a rabbit. I thought the Fourth's direct ANBU had discovered Root's movements."

"This isn't a place to linger."

He took out Root's specialized corpse-disposal liquid, preparing to destroy the body on the spot.

"Rustle!" The wind behind him carried ill intent... Dingmao's gaze darkened as he swung his ninja blade!

The blade struck, and the paper scattered apart before its edge...!!

"What!?" Before Dingmao could recover from his shock, his mask was swept away by a stream of paper, revealing a face covered in thick flesh!

The next second, that face was tightly sealed beneath the paper surging around it!

"Mmph...!" Dingmao collapsed to the ground, desperately tearing at the paper over his face... but even more paper stuck to him, binding both his wrists fast.

In the darkness, the agony of suffocation filled Dingmao's eyes with blood.

"Shhhk..." More paper sheets surged over him, piling onto his chest before swiftly changing shape and forming a delicate, beautiful face. It looked coldly down at the man who was about to become a mummy.

"Danzo, and the Root under his command, were also accomplices in robbing us of a place to belong."

The paper curled into a sharp spear... held in a slender hand, it pierced precisely through his heart.

The man's struggle... stopped instantly.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle."

Hundreds upon thousands of sheets of paper peeled away, joining the paper converging from every direction to form Konan's true body. Her gaze turned toward the bushes.

Nagato walked to her side, looking at the two corpses on the ground.

"Konoha, Root, Dingmao."

"Hidden Sand Village, unnamed ninja."

"You will respectively become my Preta Path and Naraka Path. Of course... only temporarily."

Night fell, and thick clouds blanketed the sky, heralding an impending downpour.

Konoha, a household of two.

Seeing the poor weather, the mistress of the house went out into the yard to bring in the laundry.

"Whoosh!" Her husband, who had been busy in the kitchen, caught sight of this and instantly flashed into the yard, gripping the woman's wrist. Oh, he was wearing an apron, with a spatula still clutched in his other hand.

Concern filled the young, handsome husband's face. "Kushina, you're pregnant now. How can you do something as strenuous as bringing in the laundry!"

Framed by her waterfall of red hair, the woman's evenly shaped, oval face flushed slightly. She complained in a sweet voice, "Honestly~~~~, Minato, you're being way too overcautious. Even if I'm pregnant, I can still handle something as small as bringing in the laundry. I'm a ninja too, you know!"

The young blond husband remained completely serious. "No means no. Lady Biwako specifically warned us. The first three months require extra care. Other than going to the bathroom, leave everything else to me!"

Without waiting for his beautiful wife to agree, he began collecting the laundry.

Watching him flash back and forth inside and outside the house, the mistress gently stroked her lower belly and murmured tenderly, "Daddy really works so hard. During the day, he has to serve as the village's Hokage and work for everyone in the village. At night, he has to take care of both of us too. You have to grow up to be as outstanding as Daddy, okay, little baby?"

Yes, they were Minato and Kushina. The child in her belly was Naruto, who had yet to be named.

"Whoosh!" After several trips, all the laundry had been brought in.

Minato flashed back, scooped Kushina up in a princess carry, then flashed into the bedroom the next second and gently set her down on the bed.

"Just lie down and rest."

An odd sound came from the kitchen...!

"Oh no! The curry rice I made is about to burn!"

Minato hurriedly flashed back into the kitchen.

Kushina stroked her belly and smiled with affectionate helplessness. "You'd better not learn Daddy's clumsy personality."

After they finished their warm, happy meal, Minato was about to wash the dishes when someone knocked at the entrance.

"I'm coming, please wait."

After opening the door, Minato saw Iruka standing outside with a solemn expression. "What happened, Iruka?"

"Lord Hokage, Brother Mizuki still hasn't returned to the village. I'm worried..."

"Ah, didn't the two of you return together?"

"Actually, we had a disagreement at Woodflower Ferry last night, so I came back first. But there's still been no word from him. I thought that since today was a day off, he might have wanted to come back later."

"But I went back to Woodflower Ferry to look for him just now. He wasn't there anymore, and he left early in the morning. It's really unusual that he still hasn't returned after all this time..."

Iruka clenched his hand. "I feel like something happened to him..."

At that moment, rain began to fall.

Minato quickly ushered Iruka inside. "Come in first. Tell me in detail about what happened between you two last night..."

Rumble!

Muffled thunder rolled across the sky.

Outside Konoha, in the forest atop the highest mountain.

Nagato and Konan stood amid the drifting rain.

"This rain has finally come, just as I waited for..."

His hands formed a seal.

Rain Tiger at Will Technique!

His chakra... merged into the rainwater.

He had successfully taken control of the rain.

How long the rain would fall, and how heavy it would be, would all be decided by him.

Nothing washed by the rain could escape his perception!

Within the Konoha ninja village blanketed by heavy rain, at the Uchiha clan compound.

Under the eaves, a boy stared blankly at the rainy sky, his gaze flickering slightly.

For some reason, this rain gives me a strange feeling...

And of all times, Brother Shisui and Father are both away on missions.

A gentle call came from inside the room. "Itachi, come inside quickly. Getting soaked in the rain isn't good for you."

"Okay, Mom."

Itachi withdrew his gaze and headed into the room.

"No matter what happens, I'll protect Mom, and Sasuke in her belly..."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Uchiha compound.

"Whoosh!" A black vortex twisted space and time, and that ominous figure slowly descended.

He removed his hood. His pale face turned toward the rainy sky, and within that black hollow, the cold Sharingan shimmered with a dim, obscure light...