Harmless and Innocent!

Nagato and Konan traveled west from the Rain Country, crossed Bird Country, and after three days arrived at the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind.

This place belonged to no nation. Due to the harsh climate, few people ever came here.

After crossing lofty mountains and steep ridges, they arrived at an inland lake.

At the center of the lake was an island, and on that island stood a temple.

At the shrine by the temple entrance, a talisman had been pasted.

Nagato stopped and fixed his gaze on the talisman.

"The talisman bears a barrier formula, along with the nature of Fire Release. Once someone enters the temple, it will trigger the formation..."

Uchiha Flame Formation?

"With such craftsmanship, this must be the place."

"Konan, stand farther back."

Nagato stepped forward and held his hand toward the talisman from a distance.

--Preta Path: Sealing Technique Absorption!

"Whoosh!"

A hemispherical Sealing Jutsu Barrier formed before his palm. When it touched the talisman, it absorbed the formula inscribed upon it...

The invalidated talisman burned into ashes.

Nagato and Konan climbed the stone steps and pushed open the temple doors.

Looking at the enormous object displayed in the temple hall, Konan revealed a puzzled expression. "A shell?"

"No, it's a coffin made of shells..."

Nagato remembered that the databook had mentioned shells as the things Rin had liked collecting while she was alive.

Konan sighed. "It seems the one inside the coffin is a girl."

Nagato said, "Konan, if you aren't used to this sort of thing, wait outside for me."

"No. Since you're doing this, you must have your reasons, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have traveled all this way following Haku Zetsu's intelligence."

"More or less. Haku Zetsu's intelligence showed that this girl was once the Three-Tails' jinchuriki. There must be something extraordinary about her."

"The Three-Tails... jinchuriki!?" An image of a burly, tomboyish woman surfaced in Konan's mind.

As the shell coffin opened and Rin's true appearance was revealed, Konan's expression became truly spectacular.

"She's such a petite and adorable girl. It's hard to imagine she was once used as the Three-Tails' vessel."

Rin had not been laid to rest for long, and Obito had also performed some preservation on her body. Her appearance was no different from when she had been alive.

"Nagato, if it's inconvenient, let me do it."

"While making the Deva Path, I learned how to perform the procedure as well."

"As a woman myself, I should know how to arrange things without ruining her appearance."

Nagato gladly accepted. "That would be wonderful."

"Clink, clink, clink!" Black Rods of varying sizes and shapes fell from his sleeves...

"Excuse me."

Konan stepped forward and removed Rin's clothes. Seeing the hole in her left chest, she could not help worrying. "With injuries like this... can she still be used?"

Nagato said, "It's fine. Once she becomes Pain, I can repair her through the Naraka Path."

"That's good." Konan promptly got to work.

The entire process took half an hour.

"Nagato, does this look alright?" After finishing, Konan wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"It's absolutely perfect." Nagato praised her.

On Rin's face, Konan had used only three Black Rods. They were placed between the brow bones above the bridge of her nose and within the purple markings on both cheeks. Two tiny barbs also decorated the corners of her lips, like little tiger fangs.

As for the ones on her body, there was no need to elaborate. To ensure efficient chakra reception, they were indispensable.

"Let's see how the finished product performs!"

--Naraka Path!

Nagato summoned the King of Hell and had it swallow Rin...

Soon, a petite figure emerged.

Rin wore the same black Amegakure robe as Nagato and Konan.

Her hair had turned golden.

Her eyes had become Rinnegan.

Her consciousness belonged to Nagato.

Her voice... was Rin's.

"Pain Animal Path, complete."

This work was all about quality and polish!

Konan remarked, "Such an adorable, harmless-looking face might be able to deceive enemies."

Unfortunately, Konan, that was not the case.

That face would only be shown to those fated to see it...

Nagato took out a cat-faced mask and put it over Rin's face.

"Obito, I wonder what expression you'll make when you, who love deceiving the world with a mask, see the face beneath this one?"

"When that time comes, I'll definitely rip off your mask and take a look."

Nagato's hostility toward Obito stemmed from the original story, where he had killed Konan.

He could not forget the "Bridge to Peace."

It was a personal grudge, but... was that a crime?

They left the nameless territory.

Konan asked, "Where are we going next?"

Nagato gazed toward the Land of Wind.

While he had been unconscious, the Third Shinobi World War had officially ended.

The immediate cause was the final battle between the allied Cloud and Hidden Sand Village forces against Konoha: the Battle of Kikyo Pass, which had ended hastily with the disappearance of Sunagakure's Third Kazekage.

The whereabouts of its instigator, Sasori of the Red Sands, had not escaped Zetsu's watchful eyes either.

"Sasori of the Red Sands, the greatest genius ninja in Hidden Sand Village's history. Do you intend to recruit him as a companion for our Akatsuki?"

"Not for now. I only want to ask Sasori about someone's whereabouts—a person incredibly important to our future development..."

Yes... for some reason, Sasori had always been searching for Orochimaru's whereabouts.

At present, the clue to finding Orochimaru... was Sasori!

--Summoning Technique!

Pain Animal Path summoned the Yata Crow, and Rin stood at the very front.

The Deva Path sat in the back, scouting the surroundings.

Nagato sat with Konan in the middle.

The Yata Crow soared into the sky and flew toward the great desert of the Land of Wind.

Nagato took out straw hats he had purchased along the way together with the masks. "The sandstorms ahead will be fierce. Let's put these on."

Konan smiled. "It seems you had this journey planned out before we even set off."

Nagato smiled. "By the way, Konan, how long has it been since you last soaked in a hot spring?"

Konan reminisced. "A very, very long time... Ever since I finished training under Master Jiraiya, I never had the chance again."

"Then after we meet Sasori, let's go soak in a hot spring for the first time in ages."

Konan smiled. "That sounds like a very good suggestion."

Boom!

The Yata Crow pierced through the clouds and plunged into the windblown sands...

At dusk, deep within the Land of Wind's desert, Nagato looked toward a sand dune. "Looks like we arrived at just the right time."

Poof! The Yata Crow vanished.

The group landed on a distant sand dune.

They quietly waited for the person inside to finish his most satisfying work.

Late at night, an unusual sound came from within the taut wind.

A black figure appeared beyond the sand dune, dragging itself slowly across the ground.

Seeing his somewhat ferocious face, Konan asked in confusion, "Is that Sasori?"

Nagato smiled. "No. Sasori likes to hide his true body inside puppets."

They had finally seen Hiruko with their own eyes.

"Let's use Pain to test the waters first."

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" The Deva Path and Animal Path leaped forward, blocking Hiruko's way.

Hiruko stared coldly ahead. A deep voice came from within it. "What do you want?"

Pain's Deva Path slowly stepped forward and stood in front of Pain Rin, or simply Pain Rin. "We want to ask you about someone."

"Oh? It seems you know who I am." Hiruko's pupils swept the area, checking whether Hidden Sand Village pursuers were lying in ambush.

"Unfortunately, the person you're looking for cannot be found."

Clearly, Sasori had misunderstood. He thought the two before him were Hidden Sand Village ninja looking into the Third Kazekage's disappearance.

"You will both die here and become my 'collections'!"

"Whoosh!!" As his words fell, Hiruko transformed into a black blur and circled directly behind Pain Rin. "I'll deal with this little girl who looks like ANBU first!"

The Deva Path turned and watched. "So fast..."

--Hiruko: Needle Eight Waves!

Countless poisoned senbon needles rained down, making them nearly impossible to evade...

But Pain Rin, who had been facing forward, suddenly crouched like lightning and slapped her little hand against the sand before her. "Summoning Technique!"

Boom!

A giant stone panda statue rose behind her, completely blocking the poisoned needles!

"What!?" Sasori was still shocked when the Giant Ox rising from the Haku smoke sent him flying onto a sand dune!

"Whoosh!" Pain's Deva Path raised his palm.

--Banshō Ten'in!

"Whoosh!"

Hiruko's puppet was pulled over by an irresistible force. With a crack, it slammed into the Black Rod protruding from the Deva Path's other hand.

"What the hell..."

Rustle, rustle, rustle... Its body scattered into sand around the Black Rod.

The Deva Path looked toward the depression in the sand dune. "He used a sand substitute in an instant. As expected, he's extraordinary..."

"Where will he attack from?"

Crack!

Hiruko's prosthetic arm sprang from the sand like a land mine.

--Hiruko: Prosthetic Arm Senbon!

The mechanism cannon built into the prosthetic arm launched poisoned needles in every direction!

The Deva Path and Pain Rin rapidly retreated...!

Poof! At that moment, a cloud of poisonous smoke burst forth and obscured the Deva Path!

Boom! Hiruko's true body erupted from before Pain Rin. The tail spike hidden within the demonic face at its tail mercilessly pierced Rin's body!

"So that's how it is. I noticed earlier that you had the same eyes."

"Combined with that little girl's behavior, your fields of vision are linked, aren't they?"

Poof!

The summoned Giant Ox disappeared amid Haku smoke.

"I've taken one out first."

Hiruko flung Pain Rin away with its tail spike and looked coldly at the Deva Path. "You're next."

"Is that so?" The Deva Path wore a faint, amused smile as he raised his palm.

"Hm!? That gesture again—it looks like that technique that pulls people through the air! It's quite troublesome. I should widen the distance first!"

Boom! Hiruko swept up a huge cloud of sand with its tail spike and retreated under its cover!

"Don't be nervous. I was only raising my hand..." The Deva Path lowered his palm.

"Whoosh!" Hiruko moved at high speed through the sand, never daring to approach carelessly.

"That's right. I only need to stall for time. He inhaled my poisonous smoke, so he'll die soon."

"But when did Hidden Sand Village produce someone like this? I really should thank them for delivering themselves to me. My collection is about to gain another piece..."

As Sasori smugly indulged in his wishful calculations, he failed to notice that Pain Rin, whom he had killed, had already vanished.

"Whoosh!" On a distant sand dune, Nagato used the Naraka Path to revive Pain Rin.

Konan said, "The two Pains seem to be struggling a little. Should we join the fight?"

Pain Rin gave a charming smile. "Pain's combat power does not depend solely on numbers. It also depends on tactics. Watch me trick him..."

Hiruko moved swiftly through the desert, keeping a close eye on the Deva Path, when Sasori gradually noticed...

"Something's wrong. He should be suffering from the poison by now. Why is he still standing there unharmed?"

"Could it be... he is unaffected by toxins?"

"I'll probe him a little."

He was about to rush forward and put some pressure on the Deva Path, but suddenly... his body came to an abrupt halt, as though some invisible force had tightly restrained him!

"What!?"

Then his body was lifted into the air!

"Buzz!"

The hidden Giant Chameleon revealed its true form behind him!

"A summoned beast. I remember that little girl used a technique just like..."

His gaze turned toward the distance, and his expression changed drastically. "The little girl's corpse is gone!"

"Whoosh!!" At that moment, Pain's Deva Path soared into the air, his palm aimed directly at Hiruko's ferocious face. "Show yourself, Sasori!!"

--Shinra Tensei!