In the Land of Rain, the sky was forever overcast. The rain seemed to be the country's eternal tears, pattering down without end.
Lead-gray clouds hung low, pressing down until it was hard to breathe. The damp air carried the smells of rust and decay, along with an indescribable sense of oppression.
Amid the torrential rain, a figure quietly appeared outside Amegakure.
He carried no umbrella, yet when the rain came within an inch of his body, it seemed to encounter an invisible barrier and slid off to either side, failing to wet him in the slightest.
He wore a white robe, with "Ⅳ" tattooed beneath his left eye and a black diamond-shaped mark on his chin.
His eyes seemed calm and unruffled, but deep within them, a chilling sharpness occasionally flashed, as though he could see through to the essence of everything.
Jigen-or rather, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who resided within Jigen's body.
He had finally halted his long, secretive wanderings and come to this country, which had left a profound mark on the history of the Shinobi World but had since fallen into ruin.
His destination was Amegakure, the Iron City once ruled by the "demigod," Hanzo of the Salamander, and later controlled by the self-proclaimed "god," Pain.
As he stepped into Amegakure, he was greeted by a cold, disorderly jungle of countless massive steel pipes, abandoned factories, and towering metal structures.
Rain struck the metal with dull, monotonous sounds. The air was thick with machine oil, rust, and the distinctive rank smell of standing water.
Still, repairs were already underway in many places.
Most pedestrians hurried along the streets, wrapped in rain gear that was still fairly new, their faces carrying a measure of excitement.
Occasionally, he saw a few Konoha ninja talking with people who looked like engineers.