Infiltration

The rain in the Land of Rain seemed as though it would never stop.

Cangyue stood on the purple Flame Sword, one hand behind his back and the other holding an oil-paper umbrella he had bought in the Land of Flowers.

The Thunder Sword hovered to his right, accompanying him through the curtain of rain.

Three feet away from him, the dense rainfall parted to either side under an invisible sword intent, leaving a long, straight, rainless corridor behind him.

The umbrella served no purpose at all.

Cangyue simply felt that riding a flying sword through the rain without an umbrella lacked a certain atmosphere.

Ahead, towers rose in dense clusters.

He had reached Amegakure.

Cangyue neither lowered his altitude nor concealed his Konoha Forehead Protector.

The purple Flame Sword carried him straight over the first watchtower.

The Rain Ninja atop the tower froze for a moment.

"Enemy attack!"

"It's a Konoha ninja!"

A shrill whistle tore through the curtain of rain.

Over a dozen Rain Ninja rushed onto the tower roof, launching kunai, shuriken, and poisoned senbon all at once.

A dense barrage of ninja tools came hurtling toward him.

Cangyue did not slow down.

He did not even spare them another glance.

The Thunder Sword suddenly rang out.

"Heavenly Guardian Calamity."

Boom!

Blue-white lightning burst from the Thunder Sword, weaving into a net that enveloped him.

The kunai were deflected by the lightning the instant they came within three feet.

The poisoned senbon burned red-hot in the lightning net, melting into tiny iron fragments before they could touch Cangyue.

The Thunder Sword circled once on its own, then returned to hover beside Cangyue.

Beneath the oil-paper umbrella, even his cuffs remained still.

The Flame Sword continued onward.

He left the watchtower behind.

But everyone atop it stood frozen, watching helplessly as that streak of purple sword light receded.

This guy... didn't take them seriously at all!

[Valor Points +100]

The second watchtower had already received the signal.

"Quick, quick, quick! He's broken through the first line of defense!"

Dozens of Rain Ninja leaped out from rooftops and between towers, blocking Cangyue's route in advance.

Steel wires stretched across the street.

Explosive tags hung thickly along them, forming an enormous web of fire across his path.

"Detonate!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive tags detonated simultaneously.

Flames surged skyward, and the scorching shock wave shredded the rain, engulfing the entire area around Cangyue.

Before the Rain Ninja below could breathe a sigh of relief, a streak of purple light emerged from the heart of the flames.

Cangyue still stood on the Flame Sword.

His oil-paper umbrella was perfectly intact.

The Thunder Sword circled him, keeping every flame and fragment outside its lightning barrier.

The explosion had not delayed him in the slightest.

Even his flight speed remained unchanged.

The pupils of the Rain Ninja in command abruptly contracted.

"Water Release users, get ready!"

Over a dozen people formed hand seals simultaneously.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Thick streams of water gushed from different directions, converging in midair into a roaring wave.

Cangyue continued forward.

The Thunder Sword traced a half circle.

Blue lightning surged upstream through the water.

Boom!

Lightning punched through the entire wave.

Electricity spread along the Water Release technique, numbing all the casters' bodies at once and forcibly disrupting their chakra flow.

Without anything sustaining it, the wave turned into a downpour that fell behind Cangyue.

His course had never changed.

"What technique is that?"

"Why can't even Water Release get through?"

"Stop him!"

The alarms spread farther into the distance.

More and more Rain Ninja poured onto the streets and towers.

At first, there were only a few dozen.

Soon, there were over a hundred.

Eventually, countless figures had gathered around Cangyue.

Ninja tools, explosive tags, and ninjutsu assailed him from every direction.

A water dragon surged out from between the towers, its head held high.

Wind blades skimmed the rooftops toward the Flame Sword.

Several chains shot up from below, attempting to drag Cangyue out of the sky.

Cangyue did not fight back.

He did not even change his stance.

The Thunder Sword accelerated on its own.

Its ringing merged completely with the thunder.

The chains snapped under the lightning the moment they approached.

The wind blades struck the lightning net and instantly scattered.

The water dragon lunged with its mouth open, only for blue-white lightning to plunge into its maw and blast its entire head apart.

The kunai and senbon had even less hope of crossing the three-foot boundary.

Cangyue seemed to be traveling through another world entirely.

Outside, attacks raged wildly, and explosions rang out without end.

Yet the oil-paper umbrella in his hand remained steady throughout.

Not a single raindrop landed on his shoulders.

Not a single ninja tool touched the hem of his clothes.

The purple Flame Sword carried him through ninjutsu and explosions without ever slowing.

If someone stood ahead, he flew over their head.

If a wall blocked his path, he rose another half foot and cleared it.

If ninjutsu barred the way, the Thunder Sword shattered it on its own.

It was not that Cangyue had broken through the Rain Ninja's encirclement.

That so-called encirclement had never managed to stop him in the first place.

[Valor Points +120]

A Rain Ninja stood at the edge of a tower, watching Cangyue draw closer, his hands already holding a completed seal.

But when that figure actually arrived before him, he froze.

Cangyue drifted slowly over his head.

He looked down and asked:

"Which way to the Akatsuki's base?"

The Rain Ninja stared blankly.

His companions were still throwing ninja tools beside him.

Water Release techniques and wind blades kept flying overhead.

But Cangyue seemed unable to hear the explosions, quietly waiting for an answer.

The Rain Ninja opened his mouth.

"I..."

Another burst of flame lit up in the distance.

Over a dozen kunai fitted with explosive tags came whistling toward him.

The Thunder Sword traced a blue arc behind Cangyue.

Boom!

Every explosion was blocked.

Cangyue was still looking at the Rain Ninja.

"East or west?"

The Rain Ninja instinctively raised a hand and pointed southeast.

"Over there..."

"Thank you."

The Flame Sword carried Cangyue past the tower.

The Rain Ninja watched him go, his arm still extended in the direction he had indicated.

A moment later, he abruptly snapped out of it.

Had he actually given the intruder directions?

But when he looked around again, over a hundred Rain Ninja were attacking along the boy's route, yet not one of them could make him stop for even an instant.

The purple sword light continued deeper into the village.

All of Amegakure had been alerted.

More and more people emerged from their homes and looked up at the sky.

The first thing they saw was a rainless passage stretching across the village.

Only then did they see the purple Flame Sword, the blue lightning circling it, and the composed figure beneath the oil-paper umbrella.

Barely moments after Cangyue entered, his supposedly secret infiltration had turned into an open sightseeing tour.

Watching the steady stream of income entering his wallet, Cangyue's lips curved into a slight smile.

An entrance like this certainly made an impression.

Still, this trick would only work in Amegakure for now. Aside from the Akatsuki members, the village barely had any jonin.

Most of the attackers were genin and chunin. In terms of damage, they didn't even measure up to one of Naruto's basic attacks.

Atop a high tower.

Deva Path Pain sat with his eyes closed.

The Rain Tiger at Will Technique covered all of Amegakure.

Every falling raindrop was an extension of his senses.

He had detected Cangyue the moment he crossed the border.

Now, Pain could clearly sense that empty region steadily advancing deeper into Amegakure.

Rain could not approach it.

Ninja tools could not approach it.

Neither could dozens of different ninjutsu.

Cangyue had not killed a single Rain Ninja, yet he had flown all the way to the tower district despite the entire village's efforts to intercept him.

No sneaking.

No disguise.

No avoiding the guards, either.

That streak of purple sword light was practically announcing his arrival to all of Amegakure.

Pain opened his Rinnegan eyes.

"Konan."

Konan, standing beside him, nodded lightly.

Her body turned into countless sheets of white paper, which passed through the tower window and vanished into the rain.

Cangyue passed another tower.

The rain ahead suddenly churned.

Sheets of white paper flew in from every direction, rapidly gathering into a human figure.

Blue-violet hair.

An Akatsuki cloak.

A pale paper flower was tucked into her hair.

Konan spread her paper wings, blocking Cangyue's path.

"Stop."

The moment her voice rang out, the nearby Rain Ninja all ceased their attacks.

The relentless barrage of Ninjutsu finally stopped.

For the first time, the Flame Sword beneath Cangyue's feet slowed.

The Thunder Sword settled down and hovered at his side again.

Konan surveyed the devastation along his route, then looked at the completely unscathed Cangyue.

His age, twin swords, and method of Flying Sword travel all matched the intelligence Pain had relayed.

"Kambara Sogetsu?"

"That's me."

"Land and state your purpose."

Konan's gaze swept over the Flame and Thunder Swords.

Cangyue stood on the Flame Sword, his oil-paper umbrella tilted slightly.

"I'm here to apply for the position of second-in-command of the Akatsuki."

"..."

Konan fell silent for a moment, then continued:

"Before entering our base, surrender your weapons temporarily."

Cangyue looked at her.

"So you're the Akatsuki's HR?"

Once again, Konan heard an unfamiliar term.

Cangyue glanced at the Rain Ninja standing guard on the surrounding towers.

"The local gang has no manners."

"I'm here for a job interview, and you want me to hand over my weapons first?"

"The Akatsuki is not a gang."

Konan's gaze cooled slightly.

"And your actions hardly suggest you're here to join."

"They look more like a provocation against Amegakure's defenses."

A mass of paper sheets surged out from behind her.

The paper folded and compressed, forming dozens of sharp paper spears in an instant and hemming Cangyue in from every direction.

Yet Cangyue did not draw his sword.

"If the pay rises fast enough, I can treat you to dinner."

He paused briefly.

"But I'm not handing over my swords."

The paper spears abruptly closed in, shrinking the encirclement to less than three meters across.

Rumble!

Thunder rolled across the sky.

At the same instant, the Thunder Sword hovering beside Cangyue vanished.

A streak of blue light darted back and forth between the paper spears.

The blade skimmed past each spearhead, finally flicking away a sheet of paper beside Konan's shoulder before shooting into the curtain of rain.

The lightning doubled back.

The sheet rested steadily on the sword's tip as it was delivered back to Konan.

It had not been cut.

Nor had it picked up any more rainwater.

Konan's pupils contracted slightly.

Cangyue still held his oil-paper umbrella.

"Let's leave it at that. If I were provoking you..."

With a gentle nudge, the Thunder Sword returned the sheet to her shoulder.

"...it would already be in pieces."

[Valor Points +40]

Konan watched him for several seconds, and the paper spears gradually dispersed.

Pain's aim was to ascertain Cangyue's worth.

There was no need to start a fight here prematurely.

"Follow me."

Konan turned and flew toward the outskirts of the village.

Cangyue guided the Flame Sword after her.

After flying some distance, he suddenly looked at Konan's paper wings.

"Why isn't your paper affected by water?"

Konan did not look back.

Asking outright how her Ninjutsu worked on their first meeting was clearly not a question she could answer.

"We'll discuss that after you join the organization."

"Do you provide lodging?"

"Yes."

"What about meals?"

"The base has basic supplies."

"How is mission pay calculated?"

"It's allocated according to difficulty and contribution."

"If my weapons are damaged on a mission, can I get reimbursed?"

"You cover that yourself."

Cangyue glanced at the Flame and Thunder Swords.

"The benefits are mediocre."

Konan's temple twitched.

"But room and board are decent."

Cangyue added:

"I want a room to myself. I'm fairly introverted."

[Valor Points +20]

For the first time, Konan began to doubt Pain's decision to recruit Cangyue.

Was this boy here to join a dangerous organization of Missing-nin, or to apply for a job at an ordinary ninja organization?

An Abandoned Shrine gradually came into view between the mountains ahead.

Konan descended.

"Pain is inside."

"I'll warn you one last time."

"He agreed to meet you because you defeated Hidan and Kakuzu, proving your worth."

"Pointless provocations will only bring this conversation to an early end."

Cangyue closed his oil-paper umbrella.

The purple Flame Sword gave off a gentle glow of fire, evaporating the lingering moisture on his shoulders and the edges of his clothes.

White mist drifted away from his sides.

He stood on the sword with his hands clasped behind his back, the Thunder Sword hovering silently behind him.

"Perfect."

"I don't like pointless things either."

The stone doors opened with a rumble.

Deva Path Pain stood alone in the center of the vast, dim hall.

His pale purple Rinnegan looked through the doorway and met Cangyue's gaze as he rode his sword inside.