Amegakure's Number One Ninja World Idol Group Finally Welcomes Its First Batch of Trainees

"The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain really is vastly different." Kenichi Amamiya looked at the border before him and could not help sighing.

The ninjas on the Land of Fire's side were very casual. Some were even chatting or smoking, looking nothing like they were stationed on the nation's border.

Compared to the relaxed and undisciplined Land of Fire ninjas, the Land of Rain's ninjas appeared nervous and uneasy. They did not even dare glance toward the Land of Fire.

Kenichi Amamiya roughly knew the reason. Hanzo the Salamander, the Land of Rain's pillar of support, was most likely dead, and with contact lost, the country's ninjas had become anxious.

But that had nothing to do with him. Holding his Travel Permit, he smoothly passed the border inspection and entered this small country bordering the Land of Fire.

Not long after entering, Kenichi Amamiya discovered that the Land of Rain's environment truly differed from that of the Land of Fire. The towns here were much smaller.

They also had one defining feature: their walls were built rather high—at the very least, much higher than those in the Land of Fire.

"This is like expecting a thin piece of cloth to protect your chastity." Kenichi Amamiya shook his head. What could walls like these do against the three great nations nearby?

Even if they were built as high as the walls in Attack on Titan, they would still be utterly useless against the ninjas of this world.

This was probably just a way for people from small countries to give themselves some psychological comfort.

But he had no interest in lamenting for others. He entered the small town, quickly disposed of the goods he had on hand, exchanged them for funds, and left.

He had only borrowed the identity of a Merchant in the Land of Fire to avoid possible trouble on the road. Now that he had arrived in the Land of Rain, it no longer mattered.

Kenichi Amamiya put on a Fox Mask he had bought from a roadside stall and swiftly headed toward Amegakure.

As he ran, Kenichi Amamiya also checked his new research target.

Current Research Subject: Chakra Parasite

Research Progress: 0.05%

After deciding on his research subject, Kenichi Amamiya had chosen to study the parasite inside the amber with the mindset of opening a blind box. To prevent the ridiculous possibility of researching the amber itself, he had even deliberately melted it down.

Once he had chosen the subject, Kenichi Amamiya learned the parasite's name: Chakra Parasite.

The name reminded Kenichi Amamiya of the Aburame Clan, but the Aburame Clan's parasites did not look like this. That made him somewhat eager to see what this parasite could do.

After all, its name suggested it had something to do with Chakra. If so, it presumably would not be limited to parasitizing ordinary people.

It just seemed that the research would take some time. Hopefully, not too long.

The Land of Rain was not very large, at least compared to the vast Land of Fire. Kenichi Amamiya soon arrived near Amegakure, and his footsteps came to a halt.

Because he discovered that it was raining in Amegakure.

Rain in Amegakure did not sound unusual, but Kenichi Amamiya could sense an extremely faint trace of Chakra in the air. With his Sharingan activated, he could see it even more clearly.

Otherwise, ordinary ninjas would likely struggle to notice it and merely assume it was an ordinary rainy day.

This should have been Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique, an extremely covert surveillance ninjutsu.

If he barged in now, Nagato and Konan would probably come invite him for tea before long.

"Ninja of Konoha, what is your purpose in coming to Amegakure?" But at that moment, Kenichi Amamiya realized that he seemed to be surrounded.

Deva Path Pain, Konan, Jigokudo, and Preta Path stood in four positions, surrounding Kenichi Amamiya in the center.

Kenichi Amamiya's mouth twitched. What an impressive welcome. But he had not come into contact with the rain curtain, so how had Nagato and Konan discovered him?

"First of all, I'm not a ninja of Konoha." Kenichi Amamiya removed his mask. They had probably identified him from his Sharingan, hadn't they?

But then he remembered that he was still wearing that Merchant's face, so Kenichi Amamiya peeled it off as well, revealing his true appearance.

He believed the Akatsuki definitely knew this face. After all, information on Rogue Ninjas was no secret in the ninja world.

"That face..." Konan frowned slightly, then swiftly found the corresponding target in her mind.

"Kenichi Amamiya, Konoha's A-Rank Rogue Ninja." Konan identified Kenichi Amamiya. Upon hearing that, Kenichi Amamiya immediately nodded and proudly raised his head.

That's right, he was Konoha's A-Rank Rogue Ninja!

Unfortunately, he was not S-Rank yet.

Tch, as long as I didn't start out as C-Rank, it's fine. But even some Bald Demon King started from C-Rank. Thinking about it that way, being C-Rank doesn't seem so bad.

Eh? Wait, do Rogue Ninjas even have C-Rank?

"Konoha's Rogue Ninja, state your purpose in coming to Amegakure." Deva Path Pain, who stood at the front, looked at Kenichi Amamiya and asked again. He knew of Kenichi Amamiya as well.

But he was more interested in that S-Rank Rogue Ninja, Orochimaru. That man should be able to contribute to his plan.

"May I ask whether the Akatsuki is recruiting? My teacher—Konoha's S-Rank Rogue Ninja Orochimaru—and I have heard of the Akatsuki's reputation." Kenichi Amamiya smiled faintly and asked expectantly.

Konan and Nagato visibly paused. Clearly, they had not expected this Konoha A-Rank Rogue Ninja to ask to join the Akatsuki right away.

After Nagato cleared away that trash, Hanzō, he had indeed planned to recruit some elites to prepare for the later stages of his plan. But before he had even begun recruiting, someone had come seeking them out on his own?

"We are. Your teacher is strong enough to join the Akatsuki." After a moment of silence, Nagato spoke. He had great confidence in himself.

Under these eyes of a God, he had no concern that Kenichi Amamiya and Orochimaru would do anything detrimental to them.

"Then can I join?" Kenichi Amamiya asked hopefully. He knew the Akatsuki seemed to have rings, but there also appeared to be a limited number of them.

"...Fight me. If you win, you can join." Preta Path stepped forward.

Kenichi Amamiya glanced at Preta Path. Well, damn, he knew this guy.

The scene in Naruto where Pain destroyed Konoha was constantly turned into memes. Phrases like One Bag of Rice, How Many Floors and QQ Bites Mud were everywhere.

So Kenichi Amamiya really did know Preta Path's ability. As he recalled, this thing was fairly easy to deal with.

Hm?

Kenichi Amamiya froze. That's right, this guy can absorb Chakra. Doesn't that mean I can finally practice Senjutsu without holding back?