A lone figure trekked through the desert, his face expressionless beneath his red-cloud robe as he stared coldly at the oasis town.
Pain had never visited this town in the desert. Compared to the arid sands, he was more accustomed to the damp climate of the Land of Rain.
After two teams from the organization failed in succession to capture their target, Pain decided to take action himself and capture Shukaku, the One-Tail.
Following the mark Madara had left on Shukaku, he arrived at this oasis town.
Standing on high ground, Pain saw no sign of Shukaku. Since the beast had not been sealed into a jinchūriki, his enormous body should have been impossible to hide.
Puzzled, Pain entered the town. Some sort of festival seemed to be underway, with crowds thronging the streets.
The bustling residents also noticed this unusual visitor. His conspicuous red-cloud robe, the forehead protector marking him as a missing-nin, and the black rods piercing his nose and earlobes all indicated that he was not someone to be trifled with.
The guards quickly approached to demand his identity, only to be knocked down with ease.
Grabbing the guard captain by the throat, Pain used the Body Flicker Technique to reach a secluded corner of an alley and asked, "What is this place? What are you doing? Where is Shukaku now?"
"I... can't... speak..." The guard captain struggled desperately, unable to get the words out.
Noticing this, Pain threw the guard captain to the ground. He did not believe a guard captain with only chunin-level strength could cause any trouble.
Facing Pain's emotionless eyes, the guard captain looked terrified and told him everything he knew.
"A town established by the survivors of Rōran. They're conducting an evacuation drill. No information about the One-Tail..."
Pain was somewhat disappointed