After the raid, the rain continued to fall over Amegakure.
The arrival of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had brought no brilliant rainbow to gloomy, cloud-covered Amegakure. With the Akatsuki gone, elite squads from the Five Great Nations were now stationed over its head, reducing the Land of Rain to just another ordinary small country.
The Land of Rain was a strategic prize that armies fought over. Ravaged by war, it also had an environment ill-suited to human habitation.
Standing on the stone of the Demon God Statue, Zou Hyuga looked down at Amegakure, nearly half of which lay in ruins, from the vantage point Nagato often used.
The ruins were being rebuilt, and the sight seemed to affect Zou Hyuga, stirring complicated feelings within him.
As he remembered it, Naruto had talked Nagato around, and Nagato had used Rinne Rebirth to revive the dead residents of Konoha.
Yet more than a decade later, Amegakure was far worse off than it had been under Konan and Pain.
As Zou Hyuga stood there feeling wistful, the Third Hokage appeared beside him, followed his gaze toward Amegakure, and offered some reflections on the aftermath of the battle.
"Lord Third..." Zou Hyuga bowed slightly, but the Third stopped him and said, "No need for formalities... I have a secret mission that requires your abilities."
"What mission?"
"Investigating an organization..." After a pause, the Third continued, "A merchant association, to be precise. You may have heard of it. It's called the Tailed Beast Merchant Association..."
"The Tailed Beast Merchant Association?!" Zou Hyuga paused in surprise, then asked, "Lord Third, why do you want to investigate a merchant association?"
The Third's expression turned serious. "I suspect this association has some connection to the Akatsuki. After all, one of the Akatsuki's members uses the codename 'President.'