Three figures slipped into the Land of Wind under cover of night.
An endless expanse of desert stretched before them.
Voices chatting drifted through the wind and sand.
"I, Kakuzu, have been collecting bounties for over seventy years. I once tried to assassinate the First Hokage, but I slipped up a little and couldn't beat him. To avoid being hunted down by Konoha, I never dared take jobs involving the great nations. I hid my identity and kept a low profile." The speaker wore an Akatsuki robe and a Takigakure forehead protector with a slash across its symbol. As he moved, numerous patches on his flesh were faintly visible.
"I never thought joining you would mean taking on such a huge mission. Invading the Land of Sand?"
"That Lord Pero of yours dropped out of the sky, grabbed me, and dumped me in Amegakure. He said he wanted me to be the chief financial officer. How did I end up on a mission already?"
Nagato looked at the "old man" before him, who claimed to be over eighty, and shook his head with a short sigh. Why did Pero keep bringing back abnormal people?
Nagato ignored Kakuzu's complaints and said, "A few days ago, our informant in the Land of Wind sent word that the Third Kazekage went missing during this war between the ninja villages. With the village's strongest fighter gone, the Fourth Kazekage will reportedly be changing the jinchūriki in the next few days. Our mission is to bring back the new jinchūriki."
"I'm dying of thirst." Yahiko took out a bottle of water and drank a few mouthfuls. "Do you know who the jinchūriki is?"
"No. When the news came, they said the candidate hadn't been decided yet."
Suddenly, they sensed an unfamiliar chakra rapidly approaching nearby.
"See? Here comes our information."
A flash of silver streaked past, and three shuriken embedded themselves in front of their feet.
"Who are you, and why have you come to Sunagakure at night?"
A figure leaped from a distant hill and landed before them.
He wore a Sand ninja forehead protector, and judging by his clothes, he seemed to be on patrol.
The three exchanged looks.
Kakuzu couldn't help asking, "This is the standard of a major village in a great nation? If I'd known they were this weak, I wouldn't have passed up those bounties."
"What are you..."
Nagato appeared behind the Sand ninja with the Body Flicker Technique, reached up, and grabbed the crown of his head, activating his Rinnegan.
Mind Layer Dive!
A moment later, Nagato finished searching the Sand ninja's memories and exhaled. His left hand jolted, turning the man's brain to mush, and he casually tossed him aside.
"All right, I know the way now." Nagato tapped his head. "The defense map is already in my head."
"I also learned something very bizarre."
"What?"
"Yesterday, the Fourth Kazekage sealed the tailed beast inside his own newborn son."
"He wouldn't even spare a baby."
Afterward, Nagato explained how to infiltrate Sunagakure, and when and where to regroup.
He also shared the jinchūriki's location.
Over a thousand meters above the three, a figure hovered in the air, watching them with the moonlight at his back.
His eyes glowed red.
Late that night,
Several dark figures leaped across round earthen buildings, deftly avoiding the Sand ninjas' patrol routes.
They finally stopped before a massive round building.
They pressed close to the window and listened to the conversation inside.
"Fourth Kazekage, you sealed Shukaku inside your newborn son. How can someone so young control a tailed beast's power?"
"Shut up! I refuse to acknowledge him as my son!"
"The village leadership all believe that if he loses control, it will cause a tremendous disaster."
"Our village lacks resources. We need powerful fighters to secure an advantage for us."
Bang!
"Who's there? Enemy attack!"
Kakuzu kicked the door open and formed hand seals. A black, masked monster crawled out of his back.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
The monster spat a high-pressure sphere of wind, shredding the two nearby guards into scraps of flesh. A wild tempest rampaged through the room before blasting a huge hole through one side of the building.
A large golden sphere stood in the center of the room.
"What's this thing?" Yahiko stepped through the doorway behind Kakuzu.
He turned to see Kakuzu staring wide-eyed, something glistening trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"?"
"That's gold." Nagato raised his right hand toward the golden sphere. "According to the information we've gathered, the Fourth Kazekage can control anything containing gold. A very distinctive Magnet Release."
Nagato abruptly spread his right hand.
Banshō Ten'in.
The solid gold dust was pulled by invisible gravity, transforming into several rivers of golden sand that converged on Nagato's hand. An opening half a body in size formed in the golden sphere, exposing Rasa within.
Rasa's figure flickered in and out of sight amid the golden rivers of sand. His left hand could faintly be seen forming a seal.
In an instant, dozens of sand blades shot out of the rivers, tearing through the air with piercing whistles as they stabbed toward Nagato.
Nagato's eyes widened, and invisible gravity erupted, twisting the dozens of sand blades together into a spiral arrow and sending it back at Rasa.
"Who the hell are you?"
Rasa released his Sand Release, leaped backward, and formed hand seals.
Gold Dust Binding Prison!
The flowing gold dust beneath his feet instantly became a huge sand cage enclosing him. The spiral arrow struck the prison, exploding into a cloud of sand.
A dark figure rapidly approached through the cloud. Rasa burst through the sand, the gold dust gathered in his right hand forming a spear that thrust straight at Nagato.
Nagato abruptly clenched his right hand.
Shinra Tensei.
Invisible repulsion exploded before him. Half a body's distance from Nagato, the gold dust spear shattered inch by inch. As though struck by a heavy hammer, Rasa was instantly hurled over ten meters away, spraying a trail of bloody mist through the air.
"Die."
Rasa twisted in midair and slammed both hands onto the ground the moment he landed.
Gold Dust Burial!
Gold dust buried deep underground within a thousand-meter radius suddenly surged out, forming a tremendous wave that swept aside the buildings in its path and rushed straight at Nagato.
Kakuzu and Yahiko landed beside Minato.
"As expected of the Kazekage. I'll need a raise when we get back."
"Nagato, I'll help you."
Kakuzu and Yahiko formed hand seals simultaneously.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
In an instant, moisture from the air around the three condensed into streams, forming walls around them to hold back the surging gold dust.
"Damn it, the desert air is too dry. There isn't enough moisture. This wall is about to break."
Kakuzu spoke viciously.
"You two fall back and find that baby. I'll deal with this."
Nagato frowned deeply and sent the two away so they wouldn't hold him back.
Then he raised his hand and activated his Rinnegan.
Chibaku Tensei.
However, with his chakra nearly exhausted, Nagato struggled to sustain this devastating technique. A lock of his red hair quietly turned white.
A pitch-black gravity sphere condensed in Nagato's palm. Once it left his hand, it immediately unleashed a terrifying pull. The surging gold dust was caught at once, rapidly gathering under the suction and steadily forming a golden sand sphere in the air.
The suction kept dragging at Rasa. He desperately attached chakra to the soles of his feet, trying to steady himself.
As the last stream of gold dust was sucked in, Rasa was pulled into the golden sand sphere as well.
Unfortunately, Nagato lacked enough chakra. In the end, Rasa's face and one hand remained exposed, and he was not killed.
Drained of strength, Nagato abruptly fell to his knees, bracing himself against the ground with one hand.
Kakuzu and Yahiko landed beside Nagato, a baby cradled in Yahiko's arms.
Seeing Yahiko holding his son, Rasa roared at the three in terror.
"What are you going to do? Who the hell are you?"
At this, Yahiko stepped forward.
"We are the Akatsuki. Your ninja village's tailed beast is far too dangerous. For the sake of world peace, we need to retrieve your tailed beast."
With that, he and Kakuzu supported Nagato and strode away.
Hovering in the sky, Pero had witnessed everything. The corners of his mouth curled upward.
"Well done, but you didn't finish the job."
Red light gathered in his eyes. Lasers descended from the sky, melting Rasa and the golden sphere together into molten gold.
His figure paused, then vanished from the spot.
Before you continue