A fine rain fell steadily.
A barely perceptible shadow flashed across the sky.
Liumu read the profiles of every Akatsuki member on the list.
To his surprise, he found information on Orochimaru and that masked man among them.
Liumu looked at Nagato.
He waited for an explanation.
"Even I didn't expect Lord Orochimaru to appear in the Land of Rain."
"But he is now a rogue ninja from Konoha, and with him here in the Land of Rain, serving under me, I have no reason to turn him away."
Nagato's words made sense.
But only if he wasn't afraid of facing the wrath of Konoha ninjas.
"Tobi definitely isn't the masked man who attacked Konoha before," Nagato explained. "Although Tobi hasn't formally joined Akatsuki yet, I can still judge his abilities. He isn't capable of that."
"His name is Tobi?"
Liumu suddenly asked.
Nagato nodded and replied, "Yes, that's how he introduced himself."
"Then there's no mistake. It's him!"
Nagato: ???
The timeline had changed.
The people had changed too.
Without the past in which Obito had disguised himself as Tobi, this mysterious masked man had now taken Obito's place.
"Where is he?"
Liumu asked directly.
He didn't want to waste words with Nagato, because he knew that, as Akatsuki's leader, Nagato would certainly protect his subordinates.
"He's in Sunagakure."
"Off to capture the One-Tail?"
Nagato's brow tightened.
"So you also know the One-Tail is in Sunagakure?"
Liumu sneered and quietly waited for an explanation.
But unexpectedly, Nagato said, "I'm not trying to capture him and bring him back. I'm trying to save him."
Tailed beast jinchūriki generally endured very lonely and bitter childhoods.
That was true of both the One-Tail Jinchuriki and the Four-Tails jinchūriki.
But Liumu knew that Nagato's explanation was false.
As the Land of Rain's dagger,