The closer they drew to Amegakure, the more oppressive the air became. The outline of that cold city, built entirely of steel and pipes, loomed through the curtain of rain like a dormant giant beast. Countless towering smokestacks reached like feelers toward the overcast sky, spewing industrial fumes.
Even the rain seemed thicker here, the sensory chakra within it forming layer upon layer of invisible webs. Ling and Xi had to devote more effort to maintaining their fragile energy disguise. Their pace slowed, every step like trudging through a mire.
They followed an abandoned railway mostly submerged beneath the rainwater. The rails were mottled with rust, the sleepers rotten, and dilapidated, uninhabited houses leaned on either side. This seemed to be an old district abandoned during Amegakure's expansion. Its desolation and deathly silence instead offered them a little cover.
"Can you keep going?" Ling asked quietly. He could feel Xi trembling slightly; maintaining the disguise was taking an enormous toll on her.
"I... can..." Xi's voice was barely a thread, but her eyes remained resolute.
Suddenly, Ling's Jōgan caught a jumble of footsteps and chakra fluctuations around the corner ahead. About five or six people were approaching fast! Judging by the strength and flow of their chakra, they were Amegakure patrol ninja!
There was no way to avoid them!
Ling grabbed Xi and swiftly ducked into the ruins of a half-collapsed house nearby. He held his breath and pushed the disguise to its limit, praying this last-minute measure could fool the enemies so close at hand.
The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by impatient complaints.
"This damned weather, and that damned earthquake! What the hell happened to the Ryūmyaku?" "Cut the chatter and search carefully! 'God' ordered us to kill anyone suspicious on sight! Apparently, two God Defilers escaped from the 'Abyssal Corridor'!" "I heard one of them's a Konoha Anbu. Some nerve!" "The other seems to be that Miko they locked up before... The higher-ups gave strict orders: find them alive or bring back their bodies!"
The voices paused outside the ruins, as though their owners were looking around. Ling's and Xi's hearts leaped into their throats.
"Doesn't seem to be any movement here." "Let's check over there! This damned place doesn't have a soul in sight."
The footsteps gradually faded away.
Ling and Xi exhaled in relief at the same time, cold sweat already soaking their backs. That had been close! While they remained still, their disguise had barely fooled these chunin- and Genin-level patrol members.
Yet just as they thought the danger had passed for the moment, something abruptly changed!
A sharp whistle cut through the air overhead without warning! Its target was not the ruins where Ling and Xi were hiding, but... the direction in which the patrol had just left!
Shhk! Shhk!
Several muffled sounds of blades piercing flesh came in succession, accompanied by brief screams. Then everything fell silent.
Ling's and Xi's pupils contracted! Someone had intercepted and killed that patrol! Who was it?
His Jōgan swiftly scanned upward. Through gaps in the ruined second-story floor, he caught a blurred figure-dressed in ordinary Land of Rain civilian clothes and wearing a conical hat that obscured his face. But his movements were clean and efficient, his strikes ruthless; he had dispatched that squad of Rain Ninja in an instant. There were no obvious chakra fluctuations from him, as though he were a true ghost. Without the Jōgan's extreme sensitivity to energy and signs of life, his presence would have been almost impossible to detect.
Friend or foe?
Ling tightened his grip on his kunai, every muscle tensing. Xi nervously clutched the corner of his clothes as well.
After disposing of the patrol, the figure upstairs did not leave immediately. Instead, he slipped down as silently as a gecko and landed at the entrance to the ruins where Ling and Xi were hiding. He did not enter, merely speaking through the broken wall in an extremely low voice:
"Konoha's 'Crow,' Miko of the Uzumaki, follow me if you want to leave the Land of Rain alive."
His voice was hoarse and low, revealing neither his age nor his emotions.
Ling was shaken! The stranger had accurately identified their identities and code name! Who was he? A trap set by Pain? Or...
"Who are you?" Ling asked in a low voice without making any rash moves. His Sharingan quietly activated in the shadows, locking onto the stranger.
The conical hat lifted slightly, revealing a pair of eyes that looked particularly sharp in the dim light. They held the weariness of someone weathered by life and an almost instinctive vigilance.
"A ghost of the Land of Rain... who doesn't want 'God' to gain complete control of the Ryūmyaku," he said slowly. "The Ryūmyaku rampage you triggered by destroying the 'Six Binding Pillars' has temporarily tied up most of 'God's' attention. This is our only chance. Believe me or not, but we don't have much time left. 'God's' wrath will sweep through here soon."
His words contained an enormous amount of information and went straight to the heart of the matter. Ling quickly weighed his options. The stranger had easily dispatched a squad of Rain Ninja; his strength was considerable. If this were a trap, he could simply attack them directly. There was no need for this extra step. Besides, he had mentioned not wanting God to control the Ryūmyaku, which partly aligned with their own objective.
Time to take a gamble!
"Lead the way." Ling made his decision at once and helped Xi to her feet.
The man in the conical hat did not seem surprised by Ling's choice. He nodded, turned, and left, moving extremely fast yet as silently as a cat.
Ling and Xi immediately followed, maintaining their energy disguise as they threaded through even more dilapidated and complicated alleyways. The man knew the terrain extremely well. He chose surveillance blind spots and places with strong energy interference, skillfully avoiding several hidden sentries and sensory barriers.
After numerous twists and turns, they reached a concealed hideout deep within the underground drainage system. Its entrance was cleverly hidden by genjutsu and mechanical devices. The interior was small but stocked with some clean water, food, and basic medical supplies.
"It's safe here for now." The man removed his conical hat, revealing the weather-beaten face of a middle-aged man. A hideous scar ran from his forehead across his left eye down to his jaw, but his right eye was exceptionally bright, like a hawk's. "My name is Araki. Former Amegakure Elite Jonin, and one of Lord Hanzō's old subordinates."
One of Hanzō's old subordinates? Ling understood. After Pain usurped power, a purge of the old forces had been inevitable.
"Why are you helping us?" Ling asked directly, keeping his guard up.
A trace of complicated emotion flashed through Araki's lone eye: hatred, helplessness, and a hint of resolve. "Lord Hanzō may have had his faults, but at least the Land of Rain was still the Land of Rain. Now... the Land of Rain has become 'God's' cage, and Amegakure a tool for realizing his ambitions! The Ryūmyaku is the foundation of this land. He must never gain complete control of it! Otherwise, the Land of Rain will be beyond salvation!"
He looked at Xi with a trace of respect in his gaze. "The Miko of the Uzumaki have protected the Ryūmyaku for generations. They are benefactors of the Land of Rain. Imprisoning you was 'God's' crime. Though your destruction of the 'Six Binding Pillars' caused chaos, it also disrupted 'God's' plan and gave people like us... a spark of resistance."
His words carried long-suppressed grief and indignation, along with sincerity.
"Do you have a plan?" Ling pressed.
"An... undeveloped idea." Araki walked over to the wall, where a somewhat crude, hand-drawn map of the Land of Rain hung. He pointed to a valley northwest of Amegakure. "Here. This is a secondary outlet of the Ryūmyaku, as well as an auxiliary energy node for the 'Rain Tiger at Will Technique.' 'God' is currently concentrating all his efforts on stabilizing the core node, so the defenses here may be relatively weak. We can try destroying this node to further destabilize the Ryūmyaku and force 'God' to divide his attention, creating an opening for you to escape. It might even... disrupt the 'Rain Tiger at Will Technique' in this area."
He looked at Ling and Xi. "But that requires timing, and strength. In particular... power capable of resonating with the Ryūmyaku." His gaze settled on Ling. Clearly, he had previously witnessed or sensed Ling using the Fragment to interfere with the barrier.
Ling touched the Fragment tucked against his chest and fell silent for a moment. Araki's plan was risky, but it truly seemed the most likely way to break the impasse at present. Besides, destroying the node would itself help prevent Pain from controlling the Ryūmyaku.
"When do we act?" Ling asked, a trace of resolve flashing in his eyes.
A glimmer lit Araki's lone eye. "We wait! We wait for the next periodic fluctuation in the Ryūmyaku's energy, when the node's defenses are weakest! That should be... midnight tomorrow!"
Before you continue