Kanzo relayed the intelligence he gathered about Nagato to the leader of the Konoha Anbu... no, it should be said, to the ninja from Konoha Root.
"Rest assured, helping you secure the position of Hidden Rain Village Leader is something we agreed upon. From now on, the Land of Rain will be a vassal state of the Land of Fire, and the Hidden Rain Village will become a subordinate ninja village of Konoha."
"Of course. Hanzou's wife, son, grandson, when I return, I will kill them all without leaving anyone behind. Everything of Hanzou will disappear from Hidden Rain. Please inform Lord Danzo to be at ease. Now, I shall take my leave. I await your good news in Hidden Rain."
Kanzo beamed, vanishing from the sight of the Konoha Root ninja.
There were a total of eight Root members here, the rest were ninjas from the Shimura Clan of Konoha, clansmen of Shimura Danzo, the Root Leader.
Their purpose in gathering here was to eliminate any Hidden Rain Ninja that could threaten Kanzo's position as the Hidden Rain Village Leader.
In the future, as a subordinate ninja village of Konoha, Hidden Rain Village needed to choose an obedient subordinate.
"With this, Hidden Sand will be overwhelmed and retreat from the battlefield, and Hidden Rain is as good as in the bag. Truly worthy of being one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. If he loses, it's a complete disaster, but if he wins, the path to becoming the Fourth Hokage will be unchallenged."
Thus, Konoha would usher in an era where the Fourth Hokage and Root unite to embark on a groundbreaking and world-shaking great enterprise.
Immersed in such a beautiful vision of the future, the Root ninja organized the other Konoha ninjas at the scene and quickly withdrew, lying in ambush.
——Five minutes later.
Nagato and Konan's belated figures appeared in the canyon.
Staring at the corpses littering the ground, the two were momentarily stunned, their minds going blank, and almost unable to recall anything.
Yahiko was dead.
The members of Akatsuki were also all dead.
What was going on?
Is this a dream?
Why hasn't this dream ended?
"How could this be... this is impossible... everyone... Yahiko... Yahiko! Wake up for me!"
Konan's tears involuntarily streamed down her face, looking at that ice-cold corpse's face, the lively smile full of spirit and sunshine could never be seen again.
All that lay on the ground was a cold, lifeless corpse.
Nagato was dazed, staring at the blood-stained scene and the cold faces of the Akatsuki members, each sight piercing his heart.
He couldn't breathe.
Breathing was difficult.
Powerlessness, sorrow, pain, various emotions surged chaotically within Nagato's body, his body trembling.
Nagato's face was rigid, his red hair covering his eyes, as he slowly crouched, his fingers trembling as they touched Yahiko's chest.
"Yahiko..."
As he was speaking, a sizzling sound arose.
Amidst his grief, Nagato immediately sensed something was wrong. He lifted Yahiko's chest clothing, revealing a large number of Explosive Tags wrapped inside.
Nagato and Konan's pupils suddenly contracted.
Boom!
A burst of fiery light engulfed their bodies.
Nagato, clutching Konan's body, rolled on the ground, painful grunts escaping his lips.
"Nagato!"
Konan realized she only survived because of Nagato's protection, but Nagato's back was now completely charred and blackened, the gruesome sight of flesh and blood leaving Konan's heart aching.
"Konan, watch out!"
At the moment of the Explosive Tags' detonation, Nagato was already aware of the enemy's presence.
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, countless kunai and shuriken flew down from the sky, wrapped in numerous Explosive Tags, intending to blow Nagato and Konan to smithereens.
"Almighty Push!"
Nagato raised his hand, unleashing a fierce Repulsive Force, deflecting all the kunai and shuriken. The kunai bound with Explosive Tags exploded in the sky.
"Charge! Kill them!"
The Root Ninja led the charge from behind concealed rocks, followed closely by the Shimura Clan ninja.
"...Konoha Ninja..."
Judging by their attire, Ninja Headbands, and the shadows stretching stealthily from the darkness, those were the Shadow Ninjutsu unique to the Nara Clan.
Nagato quickly recognized the identities of the attackers as ninjas from Konoha.
From the same village as their teacher, Jiraiya.
"Almighty Push!"
The powerful Repulsive Force sent the leading Root Ninja flying, tumbling awkwardly on the ground.
Almighty Push could deflect objects, but it couldn't repel Jutsu without a physical form, like shadows.
However, Nagato didn't dodge, allowing the Root Ninja's extended shadow to enter his own shadow.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu succeeded."
The Root Ninja uttered cold words.
"Did you kill these people?"
Nagato was unconcerned about his body being controlled by the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, instead asking this question.
"This is a pointless inquiry."
The Root Ninja pushed aside by the Almighty Push stood up, brushing off the mud, and sneered coolly.
"Aren't Hidden Rain and Konoha allies?"
"Subjugating to Konoha's power is enough. The Hidden Rain, having lost Hanzou, is merely our Konoha's watchdog."
"Is that so?"
Nagato's tone was flat, with no discernible emotion.
The surrounding Konoha ninjas, noticing Nagato's silence, felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"Stop wasting time with him, kill the two of them!"
With an order, dozens of ninjas charged from all directions.
According to Kanzo's intel, that jutsu for deflecting objects couldn't be used continuously, exploit that gap to take him out.
"Wait! Don't get close to him yet!"
The Root Ninja using the Shadow Imitation Jutsu suddenly sensed something dangerous and halted his companions from attacking Nagato.