The entrance to Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village, was a towering fortress of rusted steel.
But getting inside had been almost insultingly easy.
When Ren, Satoshi, and Kaori approached the heavy iron gates, the guarding Rain shinobi had simply looked at them. Ren had offered a polite smile and requested an audience with Hanzō of the Salamander. Instead of demanding identification, confiscating their weapons, the guards simply nodded and gestured for them to follow.
As they were escorted deeper into the city, Ren kept his eyes moving beneath his rain hood.
The village was a ghost town. The towering metallic skyscrapers were impressive, but the streets below were entirely deserted. The houses on the lower levels looked tattered and abandoned, their windows dark. Puddles of stagnant water filled the cracked pavement, reflecting the dreary grey sky. It seemed as though the entire civilian population had been forcefully relocated or driven underground.
The infrastructure of an industrial giant was here, but the heartbeat of the city was gone.
Soon, the escort led them to the central administrative tower. The three Uchihas were guided up a spiraling metal staircase and finally stopped before a heavy set of double doors. The guard opened them without a word, gesturing for them to enter.
The room inside was cavernous, dimly lit by a single lamp on a massive desk.
Sitting behind the desk in the shadows was Hanzō. He wore his signature mask. But as the three Uchihas stepped into the room, their eyes immediately locked onto Hanzō's face.
His eyes weren't normal. They were pale purple, rippling with concentric black rings. The Rinnegan.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the room plummeted to freezing.
Whoosh.
Three pairs of eyes flared crimson in the dark. Satoshi and Kaori's Mangekyō Sharingan snapped open. Ren's own Mangekyō awakened, his hand drifting casually toward his pouch.
Satoshi narrowed his eyes. His hand rested heavily on the hilt of his sword. With his Quincy spiritual perception, he stared right through the legendary leader of the Hidden Rain.
No soul. Just an empty husk. Satoshi didn't draw his blade. He just scoffed quietly.
"What do you want from me?" the figure of Hanzō spoke.
Ren stared at Hanzo, then slowly shifted his gaze past the desk, looking directly into the pitch-black corner of the office.
"What can we possibly get from a dead body?" Ren asked, his voice echoing off the walls.
The figure of Hanzō twitched.
"Whoever you are," Ren continued, his tone perfectly conversational, "I think you know exactly what our purpose for meeting Hanzō is. Since Hanzō is clearly dead, would you be kind enough to have a face-to-face conversation instead of using a corpse as a puppet?"
A heavy, oppressive silence filled the room.
"Do you truly think," a new voice echoed from the shadows, cold and detached, "that I would be interested in talking to you?"
"Well, yeah," Ren deadpanned. "You knew the exact moment we crossed the border into the Land of Rain, and you still entertained us all the way to this office."
Footsteps echoed from the dark corner.
A young man emerged into the dim light. He looked to be around twenty years old, with vibrant red hair that fell over his face. In his eye sockets sat the exact same purple, ringed eyes as the corpse. Close behind him stepped a beautiful young woman of the same age, her blue hair adorned with a single pale paper flower.
Nagato and Konan.
Ren stared at the red-haired man, his brain buffering for a solid three seconds.
Wait, what the fuck? Ren thought internally, his Mangekyō spinning slightly in confusion. First Hanzō had the Rinnegan, and now this guy? Is this guy is Pain. But "Pain" supposed to have bright orange hair? Did he dye it? Honestly, I don't know.
In his previous life on Earth, Ren hadn't watched the full Naruto anime. His entire knowledge of the series came from scrolling through fragmented YouTube Shorts and TikTok edits while on the toilet.
The scene shifted awkwardly as Konan gestured toward a large conference table in the center of the room.
Nagato and Konan sat on one side. Opposite them sat Ren, Satoshi, and Kaori.
What followed was perhaps the most intense, uncomfortable staredown in the history of the Shinobi world.
Three pairs of glowing, red Mangekyō Sharingan glared across the wooden table at one pair of glowing, purple Rinnegan.
Konan sat rigidly beside Nagato, her eyes darting back and forth. She was the only person at the table without special eyes, and she felt incredibly out of place.
The silence stretched on for ten agonizing seconds.
Ren leaned slightly to his left and whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "Dad. Should we deactivate our Sharingan?"
Satoshi didn't break eye contact with Nagato, whispering back. "No. The guy in front of us hasn't deactivated his yet. It's a power play."
"I don't think he can turn those off," Ren pointed out.
"We don't know that for sure," Satoshi murmured stubbornly. "Just wait for your mom. If she turns her eyes off, we do exactly as she does."
Kaori, sitting perfectly straight, kept her Mangekyō locked onto Nagato, her face a mask of absolute, unbothered authority.
Across the table, Nagato cleared his throat, trying to regain the intimidating atmosphere of a supreme ruler.
"What do you want, Uchiha?" Nagato asked, his voice resonating with an otherworldly gravity.
Ren leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Quick question first. Can you actually turn your eyes off and make them normal?"
Nagato paused. He had not prepared for an eye-exam inquiry.
"These," Nagato said, his voice dropping an octave as he leaned into his divine persona, "are the eyes of a God."
Ren stared at him. "...Okay, so you can't. Fine."
Ren blinked, deactivating his Mangekyō. His eyes faded back to standard onyx black. Seeing her son stand down, Kaori gracefully deactivated hers, and Satoshi quickly followed suit. The oppressive red glow in the room finally vanished, leaving only Nagato's purple rings.
At that moment, Kaori took over the conversation. She had watched her son and husband operate, and she understood instantly that neither Ren nor Satoshi possessed the delicate touch required to negotiate with a supposed 'God'.
"We would have reached Amegakure earlier," Kaori said, her voice smooth and devoid of any hostility, "but when we entered the Land of Rain, we saw how many people were starving. Your country lacks food. The civilians have no proper housing. Crime is rampant out of sheer desperation."
She folded her hands on the table, her eyes locking onto Nagato's. "We witnessed a young boy being chased through the mud by several adults because he stole a loaf of bread. But the intriguing part was that the adults chasing him had nothing to do with the merchant he stole it from. They were chasing him so they could snatch the stolen food to feed their own families."
Underneath the table, Nagato slowly clenched his fist.
Kaori's words pierced right through his divine persona. The image of the starving boy triggered a violent memory of his own childhood, wandering the war-torn streets of Ame, begging for bread. He possessed the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. He had conquered a nation. Yet he was still entirely powerless to stop the very same starvation he had suffered as a child. A bitter, quiet anger built in his chest.
"We had some food with us," Kaori continued, her tone conversational but sharp. "We couldn't carry much on our persons, but we distributed what we had to those in need. The settlements near the border won't have any food problems for the next three or four days. They will eat three full meals a day until then."
Kaori let the statement hang in the air.
We didn't carry much, and yet we effortlessly fed your borders for days. She wanted Nagato to realize the sheer scale of the agricultural empire she commanded. She wanted him to understand that the Alliance could solve Amegakure's greatest crisis without breaking a sweat.
Beside her, Ren frowned internally. Why is Mom saying all this? He's the ruler of this country, he should already know the state of his own civilians. Why doesn't she just get to the point? Ren remained silent, assuming his mother was simply trying to sympathize with him so they wouldn't resist the trade deal.
Neither Ren nor Satoshi fully grasped what Kaori was actually doing. She wasn't sympathizing. She was highlighting their deepest vulnerability, presenting herself as the savior, and silently testing Nagato's emotional attachment to his people.
Konan, sensing the psychological trap closing around them, finally spoke up.
"What does any of that have to do with you being here?" Konan asked, her voice guarded. "What exactly do you want to discuss?"
Kaori smiled. It was a warm, entirely predatory smile.
"You see," Kaori said gently, "we are building an alliance of smaller nations that have been oppressed by the Great Wars. We produce a massive surplus of food. We share this food with the people of the countries in our alliance, ensuring no one ever starves again."
Kaori paused, letting the promise of salvation sink in.
"And in exchange... they contribute to the alliance."
Nagato's Rinnegan narrowed. "And what does this 'contribution' to the alliance include?"
Kaori's smile widened just a fraction.
Got you, she thought mentally.
Kaori leaned back in her chair, her posture relaxed, exuding the confidence of a woman who held all the cards.
"You ask about their contribution," Kaori said, her voice smooth and conversational. "It is nothing rigid. We understand that every nation has its own unique circumstances, so they contribute whatever they are capable of at their fullest. Take the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost, for example. Neither country possesses a large population or a strong military."
Kaori gestured vaguely with her hand. "So, the Alliance provides their native shinobi with steady, fixed monthly salaries. We give them advanced medical supplies, new jutsu scrolls, and limitless food. In return, they no longer have to risk their lives taking dangerous mercenary missions. Their only job is to secure the Alliance's borders. The civilians who wish to work simply join our agricultural labor force, and both Daimyos act as our trading partners."
She let the words hang in the dim air of the office.
It was a masterclass in framing. Kaori was deliberately highlighting the massive, life-changing benefits the minor nations received—food, money, and security—while making their "contributions" sound like a casual afterthought. However, beneath the generous tone was an unspoken, iron-clad rule: They contribute what they can at their fullest. If Amegakure wanted those same benefits, they would have to offer everything they had.
Konan, sitting rigidly beside Nagato, narrowed her amber eyes. She felt the invisible noose tightening. "And?"
Kaori shifted her gaze to the blue-haired woman, a faint, polite smile on her lips.
"And," Kaori continued, "the countries must support the Alliance on a global scale. In the event of any conflict, whether economic or physical, all member nations act as one. A single, unified military front."
Across the table, Nagato's purple eyes widened slightly in the shadows.
Underneath the table, his clenched fists finally relaxed. This is it, Nagato thought, a wave of profound relief washing over his mind. This is a flawless proposal.
In Nagato's mind, the logistics were simple. If he agreed to this, the starving people of Amegakure would finally have food. The remaining Rain shinobi, who were currently demoralized and broke, would receive fixed salaries and stable employment. The Land of Rain would become a legitimate trade partner, rebuilding its shattered economy overnight.
And the price? Simply providing military support in times of conflict.
To a normal Daimyo, pledging military support to a rising superpower was a massive, terrifying risk. But to Nagato? It was laughable. He possessed the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Acting as the military muscle for the Alliance was effortless. It was a trade he would make a thousand times over.
Nagato took a breath, opening his mouth. "We accept—"
Under the table, a sharp kick suddenly struck Nagato's shin.
Nagato flinched, his jaw snapping shut. He glanced to his right. Konan was staring straight ahead, her face completely unreadable, but her body language was screaming at him to stay quiet.
Konan had seen the trap.
Kaori had laid out the perfect bait, making the deal sound so irresistible that Nagato was about to volunteer his own country. But Kaori had never actually asked them to join. She hadn't made a formal proposal. If Nagato spoke up and agreed now, he would be the one requesting entry. Amegakure would enter the Alliance as a desperate vassal, permanently surrendering all their diplomatic leverage to this Uchiha woman.
Konan refused to let that happen.
Realizing Kaori was entirely impenetrable, Konan abruptly shifted her gaze away from the mother and locked eyes directly with the son. From the moment they sat down, Ren had been blunt, impatient, and straight forward.
"So," Konan said, her voice cutting sharply through the room, addressing Ren directly. "What exactly do you want from us? Why are you telling us all of this?"
She deliberately played dumb, forcing the Uchiha to show their hand. She needed the formal request to come from them.
Ren, who had been sitting quietly while his mother worked, blinked. He stared at Konan with a look of genuine confusion.
Is she dense? Ren thought internally, his brow furrowing. Didn't Mom just spell it out for them? We want you to join the alliance. Why is the paper girl asking stupid questions?
Ren sighed mentally. Well, I guess I will have to use simple words to explain it. This girl might not be good at political conversation.
A/N: If you like this fanfiction
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