"We, the Akatsuki, are essentially a mercenary group…"
The man who said this had no expression.His deep voice held calm authority—cold, heavy, absolute.Orange hair.Multiple black chakra receivers across his face.A scratched Amegakure forehead protector.
This was Pain, leader of the Akatsuki.
Konan nodded."Recently, Konoha's ninja have been trying to contact us. Their offers are generous—enough to explain why freelance mercenaries dared to fight Iwagakure on Konoha's behalf."
Pain folded his arms.
"Good. While Konoha and Iwagakure are locked in war, we accumulate funds… and begin our tailed-beast capture plan."
The Akatsuki's priority was always money—missions, commissions, preparations.But the sudden outbreak of the Fourth Great Ninja War introduced a rare window of opportunity.
The Five Great Nations, deep in conflict, would struggle to protect their jinchūriki.Even if Akatsuki lacked perfect funding, the battlefield chaos was too ideal to ignore.
Konan hesitated."Isn't it still too early?"
"Waiting for peace is too late," Pain said. "Consider this a rehearsal. During war, the disappearance of a few jinchūriki is easy to hide."
His eyes narrowed.
"Iwagakure deployed Roshi recently. Since their forces are acting as mercenaries for Konoha, we start with him."
Konan's expression darkened.
"This man is dangerous. Since arriving in the Land of Rain's battlefield, he has already made Konoha's forces too frightened to show themselves. His bounty from Konoha is extremely high."
Pain took the document from her hand.
It was Konoha's wartime merit list.
Capture an enemy position → 2 merit pointsCapture an Iwa ninja → 5 pointsKill an Iwa ninja → 3 pointsElites and mid-level shinobi had additional bonuses.
The list was so detailed it was almost dizzying.
"Konoha's leadership put a lot of thought into this," Konan muttered.
No wonder Jiraiya's three thousand men held off more than five thousand Iwa shinobi.Merit points ignited a frantic hunger for accomplishment.
"Konoha's bounty on Roshi is second only to Ōnoki. The Fire Daimyo is pouring money into this. High-ranking Iwa names have also surged on the black market," Konan continued.
Everything made sense now.
Those shady mercenaries Konoha hired?Konoha didn't even demand bodies—just headcount verification.So mercenaries earned:
Konoha's payment
Merit rewards
Black-market bounty on enemy corpses
One kill, three payouts.
It drove people insane.
"Good. Then it's settled," Pain said."I will deal with Roshi myself."
He paused.
"With the tailed-beast capture plan moved forward, we continue recruiting."
He glanced sideways.
"What of Hyuga Neiki? The one who caused this war. He's a valuable talent. Consider bringing him into the Akatsuki."
Konan looked conflicted.
"About Neiki… Madara and our newest recruit, Uchiha Itachi, may disagree."
"Did Neiki offend them?" Pain asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Madara was manipulated by him," Konan answered. "And Itachi nearly died at Neiki's hands."
Pain frowned."Itachi is strong."
"Neiki is stronger," Konan said quietly. "And far more dangerous. Compared to him, Orochimaru is nothing. He also has deep enmity with Madara."
Pain's lips curved—not in amusement, but calculation.
"Isn't that perfect?"
He didn't trust Madara.A rival like Neiki would disrupt Madara's influence.
"Keep tracking him. I'll speak with Madara personally if needed."
Pain turned away.
"Inform Konoha we will accept their commission."
Konan nodded and left.
Pain stood alone in the tower, looking out over Amegakure.The sudden upheaval from Konoha had surprised the world.But while Konoha and Iwa devoured the Land of Rain, the Akatsuki prospered in the shadows.
Since killing Hanzo, Pain controlled the village.But Hanzo's loyalists still existed—too many to root out by force alone.
Even in the original timeline, years after seizing Amegakure, remnants of Hanzo's faction continued assassination attempts.
Yet now…the Fourth Great Ninja War had changed everything.
Weary citizens, starving and terrified, could not withstand the brutality of invading forces.Rain mixed with tears.The Land of Rain descended into despair.
Then the Akatsuki appeared.
Pain declared Amegakure a no-combat zone.
He distributed food.Established shelters.Protected civilians.
To them, he was no longer a leader—but a savior.
The war reshaped the Land of Rain entirely.Pain's influence spread like the raindrops falling over every rooftop.Every heart in Amegakure now whispered prayers to him.
Those who once opposed him could no longer hide.
Pain clutched his dormant heart.
There was another reason he had not told Konan about accelerating the tailed-beast plan:
This country had suffered enough.
Waiting would only create more corpses.
Using this war as the beginning to end a thousand years of conflict—that was his mission.
He looked upon Amegakure's people.
"Mindless slaughter…""Endless hatred…""Incurable suffering…""This is… war…"
And then—
For the first time in years—
The rain stopped.
Sunlight touched the Land of Rain.
Land of Waves
The sky brightened suddenly.Weather in the Land of Waves had always been fickle.
Hashirama—masked, standing atop the giant God Tree structure—looked down at the field of corpses and the dwindling Kirigakure survivors.
He sighed softly.
"Mindless slaughter…""Endless hatred…""Incurable suffering…""This is—"
A scream cut him off.
A blood-spattered Kirigakure ninja, half-dead, lunged behind Hashirama with a kunai.
"DIE!""You monster!"
Before Hashirama turned, a white tendril from the massive structure behind him shot forward, impaling the attacker through the abdomen and lifting him into the air.
Blood rained down.
Even then, the attacker tried to throw the kunai at Hashirama.
Another tendril pierced his throat.Then several more.
His body was shredded into a gory mess before falling at Hashirama's feet.
Hashirama looked down.
"…Sorry."
He meant it.
Then he turned toward the surviving Mist shinobi.
Below, a massive cage of white tendrils trapped dozens of Kirigakure ninja.Inside the cage, pale plant-like creatures clawed and tore at them.The wounded were drained dry—reduced to desiccated corpses—feeding strength back into the God Tree.
Outside, Kirigakure shinobi tried desperately to break in and save them—only to be pushed back by new tendrils sprouting from the earth.
"Water Release: Water Blade Technique!"
A Mist ninja slashed open a gap in the cage—only for new tendrils to grow in instantly.
"Lava Release: Lava Monster Technique!"
Mei Terumi's molten torrent burned dozens of tendrils—but others absorbed the heat and lashed back, nearly killing the men inside.
Chaos.Screams.The forest echoed with death.
"Retreat! I'll cover you!" Mei shouted, body trembling from exhaustion as she warded off the tendrils' pursuit.
Hashirama watched quietly.
Kirigakure had brought more than two hundred shinobi.Between Konoha, Neiki, and him, only a dozen still stood.
Perfect.
He didn't need to wipe them all out.He needed survivors—to spread fear of him, of Kengakure, and of the Byakugan God Tree.
But he still had one more goal.
His masked eyes locked onto Mei Terumi.
She was important.
Zabuza was right—Mei held influence far beyond most Kirigakure shinobi.She was essential for what Neiki planned to plant in the Land of Water—
the "Tree of Peace."
So she must be captured.
"I didn't say you could leave."
"We surrender!" Mei gasped, retreating while pushing her men back with her remaining strength.
But her actions didn't match her words.She was fighting desperately to protect them—unwilling to let them die like animals.
This was Kirigakure's downfall.Their leader refused to abandon her people.
"Is this what you call surrender?" Hashirama asked calmly.
A tendril curled beneath his foot.He stepped onto it.
It lifted him forward—gliding toward her.
Kunai and shuriken flew at him from every angle—but the tendrils intercepted them all.
Middle and lower-tier ninjas were utterly helpless before the God Tree.The dozens of eyes acted like independent brains—tracking targetsanticipating movementscorrecting angles
A hive-mind Byakugan.
Hashirama wasn't facing two hundred shinobi.
He was only facing the few jōnin the God Tree couldn't kill automatically.
Numbers didn't matter.Nothing could outnumber the God Tree's eyes.
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