The sky was gray like a rag soaked in ink, and endless rain covered the open land as muddy roads twisted and blurred behind the curtain of water. The world looked flat and colorless under the downpour, with only the sound of rain filling the space.
Against this dull gray and black background, four figures walked across the ground in silence. Their steps were steady, and none of them spoke as rain slid off their clothes.
At the front was Tendo Pain, controlled by Nagato. His orange hair was soaked through, plastered to a young face that showed no trace of life or warmth.
Behind Tendo Pain followed the equally expressionless Human Path and Asura Path, along with Konan, whose blue purple long hair was darkened by the rain. The four moved in a straight line, like shadows passing through the storm.
As Amegakure gradually became clearer in the rain ahead, an unexplained unease rose in Konan's chest. She fixed her gaze on the distant outline of the village, her brow tightening slightly.
"Leader… Pain."
She was still not used to addressing Pain so directly. After a brief pause, she corrected herself and asked, "With only the current top three Paths of Pain, is it really fine to face Hanzo?"
Pain did not answer right away, nor did he turn back to look at her. His steps remained slow and measured, as if he were examining land whose order he intended to redefine.
Rain struck everything without pause, becoming the only rhythm of the world. The steady sound drowned out all other noise.
"Konan, I once respected him as well."
Pain still did not turn around. His low and even voice cut through the rain and reached her ears clearly as he said, "But he is no longer the Hanzo he used to be."
The current Hanzo had likely grown so old that he could no longer even summon that salamander. The thought carried no emotion, only cold certainty.
Pain's gaze pierced through layers of rain toward the High Tower standing like a tombstone in the mist. His voice seemed colder than the surrounding air.
"Now he clings to Konoha's Danzo Shimura, hiding in a lofty tower and thinking only of survival. He is nothing more than a corpse waiting to rot."
"Rain cannot wash away the sins of this world, nor past betrayal."
Pain spoke without any change in tone, as if stating an absolute truth. "Only a god can cleanse the filth of the Ninja World and bring peace."
In Konan's eyes was reflected that familiar yet distant back. She heard no hesitation or pity in his words, only the cold judgmental will of Zetsu.
Rain struck her face, icy and sharp, making her expression grow complex. The discomfort passed quickly and settled into the same quiet calm she had chosen to accept.
The lightness of the paper butterflies faded away, and her gaze became clear and firm once more. She nodded softly.
"Mm." Her reply blended almost completely into the sound of rain, light and brief.
In her tone was the resolve to let go of the past, and also the determination to face a future reshaped by pain. It was the resolve of an apostle walking after a god toward the unknown.
As they neared the gates of Amegakure, they could already see the Amegakure Ninja stationed there. The guards stood firm in the rain, silhouettes tense against the gray backdrop.
"Stop!"
Seeing the vague figures in the rain, the two Amegakure Ninja showed clear vigilance and shouted, "Who are you?"
Pain had no intention of explaining anything to ants, nor did he try to hide himself. He simply raised an arm toward them.
But at that moment, Pain suddenly sensed an extremely powerful presence. It surged toward him from afar like a rising tide.
He looked up and saw a figure appear atop the thin, skeletal High Tower in the distance. The tower loomed over the rain like a broken spine.
"Pain!"
As if sensing something, Konan's expression shifted slightly. Her body tensed as she followed his line of sight.
A low hum spread beneath their feet, and the ground began to tremble. It felt as if something massive were rolling beneath the earth, desperate to break free.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A loud shout came from the horizon, filled with reckless arrogance. The sound cut through the rain with force.
Crack, crack, crack!
A tremendous force surged upward, shattering the flat ground as if struck from below. The earth buckled into raised, broken steps under unimaginable pressure.
Pain's eyes flickered as he reacted almost by instinct. Using repulsive force, he lifted himself into midair.
At the same time, a deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth.
"Roar!"
Like a beast unleashed, dust and shattered stone exploded upward, and a thick cloud spread in all directions. The rain could not suppress the sudden chaos.
Within the hazy dust cloud, a gigantic shadow burst out of the ground like a leaping carp. It lunged straight toward Pain and Konan.
Konan reacted only a moment slower than Pain. With the Dance of the Shikigami, paper formed into wings and carried her into the air.
Yet in her widening pupils, she could see the deep, abyss-like mouth below, with tongue and throat exposed. The foul stench was already almost against her face.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Tendo Pain raised his arm and aimed downward. Invisible but overwhelming repulsive force manifested within the rain and crushed toward the charging beast.
Bang!
The massive shadow in the dust cloud lost control and slammed back into the ground. Dust and rain mist were thrown up once more in a violent wave.
Three Pain and Konan appeared at a distance. The latter's eyes carried a heavier focus as she stared at the blurred giant shape in the dust.
"Roar!"
Another thunderous bellow rang out as circular ripples spread through the rain. The remaining dust and mist were completely blown away.
The brown purple body was extremely thick, with four toes on the forelimbs and five on the hind limbs. Its thick, flattened tail tapped the ground lightly, yet each movement sent vibrations through the earth.
Its skin had no scales or fur, only a layer of mucus that kept secreting fluid. As the liquid dripped down, it corroded the ground and released thin white smoke, clearly highly toxic.
"A salamander, and at this size…"
Seeing the beast clearly at last, shock and heaviness appeared in Konan's eyes. Her breathing slowed as she took in its full form.
Though called a salamander, it was not a fish at all, but a unique amphibian of the Land of Rain. It was among the largest amphibians still in existence.
Most salamanders were only fifty to two hundred centimeters long. Even those two or three meters long could already serve as summon beasts, and Hanzo's aide Shenda had one measuring four meters.
The salamander before them, however, stood more than ten meters tall even while crawling, and its body length was terrifying. Its sheer presence crushed the senses.
If its upper body rose fully upright, it would be no different from a collapsing mountain. It was enough to make most people look up in fear and helplessness.
In the entire Ninja World, there was only one salamander of such enormous size. And there was only one person capable of summoning it.
"Salamander Ibuse."
Pain hovered in midair and looked at the figure standing on the salamander's head. He spoke calmly and added, "And also…"
"Lord Hanzo!"
The two Amegakure Ninja guarding the gates of Amegakure shouted in unison. Their faces were filled with disbelief and shock as they looked at that figure.
Lord Hanzo had seemed aged just yesterday, so how had he suddenly become so young? The doubt vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement and near madness.
It was Lord Hanzo. It was the Lord Hanzo of the past.
That presence, that bearing, it could not be mistaken.
"So you are the masters of those disgusting white creatures."
Hanzo stood with his arms crossed atop the salamander's head. He looked at Tendo Pain and Konan among the four figures and frowned, saying, "Wait, you two look somewhat familiar."
He stared at Tendo Pain's face, which showed no expression or warmth. It was like a statue carved from cold stone, filled only with hollow stillness.
Yet that cold face slowly overlapped in Hanzo's memory with another face, one once full of passion and hope. The resemblance grew clearer.
"You are…" Hanzo's eyes narrowed slightly as he said in a low voice, "Akatsuki's Yahiko?"
How was that possible? Hadn't Yahiko already died?
And those eyes…