The dense forests along the border of the Land of Fire gradually gave way to the Rain Country's eternal gloom.
The sky hung low as cold rain fell silently, shrouding everything in a gray, lifeless stillness.
Chiya, Minato, and Obito walked through the muddy ground, heading straight toward the place Chiya had mentioned.
When they arrived, however, all they found was a forgotten ruin.
The small cabin that had once sheltered three war orphans had long since rotted away, swallowed completely by rampant weeds and slick vines.
Only a few blackened wooden posts remained standing in lonely silence.
"Is this the place?" Minato asked softly, as if afraid of disturbing the silence. It was difficult for him to connect these ruins with the "old friends" Chiya had spoken of.
"Yeah."
Chiya's reply carried no emotion as his gaze swept over the abandoned site without lingering.
"Let's go. Straight to the Hidden Rain Village."
Looking at the ruined cabin, Obito couldn't help feeling a pang of emotion.
Judging from this home, it must have belonged to people whose lives had been torn apart by war and who had been forced to wander from place to place.
The three of them turned and headed toward the enormous shadow looming faintly behind the curtain of rain, the Hidden Rain Village, its countless towering steel spires rising into the gloomy sky.
The closer they got, the more suffocating the atmosphere became.
The streets were nearly empty. The few pedestrians hurried along with their clothes wrapped tightly around themselves, casting wary, emotionless glances at the strangers.
The steel buildings were covered with surveillance openings, and an invisible pressure filled the damp air.
This place felt less like a village and more like a cold, merciless military fortress.
The arrival of the three outsiders was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, instantly shattering the fragile balance.
Almost the moment they entered the central district, several killing intents locked onto them from every direction.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Seven or eight figures slipped silently from the shadows of nearby buildings and dripping rooftops like ghosts, landing without a sound before surrounding them.
They wore the standard uniforms of the Hidden Rain ANBU and strange breathing masks.
Kunai and short blades gleamed with deadly cold light in their hands, their perfectly synchronized movements reflecting ruthless discipline.
"Intruders! State your identities and your purpose!" the ANBU captain demanded through his mask, his muffled voice carrying unquestionable menace.
His chakra stirred faintly, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.
Minato's blue eyes narrowed slightly.
Taking half a step forward, he casually positioned himself so that Chiya was protected just behind him. The warm smile remained on his face, but his tone left no room for doubt.
"We're ninjas from Konoha, here to visit old friends."
"Konoha?"
The ANBU captain's gaze immediately sharpened like a blade, and the killing intent of the surrounding ANBU intensified.
"The Hidden Rain has no close ties with Konoha! Who are you here to see? What proof do you have?"
The tense standoff was on the verge of erupting.
At that moment, a cool female voice filled with urgency and disbelief pierced through the rain.
"Stop!"
The ANBU immediately froze before lowering their weapons and stepping aside respectfully.
Three people hurried out from a nearby tower passage.
The one in the center had short orange hair, a determined face, and steady footsteps. It was Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki. His sharp eyes were filled with scrutiny and caution.
To his left stood a red-haired man breathing slightly harder than usual. Ripples spread across his Rinnegan, which contained immense power along with a faint trace of purple radiance. It was Nagato.
On the right was the woman with long blue-purple hair.
Her delicate face froze the instant she saw the visitors. Her eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks as she instinctively covered her mouth.
Uchiha Chiya.
The figure she had buried deep within her heart, never daring to hope she would see again.
Yet there he stood in the cold rain.
Dressed in black robes with black hair flowing behind him, his straight posture resembled an unyielding pine tree, while his calm gaze seemed capable of seeing through every illusion.
He hadn't changed at all.
The overwhelming shock and flood of complicated emotions instantly shattered her composure, leaving her almost unable to breathe.
"Lord... Chiya?"
Yahiko recognized him as well, and the shock on his face was no less than Konan's.
However, he quickly suppressed his emotions, replacing them with deep caution and confusion.
The Fourth Hokage of Konoha had suddenly arrived in the Hidden Rain without any warning. This was anything but ordinary.
Nagato remained silent, his Rinnegan fixed blankly on Chiya.
"Yahiko. Nagato. Konan."
Chiya spoke calmly, yet his voice naturally carried the authority of someone who controlled the entire situation, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"It's been a long time."
Only then did Konan snap back to reality, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
Suppressing her racing heart and turbulent emotions, she stepped aside and spoke softly.
"Lord Chiya... No, Lord Hokage..."
"...Please, please come with us."
Yet her eyes remained fixed on him, as though they were drawn there by an irresistible force.
In silence, Chiya's group followed them through a maze of steel walkways covered with pipes before entering the tallest and most heavily guarded tower.
Eventually, they arrived at a secret chamber forged entirely from thick metal, completely isolated from the outside world.
The massive iron door slammed shut behind them, sealing off the wind and rain. Only the pale white lights overhead remained, illuminating the different expressions on everyone's faces.
As the host, Yahiko took a deep breath to steady himself before speaking in a low voice.
"Lord Fourth Hokage, your visit brings great honor to the Hidden Rain Village. However, may I ask the purpose of your visit?"
His words were polite, but the caution beneath them was unmistakable.
Chiya skipped all pleasantries. His gaze pierced straight toward Nagato as he got directly to the point.
"I came here because I need Nagato to do something."
"Summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?!"
Yahiko and Konan exclaimed in unison, their faces filled with confusion.
Neither of them had ever heard that name before, but the words "Demonic Statue" combined with Chiya's serious tone instinctively filled them with unease.
Nagato's reaction, however, was far more intense.
It was as though a bolt of lightning had struck him directly.
His body trembled violently as he staggered backward, slamming heavily into the cold metal wall with a dull thud.
In an instant, all color drained from his face, and his Rinnegan contracted violently in overwhelming shock.
Chapter 266: Reunion with the Three; Revealing the Secrets of the Past [HN]
Nagato stared fixedly at Chiya, his lips trembling.
How could he possibly know?!
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path! It was his greatest secret, the source of both the endless pain and terrifying power brought to him by these eyes, like a curse that clung to his very bones.
He should have been the only one who knew that name!
Ignoring Yahiko and Konan's shock, Chiya kept his eyes locked on the nearly broken Nagato. His voice was cold, each word falling like a hammer.
"You must be wondering how I know about something like that."
"The truth is, I know more than just the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. I also know that these Rinnegan, revered as the 'Eyes of God,' were never yours."
"They came from Uchiha Madara. He secretly transplanted them into you when you were young and at your most vulnerable."
"Boom!!!"
The impact of those words far surpassed everything that had come before.
The color instantly drained from Yahiko's face. He whipped around to look at Nagato, his eyes filled with disbelief and overwhelming concern.
"Nagato?! Is... is that true?! Your eyes..."
He couldn't imagine it.
The eyes his closest friend regarded as the source of his power and the burden of his destiny... actually belonged to someone else?
They had been forcibly implanted?
Konan was struck as though by lightning. She froze in place, her beautiful eyes widened to their limit as they reflected Nagato's deathly pale face and Chiya's cold expression.
A chill shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head, leaving her entire body ice-cold.
"No! That's impossible, Brother Chiya! You have to be mistaken! Nagato's eyes... they've always been... they've always been his natural-born power! How could they have been... transplanted?"
She struggled to utter the last word, as though every syllable had been drawn out with blood.
The air inside the chamber seemed to solidify, becoming so heavy that no one could breathe.
Nagato lowered his head, confusion filling his Rinnegan.
The belief that had supported him for so many years...
The pain he had endured...
The power he possessed...
Had all of it been built upon one enormous lie and conspiracy?
Was he nothing more than...
A vessel?
Looking at the three of them, who stood on the verge of collapse, Chiya remained almost cruelly calm as he dropped another bombshell.
"The Rinnegan is known as the Eye that Governs Life and Death, the highest level of ocular power."
"Its wielder naturally gains mastery over all five chakra nature transformations, can control Yin and Yang Release, and possesses abilities far beyond ordinary comprehension."
He paused before turning his gaze toward Nagato.
"For a ninja, awakening the Rinnegan requires extraordinarily harsh conditions."
"Only the reincarnation of Indra's chakra can awaken it by transplanting the body or cells of the reincarnation of Asura's chakra, and even then, the process takes an extremely long time."
"Uchiha Madara was the reincarnation of Indra's chakra. After transplanting the flesh of Hashirama Senju, the reincarnation of Asura's chakra, he waited many years before finally awakening the Rinnegan."
Not only Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan...
Even Minato and Obito, who had accompanied Chiya, were left utterly stunned.
None of them had imagined that such a secret lay behind the Rinnegan.
Chiya continued.
"Madara did all of this for a plan called the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"If it succeeds, the entire ninja world will fall into an endless dream."
"However, because he awakened the Rinnegan too late in life, he no longer had the strength to carry it out himself."
"So he put his plan into motion."
"To preserve the Rinnegan, he found Nagato."
"Possessing the bloodlines of both the Uzumaki and Senju Clans, you were the perfect vessel he carefully selected to bear the Rinnegan."
"He merely entrusted the eyes to you while waiting for the fruit to ripen. At the proper moment, or by manipulating you through specific means, he intended to resurrect himself."
"Then he would complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi, covering the entire world and dragging everyone into an eternal illusion."
Chiya shifted slightly, gesturing toward Obito beside him, whose body was tense with hatred and whose bloodshot eyes burned with fury.
"Not long ago, he tried using the same kind of scheme on Obito, hoping to force the evolution of his eyes by creating the tragedy of comrades killing each other, turning him into a puppet to carry out the plan."
"That has always been his method, manipulating people's hearts and trampling on the bonds they cherish."
The truth was like the sharpest blade, tearing apart everything the three of them had believed.
Yahiko's face turned ashen. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails nearly pierced his palms.
He felt overwhelming rage.
Not only toward Uchiha Madara... but toward this cruel world itself.
Even a person's body and destiny could be manipulated so mercilessly.
Unable to hold them back any longer, tears streamed down Konan's face.
Looking at the suffering Nagato, her heart felt as though it were being cut apart.
At last, she understood why Nagato had always carried such profound loneliness and pain.
She suddenly looked up at Chiya, her voice trembling with sobs and despair.
"Why? Why would Uchiha Madara do something like this?! Just for that damned plan? Does that give him the right to treat other people's lives like toys?!"
"For what he believes to be eternal peace."
Chiya's answer was cold and filled with irony.
"He believes the real world is nothing but suffering, and that only an illusion can become an everlasting paradise. For that goal, he'll sacrifice anything."
The chamber fell into deathly silence.
Only Nagato's heavy, pained breathing and Konan's quiet sobs remained.
Taking a deep breath to suppress his turbulent emotions, Yahiko walked over to Nagato.
He gripped his shoulder firmly, silently offering his support.
Then he looked at Chiya, his expression incredibly complicated.
"You've told us all this... but why do you need Nagato to summon that statue?"
Chiya's gaze was as cold as the depths of an icy lake.
"To sever Uchiha Madara's lifeline."
"Right now, he's surviving like a parasite, relying on the life force supplied by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
"If the statue is forcibly summoned away from where it currently exists, the connection between him and the statue will be cut."
"At present, this is the most direct and effective way to kill him."
Kill Uchiha Madara.
The very thought left Yahiko and Konan struggling to breathe once more.
The legendary figure hidden in history's shadows...
The mastermind behind every tragedy...
Yahiko looked toward Nagato, his eyes filled with both trust and hesitation.
"Nagato..."
He knew this decision had to be made by Nagato alone.
Summoning the so-called Demonic Statue would undoubtedly come with immense danger and unbearable pain.
Nagato slowly raised his head.
His Rinnegan was filled with confusion, agony, hesitation, and the anger of someone who had been deceived.
Closing his eyes, he breathed heavily, as though battling another version of himself deep within.
The entire chamber became so silent that even a pin dropping could have been heard.
Only after a long time did Nagato finally open his eyes again.
His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping against stone.
"I... need time... to think."
Every word seemed to drain what little strength he had left.
Chiya looked at him without pressing the matter and simply nodded.
"You may. But we don't have much time. After this setback, Uchiha Madara will only hide himself even more deeply. Give me your answer as soon as possible."
He understood that Nagato first had to confront his former self and finally sever the fate that had been forced upon him.
"...I will."
Nagato spoke softly, his voice carrying a weariness and heaviness unlike anything before.
Seeing this, Yahiko took a deep breath.
"Lord Fourth Hokage, please rest for now. I'll have rooms prepared for all of you."
He needed to speak privately with Nagato and Konan immediately.
Chiya nodded.
"Thank you."
Konan looked deeply at Chiya.
Her gaze was impossibly complicated.
There was shock...
Pain...
A trace of gratitude...
And feelings she could no longer put into words.
In the end, she lowered her head, silently turned around, and led Chiya's group out of the suffocating chamber.
Outside, the rain continued to fall endlessly, striking the steel structures with an unceasing rhythm of dripping echoes.