Village Hidden in the Rain, inside the Akatsuki headquarters.
Obito Uchiha stood with his hands clasped before him, quietly waiting.
Ten minutes later, Obito received a message from Nagato.
The two initiated a video call.
"Madara, what is it?" the phantom of the Deva Path asked.
"How did it go? Was the Nine-Tails captured successfully?" Obito asked slowly.
The Deva Path shook his head.
"No. There were some complications—we failed. What about your side? How is the progress on capturing the Eight-Tails?"
"I've already gathered intelligence on the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki. Next, I'll move to capture him. This time, I'll act alone," Obito said calmly.
"What exactly happened on your end? Didn't you say it would be an easy capture? I even told you to bring the other members along."
Obito's tone grew slightly displeased.
"We only found out after arriving at the Hidden Leaf Village that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki wasn't there," the Deva Path explained.
Obito frowned slightly. "If the Nine-Tails isn't in the Hidden Leaf Village, did you find any clues about his whereabouts?"
"I used the Human Path's memory-reading ability and searched several people, but none of them had any memory of where the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is hiding."
"It seems the Nine-Tails has been secretly concealed this time. I'll need more time to track him down," the Deva Path said slowly.
"Do you need support?" Obito asked.
The Deva Path shook his head.
"No. I already have a plan—it'll just take a bit more time. You should hurry and capture the Eight-Tails as well."
Obito nodded. "As soon as possible."
The two then ended the video call.
The Deva Path collapsed to the ground.
Konan was about to wrap Yahiko's corpse again with her Paper Release when Nagato waved his hand.
"No need. It'll just be a hassle to redo it next time."
Konan nodded and simply placed Yahiko's body to the side.
...
Elsewhere, within the Village Hidden in the Rain.
After exiting the meeting, Obito turned to Zetsu, his gaze dark.
"Are you certain you saw Kaguya Rorin take away the Deva Path's body?"
"Absolutely," Zetsu replied without hesitation.
"Then it seems Nagato has already betrayed me. And yet, he only told me he failed to find the Nine-Tails in the Hidden Leaf Village, without mentioning his battle with Kaguya Rorin at all," Obito said softly.
"What should we do next? The Rinnegan is still in his possession," Zetsu asked.
Obito slowly stood up. "In that case, we'll take the Rinnegan back."
"Should we go find him directly?"
Obito shook his head.
"First, capture the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki. Then we'll request a meeting. Whether it's him or me, the Eight-Tails is indispensable. After that, we'll make our move and seize the Rinnegan."
Zetsu gave a sinister nod before sinking into the ground.
A glint flashed in Obito's eyes as he thought to himself: Looks like I need to prepare an extra contingency plan.
He wasn't in a hurry to capture the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki—after all, the target wasn't going anywhere.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three days went by.
...
One morning, inside Rorin's temporary residence.
"By now, Nagato's body should be mostly recovered," Rorin muttered while doing push-ups at home.
He stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
After a quick wash, Rorin used the Flying Thunder God to head to Nagato's camp.
Walking in casually, Rorin glanced at Nagato, whose complexion looked much better, and nodded to himself—seems like the recovery went well.
After some small talk, Rorin's gaze inadvertently landed on Yahiko's corpse, still pierced with black rods.
He frowned. "Nagato, what's going on with that Pain? I remember pulling out all the black rods before."
Nagato turned to the Deva Path and explained,
"Three days ago, Uchiha Madara suddenly contacted me. To avoid revealing my situation, I used the Deva Path to communicate with him."
Rorin frowned deeply. "Can you recount your conversation in detail?"
Nagato nodded and summarized the contents of their video call.
"Damn it, Nagato," Rorin said, shaking his head after hearing it.
Nagato and Konan exchanged a glance before Nagato asked, puzzled,
"What's wrong?"
"You might be exposed."
"Why?"
"Two flaws. First—the Nine-Tails not being in the Hidden Leaf Village. For him, all it takes is a trip there to verify the truth. Second—and more importantly—you used the original Deva Path to contact him."
Nagato didn't quite understand why the second point was a flaw.
"That one's partly on me—I didn't coordinate this with you properly. I told the village that I had already disposed of the Deva Path's body. That information has spread."
"So how could a corpse that supposedly doesn't exist suddenly appear to contact him? The moment Uchiha Madara visits the Hidden Leaf Village, everything will fall apart."
"Because of the Deva Path, he'll connect you and me together. At that point, you won't be able to stay hidden by his side anymore," Rorin explained calmly.
There was also an uncertain factor—Rorin didn't know whether Zetsu, who appeared and disappeared unpredictably, had been nearby during their battle.
If Zetsu had been there and saw him take the Deva Path, then Obito wouldn't even need to investigate the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Looks like we'll have to change the plan we discussed earlier, Nagato," Rorin continued.
"Then it seems we'll have to confront him openly," Nagato said with a slight smile.
"It happened too suddenly—there's no helping it. But fortunately, it won't affect Itachi's side."
"If you're exposed, he'll likely come after you to seize your Rinnegan. After all, only the Rinnegan can summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path," Rorin said, analyzing carefully.
"We'll deal with it as it comes. By the way, did you come today for that?" Nagato asked.
Rorin snapped back to attention and nodded. "That's right."
"No time to waste—let's begin," Nagato said with a faint smile.
"Let's change locations first." As he spoke, Rorin placed a hand on Nagato's shoulder, and the two vanished instantly.
Konan glanced at Yahiko's corpse, then walked over and wrapped it again with her Paper Release.
Rorin and Nagato reappeared on a plain within the Land of Fire.
Nagato tossed out several forbidden talismans.
Five-Seal Barrier!