One day later.
In the Land of Rain, the steel-and-concrete-filled Amegakure stood solemn beneath the rare clear sky.
For once, the sunlight managed to pierce through the usual heavy clouds.
Atop the rooftop of a tall building, a young man with bright orange hair sat quietly. He wore the iconic black cloak adorned with red clouds. The warm sunlight bathed him as he gazed over all of Amegakure beneath him.
Time passed in silence.
Eventually, the sound of footsteps echoed behind him. A woman with blue hair, also dressed in the black-and-red Akatsuki cloak, approached.
The young man didn't even turn his head as he asked,
"Konan… is everyone here?"
"Mm."
Before long, deep within a dim and damp cavern, where water dripped steadily from above, a series of ghostly figures appeared one after another.
"So everyone's finally gathered."
"This is the first full assembly since Orochimaru left the organization years ago."
"That bastard Orochimaru… someday, I'll make sure he pays."
"Hey, what's going on, Pain? Delaying my money-making—unforgivable."
Once everyone had arrived, the long-silent Pain finally opened his eyes and spoke slowly.
"This gathering of the Akatsuki… is because there is something that everyone must know."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Could it be that the plan is finally starting?"
Pain didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Zetsu.
"Zetsu, share the intelligence you just received."
"Mm…"
Zetsu, his form resembling a carnivorous plant, scanned the gathered members and began to speak in a low tone.
"Just yesterday, on the final day of Konoha's Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan in collaboration with Sunagakure and launched an attack on the village."
"Oh?"
Zetsu's words instantly caught everyone's attention.
A shark-toothed figure immediately looked toward a comrade with crimson Sharingan eyes.
"Itachi-senpai, you're from Konoha, right?"
A smaller figure asked bluntly,
"What was the result?"
"The entire event was quite… interesting. Initially, Sunagakure was meant to be allied with Orochimaru. But mid-battle, they abruptly withdrew. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was still killed by his former student. As for Orochimaru… his arms were sealed."
"His arms were sealed?!"
"Yes. According to our intel, Hiruzen used a sealing technique called the Reaper Death Seal to seal both of Orochimaru's arms. This means… Orochimaru can no longer use ninjutsu."
The small figure's eyes lit up.
"Interesting! That means we might be able to retrieve that ring from Orochimaru soon."
"No… retrieving the ring isn't urgent."
Pain's voice cut in coldly.
"Zetsu, continue."
"What do you mean? There's more?"
A figure with glowing green eyes asked curiously.
"Ah…"
Zetsu seemed almost excited now.
"During Orochimaru's battle with the Third Hokage, he used the forbidden technique Edo Tensei… and summoned the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and… the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure!"
!!!
At that moment, everyone was stunned.
"So that's how it is. Orochimaru actually has such methods?"
"In that case, we really can't just strike at Orochimaru recklessly."
"Oh? Kakuzu-senpai, are you afraid?"
The figure with green eyes snorted coldly, showing no shame in his fear.
"Hmph. You who haven't experienced that era don't understand what the name Senju Hashirama represents. He was a monster who single-handedly unified the entire shinobi world... no, a god. Even if all of us joined forces, we wouldn't stand a chance against him."
"Hey, Kakuzu-senpai, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"No, not at all!"
Silence fell over the entire cavern.
Everyone here had no doubts about Kakuzu's strength. If even Kakuzu feared him, then the true terror of the Shinobi God was unquestionable. Even Pain, who always claimed to be a god himself, remained quiet and coldly continued:
"Continue."
"Oh, the interesting things aren't over yet?"
"Mm, the truly interesting part has just begun. The Fourth Kazekage who was killed by Orochimaru and resurrected through Edo Tensei suddenly broke free from Orochimaru's control. Moreover, he used some unknown method to fully revive himself and fought a battle with Jiraiya, one of Konoha's legendary sannin."
"Fully revived? What does that mean???"
The short figure let out a surprised sound.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. Edo Tensei summons the souls of the dead from the pure land, meaning those resurrected by it must be deceased. However, we have confirmed that the Fourth Kazekage who fought Jiraiya is truly resurrected, not merely a puppet controlled by Edo Tensei."
"What!!!"
"Hey, hey, fully revived? You're not joking, right? Is that really possible?"
At this moment, the usually silent Pain spoke.
"Sasori, you're from Sunagakure, right? Does your village have any forbidden jutsu that can bring back the dead?"
The short figure gave Pain a side glance.
"No, at least none that I know of."
At this point, everyone understood.
"So that's why, Boss, you were so eager to have us here?"
"Mm."
At that, Pain issued a direct order.
"Sasori, since you're from Sunagakure, you and Konan will go investigate how this dead-but-revived Kazekage managed to come back. Zetsu, you will support them."
"No problem, I'm very interested in this ability to truly revive the dead!"
"Then, Itachi! You and Kisame will go to Konoha to gather information. Focus especially on the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Also, take a look at your little brother—apparently Orochimaru is very interested in his eyes. After the death of the Third Hokage, big changes are sure to come to Konoha. Other great ninja villages may see this as an opportunity to attack. As for the rest of you, continue with the plan as scheduled. That's all for now. Meeting dismissed!"
---
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure:
Rasa sat on his Kazekage seat, looking over various reports about this world sent by Baki, and discovered something intriguing.
Though this world was indeed the future world from his own, it was not completely identical.
Because he initially assumed that since this was a parallel world where his past did not exist, he might be able to regain the powers of dragon veins and monsters again. But when he asked Baki to send related information, he found there were no legends about Roran here, no shrine maidens, and no monstrous spirits in the Land of Demons.
Moreover, as he looked closer, Rasa realized what the real difference in this world was.
To be exact, this was a world that only had the main Naruto storyline, without any movies or original characters.
For example, Rasa did not find "Centipede" in the list of ninja from this era's Sunagakure.
This dashed some of Rasa's hopes.
However, that did not hinder his next plans.
At that moment, a knock came from outside. Without lifting his head, Rasa said,
"Come in…"
===
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