While the great battle in the Sea of Death raged on, drastic changes were also occurring in Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain.
The incessant rain, like the eternal theme of this nation, beat down upon this oppressive village constructed of steel and drainage pipes.
However, the central square of Amegakure today gathered more people than usual.
Most of them were Ninja wearing Amegakure forehead protectors. Their faces bore the weariness and numbness left by long-term warfare, along with a faint, vague sense of bewilderment and anticipation for the new order.
On the high platform, Konan stood clad in her Akatsuki cloak with its red clouds against a black background. Her blue hair fluttered slightly in the drizzle, and the pair of wings crafted from paper behind her made her descend like an angel.
Her voice was cool and ethereal, piercing through the curtain of rain and clearly reaching every Ninja's ears, carrying a solemn, almost religious sense of inspiration.
"Compatriots of the Land of Rain!" Konan spread her arms, her white wings unfolding as if to embrace this long-suffering land.
"The dark era under Hanzo of the Salamander's rule is over! His tyranny, which created internal strife and suppressed dissent to maintain his own power, will forever become history!"
Her gaze swept over the faces below… some excited, some doubtful, some numb.
"From now on, Amegakure, and indeed the entire Land of Rain, will welcome a new master… a God named 'Pain'!"
"He has heard the weeping and wailing of this land, felt the endless pain you have endured!"
Upon hearing the word 'pain', The eyes of many Amegakure's Ninja flickered slightly… it was a memory carved into their bones.
"The God's ideal is not merely self-preservation." Konan's voice suddenly rose. "He will make this Ninja World, filled with war and hatred, feel the same pain as we have!"
"Only by personally experiencing this deeply etched despair will those lofty Great Nation Ninja Villages truly understand the cruelty of war and the preciousness of peace! Only then will true, permanent peace descend!"
"Make the Great Nations feel pain!"
This highly inflammatory slogan, like a spark thrown onto dry tinder, instantly ignited the long-suppressed resentment and unwillingness in many Amegakure's Ninjas.
They were tired of being the battlefield for Great Nation games, tired of struggling to survive in the cracks with lowly status.
Now, a 'god' proclaimed he would seek justice for them, to make those who created the pain taste its flavor. This greatly satisfied their deep-seated desire for revenge and their hope for change.
"Follow Pain-sama!"
"Make the world feel pain!"
"For the future of the Land of Rain!"
Excited shouts began sporadically, then quickly connected into a chorus.
Many Amegakure's Ninja took off their Amegakure's forehead protectors on the spot, using a kunai to carve a deep scratch across them, symbolizing the break with the old era and their allegiance to the new god 'Pain' and the Akatsuki.
As the Akatsuki formally took control of Amegakure, the Ninja Forces within the village rapidly split.
Approximately one-third of the Ninja chose to side with Akatsuki, becoming its peripheral members, wearing the scratched forehead protectors.
Another third, either out of blind loyalty to Hanzo or fear of the unknown and radical nature of Akatsuki, chose to hide, becoming 'Hanzo remnants' hunted down by Akatsuki.
The final portion, fearful of the uncertain future, chose to leave the Land of Rain, becoming Rogue Ninja.
Under Akatsuki's initial rule, the suffocating high-pressure policies and endless internal purges of Hanzo's era temporarily ceased.
A superficial 'peace' was achieved within Amegakure.
Patrolling the streets were no longer Hanzo's Anbu, but Amegakure's Ninja wearing scratched forehead protectors.
Hanging in the windows of every household were white paper angels made of paper, symbolizing peace and protection, silently fluttering in the gloomy rain, as if praying for the new 'god's' protection.
…
The highest tower that originally belonged to Hanzo had now become the new core base of the Akatsuki.
Deva Path sat silently on the platform at the tower's outer edge, his Rinnegan indifferently looking down upon the village below, which was gradually recovering a hint of vitality.
In the distance, Ninjas were conducting repair work on the city districts destroyed a few days ago during his battle with Jiraiya and those two mysterious powerhouses.
Nagato was attempting to imitate the model he had seen in the Land of Stars, having Ninjas participate in reconstruction, using Ninjutsu to accelerate construction.
However, the results were far from expected.
The Ninjas of Amegakure seemed more accustomed to using Ninjutsu for destruction than construction. Their Chakra Control and understanding of Ninjutsu application in construction were far inferior to those of the Land of Stars' Ninjas.
Low efficiency, clumsy coordination, slow progress, and even feelings of rejection and dissatisfaction towards using Chakra for these civilians.
'Why?' Nagato's heart was filled with confusion.
'They are Ninjas who have also experienced the pain of war, also originating from small villages or even civilians. Why can the Ninjas of the Land of Stars achieve that level, applying Ninjutsu to every aspect of production and construction, while our Land of Rain's Ninjas...'
He couldn't help but recall the other party's questioning of his 'make the world feel pain' philosophy during the previous confrontation with Shura.
'The war ends, then what?' In his memory, the figure confronting him through Shisui spoke with undisguised mockery.
'How long can a 'peace' maintained by fear and pain last? How should the country operate during peacetime? How should the people live? How to prevent them from being displaced, from enduring hunger and cold? You only see the surface of pain, but never its root cause. You haven't thought about how to end the pain, nor have you considered the future.'
At that time, Nagato scoffed at these words, firmly believing that as long as the root cause of war was eliminated and the Great Nations and their villages were made to feel pain, leading to mutual understanding, all problems would be resolved.
He only needed to act as a god, delivering punishment to maintain this 'peace' bought with pain.
But now, when he had truly personally overthrown Amegakure's old ruler and attempted to begin 'construction', he discovered things were far from that simple.
How to restore the economy?
How to ensure people's livelihoods?
How to make this war-torn country truly burst with vitality?
He had no clues, his mind a blank slate.
The only method he seemed proficient in and firmly believed effective remained the same… stopping killing with killing.
Eliminate all opponents, disobedient individuals, potential threats. As long as there were no voices of resistance, then a superficial 'calm' could be maintained.
A faint, rustling sound of paper rubbing interrupted his thoughts.
Countless pure white paper sheets gathered behind him, flying and combining as if alive, finally forming Konan's cool figure.
"Pain, what are you thinking about?" Konan walked to his side, following his gaze downwards, and asked softly.
"...Nothing." Deva Path's voice was as cold and emotionless as ever.
"How many chose to pledge allegiance?"
Konan replied, "Preliminary statistics show about one-third of the original Amegakure's Ninjas are willing to join us. Another third became 'remnants' needing purging, hiding in various corners of the Land of Rain. And some... chose to leave."
Pain was silent for a moment, asking no further questions.
In his perception, it was perfectly normal for ordinary mortals to be unable to comprehend the will of a god.
He did not seek everyone's understanding, only their obedience, or... disappearance.
Just then, the space beside them twisted bizarrely, forming a vortex-like void.
Obito, wearing his orange spiral mask and calling himself Uchiha Madara, stepped out slowly from within.
Almost simultaneously, the ground rippled like water, and venus flytrap-like figure, Zetsu, emerged from the earth, half of his body white, half black.
"Oya oya~ Not such good news~" White Zetsu spoke first in his characteristic frivolous and exaggerated tone. "Over in Kirigakure, our 'Mizukage-sama'... seems to have lost control~"
Obito took over, his voice muffled by the mask. "Kirigakure's higher-ups seem to have noticed Yagura's abnormality. They used the Byakugan possessed by that Ninja named 'Ao' to see through and dispelled my Sharingan Genjutsu."
This news did not surprise Pain and Konan too much.
Controlling a Kage of a Great Village for several years was a miracle in itself, and discovery was inevitable.
"It's fine." Deva Path's voice remained calm. "Kirigakure has long been severely weakened and cannot recover in a short time. Once my Six Paths of Pain are fully created and we formally begin the Tailed Beast Collection Plan, we can simply go and capture the Fourth Mizukage directly."
He changed the subject, his Rinnegan sweeping over Obito and Zetsu. "In comparison, within the Land of Rain, are there still no clues about that mysterious person who fought Shura?"
Black Zetsu emitted a low voice. "None at all. The other party vanished as if into thin air, leaving no trace to follow."
"However, one thing can be surmised. The Land of Wind's Sunagakure has declared war on the Land of Stars. Shura is suspected to have returned to the Land of Stars to hold the fort. That mysterious person... likely suffered heavy injuries in the fight with Shura, or even..." He didn't finish, but the implication was clear.
White Zetsu added, "Also, ten White Zetsu clones responsible for monitoring the village lost contact, all during that chaotic battle earlier. Don't know if Shura cleaned them up casually or if that mysterious person did them in..."
The sudden battle between Shura and that mysterious person in Amegakure, the terrifying power displayed, and those black Chakra Rods that only someone of the Six Paths-level could master, had greatly shocked Nagato, Obito, and especially Black Zetsu, who had schemed for a millennium.
Black Zetsu's heart, hidden in the shadows, was filled with apprehension and doubt.
He believed he knew the Ninja World inside out, having schemed for a thousand years, but these two excessively powerful existences seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, completely beyond his understanding, potentially disrupting his plans.
What concerned Black Zetsu most was that Shura and that person's dialogue even mentioned his 'mother', Kaguya!
This made Black Zetsu extremely cautious, but also gave rise to a thought.
'Could I make contact with that Shura?'
'If that mysterious person truly was Mother's enemy, then Shura...'
'This individual who also possessed great power and had enmity with Mother's enemy, could he possibly be used, become a new pawn?'
"The war between the Land of Stars and the Land of Wind will not last long." Deva Path spoke again, interrupting Black Zetsu's thoughts. "Sunagakure is absolutely no match for Shura. Our time is limited."
Nagato understood clearly that as the Land of Stars continued to grow stronger, and his Six Paths of Pain plan was completed, the Akatsuki's Tailed Beast Collection Operation would inevitably put them on a collision course with the Land of Stars, which sought to unify the Ninja World, and with Shura.
An unavoidable conflict was approaching.
As for the traditional Five Great Ninja Villages, even the strongest Konoha and Kumogakure, after witnessing the battle between Shura and the mysterious person, Nagato did not take them too seriously.
His current focus remained on the enigmatic Shura and that equally mysterious enemy capable of confronting him.