At this moment, the screen shifted again, and the scene moved to the Hidden Rain Village.
The sky over Amegakure seemed as if it had never cleared, forever shrouded in a layer of gloomy grey clouds, with a never-ending, drizzling rain.
Those steel buildings with their modern feel were also tinged with a dull gray in the constant rain. Amegakure's silhouette emerged layer by layer through the rain, and the camera finally pushed to the village's highest point—atop the outstretched tongue of a massive statue.
Konan stood there quietly.
The cold rain mercilessly beat against her pale cheeks, dripping continuously from the ends of her hair, yet she tilted her head slightly upward, gazing at the gray sky, a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
Just then, a sorrowful melody began to play.
The singing was very soft, soft as a whisper by the ear.
The image on the screen blurred, as if rain had smeared the lens, then it slowly cleared again.
Deep in Konan's memory, there was also a heavy rain.
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan rushed through the rain into the small hut where the master and his three disciples lived. Inside, Jiraiya had already prepared several frog costumes for them—green ones, spotted ones, with bulging eyes—hideous beyond words.
"Hahahaha!"
"What's so funny?! Stop laughing…"
The ridiculous sight of them wearing those onesies was deeply etched into her heart, especially Yahiko's face, which was full of reluctance; so vivid even now.
The laughter of the master and his three disciples from back then still seemed to echo in her ears.
On the screen, the smile on Konan's face grew even more pronounced.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Waves, Somewhere in a Forest]
Jiraiya watched his younger self in the frog costume, laughing carelessly, then looked at the adult Konan standing in the rain with a faint smile on her lips, and for the moment, he had nothing to say. Something seemed stuck in his chest—sour, bitter, impossible to name.
'Konan… so even you two eventually felt regret over your choices? Do you still long for that last remaining warmth?'
For master and disciples to reach the point of killing each other, it was truly tragic and lamentable.
What right did he have to mock the old man?
In this Shinobi World, tragedy had always cycled endlessly, never ceasing.
Minato was indirectly killed by his own disciple, Obito. In the future, he himself would be killed by Nagato. And Kakashi nearly got killed by his disciple, Sasuke.
Generation after generation, it was like a nightmare from which one could never wake up.
---
On the screen, the scene suddenly shifted, and the space in front of Konan began to distort.
She sensed something amiss, she instantly dropped her faint smile, returning to her usual cold, composed expression.
Uchiha Obito, wearing his orange spiral mask and black-and-red cloud cloak, appeared silently before her, standing just where he blocked the falling cold rain.
"Looking for something?"
Konan's low, hoarse voice cut through the sound of rain.
"Mm… Where did you put Nagato's body?"
"You won't find him here."
The moment the words left her mouth, Konan's body dissolved into countless pure white paper butterflies, drifting lightly apart and quietly blending into the cold curtain of rain.
She seemed unwilling to fight within Amegakure, unwilling to destroy this hard-won peace. After all, this place held decades of Yahiko's and Nagato's painstaking efforts.
Seeing this, Obito's form also warped, vanishing from where he stood.
The view shifted.
Outside Amegakure, above a vast expanse of water.
The gray sky remained the same, the rain still falling endlessly, and the distant silhouette of Amegakure's steel forest standing tall, casting an ominous shadow over the impending deathmatch.
Obito seemed convinced that Konan posed no threat to him and directly laid his cards on the table.
"The Rinnegan..."
His voice came through the mask, dripping with condescension. "It seems you aren't going to cooperate and tell me where you hid Nagato."
Konan's figure reformed in the rain, her blue-purple short hair soaked and clinging to her cheeks. Her eyes were cold as blades, her voice firm and decisive:
"I knew that you would appear before me. I've been waiting for you. So I could stop you…"
Hearing that, Obito let out a low chuckle: "Heh—Just because you used to be a comrade doesn't mean I'll show you any mercy. The Akatsuki does not forgive betrayal!"
He then paused, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity. "I have one question, though. Why would such loyal members as you both betray me? Didn't you and Nagato agree with my plan back then?"
Konan remained silent, but her gaze grew even sharper.
Obito didn't seem to mind, and continued: "Even if you lost to Uzumaki Naruto, it wouldn't have mattered. But Nagato… he actually sacrificed his life, using Rinne Tensei for Naruto's sake. That Jutsu… was to be used for my sake!"
---
[Amegakure, On top of the Tower]
Nagato's expression froze.
The Obito here seemed not to have had his identity exposed, he was still playing the role of Uchiha Madara.
So, combining this with the Sky Screen's earlier revelations, the purpose of the real Madara placing the Rinnegan on him became quite clear.
It was to resurrect the real Uchiha Madara!
Nagato's fingers clenched on the armrest of his wheelchair, his nails digging into the wood.
He had these eyes not because he was the Child of Prophecy—it was because he was a vessel. A container for storing the eyes, waiting for someone's resurrection.
Yahiko's death, the founding of the Akatsuki, and the Eye of the Moon Plan. All of it was part of Madara's scheme.
His entire life had been a lie.
Nagato had never wanted to kill someone so desperately.
But… why was Madara so certain he would be resurrected?
Nagato's brow furrowed.
Would Obito force him? Or had Madara left some kind of failsafe in his body, to manipulate him into using the Rinne Tensei at some point?
Also… if Madara was the real mastermind, what had he deceived Obito about?
On the screen—
Konan's voice rang out again, each word carrying unshakable conviction:
"Naruto is the light. That's why we all… can carry flowers of hope!"
Obito seemed provoked by this naive, almost childish statement, and his tone suddenly turned cold, "Heh—You bare your fangs at me, yet you still continue to wear that cloak. I see that you are still attached to the Akatsuki."
Konan straightened her back, rainwater sliding slowly down the patterns of her black-and-red cloud cloak.
"Yahiko founded the Akatsuki. The red cloud on this cloak symbolizes the blood that rained over the Hidden Rain from war! You are just riding on its coattails. These cloaks are our legacy, not yours!"
Her gaze burned as she stared straight into the eyes behind the mask: "Furthermore, Nagato a shinobi of the Hidden Rain, awakened the Rinnegan. And that too, does not belong to you. His eyes are this nation's... this village's treasure!"
Before her words even faded, countless paper shuriken covered in explosive tags rained down on Obito like a storm!
---
[Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki Hideout]
Tendo Pain raised his hand at the same time, and an invisible force instantly shot toward Obito, who was sitting in the distance.
A muffled sound echoed in the air as Obito's figure became intangible before the force hit him; the energy passed through his body and struck the wall behind him, blasting a large hole.
Debris flew, dust filled the air, and several oil lamps in the hideout were blown out by the shockwave.
Deidara jumped up from his chair: "What's going on?! What's going on?! Infighting?!"
Hidan stood up too, scythe in hand.
Kakuzu's expression remained blank, but his hand was already on his pouch, ready to act at any moment.
The eyes of Sasori's puppet shifted with a click, fingers curling slightly.
Kisame, holding Samehada, slowly walked to Obito's side.
Zetsu emerged halfway from the ground, the words 'watching the show' written all over both his black and white halves.
Meanwhile, Konan's form dissolved into scattered paper, disappearing bit by bit, clearly heading to protect Nagato's real body.
The atmosphere in the hideout instantly became tense and hostile.
Obito solidified from his phased state. He glanced at Tendo Pain, then at the surrounding Akatsuki members—all glaring at him except for Kisame. The face beneath his mask twitched.
He slowly stood up, dusted off his clothes, and spoke in a still-calm tone:
"Nagato, are you trying to betray the Akatsuki?"
*****
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister