Deep within Agakure, inside a secret base hidden in the core area of a massive drainage pipe system.
The place was damp and dark, illuminated only by a few dim yellow lights that cast flickering reflections on the twisted tal walls and the water puddles on the floor.
In the center of the spacious hall, the body of Yahiko, transford into the Deva Path Pain, stood with the Rinnegan in its eyes emitting cold, purple ripples. It stared expressionlessly at Orochimaru, who had just officially joined the organization.
Konan stood quietly to the side.
"From today, you are [Three] of the Akatsuki." Pain's cold voice echoed in the cavernous underground space. He extended a hand, offering a ring engraved with the character for [Three] to Orochimaru.
Due to nma's interference, Orochimaru's joining of the Akatsuki was much later than in the original tiline. Thus, the code na [Void], which might have belonged to him, had already been bestowed upon another mber by Nagato.
Orochimaru reached out with his pale, stitched hand and took the ring, a symbol of identity and bondage. His golden serpentine eyes glead with an inscrutable light.
He put it on his finger, feeling its cool touch.
"Regarding your partner," Pain continued in his monotone, "You will form a team with [Jewel], Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Sasori of the Red Sand?" Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly, showing a flicker of interest. "That genius puppeteer from Sunagakure? Heh. To think he disappeared over a decade ago, even the Third Kazekage's disappearance is related to him... Tsk tsk. He actually joined Akatsuki too."
'This was indeed unexpected intelligence. The talents gathered by the Akatsuki were even more diverse than he had imagined. Even soone like Sasori had been found and recruited.'
Konan added from the side, "Sasori is currently on a mission outside. Once he returns, you can formally et."
Just then, in a certain secret room elsewhere, Nagato, who was remotely controlling Pain through the Chakra Reception Rods, his true body hidden in shadow, suddenly opened his eyes wide!
Through the [Rain Tiger at Will Technique] covering all of Agakure, he clearly sensed a familiar and powerful Chakra.
'This Chakra... It's Jiraiya-sensei?!' Nagato's heart shook violently.
'After more than a decade, why would Jiraiya-sensei suddenly appear in Agakure?'
'Was it because of the news of Orochimaru joining?'
But he dismissed the thought as soon as it arose.
Orochimaru had just joined, so the news couldn't have leaked so quickly.
He imdiately issued an order through Pain: "Zetsu."
The ground writhed, and Zetsu's bizarre, half-black, half-white body erged from the floor.
"Any orders, Leader?" The white half asked with a cheeky grin.
Pain's Rinnegan stared coldly at Zetsu. "Jiraiya has infiltrated Agakure. Go, monitor his every move, report at all tis."
"Jiraiya? That Pervy Sage?" The white half exclaid exaggeratedly.
"Shut up, idiot," The black half interrupted hoarsely, then said respectfully to Pain, "Understood."
Imdiately, Zetsu quickly sank into the ground and disappeared.
"Jiraiya-sensei... is here?" Konan showed a surprised expression upon hearing the news, instinctively glancing at Orochimaru beside her.
Orochimaru, arms crossed, let out a aningful light laugh: "Hehe... This has nothing to do with . If I recall correctly, that guy Jiraiya should be here for the three of you, right?"
Jiraiya's appearance stirred many past mories in Orochimaru.
His gaze swept over Pain and Konan, carrying a hint of amusent. "Over twenty years ago, during the Second Great Ninja War, after we 'Sannin' fought Hanzo, Jiraiya specifically stayed behind for three kids from the Land of Rain. So... it was you."
He paused, a trace of confusion flashing in his serpentine eyes as he looked at Pain. "However, I rember that child back then who possessed these legendary eyes was a red-haired boy nad... Nagato? Why now..."
Orochimaru keenly noticed that although this 'Pain' before him had the Rinnegan, his aura and the feel of his Chakra were different from his mory of Nagato.
"That is none of your concern, Orochimaru," The Deva Path coldly interrupted him, the Rinnegan turning towards Konan.
Pain's voice remained cold, carrying a sense of finality that severed the past. "The past is irrelevant. The path we have chosen now is fundantally different from what Jiraiya-sensei believes in."
"Konan, wait for Zetsu's report for now. If Jiraiya-sensei's target isn't us, if he's just passing through or investigating information on Hanzo, then let him be. But if... he is targeting the Akatsuki..."
A flash of cold killing intent passed through Pain's Rinnegan. "...You go and persuade him to leave first. If he insists on investigating to the end, interfering with our plans, then don't bla for disregarding our past teacher-student bond."
Hearing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips, the excitent in his eyes intensifying.
'Interesting... A drama of ntor and student turning against each other? How delightful.'
He felt even more that joining the Akatsuki was the right decision. Not only did it hold the Rinnegan he coveted, but he could also witness such splendid drama.
…
anwhile, in the room nma had rented.
He was fully focused on maintaining the Mind's Eye of Kagura, ticulously sensing the movents inside the [Regenerative dicine] building across the street.
Suddenly, he detected an anomaly in the Chakra Fluctuations within Amado's office.
Amado seed to be talking to soone, but in his Sensory Perception, aside from Amado's stable and calm Chakra, there was actually nothing else there!
'What's going on?' nma was startled.
'Even my Mind's Eye of Kagura can't sense the other party? Is it so extrely advanced concealnt technique, or...'
A na instantly surfaced in his mind… Jigen!
Or rather, Otsutsuki Isshiki!
Only an existence of this level could completely block Chakra Perception!
Deep underground, in the soundproof office of Regenerative dicine.
Amado adjusted the orange glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking at the uninvited 'visitor' before him.
This was a tall young man wearing a white haori and black hakama pants. A Roman nural [IV] was tattooed below his left eye, and he wore conspicuous red neck and wrist guards.
On his head, he had a strange short tuft of hair and a ponytail.
His deanor was elegant, his speech polite, full of gentlemanly deanor.
This was Jigen, the vessel possessed by Otsutsuki Isshiki.
"My apologies for disturbing you again, Amado-san. The supplies you requested have been delivered," Jigen's tone was gentle and polite, full of gentlemanly deanor. "It seems you've encountered another bottleneck."
Amado's face was calm, but internally he maintained the highest level of vigilance towards this mysterious man.
Jigen had provided him with imnse support in research funding and equipnt. His knowledge was terrifyingly profound, especially in areas related to the essence of life. And... based on a scientist's intuition, Amado always felt that this 'person' before him was sowhat off, as if he were so kind of... more dangerous existence wearing human skin.
"Experintal failure is the norm, Jigen-san," Amado lit a cigarette, his tone flat. "Science advances through repeated failures."
Jigen smiled elegantly, his gaze sweeping over the red data on the nearby instrunt screen that hadn't been completely cleared yet, indicating the termination of the clone's life reaction. "But creating life... this touches upon the realm of [Yin-Yang Release]. Given your current understanding of the nature of Chakra, especially life energy, even with the assistance of these precision instrunts, you still have a long way to go to successfully create stable cloned life."
Amado was silent for a mont.
Jigen had ntioned the concept of [Yin-Yang Release] more than once.
"Then... does one truly need to beco an existence like the legendary Sage of Six Paths to create life out of nothing?" He couldn't help but ask, though it was more of a lant filled with frustration.
Jigen shook his head. He was like a patient ntor, guiding step by step. "It doesn't have to be that extre. The Sage of Six Paths' technique is creation from nothing. If you're only using existing cells for cloning and cultivation, which in essence is the replication and reshaping of life forms, you only need a preliminary understanding and application of Yin-Yang Release power to significantly increase the success rate."
Although that woman Kaguya had betrayed him, turning him into a weakened state, he had to admit that the two sons born to Kaguya after consuming the God Tree's fruit indeed possessed strength surpassing that of ordinary Otsutsuki Clan's mbers, especially that guy called Hagoromo.
Moreover, this planet, after producing one Chakra Fruit, hadn't completely dried up and even showed promise of growing another God Tree.
Such a planet was truly rare in the universe. Isshiki also looked forward to this planet bringing him more surprises.
Amado, facing Jigen, didn't speak, just silently noted down this information.
Although he was wary of Jigen, the ideas and knowledge the other provided were indeed what he urgently needed now.
Jigen glanced at the clock on the wall and said politely, "It's getting late, I should take my leave. I look forward to good news next ti."
He maintained his elegant manners, his heart as calm as an ancient well.
A thousand years of patience had taught him ultimate patience.
Amado was an extrely talented individual, but he wasn't in a hurry.
Just as Jigen was about to leave, suddenly, a muffled explosion sound faintly ca from the ground above!
The sound wasn't loud, but it was particularly clear in the relatively quiet underground space.
Jigen's steps halted montarily.
Amado frowned slightly but didn't panic.
He rely comnted flatly, "The Land of Rain never seems to be short of conflict."
Conflict and ard clashes within the Land of Rain, especially Agakure, never ceased. Explosions weren't rare.
Soon, the communicator in Amado's lab rang, transmitting the slightly tense voice of the guard outside: "Amado-sama! An unknown explosion occurred in the eastern district! Hanzo-sama's Anbu have been dispatched! Please rest assured, company security has been raised to the highest level!"
Amado switched on the communicator and replied calmly, "Understood. Maintain vigilance."
After turning off the communicator, he looked at Jigen.
Jigen's face still wore that elegant and composed gentlemanly expression. "It seems Agakure is still unstable. Then, I won't disturb you further, Amado-san. Please take care."
After saying this, he nodded slightly, turned, and walked away composedly from the office, his figure quickly disappearing down the corridor.
From beginning to end, Jigen behaved like a cooperating partner who happened to be visiting and was interrupted by an unexpected incident.
Amado looked at the closed door for a long ti without speaking.
He picked up the photo of his daughter, Akebi, from when she was alive, and gently stroked the fra with his fingertip.
The frustration brought by failure surged over him again like a tide, but he took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and turned his gaze back to the complex experintal data.
After Jigen left, the abnormal feeling of 'nothingness' in Amado's office in nma's Mind's Eye of Kagura also disappeared.
'It was him after all... Jigen.' nma beca even more certain.
'He was just here, and he has the ability to completely evade my perception! This ability isn't concealnt, but a higher-level perception blocking, stemming from the Otsutsuki Clan's bloodline suppression, right?... Truly terrifying. It seems that keeping a close watch on Amado is a clear lead to finding him.'
The explosion sound from the eastern district in the distance, and the dispatch of Agakure's Anbu, also led nma to guess that the mysterious infiltrating Ninja might have been discovered by Agakure's Ninjas.
nma retracted his Mind's Eye of Kagura.
Jigen's appearance made him realize that it wasn't a simple concealnt ability on Jigen's part, and it was likely an ability to block Chakra Perception. Simply monitoring from a distance would probably be difficult to achieve a breakthrough.
'I must find a way to plant a Flying Thunder God mark on him...' nma contemplated internally.
'Can Hikari's [Yachihoko] penetrate his blocking?' Thinking of the Mangekyo Sharingan's Dojutsu containing Space-Ti power and the Flying Thunder God Technique, he began to formulate a plan.
If successful, Jigen's greatest reliance, which is hiding in a different dinsion, would beco useless.
Thinking of Jigen's different dinsion, nma couldn't help but think about the second Ten-Tails hidden by Isshiki in that dinsion and the remains of the so-called [God of Otsutsuki Clan], Otsutsuki Shibai.
Although the second Ten-Tails was just a 'sapling' that hadn't devoured an Otsutsuki sacrifice or absorbed planetary energy to grow into a God Tree, the amount of Chakra it contained was still enough to shake the Ninja World.
In the original Boruto story, before his big battle with Naruto and Sasuke, Jigen specifically ca to absorb the Ten-Tails' Chakra, enabling him to unlock the second stage of the [Kama] and suppress Nine-Tails Sage Mode Naruto and Rinnegan Sasure in one fell swoop.
'The second stage of Kama... probably has power at the peak of Super Kage-level, but still sowhat short of true Six Paths-level. Moreover, Jigen's body doesn't seem to be able to withstand that power for long, it's an overdraft-type burst.' nma calmly analyzed the potential opponent's strength.
'Compared to Kaguya, who had power but immature combat awareness, Isshiki, who has lurked in the Ninja World for a thousand years, obviously has much more sophisticated combat experience and strategy. The core abilities of his [Daikokuten] and [Sukunahikona] are troubleso, but for soone like who knows the information, they aren't unsolvable.'
'The most troubleso thing is if he sees the situation turning unfavorable and directly hides in his different dinsion.'
'Also, those androids created by Amado possess the abilities of Otsutsuki Shibai, aning Isshiki holds Shibai's remains. Clearly, when Kaguya ambushed Isshiki back then, she also intended to seize Shibai's remains, but he managed to escape.'
"Over there... it seems like the fighting is getting worse!" Just as nma was imrsed in strategic deduction, Ajisai's nervous exclamation ca from beside him.
She was leaning by the window, looking worriedly towards the eastern district.
In the curtain of rain, a thick, black smoke mixed with flas billowed up. Even from a considerable distance, the sounds of commotion could faintly be heard.
Ajisai turned around, her face filled with anxiety. "I have to go check it out!"
As a Ninja of Agakure, maintaining the village's order was almost instinctive.
Before her words fully faded, she had already nimbly flipped out of the window. Her purple figure leaped across the wet rooftops a few tis and quickly sped towards the direction of the explosion.
nma shook his head slightly, 'This girl's kindness and simplicity were really...'
He deployed the Mind's Eye of Kagura again, precisely targeting the core area of the explosion.
Chaotic Chakra Fluctuations, panicked crowds, and the rapidly arriving Anbu with the uniquely cold aura characteristic of Hanzo's forces.
However, at the edge of his perception, the location of the explosion seed to deviate sowhat from the direction of the mysterious infiltrator?
A trace of doubt surfaced in nma's mind. He quickly ford hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
A faint puff of white smoke appeared, and a young man identical to nma's current disguise appeared in the corner of the room.
This was nma's contingency asure. This shadow clone would remain here long-term to monitor the movents of [Regenerative dicine].
As long as they kept a close watch on Amado, Jigen would have to show up eventually.
"Leave this place to , original!" The shadow clone said in a low voice, then walked to the window and used the Mind's Eye of Kagura to firmly lock onto the building across the street.
nma casually grabbed a worn gray raincoat nearby, threw it over himself, pulled down the hood, and his figure lted into the pattering rain, silently following Ajisai.
The rain grew heavier, washing away the filth on the streets and further blurring visibility.
But this rain was blocked a few centiters above nma's head as if by an invisible umbrella… not a single drop wet his raincoat.
nma trailed far behind Ajisai, watching her agilely navigate narrow alleys and low rooftops, her familiarity with the terrain far exceeding that of an outsider.
Soon, the two of them approached the incident location one after the other.
The explosion seed to have originated from a street-side shop, which was now in complete disarray. Charred wood and broken bricks were scattered everywhere. Several Agakure's Anbu were cordoning off the scene, setting up barrier lines and dispersing the onlookers.
nma's gaze swept over the scene and soon landed on a still-intact izakaya across the street.
On the second floor of the izakaya, an open window revealed a particularly conspicuous figure leaning against the window sill.
That person had wild, untad white hair and wore a red short coat. Even through the rain, one could see him with arms around several scantily clad hostesses, chatting and laughing, holding a sake cup, just like soone enjoying himself in a pleasure quarter.
'Jiraiya...' The corner of nma's mouth twitched slightly.
'So it was this guy.'
As expected, no matter where he went, he never forgot to 'gather material' and enjoy himself.
'Judging by his leisurely deanor, the explosion clearly had nothing to do with him.'
Just then, several Agakure's Ninjas, bound hand and foot, covered in wounds, were dragged out by the Anbu and escorted under guard to the center of the street.
An Anbu Captain coldly read out their 'cris': conspiracy to rebel, attacking the security forces under Hanzo's governance.
Imdiately, blades flashed. A few short, sharp screams were drowned out by the rain. Blood instantly stained the wet ground, only to be quickly diluted and washed away by the rainwater.
The surrounding citizens showed fear, lowering their heads and quickly leaving, not daring to look further.
This was Agakure, the normal state under Hanzo's iron-fisted, brutal rule.
Ajisai stood at the mouth of an alley not far away, witnessing this bloody scene. Her face was pale, and she bit her lower lip tightly.
She seed to want to step forward but ultimately held back, just silently watching the Anbu clean up the scene.
nma's attention, however, wasn't fully focused on this obvious 'side show'.
His Mind's Eye of Kagura caught two more concealed Chakra Fluctuations rapidly approaching.
One was cold, elusive, carrying a plant-like fishy sll, spreading quietly like underground mold, Zetsu.
The other chakra was even more familiar, sharp and light, like countless fluttering paper sheets… Konan.
Zetsu's Chakra was hidden underground at a street corner, clearly on a monitoring mission.
And Konan was gliding directly from above, landing as lightly as a paper butterfly on the roof of that izakaya. Her gaze pierced through the rain, falling gravely upon the white-haired figure on the second floor who was still blissfully unaware, drinking and making rry.
'He's the target...' nma understood inwardly.
'For so reason, Jiraiya had noticed the Akatsuki many years earlier than expected and had even infiltrated to investigate.'
'And Nagato had also discovered Jiraiya's infiltration. Konan was probably sent here to 'persuade him to leave'.'
He quietly took a few steps back, completely concealing himself in the shadow behind a building, like a true bystander, waiting to see how this impending reunion between ntor and student would unfold.
The rain poured down. It seed there was a good show to watch next.
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