"They're using rain as a barrier. If I'd rashly infiltrated using my previous methods, I'd probably have been discovered immediately,"
Jiraiya said with some trepidation.
If he hadn't followed Uchiha Fugaku's advice and infiltrated the Rain Village alone, his infiltration methods would have likely led to his discovery.
"They should be using the chakra in the rain to sense it. As long as we can avoid physical contact with it, we should be able to avoid it."
The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, was a master of water-based ninjutsu. With Uchiha Fugaku's reminder, she immediately understood the characteristics of this jutsu.
"Now that we know this, avoiding it will be easy,"
said the Third Tsuchikage.
"Once we're infiltrated, we can use straw raincoats or umbrellas to block the rain and avoid physical contact."
Half an hour later, Uchiha Fugaku and a dozen others had infiltrated the Rain Village.
They disguised themselves as ordinary villagers from the Rain Village, some holding umbrellas, others wearing straw raincoats, blocking the chakra mixed with rainwater and avoiding detection.
"What peace! A life like this was unimaginable before."
"The village's escape from war and peace is all thanks to Pain-sama and the Angel-sama."
"Yes, thanks to Pain-sama and the Angel-sama!"
Walking through the streets of the Rain Village, listening to the conversations of the passersby, everyone except Uchiha Fugaku was deeply moved.
Although they didn't know who the Angel-sama was referring to, it was clear that Pain-sama was referring to Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki.
This was undoubtedly the Akatsuki's base!
"Capture a ninja and interrogate him to confirm the location of Pain and the others."
Confirming this was the Akatsuki base, the Fourth Raikage was already impatient.
They looked around and spotted two people dressed as ninjas in a restaurant.
After exchanging a glance, they walked inside.
"Attack!"
Entering the restaurant, they attacked in unison.
Some quickly restrained the two ninjas, others the restaurant owner and waiter, while others closed the restaurant's door.
"Hokage-sama, the interrogation is now yours!"
Mifune said, looking at Uchiha Fugaku.
"Alright."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't hesitate. Possessing the Sharingan and specializing in illusions, he was the most skilled interrogator among those present.
He stepped forward, opened the eyes of a ninja, and held their gaze, hypnotizing them.
"Where does Pain live?"
"In the village... the tallest tower."
The ninja desperately tried to break free, but it was futile before Uchiha Fugaku's gaze. He quickly confessed.
He hypnotized another ninja and received the same answer.
"It seems we can confirm that Pain is located in the village's tallest tower,"
the Third Tsuchikage said.
Upon entering the village, they noticed a tower in the center, towering far above the other buildings.
They felt something strange at the time, a vague feeling that it might be a place of importance.
It was now confirmed that this was where Akatsuki leader Pain resided.
"Pain is in the tallest tower. Let's go, to the tallest tower!"
the Fourth Raikage declared, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Impatient people can't eat... hot tofu, big brother, you... are too impatient. This... is not good..."
Killer Bee improvised, but the Fourth Raikage glared at him and quickly shut him up.
They left the restaurant, closed the door, and headed towards the tallest tower.
Soon, they arrived near the tower.
Numerous Rain Village ninjas guarded the tower, maintaining a tight security presence.
The sheer number of guards made it clear that this was a crucial location.
However, these guards were no match for Uchiha Fugaku and his men.
Puff, puff, puff! Before they could even utter a word, the Rain Village ninjas were dispatched by Uchiha Fugaku and his men.
Before they could act, Uchiha Fugaku had even cast a magical barrier around the area to prevent anyone from witnessing the slaughter.
Then, they infiltrated the tower, killed the Amegakure ninjas guarding it, and ascended to the summit.
"They're coming!" In a room atop the tower, three people clung to the air.
One was Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan, another was Konan, wearing a light blue paper flower on her head, and another was Uchiha Obito, wearing a spiral mask.
It was Uchiha Obito who spoke. "The Amegakure has indeed been exposed,"Konan's beautiful brows furrowed.
"They've chased us all the way here,"Nagato's face grimaced.
He was still bandaged, his injuries not yet fully healed.
"Time to retreat!"Uchiha Obito declared.
As he spoke, he used a space-time ninjutsu to create a pitch-black vortex.
Konan stepped into it, and Nagato, his expression grim, also stepped into it.
Uchiha Obito was the last to enter. Before he did, he turned back, a sneer beneath his mask, and formed a seal.
"I hope you'll be satisfied with the next gift!"
The entire room, and indeed the entire tower, was covered in densely packed detonating talismans.
As Uchiha Obito formed hand seals, the detonating talismans burst into flames. With a deafening
boom—
a deafening explosion, the entire tower shattered in a fiery blaze.
Broken pipes, various iron materials, and shattered rocks flew everywhere, impacting the surrounding houses, reducing them to rubble.
At the center of the explosion, where the iron tower had once stood, it was gone. In its place stood a black, armored giant, taller than the tower itself.
It was none other than Uchiha Fugaku's Complete Susanoo.
At the crucial moment, Uchiha Fugaku used his Complete Susanoo to protect everyone.
Uchiha Fugaku released his Susanoo, revealing the others. None of them looked particularly good.
Some had their clothes torn, others were covered in black.
The explosion had come so suddenly that even they were momentarily distraught.
"Bastard..."
the Fourth Raikage, his face blackened, raged. He kicked a piece of rubble from the tower beneath him, sending it flying like a cannonball.
"How decisive!"
the Third Tsuchikage's expression also grimaced.
It was clear they had been exposed, or perhaps the enemy had anticipated their arrival; otherwise, they wouldn't have planted so many explosive tags within the tower.
"What a cruel heart!"
the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, gazed at the destroyed houses around them.
Faint screams could be heard from the rubble, clearly burying people.
To scheme against them, the enemy had completely disregarded the lives of the villagers.
Swish, swish, swish!
Hearing the commotion, a large number of Rain Village ninjas rushed over.
"Who are you?"
"Did you blow up the tower? Where are Lord Pain and Lord Angel?"
These Rain Village ninjas surrounded Uchiha Fugaku and his companions with murderous intent, glaring at them.
They clearly blamed the tower's destruction on Uchiha Fugaku and his companions, believing them to be responsible.
"What should we do with Rain Village now?"
Surrounded by the multitude of Rain Village ninjas, Uchiha Fugaku and his companions seemed oblivious to the situation. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, asked.
"We can't let Rain Village fall back into Akatsuki's hands. I propose that our five major ninja villages send forces to take over,"
said the Third Tsuchikage.
"I agree."
"I agree too."
His words were met with widespread agreement. If Rain Village wasn't dealt with, the Akatsuki would return and take control as soon as they left.
"Pain-sama and Angel-sama must have been murdered by them! Kill them!"
"Revenge for Pain-sama and Angel-sama! Kill them!"
Seeing Uchiha Fugaku and the others conversing among themselves, the Amegakure ninjas were enraged and attacked them.
"You're asking for your own death!"
The Fourth Raikage, now furious, saw the Amegakure ninjas charging at him.
He enveloped himself in lightning, as if clad in a lightning armor, and slammed into the oncoming Amegakure ninjas.
None of the Amegakure ninjas could withstand his blow, sending one after another flying backwards.
"Susanoo!"
Uchiha Fugaku unleashed his Susanoo. The giant hand of Susanoo slammed, sending dozens of Amegakure ninjas flying backwards.
He showed no mercy to these people.
If it weren't for his arrival, Nagato would have attacked Konoha, and what would have been the heavy casualties?
Now, how could he show mercy to the Amegakure ninjas?
Under the combined forces of Uchiha Fugaku and his men, the ninjas of Amegakure were either killed or surrendered.
The entire Amegakure Village was taken over by Uchiha Fugaku and his men.
They contacted their respective villages, demanding they send forces to take over Amegakure Village.
Konoha.
One after another, Ōtsutsuki puppets, atop flying puppets, infiltrated Konoha under cover of night.
Because they were puppets, the sensory barriers were unaffected, allowing them to slip silently into Konoha.
The flying puppets soared over the Hyuga Clan, and one after another, Ōtsutsuki puppets leaped from the sky, appearing within the clan.
Once there, they began searching for those who hadn't been caged, those with pure Byakugan eyes.
"Who are you?" Two Hyuga Clan ninjas, upon spotting the Ōtsutsuki puppets,
shouted. They were met with a merciless slaughter.
With a swish, an Ōtsutsuki puppet appeared beside the two Hyuga Clan ninjas.
Two different weapons were in each hand, and they attacked the two Hyuga clan ninjas with them.
The two Hyuga clan ninjas were merely ordinary ninjas, while the Ōtsutsuki puppets were as powerful as jonin, and were slain with almost no resistance.
However, their earlier shouting had alerted the Hyuga clan, and Hyuga clan ninjas were heading their way.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
As the two sides met, the Ōtsutsuki puppets gained the upper hand.
Some used weapons in close combat, while others launched volleys of yellow light, all displaying immense power.
"The enemy is formidable! Call for help from the village!"
Realizing they were no match, a Hyuga clan ninja sent out a distress signal.
As the Ōtsutsuki puppets fought, they searched for a target without the pure Byakugan eyes of a caged bird.
"We've found a suitable target!"
They spotted a little girl, unmatched in her Byakugan eyes, and knocked her unconscious. They carried her on their shoulders and began to retreat.
"Let go of my daughter!"
Hyuga Hiashi angrily lunged, intent on rescuing the little girl.
This little girl was none other than his youngest daughter, Hanabi Hyuga.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
A rather special Ōtsutsuki puppet took the initiative to meet him and engaged him in combat.
He discovered that this Ōtsutsuki puppet was actually no weaker than he, who was close to being a Kage.
Seeing the signal for help, the village ninjas were rushing towards this side quickly.
But at this moment, one puppet bird after another swooped down.
Some Ōtsutsuki puppets were responsible for covering the rear, while others took Hanabi Hyuga on the puppet bird, soaring into the sky and retreating outside the Konoha Village.
In the end, at the cost of some of the Ōtsutsuki puppets being damaged, Hanabi Hyuga was taken away.
(End of this chapter)