The spring of the Year 58 of Konoha Calendar saw generous sunlight spilling over the newly expanded territory of the Land of Stars.
In the borderlands between the Darkness County and the Swamps County, traces of former desolation and war were being rapidly covered by spreading vitality.
Deep within a remote, dense forest in the Darkness County, two figures materialized silently.
Konan stood in her black cloak adorned with red clouds, her lilac hair stirring in the forest breeze, a white paper flower tucked into it. Her cool, composed face held a trace of barely perceptible worry.
Beside her was a male puppet with pale skin, dressed in the same attire, his pupils displaying multiple concentric circles… the Animal Path of Pain.
Konan scanned the surroundings, confirmed it was secure, and nodded to the Animal Path.
Animal Path, expressionless, formed hand seals and pressed a palm to the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Four puffs of white smoke erupted. The other three Pains, the Deva Path, the Asura Path, the Human Path, and Nagato's emaciated, barely-alive original body, sustained by a special sealing device, appeared in the clearing.
Nagato's original body coughed violently several times. From within his deeply sunken eye sockets, his Rinnegan, with its double-ringed pupils, gleamed with a cold, weary light.
Konan immediately stepped forward, her eyes filled with heartache, "Nagato, your body-"
"It is of no consequence," Nagato's voice emerged through Animal Path, low and hoarse, "To ensure absolute success, my main body must be nearby for control. Shura and that Uchiha's strength far exceeds the ordinary. Relying solely on remote control of Deva Path is insufficient to fully manifest our power and achieve overwhelming dominance."
Konan pressed her lips together. Sheets of paper slid silently from her sleeves, rapidly gathering and transforming, skillfully wrapping around a giant ancient tree nearby. They hollowed out the interior, creating a concealed space.
She then carefully helped Nagato's main body move inside.
"I will protect you here," Konan's tone was resolute. The paper fluttered again, perfectly camouflaging the entrance and blending it seamlessly with the environment.
"Hn," Nagato acknowledged, his consciousness fully immersing itself in controlling the four Pains.
Deva Path, Asura Path, Human Path, and Animal Path simultaneously opened their Rinnegan. Their cold gazes swept the forest before they began walking steadily towards the direction of the Marsh Province.
"Is it truly necessary to go this far?" Konan leaned against the disguised tree trunk, watching the four puppets recede into the distance, her whisper barely audible, as if asking herself or the Nagato within the tree.
The only response was the sound of the wind through the trees and Nagato's emotionless voice from within: "Only absolute power can bring true understanding and peace. If they are unwilling to understand, then let them feel pain!"
The four Pains moved in silence along the rural roads connecting the Darkness and Swamps Counties.
Through their eyes, Nagato coldly observed this land so recently 'conquered' by the Land of Stars.
The scenes he witnessed were utterly different from the war-torn devastation and suffering he had expected.
The roads had been re-leveled and compacted, with neat drainage ditches dug alongside them.
In the fields, many farmers were busy. They weren't using old, broken tools, but various new iron plows, hoes, and even some farm tillers. The efficiency of turning the soil had increased severalfold.
People wearing Land of Stars' administrative official uniforms walked along the ridges, loudly explaining key points for spring planting and the [Land Reclamation Decree] issued by the Land of Stars.
"Everyone, pay attention to the new government's Reclamation Decree! Reclaimed wasteland belongs to those who reclaim it. Tax-free for the first three years!"
"However, to prevent land concentration and the emergence of new large landowners or nobles, there are slight limits per household based on population and land conditions… between one and two acres per person."
"Any land reclaimed beyond that will be considered collective, farmed uniformly, and the profits from the output will be redistributed to benefit the collective populace. In short, no one will be at a loss!"
Listening to these policies through the four puppets, Nagato frowned slightly, his mind struggling to process it.
'Wasn't it better for farmers to have more land?'
'Why restrict how much land people could reclaim?'
Nagato, operating the four Pains, decided to proceed further.
Further away, by a river that had previously been silted up and prone to flooding, several Ninjas wearing Star Ninja's flak jackets were working together, forming hand seals.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!"
With their shouts, the riverbanks were reinforced and raised, and the river was skillfully diverted towards areas more in need of irrigation. A few engineers, holding blueprints, directed and surveyed from the side.
Seeing the effective results of the Ninjutsu, the watching farmers erupted in cheers. Some even dropped to their knees in excitement, only to be quickly helped up by the administrative officials.
In the villages they passed along the way, although the houses were still mostly simple, the thatched roofs had been replaced with fresh straw, and broken walls had been repaired. Soup kitchens were often set up at the village entrances, providing food for the poor.
While it was only two meals a day, typically a bowl of porridge, a steamed bun with simple pickles, and occasionally a bowl of fish or meat soup, the people lining up were orderly, and no despair was visible on their faces.
This relief food was for those with no grain at home, but it wasn't entirely free. It was provided through a 'work-for-relief' system, where the hungry performed tasks within their capability in exchange for food.
Furthermore, some young people could join the large-scale infrastructure projects organized by the Land of Stars.
By contributing labor, they could not only eat their fill, including meat, but also receive a wage.
Medical-Nin in white robes with red crosses stitched on their sleeves were either holding free clinics or teaching villagers how to identify and use common herbs to prevent spring illnesses.
A few children ran past, chasing each other, their laughter clear. Their clothes were patched, but their faces showed no signs of malnutrition.
It was vastly different from the displaced people Nagato had seen in the Land of Rain, victims of war.
Controlling Deva Path, Nagato slowly surveyed everything.
Those Rinnegan remained cold, yet they seemed to flicker with a minuscule, almost imperceptible tremor that even he himself didn't notice.
Through Human Path's sensory abilities, he could more clearly capture the emotions of these commoners: hope mixed with fatigue, anticipation tinged with anxiety, and genuine gratitude towards the Star Ninja and administrative officials.
This emotional state stood in stark contrast to the numbness and despair that had perpetually shrouded the people of the Land of Rain under the shadow of war and Hanzo's oppressive rule.
"Shura of the Land of Stars-" Deva Path's lips didn't move, but Nagato's voice seemed to reverberate among the four puppets, "What exactly are you doing?"
One of Nagato's intentions in infiltrating through these annexed regions, rather than attacking the Star City directly, was to verify with his own eyes whether this land had become more miserable after the war, or if it had, as the man who called himself Shura claimed, found new life.
What he was seeing now was quietly shaking some of his deeply ingrained convictions.
Just then, Human Path's senses picked up a relatively strong Chakra Fluctuation moving along the main road.
"A convoy," Deva Path stated coldly.
The four puppets immediately changed direction, silently melting into the woods beside the road like seasoned hunters tracking their prey.
They trailed the Chakra Source for a distance, eventually arriving outside Honmatsu City, a key town in the Swamps County.
A large convoy of trucks was parked outside the city gates, loaded with grain, cloth, and farming tools.
Many laborers, under the direction of administrative personnel, were busily and systematically unloading the cargo, carrying it into newly built large warehouses beside the city wall for registration and storage.
At the city gate, a group of people were in discussion.
The leaders were two women: one wore the standard Star Ninja flak jacket, her reddish-brown long hair tied back, her demeanor capable and gentle… this was Star Jonin, Natsuhi. The other wore elegant priestess robes, her aura dignified and compassionate… this was Miroku, the former Priestess of the Land of Demons and now a high-ranking member of the Land of Stars.
Natsuhi's team members, the white-haired Chino, the somewhat boisterous Shunji, and the quieter Hazuki, were assisting in maintaining order nearby, their eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
"Natsuhi-sensei, this shipment of food and medicine couldn't have come at a better time!" Miroku said, looking over the registry with a relieved smile, "A spring plague has broken out in several villages downstream of the Yuu River. These are urgently needed."
Natsuhi nodded gently, "Shura-sama foresaw this. Warehouses everywhere are speeding up allocations. Saving the people and stabilizing their livelihood is the top priority right now."
Miroku thanked her again, "Natsuhi-sensei, thank you for the escort."
"Just doing my duty," Natsuhi smiled and was about to say more.
Suddenly, Hazuki, always the most perceptive, snapped her head around, looking towards the distant main road outside the city, her voice tense. "Captain! Someone's coming! Four of them... their Chakra feels strange. Very powerful!"
Instantly, the relaxed atmosphere at the city gate vanished.
Natsuhi and Miroku immediately followed Hazuki's gaze.
At the end of the main road, four figures were approaching at an unhurried pace.
Their unified black cloaks with red clouds seemed ominous under the light. Their steps were stiff and synchronized, like marionettes controlled by invisible strings.
They were expressionless, their skin an unnatural pale, their faces adorned with various lip-piercing-like decorations.
Most striking were the four pairs of identical eyes, with their multiple concentric circle patterns.
Cold, indifferent, like deities looking down upon ants, devoid of any emotion.
An invisible pressure washed over them like a tide. Shunji instinctively tightened his grip on a kunai. Chino's Ketsuryugan glowed with an uncontrolled faint red light as she lowered her stance, a low, warning growl rumbling in her throat.
"Remnants from the Land of Snow? Or..." Natsuhi quickly suppressed the unease in her heart and made a judgment, "They don't look like ordinary enemies. Miroku-sama, please organize the convoy and the people outside to take shelter in the city immediately! Chino, Shunji, Hazuki, with me to investigate!"
"Be careful," Miroku said without hesitation, immediately turning to direct the surrounding priestesses, shrine attendants, and administrative staff, "Quickly! Get everyone into the city! No panic!"
The well-trained Land of Stars' personnel sprang into action, guiding the slightly panicked laborers and nearby farmers in an orderly retreat into the city, demonstrating the Land of Stars' efficient grassroots organization.
Natsuhi, with her three young subordinates, quickly advanced to meet the four intruders.
The closer they got, the heavier the suffocating pressure became, as if the very air had solidified.
The two parties stopped about a hundred meters from the city gate, facing each other from a distance.
Natsuhi took a deep breath and called out clearly, "Who are you? This is Honmatsu City in the Swamp County of the Land of Stars! State your business, unidentified Ninja!"
Dead silence.
Only the sound of the wind sweeping over the freshly turned earth remained.
Through Deva Path's eyes, Nagato coldly observed the spirited female Jonin and the three young Ninja behind her, who were tense but unyielding.
He had seen their immediate priority was to protect the civilians, which deepened that subtle sense of uncertainty in Nagato, the war orphan's heart.
But the mission of a God does not allow for doubt.
After a moment, the figure at the forefront, Deva Path, slowly took a step forward. The Rinnegan looked down indifferently at Natsuhi. That lifeless voice, transmitted through Yahiko's body, clearly carried across this land that had just begun to revive:
"I am God."