Uehara Naraku was forced to train in Taijutsu for a week, and his Life Energy only increased by 3 points, an efficiency so low it was disheartening.
Fortunately, this training would soon no longer be necessary.
The civil war in the Hidden Rain Village was about to begin, and no one would have thought that the trio of Pain of Six Paths, Konan, and Uehara Naraku would overthrow Hanzo of the Salamander's rule.
For now, the main forces of the war were just Konan and Uehara Naraku.
Since Nagato had difficulty moving, and Pain could not sustain long battles, Konan and Uehara were assigned to eliminate the ninja outposts and Hidden Rain Ninja active outside the Hidden Rain Village, forcing Hanzo of the Salamander to gather all his forces.
Once Hanzo of the Salamander summoned all the Hidden Rain Ninja back to the village to protect himself, the Pain of Six Paths would collectively move to eliminate the ninjas gathering to resist them.
The once naive and innocent boys falsely accused by Hanzo of the Salamander and Shimura Danzo had finally grown wiser.
Uehara Naraku received a mission to clear out a ninja outpost, along with related intelligence, which reported two ninja squads stationed there, a total of eight ninjas, including two Chunin Captains.
His task was to kill seven of them and deliberately let one escape to inform the Hidden Rain village about the onset of war.
Ideally, causing panic in the Hidden Rain Village.
This somewhat tested his acting skills.
However, as Uehara Naraku considered himself one of the Akatsuki's top four actors, competing with Black Zetsu, Obito, and Uchiha Itachi for best actor, the last thing he lacked was acting skills.
Eastern Land of Rain.
An outpost hidden under a cliff.
The cliff outpost was stationed by two Chunin and six Genin, whose usual tasks were to monitor for large armies entering the country, wandering ninjas, or anyone daring to resist Lord Hanzo.
Hidden Rain Chunin Kamakura sauntered to the mouth of the cave, staring dazedly at the torrential rain outside and mumbled, "Every day has been terrible weather; I wonder when this darn weather will stop..."
Bang...
Bang, bang, bang...
A peculiar sound drifted in.
This sound was unlike the clattering heavy rain.
The Hidden Rain Chunin halted his conversation, listening intently to the sounds outside. Growing up in the Land of Rain made it easy to distinguish the sound of rain hitting a bamboo umbrella.
Kamakura quickly turned his head to look at his teammates, discreetly signaling with his fingers that an enemy had arrived!
After all, in such horrendous weather, someone coming to the Hidden Rain outpost out of nowhere surely wasn't for a leisure visit?
"Hey, are you all ready?"
In the pouring rain, a young and shy voice echoed.
Just as these Hidden Rain Ninjas were somewhat speechless, a purple energy ray sliced the entire cliff in half, and the torrential rain poured down...
The Hidden Rain Ninjas, indifferent to the rain falling on their faces, watched the slowly collapsing cliff sides, the stunning image impacting their spirits...
"...What kind of Jutsu is this?"
"With just one strike, the whole cliff was split instantly..."
When faced with impending danger, only Chunin Kamakura retained some rationality, leaping behind a rock and loudly reminding, "The enemy is strong, everyone be on high alert and avoid confrontation!"
While advising his subordinates, Kamakura cautiously lifted his head, observing the enemy who destroyed their outpost...
It was a young ninja holding a bamboo umbrella.
Kamakura instinctively wanted to deny what he was seeing; how could such a powerful enemy appear so young?
Yet, this was indeed reality.
Uehara Naraku stepped forward, smiling as he looked at the numerous Hidden Rain Ninjas and whispered, "Shall we begin?"
"Brat, what's your purpose here?"
Kamakura tightly clutched the Kunai in his hand, nerves tightening to the point where he couldn't tell if it was rain or sweat on his forehead.
"What meaningless nonsense are you spouting?"
Uehara Naraku lifted his umbrella, revealing a smiling face and said, "I'm here... to kill you all, of course!"
That youthful face wore a smile, yet spoke bloody words, making Kamakura feel as if he was staring into the eyes of a devil.
This kid must be a downright evil being!
"Damn it, kill him!"
Kamakura swung his Kunai forward, urging his subordinates to swarm in. Under their captain's command, a group of Hidden Rain Ninjas charged with ninja blades, chain blades, and Shuriken in hand!
Uehara Naraku sighed deeply while holding his bamboo umbrella, "Life's so fleeting, yet you still choose to take shortcuts?"
A golden light shimmered over him!
It was a golden shield enveloping his entire body, deflecting the multitude of ninja tools hurled his way!
Glowing golden virtual swords surrounded the shield, and as Uehara Naraku waved his hand, the swords swiftly descended, piercing through the bodies of the approaching Hidden Rain Ninjas!
...
Kamakura was utterly shocked!
From his viewpoint, neither Shuriken, Kunai, nor ninja blades and chain blades could penetrate that seemingly thin golden shield, a truly despair-inducing sight.
The young one dispatched most ninjas at the outpost with ease; now only he and another Chunin remained!
Luckily, the other Chunin remained calm, quickly forming Hand Seals, launching a water stream: "Water Release: Water Turbulence!"
Evidently, this C-rank Water Release Ninjutsu posed no trouble for the enemy. Uehara Naraku easily dodged the raging water flow.
A splash of water transformed into a whip, binding Uehara's body!
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
Kamakura tightly gripped the other end of the Water Whip, his mind settled, urging softly, "You report back to the village, I'll hold him off..."
...
The other Hidden Rain Chunin wasted no time, nodding before quickly dashing towards the distance, not expecting Kamakura to defeat the young enemy.
But... at minimum, he must send the intelligence from here.
As long as Kamakura can delay the youth, he could escape blending into the torrential weather!
"Hah, it's not nice to just abandon a comrade and run off like that, is it?"
A card appeared at Uehara Naraku's fingertips, skillfully twirling it before he flicked it at the fleeing Hidden Rain Chunin!
It was just a card, yet sharper than a Shuriken.
The card swiftly cut through the rain, embedding itself into the Hidden Rain Chunin, followed by a thunderous explosion...
The fleeing Hidden Rain Chunin was obliterated without a trace.
Uehara Naraku broke free from the Water Whip, raised his bamboo umbrella, and looked up at the last remaining Kamakura Chunin: "Even if you want to escape to report to Hanzo, shouldn't I choose which one of you gets to leave alive?"