Kurō looked at Pain’s purple Rinnegan, alarm bells ringing wildly in his heart.
On the surface, however, he still looked completely relaxed and immediately laughed it off.
“Come on, Leader, you’re joking now too?
I’m an old employee of Akatsuki.
I’ve been here so long I practically have seniority.” “What do you mean, join Akatsuki?
Haven’t I been one of Akatsuki’s people all along?” His eyes were full of clear, innocent stupidity, as if he genuinely had no idea what Pain was talking about.
‘Is this… poaching?’ Kurō naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Pain’s words.
While maintaining his disguise on the surface, he quickly analyzed the situation in his heart.
‘No, Nagato isn’t dumb enough for that.
‘Is he trying to drive a wedge between me and Obito, making Obito suspicious of me?
Pretty basic move, but yeah, it does work…’ He knew that with Nagato’s mind, the man obviously would not think a few words were enough to pull Kurō over to his side.
What he wanted was to use suggestive language to test him, to probe how deep the connection between Kurō and Obito really was.
After all, with their current working relationship, they would not openly fall out over something this small.
The cost of spreading suspicion was low.
If it failed, nothing was lost.
If it worked, the profit was huge.
‘Nagato, that was pretty underhanded of you.’ Kurō teased Nagato inwardly, while the smile on his face grew even brighter.
He scratched his head with an innocent look and tested the waters.
“Leader, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first.” Pain looked at him meaningfully.
After a moment, he slowly nodded.
Kurō let out a long breath in his heart, then waved goodbye to Pain and Konan.
After that, he raised his hands to form a sign, and his projection completely vanished.
In that silent space, only Pain and Konan’s projections remained.
They exchanged a silent glance, then released the Astral Projection Jutsu together.
… The Land of Rain, Amegakure.
This city, covered in towers and pipes, was shrouded in rain all year round.
The endless patter of rain came from every direction, like background noise that would never stop.
The sky was gray.
The clouds hung so low they seemed about to press down on the rooftops.
Occasionally, lightning cut across the sky, illuminating the grim stone statues hidden behind the curtain of rain.
Pain stood atop a tall building and slowly opened his eyes.
Outside the window was a scene he could not be more familiar with.
A lead-gray sky.
Endless rainfall.
Wet streets where passersby occasionally hurried past beneath umbrellas.
Rainwater dripped from the eaves, striking the windowsill and splashing into tiny droplets with crisp sounds.
His Rinnegan glowed faintly purple in the dim light.
Konan stood silently behind him.
She opened her eyes almost at the same time as Pain.
No emotion could be seen on her cool face.
Her gaze fell on Pain’s back, and she remained silent for a moment.
“Looks like it failed, Nagato.” Her voice was very soft.
There was not much regret in her tone, clearly because she had expected this result from the beginning.
Pain did not look back.
His gaze remained fixed on the rain outside, and the gray sky was reflected in his Rinnegan.
“No.” His voice was low and deep, as if he were thinking something through.
“It cannot truly be called a failure.” He slowly turned around and looked at Konan.
On the normally expressionless face of the Deva Path, there was now a trace of meaning deeper than usual.
“The relationship between Uchiha Kurō and ‘Madara’ is deeper than we imagined.
We only needed to confirm that.” As he said this, his brow furrowed slightly.
The movement was faint, but Konan saw it.
She knew this man too well.
She knew he was worried.
Pain… no, Nagato.
Although he was the public leader of Akatsuki, the one truly standing behind the current organization was actually that “teacher” who had taught him how to use the Rinnegan.
Madara.
A mysterious man who called himself Uchiha Madara, wore a spiral mask, and never showed his true face.
Unlike that man, who seemed to know almost everything about their side, Nagato knew very little about this “teacher.” He did not know where he came from.
He did not know his true identity.
He did not know what his final goal really was.
All he knew was that the man was strong, so strong that even Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan and called himself a “god,” had to be wary of him.
One Uchiha Madara was already troublesome enough.
Then, five years ago, another powerful Uchiha named Kurō had appeared beside him.
Even Nagato, who was extremely confident in his own strength, could not help feeling wary of the current Madara and his people.
He had begun to feel a sense of urgency.
“Still, it really is unexpected…” There was a trace of confusion in Konan’s voice.
She took two steps forward and stood beside Pain.
Her cool eyes looked out with him at the endless rain beyond the window.
“That Madara would actually trust Uchiha Kurō so much… “Even though Uchiha Kurō is completely different from him.” “…That does not matter.” Pain spoke coldly.
“Uchiha Kurō is Madara’s person.
He is someone we must guard against.
That is all we need to know.” Konan fell silent for a moment.
She looked at Pain’s profile, then slowly nodded.
Pain looked at the somewhat quiet Konan before him and sighed faintly in his heart.
Of course he knew what Konan was thinking right now.
He understood her, just as she understood him.
Uchiha Kurō.
Although that man belonged to Uchiha Madara, and although he was indeed flamboyant and exaggerated most of the time, he really was a good person.
That conclusion came partly from the few observations they had made over the past five years, and partly from Nagato’s own intuition.
Because… The aura around him was something both Konan and Nagato knew far too well.
Jiraiya.
Yahiko.
In Uchiha Kurō, there was the same essence as the people they had loved.
A core called “goodness,” one that no amount of suffering could erase, even in this cruel ninja world.
Facing someone like that, even the current Nagato could not help feeling a little moved.
And if that was true for him, then how much more so for Konan?
She must have seen traces of Jiraiya-sensei and Yahiko in Uchiha Kurō as well.
For a rare moment, a hint of sadness appeared in Pain’s eyes.
It was faint and vanished in a flash.
In the next instant, that sadness was replaced by resolve.
For the sake of a world without war, for the sake of true peace, he would do anything.
Even if it meant hurting good people.
Even if it meant… He would become the kind of person he once hated most.
The kind of damned person who would hurt others and disrupt their lives for the sake of his own goals.
“Three days from now, I will send the Chikushodo to Mist-Sail Port.” Pain’s voice suddenly sounded, interrupting Konan’s thoughts.
A look of surprise appeared on Konan’s face.
Her brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of worry flashed through her cool eyes.
She quickly calmed down, but her tone carried a hint of warning.
“Isn’t it too early to move against Uchiha Kurō, Nagato?
“If you do this, you might provoke Madara.
It is not yet time to break with him.” Pain shook his head.
“I will only observe his information from behind the scenes.
In our current situation, I naturally will not attack him directly.” He paused, and a sharp light flashed through his Rinnegan.
“I simply want to use this opportunity to see how strong he is now.
“After all, it has already been three years since we last saw him fight.” His voice lowered, carrying a deeper meaning.
“Besides, we happen to have an old acquaintance searching for information near Kirigakure.
“We can use him to test the depth of Uchiha Kurō’s strength.” “An old acquaintance…” Konan seemed to realize something, and her heart jolted.
Someone familiar to both her and Nagato, and someone strong enough to force Uchiha Kurō to go all out… There was only one person she could think of.
Pain nodded silently.
“Although Uchiha Kurō absolutely will not be his opponent, with Kurō’s level of Body Flicker, escaping should not be difficult.” “And with the Chikushodo following, nothing serious should happen.” Konan listened to Pain’s words and nodded softly.
From beginning to end, both of them deliberately avoided saying that “old acquaintance’s” name.
And with the same unspoken understanding, they tried not to continue discussing that person who was so important to them, yet who would one day inevitably become their enemy.
A precious person they still cherished.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall.
Soft, steady, and seemingly endless.