Chapter 150: The True Rinnegan
Since Sunagakure was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, when the Kazekage crossed borders, they naturally notified the Land of Rain in advance and stated their reasons.
This was the rule.
Although Amegakure was just a small ninja village, Hanzo of the Salamander was no minor figure.
His title as a demigod resonated throughout the ninja world. Having survived the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, Amegakure had firmly established its status. Whether it was Konoha, Sunagakure, or Iwagakure, they all had to show some respect.
The Kazekage also needed to show respect.
Therefore, when Uchiha Taiga and his group entered the Land of Rain, Amegakure ninja were already waiting for them at the border.
They called it an escort, but it was actually surveillance.
These individuals wore Amegakure flak jackets and headbands. Each had a cold expression and spoke very little. They walked on the sides and rear of the group, maintaining a set distance from Rasa's subordinates—neither too close nor too far.
Rasa said nothing about this. It was perfectly normal; if the situation were reversed and another nation's Kage entered the Land of Wind, he would have his ninja do the exact same thing.
Uchiha Taiga walked in the middle of the group. He looked at the Amegakure ninja, then glanced at the surrounding bushes and rocks, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
To have someone secretly spying on them even while being "escorted" by Amegakure ninja—that was quite telling.
Either Amegakure was playing petty tricks, acting one way on the surface and another in the shadows.
Or a third-party faction had infiltrated the Land of Rain, bypassing Amegakure's eyes and ears.
Whichever it was, it was quite interesting.
Taiga didn't make a scene, nor did he slow his pace.
He continued forward, his steps remaining steady and his expression as placid as ever. However, his attention was already focused on the hidden gazes, sensing their direction, distance, and numbers.
Soon, Taiga had a clear picture in his mind. Without batting an eye, he activated his Byakugan.
When the Byakugan activated, a few veins bulged slightly on the sides of his eyes, but it wasn't particularly obvious. Unless one looked closely, they wouldn't notice any difference from his usual appearance.
With the Byakugan's telescopic vision deployed, his sight instantly pierced through the curtain of rain, the bushes, and the rocks, locking onto the spy hiding in the distance.
It was an ordinary-looking person.
He wore an Amegakure flak jacket and headband, looking no different from the Amegakure ninja "escorting" them. However, there was a horizontal slash across the middle of his headband—the mark of a rogue ninja.
This person's eyes were very special.
They weren't ordinary eyes, but a pair composed of concentric circles. The ripple-like patterns spread outward from the pupil, resembling the ripples created by a stone tossed into a pond, or perhaps some intricate mechanical structure.
The Rinnegan.
Taiga recognized those eyes, and he also knew that the person before him was not the true owner of the Rinnegan.
He was Pain.
Or rather, he was one of Nagato's Six Paths puppets.
Nagato used the power of the Rinnegan to control these corpses, having them act, fight, and gather intelligence in his stead. The real Nagato was hiding in some corner of the world, tucked away in a life-support machine like a spider hiding in its shell.
The corners of Taiga's mouth curled up again.
He retracted the Byakugan's telescopic vision, and the veins on the sides of his eyes slowly faded.
The others around him remained completely oblivious.
Rasa walked at the very front of the group, his attention focused on the road ahead. He occasionally exchanged a few low words with Maki, discussing matters regarding the Five Kage Summit.
Chiyo and Ebizo walked toward the middle-rear of the group. Neither spoke; they simply traveled in silence. Chiyo's gaze occasionally swept over the Amegakure ninja with a hint of scrutiny, but she didn't notice anything unusual.
The Amegakure "escort" ninja were even more oblivious. They mechanically carried out their mission, walking in their designated positions with their eyes fixed straight ahead or to the sides, completely unaware that someone wearing the same headband as them was secretly watching from afar.
However, Yugito Nii seemed to have noticed something. Walking beside Taiga, she tilted her head and glanced at him.
Her gaze fell on his eyes. Veins had bulged there just a moment ago, and although they had faded, she had still caught it.
Having traveled with Taiga for so long, she was deeply familiar with his habits and movements. In that brief moment, he had clearly been using the Byakugan to observe something.
Yugito asked in a low voice.
"What's wrong?"
Her voice was very soft, audible only to him.
Taiga smiled and shook his head.
"Nothing, just checking the surroundings."
His tone was relaxed.
Yugito looked at him thoughtfully but said no more.
She knew Taiga wouldn't activate the Byakugan for no reason. Since he did, he must have seen something. If he wasn't saying anything, it meant it either wasn't a big deal or it wasn't the right time to bring it up.
Either way, she didn't need to press the issue; staying alert was enough.
The rain continued to fall.
Fine threads of rain drifted down from the overcast sky, striking everyone and carrying a hint of chill.
The group pressed onward, passing through damp forests and crossing swollen streams, heading toward the heartland of the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile, the hidden gaze never vanished.
At the same time, in a certain corner of the Land of Rain, there was an underground space.
It looked like a natural karst cave. Above were uneven rocks, and below were slippery stone slabs. Water seeped from the crevices in the rock, dripping down drop by drop into the puddles below, producing crisp, echoing plinks.
The sound echoed through the cavernous cave, rhythmic and steady, like someone striking a bell.
Deep within the cave was a gloomy room lit only by a few dim lamps. The wicks flickered slightly inside their glass covers, casting shifting, erratic shadows on the walls.
In the very center of the room was a person.
The man was embedded in a special apparatus that encased his lower half, looking like a bizarre amalgamation of machinery and biological tissue. His back was pierced with numerous tubes connecting to the device, delivering something like umbilical cords.
The man was incredibly thin, so emaciated that he barely seemed to have an ounce of flesh on his bones.
His cheeks were deeply sunken, his cheekbones jutting out sharply. The outlines of his collarbones and ribs were clearly visible through his paper-thin skin. His arms were like two withered branches, his fingers long and slender, with nails tinged an unhealthy grayish-white.
His hair was red, long, and draped over his shoulders. His eyes were closed, but his eyelids were so thin that one could see his eyeballs shifting slightly underneath.
He was Nagato.
Standing beside him was a woman. She had short, bluish-purple hair and wore a long black cloak embroidered with red clouds. Her skin was pale, her features delicate, but her expression was cold, like a piece of ice devoid of warmth.
She looked at the emaciated man, a trace of imperceptible heartache in her eyes.
She was Konan.
The cave was quiet, filled only with the sound of dripping water and the faint hum of liquid flowing through the tubes.
After a long silence, Konan finally spoke.
"The burden on your eyes is too great. You shouldn't use the puppets for surveillance anymore."
Nagato didn't open his eyes, but he spoke, his voice incredibly weak.
"That guy lied to me," he said.
Konan's brow furrowed slightly.
"The resurrection of the real Uchiha Madara... there's something wrong with it."
Nagato continued, speaking slowly as if thinking while he talked.
"That Uchiha Taiga might be the key."
His voice paused, as if he were gathering his strength.
"Now that he has appeared in the Land of Rain, we have no choice but to be on guard."
A look of worry crossed Konan's face.
"But..."
She said, "You just obtained the Gedo Statue. You should be using it to slow down the toll on your body right now."
Nagato finally opened his eyes.
Those eyes were not ordinary; they were the Rinnegan. The concentric ripple patterns spread outward from the pupils, emitting a faint glow in the dim light.
"It's too late. Uchiha Madara disappeared, but this matter is far from over."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze unfocused, as if looking at a place very, very far away.
"We must make preparations in advance."
Konan fell silent. She knew Nagato was right, and that was exactly why she was even more worried.
If Uchiha Taiga was an enemy, what should the Akatsuki do?
Konan pursed her lips and asked the question she had been hesitating to voice.
"Are we going to make a move against Uchiha Taiga and his group?"
Her tone was calm, but her fingers curled slightly—a habit of hers when she was nervous.
Nagato slowly shook his head. "No, he is not our enemy for the time being."
Konan was slightly taken aback.
Nagato closed his eyes again, as if sensing something.
"Follow him. I have a premonition that wherever he is, Uchiha Madara will definitely appear again."
He paused, then added a sentence.
"The real Uchiha Madara."
Konan asked no more.
She knew Nagato's premonitions were never without reason. Those Rinnegan could see far more than the eyes of ordinary people.
She simply stood there, looking at Nagato's emaciated body and the tubes piercing him, without saying a word.
The sound of flowing water continued.
Plink, plink, plink.
Rhythmic and steady, like a countdown.
The rain was still falling.
Taiga walked in the middle of the group. The hem of his clothes was soaked with rainwater, clinging heavily to his legs. But he didn't mind, not even reaching down to brush it aside.
That faint, knowing smile still hung on the corners of his mouth.
Now that he knew who was secretly watching him, he naturally felt a bit of anticipation.
The true Rinnegan... if he could get a good look at it, perhaps it would be of some help to him as well.