Chapter 99: Pain and Obito

Amegakure.

This is a village nestled between the Fire, Earth, and Wind countries, where it rains all year round.

The buildings of Amegakure are mainly made of stone and steel, like towering high-rises. The villagers live at the base of the towers, while the dead are placed at the top.

The continuous rain, the lack of sunlight, and the towering, sharp buildings give off a sense of oppression, mystery, and a touch of terror.

The rain pours down, forming a continuous line.

In the center of the village, on the highest tower, there is a strange statue.

A young man is sitting on top of the statue, silently watching the rain by himself.

He has orange short hair, his nose, mouth, and ears are pierced with metal studs, and he wears a black cloak embroidered with a white-bordered red cloud pattern.

The most striking feature is his eyes.

They are a pair of purple eyes, with small pupils and rings of patterns, like the rings of a tree.

They are the eyes of the ancestor of the Uchiha and Senju clans - the Rinnegan.

And this young man with the Rinnegan is Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki organization, codenamed "Zero Burial" of Akatsuki.

A few minutes later.

With the sound of footsteps, a beautiful woman with light purple-blue hair, wearing a blue paper flower on her head, and also dressed in the Akatsuki cloak, came behind Pain.

She is Konan, the "White Tiger" of Akatsuki.

"Pain, Madara is here," Konan's voice is very cold.

Upon hearing this, Pain ended his rain-watching, stood up, and walked into the tower.

A man with long hair, wearing a tiger-patterned mask, revealing a Sharingan eye, stood alone, exuding a wild and mysterious aura.

This man is Uchiha Madara.

A few years ago, he came to Amegakure and joined the Akatsuki organization. Since then, he has been active as a senior member of the organization.

Seeing Pain appear.

"It's been a while since I last visited you. How have you been, Nagato?"

"Madara" or rather Obito, started with a casual greeting, showing his concern for the other party.

Strangely enough, the person standing in front of Obito is clearly Pain, but he addresses him as Nagato.

That's because.

The Pain in front of him is nominally the leader of the Akatsuki, but in fact, he is just a puppet, made from the corpse of Nagato's friend, Yahiko.

Due to Nagato's disability and difficulty in moving, he has been hiding in the shadows, manipulating Pain to act on his behalf.

Obito doesn't like Pain, or rather, he doesn't like Yahiko.

When he first found the Akatsuki, he was turned away by Yahiko. It was only after Yahiko's death that he was able to take advantage of the situation, successfully brainwashing Nagato.

"I don't need your concern."

Pain's voice is indifferent, not accepting Obito's kindness, and even warns him, "And, you are facing Pain, the leader of Akatsuki, not Nagato."

Nagato has never treated Pain as a tool, but treats him as an equal.

Even if Yahiko is dead, he is still the leader of Akatsuki, and this will never change.

Obito shrugged, defending himself:

"Guiding those who open the Rinnegan is the mission our organization has been carrying since ancient times. You are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths who desires to stabilize the world, of course, I have to care about you."

However.

After the pleasantries, Obito didn't continue on this topic, but changed the subject, wanting to inquire about something from Pain.

"There's a guy named Uchiha Dan in Konoha, do you know him?" Obito mentioned a name.

Upon hearing this, Pain looked at Konan.

As the intelligence manager of the Akatsuki organization, Konan frowned at the mention of Dan's name, apparently having a negative impression of him.

She said: "A while ago, several of our spies sent to Konoha were killed by Uchiha Dan. It is said that he is currently the strongest of the Uchiha clan, has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, and even stormed the Hokage building not long ago, causing a great commotion in Konoha."

Pain, after listening, just asked indifferently:

"So, what's so special about this person?"

Even if the other party has awakened the Mangekyou, and is the strongest of the Uchiha, he still seems insignificant in his eyes.

That's because there are many such experts in the Akatsuki organization, even stronger than Uchiha Dan.

Obito knew that with Pain's self-proclaimed god-like personality, he would definitely look down on Uchiha Dan, so he threw out a piece of heavy news:

"Don't be surprised when I tell you this, Dan also mastered the Shinra Tensei. If I remember correctly, this is the ability of the Rinnegan, right?"

Hmm?

Upon hearing the words "Shinra Tensei", Pain's expressionless face finally showed a hint of surprise.

"Are you sure?" Konan frowned and asked Obito, demanding more detailed and accurate information.

Obito then described the scene where Dan used Shinra Tensei to blow away dozens of Uchiha clan members at the Uchiha clan meeting.

This was witnessed, heard, and personally experienced by White Zetsu who infiltrated the Uchiha clan meeting. There could be no falsehood.

However.

Pain just shook his head and said coldly: "My Shinra Tensei is not that weak, it's just that the name of the technique happens to be the same."

If he were to use it, no one could survive.

Konan agreed, adding in her icy voice: "Pain, you walk the ninja world in the name of a god. Please do not compare your power with that of ordinary people."

She knew.

If Pain were to fully unleash Shinra Tensei, even Konoha, the head of the Five Great Ninja Villages, would be reduced to ruins in an instant, with countless casualties.

The reason he hasn't done so is simply that the time is not yet right.

But sooner or later, Konoha will feel the pain.

"It seems I was overthinking."

Obito sighed in relief, also feeling that it was impossible for Dan to possess the Rinnegan.

"You came to me specifically to ask about something so trivial? What a waste of time."

Pain spoke again, his lofty tone filled with a hint of disdain and mockery.

"Heh."

Obito chuckled, not getting angry, and went along with Pain's words, "Of course not, I came back this time for something more important."

Next.

He proposed to Pain that he had heard that the Akatsuki organization had recently recruited powerful personnel, and he wanted to borrow some manpower to go to Konoha for some activities.

Konan's response to this was: "I'm sorry, but all members currently have tasks at hand, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you."

Although Nagato allowed Uchiha Madara to join the Akatsuki, Konan has always been wary of Madara, believing that he has ulterior motives.

"Don't be so quick to refuse, I haven't finished speaking."

Obito had anticipated Konan's response, and threw out his shocking plan to them, "I've found out the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha. This operation is to capture the Nine-Tails."

Sure enough.

Upon hearing this, both Pain and Konan were taken aback.

"Are we starting the Tailed Beast capture plan so soon?"

Konan questioned Obito.

The Akatsuki organization indeed has a plan to collect all the Tailed Beasts, but it is currently in the preparation stage and does not have enough information or manpower.

"Plans can't keep up with changes. Capturing the most difficult Nine-Tails first, isn't that a good start?"

Obito squinted his eyes and retorted.

He wasn't in a hurry initially, but after being defeated by Dan and seeing three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan suddenly appearing in the Uchiha clan, he couldn't help but panic.

The Mangekyou of the Uchiha can control the Tailed Beasts.

If this clan were to rise again, and even produce a second Uchiha Madara, it would undoubtedly be a huge variable and would threaten Obito's Moon's Eye Plan.

After hearing Obito's words, Pain pondered for a moment, and finally asked:

"Who do you want?"

"Orochimaru."

Obito immediately named a person and gave a reason, "After all, he is one of the former Three Sannin of Konoha and a disciple of the Third Hokage. He is more than familiar with all aspects of Konoha. With his help, I believe we can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Are you sure you want Orochimaru?" Pain asked again.

"Is there a problem?" Obito was puzzled.

Konan took over the conversation and explained the reasons for Orochimaru joining the Akatsuki organization:

"Orochimaru once attacked Pain, attempting to seize the Rinnegan, but was easily defeated by Pain's Shinra Tensei

. After that, Orochimaru immediately changed his attitude and asked Pain to allow him to join the Akatsuki organization. Although this man has certain value, he is not like the other members of the Akatsuki, he always has ulterior motives."

As she spoke, Konan kept her gaze on Obito, as if indirectly pointing out his own ulterior motives.

Obito, however, just laughed it off:

"You don't need to worry about that. Controlling an Orochimaru is a piece of cake for me."

He displayed the confidence befitting of "Uchiha Madara."

"Fine. Konan, take him to see Orochimaru and Sasori." Pain thought for a moment and ordered Konan.

In order to better control Orochimaru, Pain had arranged for Sasori to be his partner, with the purpose of having Sasori monitor Orochimaru.

"Is it that Sasori of the Red Sand, the guy who killed the strongest Third Kazekage in history?"

Upon hearing Sasori's name, Obito was pleasantly surprised and felt very satisfied.

"Remember your words, bring back the Nine-Tails."

Pain left with that final remark, turning around to leave and continue watching the rain outside.

Half an hour later.

In a room, Obito met the people he was looking for.

The man on the left had long black hair, pale skin, golden snake-like eyes, giving off a cold and dangerous vibe, like a venomous snake.

The man on the right was a hunched figure, his face covered with a black cloth, sporting an ugly hairstyle, and a scorpion tail made of steel behind him.

Just by their appearances, one could easily distinguish between Orochimaru and Sasori, both living up to their names.

The former was Akatsuki's mad scientist, the latter was Akatsuki's immortal artist.

As Obito was sizing up the two, they were also sizing him up.

"You're Uchiha Madara?"

Orochimaru squinted his snake-like eyes, his soft voice not hiding his skepticism, "Madara has long been dead, this is common knowledge. Even if he were alive, he would be over eighty years old now, but you don't look like it at all."

In the ninja world, ninjas generally age prematurely and have short lives, living over fifty years old is considered a rare longevity.

And the Madara in front of them.

Although his face was covered by a mask, his body was upright, his movements were strong, and he exuded a youthful aura.

So it was hard for Orochimaru not to suspect that the other party was an impostor.