Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The Land of Rain was a small, ordinary country, like many others sandwiched between the great nations. Its small territory, constant turmoil due to geographical circumstances, and the suffering of its people—displacement, destroyed homes, and lost lives were everyday occurrences.

But from this point forward, this small nation would no longer be ordinary. The term "Land of Rain" would soon be synonymous with the Rain Village.

Long ago, when Madara first came to this place, it was destined to be remarkable. Years later, Madara's renewed involvement left another mark here.

Nagato, with the Rinnegan, and Ye Zi, burdened by his own mission, were both from this small country.

Now, the plan was unfolding, precisely as Ye Zi had hoped. With only two Tailed Beasts captured, they would face numerous obstacles, yet Ye Zi feared no obstruction. No matter how challenging, he was confident he could overcome them.

What he didn't want, however, was for Nagato to have too many considerations and decide to continue conserving strength, thus delaying the plan. What Ye Zi wanted was to see Nagato take action to capture the Tailed Beasts, to witness the power of the Rinnegan firsthand.

The extensive funds they had accumulated over the years weren't just for show; if they couldn't build a qualified fighting force within the Rain Village, that wealth might as well have been fed to dogs.

Speaking of which, Ye Zi had played a significant role in amassing those funds. Thinking about it brought to mind a certain woman from the Land of Fire who had taken the money and fled without fulfilling her end of their deal. He wondered what had become of her.

Running through the rain, Ye Zi shook his head, deciding to push Moko from his thoughts.

The primary purpose of this visit was to confirm Nagato's intentions; he wouldn't allow him to halt the plan.

Passing through the heavy rain and reaching the heavily guarded Rain Village, Ye Zi showed himself and was immediately let in without obstruction, heading straight for the towering building at its center.

Rain Village was the Akatsuki's base of operations. Although Akatsuki was composed of rogue shinobi, it could easily be seen as part of the Rain Village, especially now that other villages had connected the two.

Even though the core members were S-class rogues from various villages, on the surface, the organization appeared to serve Rain Village.

As soon as Ye Zi arrived, Nagato sensed his presence through the rain, already guessing the reason for Ye Zi's visit.

"Ye Zi is here," Nagato, standing habitually by the window, announced suddenly.

Konan, who was always by his side, stood a short distance behind him, along with the Yahiko Pain.

"Seems he couldn't sit still," she remarked calmly.

She and Nagato both knew how important the Tailed Beast collection plan was to Ye Zi. If anything, Ye Zi, though an Akatsuki member and Nagato's collaborator, was likely even more invested in the plan than Nagato himself.

Neither of them understood why he was so motivated or what his ultimate goal was. However, with the Rinnegan, Nagato was the only one who could control the Gedo Statue, which gave him confidence; no matter what Ye Zi intended, it wouldn't change anything.

"He likely knows about it by now," Nagato remarked coldly as he controlled Yahiko's Pain to return to its designated place.

The Tailed Beasts had been divided among the great shinobi villages, and collecting them all would inevitably mean opposing each of these villages, which was an unavoidable consequence.

Yet, even though Rain Village had grown quickly, it was still far from being able to take on the entire shinobi world, not even with Nagato and his Six Paths of Pain.

Constantly monitoring Sand's movements through the Illusory Projection Technique and White Zetsu's scouting ability, Nagato could get updates immediately. The cooperation between Sand and Konoha was clearly bad news.

Like Ye Zi, Nagato hadn't considered Sand and Mist as serious threats, as both villages had lost much of their power after the Third Shinobi War. However, adding Konoha to the equation made things different.

Bang.

Nagato had been silently watching the rain outside the window for a while when he heard the door open behind him. He turned to see Ye Zi, dripping wet, entering the room and looking directly at him, ignoring Konan.

Konan, slightly taken aback by his blatant disregard, glared at Ye Zi in irritation, but he showed no reaction.

"What's the plan going forward?" Ye Zi asked calmly.

Nagato looked at him and replied coolly, "What exactly are you referring to?"

"Capturing the One-Tail," Ye Zi replied, making it clear where he stood.

Nagato was silent for a moment, then said, "Sand and Konoha have already formed an alliance. Moving without knowing their intentions would be reckless."

"An alliance alone isn't enough to stop us from capturing the One-Tail, as long as we avoid direct conflict with Konoha," Ye Zi replied coolly.

Nagato understood his point and responded impassively, "The plan won't stop."

Ye Zi's eyes flashed as he said, "Good. If we can't collect the other Tailed Beasts before turning our attention to Kumo and Konoha, there's no point to the Akatsuki's formation."

"I don't need you to tell me how to proceed," Nagato replied coldly.

Ye Zi narrowed his eyes slightly and replied, "I'm just reminding you."

In his view, the Sand-Konoha alliance was inconsequential; capturing the One-Tail without directly challenging Konoha wouldn't be a problem. Moreover, Nagato had yet to take any action himself, and Ye Zi was eager to see him fight.

Additionally, he now had two trump cards: the Impure World Reincarnation technique and an army of Hashirama cell clones enhanced with temporary-strengthening serums.

These were his assets for dealing with the major shinobi villages. While he took Sand and Konoha's alliance seriously, he wouldn't let it slow him down. His only concern was that Nagato might proceed too cautiously and stall the plan, something he couldn't accept.

Ultimately, control over the Tailed Beast collection lay with Nagato, as he possessed the Rinnegan.

This was why Ye Zi had never let go of his ambition to seize Nagato's Rinnegan, though he knew better than to act without understanding its full power.

Now that he had the Impure World Reincarnation, he no longer needed to use the Rinne Rebirth to revive Madara and no longer felt the urgency to take the Rinnegan.

In any case, he couldn't let the plan come to a halt. Even if they had to face multiple threats, he needed Nagato to continue with the Tailed Beast captures, at least until they had secured all the Tailed Beasts except for the Two-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails.

Nagato stared coldly at Ye Zi, his voice chilling. "You've overstepped."

A flash of hostility flickered in Ye Zi's eyes as he responded icily, "Are you trying to lecture me?"

For a moment, tension filled the air, an invisible force crackling between them.

"Enough, you two," Konan intervened, looking at them both. She was slightly shocked to see them nearly on the verge of fighting. It was a scene she didn't want to witness.

Nagato took the opportunity to ease the tension, looking at Ye Zi and saying, "I have my way of doing things. Just follow orders."

With his Six Paths of Pain and mastery over the Rinnegan, Nagato didn't fear Ye Zi. To him, Ye Zi was merely another tool in the quest to collect the Tailed Beasts.

Nagato's words were cutting, and Ye Zi frowned but didn't respond. He sensed a clear shift in Nagato's attitude, what had once been a partnership was now Nagato viewing him as a subordinate.

Being underestimated…

It didn't matter. As long as the Tailed Beast collection plan continued, he would obtain those eyes sooner or later.

Ye Zi looked calmly at Nagato, seemingly backing down as he said, "Alright."

If Nagato was a beast baring its fangs, Ye Zi was a snake hiding its venom.

It didn't matter if the beast showed off; the snake would wait until the perfect moment to strike.

Now that he had confirmed Nagato's intentions, Ye Zi felt reassured.

Konan, watching from the side, was quietly surprised by Ye Zi's apparent concession, studying him as if trying to see through him.

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Currently on Chapter 347 - The Takigakure Shall Know Pain