Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

After arriving in the Land of Rain and confirming Nagato's intentions, Ye Zi didn't leave immediately; instead, he remained in the Rain Village.

Over the next few days, he observed numerous Rain shinobi wearing headbands, walking through the rain-soaked streets. Compared to the initial sparse scene, there was indeed a noticeable increase in people.

Even with the downpour creating a curtain of rain, there were many people on the streets, and shops lined both sides of the road, no longer just a few scattered ones.

The visible changes were clear, proof that the large amounts of money invested had yielded results.

In this country where rain seemed never-ending, a relatively peaceful and stable village had indeed been established.

In the Land of Rain, a small place compared to the great nations, there was no country, only a village. People from all directions, those affected by the ravages of war, had gathered here.

"Peace, huh?"

Ye Zi sat by the windowsill, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at the crowds moving outside.

This enclosed development reminded him of Konoha, with people living stable lives as if peace was within their grasp.

But he knew Nagato's true aim. This small village, which held a glimpse of peace, was merely a stepping stone for Nagato's larger ambitions. This tranquil scene would only be temporary.

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Ye Zi looked over, knowing without opening it that the person outside was Konan. Just as he was about to say "come in," the door was abruptly opened, and Konan walked in calmly.

"…" Ye Zi raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.

"Come with me," Konan said, expressionless as she looked at him.

"Did you get the intelligence?" Ye Zi asked.

Konan nodded briefly and turned to leave.

Ye Zi didn't mind her attitude. After all, Nagato could have summoned him directly using the Illusory Projection Technique instead of having Konan inform him in person.

Without further thought, he got up and followed her out of the room, heading toward the top level of the tower.

Soon, he reached a restricted room where Nagato and Konan stood in the center, with a dark, quivering shadow in front of them. Judging by its outline, it was undoubtedly White Zetsu.

"You're here, Ye Zi." White Zetsu turned to look at him, flashing a familiar smile.

Ye Zi stepped to White Zetsu's side and glanced at Nagato.

With White Zetsu's surveillance ability combined with the Mirage of Light Technique for instant communication, the speed and efficiency of their intelligence gathering were unmatched.

"Begin," Nagato said calmly as he looked at the shadow of White Zetsu once Ye Zi arrived.

"Alright."

White Zetsu nodded and began relaying the intelligence he'd gathered.

"First, Mist has sent a forty-seven-member team, all highly skilled, and they're heading toward the Land of Rain. Many Rain shinobi on outside missions have already been taken down by them."

White Zetsu cast a glance at Ye Zi and continued, "Although there's no obvious movement from the Stone Village, they are actively gathering intelligence on you, so you might want to stay cautious."

Ye Zi showed no reaction.

"Sand and Konoha have officially established an alliance, and they've organized a team—twenty-seven from Sand and thirty-two from Konoha. Based on our current intelligence, we've identified part of the team, but their movements are still unclear. I'll continue monitoring them."

"That's about it." White Zetsu finished and then summoned two scrolls, tossing one to Nagato and the other to Ye Zi. "These contain personnel details. It's only partial information, and the intel on their abilities is general and not in-depth."

Ye Zi caught the scroll, broke the seal, and unrolled it to examine its contents, as did Nagato.

Compared to a spoken report, the data in the scrolls was clearer and easier to process.

White Zetsu and Konan remained silent as Ye Zi and Nagato reviewed the scrolls, the only sounds in the room being the wind and rain outside.

The intelligence on the Mist Village listed only twelve people, a small portion of the forty-seven.

Among the twelve were the three Mist shinobi Ye Zi encountered while capturing the Three-Tails. Although their names weren't listed, he could infer their identities from the descriptions.

There was Kisame, who looked like a shark, Ao, who had the Byakugan implanted, and Mei Terumi, who wielded two Kekkei Genkai. The others were well-known Mist Village Jōnin. Ye Zi didn't know much about them, so he carefully noted each individual's appearance and jutsu preferences from the descriptions.

With forty-seven Mist shinobi in total, several of them likely possessed Kekkei Genkai.

The Sand Village team had twenty-seven members, and the scroll detailed twenty-one of them, a solid proportion. Judging from the information, each was strong and reputable, all elite shinobi who had proven themselves in the Third Shinobi War.

Ye Zi read each word carefully. Every detail in the scroll was crucial; knowing the enemy's abilities was like holding an advantage before the battle even began.

Among the twenty-one Sand shinobi, the main one to watch was Pakura, who had the Scorch Release. The other Sand shinobi were strong but lacked Kekkei Genkai.

After memorizing the Sand intelligence, he moved on to Konoha's details.

"Hm?"

Ye Zi's expression shifted slightly as he saw the first name listed.

Sakumo Hatake…

He finished reviewing the Mist and Sand intel without much change in his expression. These were strong shinobi, but they posed no particular threat to him. However, seeing Sakumo Hatake's name made his expression shift.

Silently gazing at the name, Ye Zi narrowed his eyes.

Reputation carries weight.

The name of Konoha's White Fang was well-known, even more so than the Sannin, and comparable to the Yellow Flash. Both names represented the same fearsome attribute—the speed and precision of their lethal strikes.

If any single shinobi could sway a battlefield, Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze would be among them.

During his time in Konoha, Ye Zi had never crossed paths with Sakumo. Both were the efficient type, and they were never assigned to missions together, so he had no personal understanding of White Fang's strength.

Based on the intel, White Fang's abilities were strikingly similar to his own: proficient in Lightning Release, kenjutsu, and taijutsu, and particularly dangerous due to his extensive combat experience.

Imprinting each word into his memory, Ye Zi moved on, continuing down the list.

Konoha had thirty-two members in total, with intel on twenty-six of them, a solid proportion.

Given how long he'd spent in Konoha, going through Konoha's intel felt doubly efficient.

The twenty-six were mostly from Konoha's various clans, and compared to Mist and Sand, Konoha's shinobi were the ones that required more caution.

Among these clans, there were only a few he knew well.

From the Hyuga Clan was Hizashi Hyuga, from the Uchiha Clan were Kori Uchiha, Ninashi Uchiha, and Sangetsu Uchiha, from the Nara Clan was Shiozumi Nara, from the Aburame Clan was Shikuro Aburame, and from the Inuzuka Clan was Gaku Inuzuka.

Though he lacked full knowledge of the others, the information suggested that each one was formidable, even if the details were incomplete.

Ye Zi finished reviewing the intel before Nagato and asked, "There aren't any medical-nin in these reports."

Medical-nin were crucial targets to eliminate early in combat situations.

White Zetsu replied, "This is all the personnel intel we could gather."

Ye Zi didn't respond, rolling up the scroll and storing it away. Sand, Mist, and Konoha had all taken clear actions, and Mist had already started targeting Rain shinobi, advancing toward the Land of Rain, presumably in search of the Mizukage.

Unfortunately for them, Yagura was already dead, and Ye Zi had stored his body. If necessary, he could use the Impure World Reincarnation to resurrect Yagura to deal with the Mist shinobi, although he would avoid using it unless absolutely needed.

These shinobi… they were all excellent materials.

A cold smile appeared on Ye Zi's lips. With the Impure World Reincarnation, any decently strong shinobi was, in his eyes, a valuable resource.

The elite units from Mist, Sand, and Konoha would be countered by Akatsuki's forces, while White Zetsu would collect the corpses. Each would become a future asset.

Thinking about it, Ye Zi suddenly felt delighted by the actions of the three villages; it was as if they were sending him a steady supply of bodies.

How cold and hardened must one's heart be to take pleasure in the thought of manipulating and using the dead?

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