Chapter 349: Angel

Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Angel

Whether it was the Hokage, the Kazekage, or the Raikage, all of them were extremely eager to deal with the Akatsuki. As a result, they quickly reached a consensus.

To discuss the details of the surprise attack, the Third Hokage called Jiraiya and Hyuga Kagami into the cave. On Kumogakure’s side, they brought in their village’s two jinchūriki, while Sunagakure was represented by Elder Chiyo and Pakura.

Pointing toward Hyuga Kagami, who was dressed in ANBU attire, the Third Hokage introduced him to everyone. "The intelligence regarding the Akatsuki was gathered by this ANBU under my command. If you have any questions, you can ask him directly."

The Raikage immediately asked Hyuga Kagami without the slightest courtesy, "Is the information that Hanzo died at the hands of the Akatsuki’s leader confirmed?"

Hyuga Kagami calmly replied, "Yes. Hanzo’s forces in Amegakure have already been completely dismantled by the Akatsuki. Only a small number of remnants are still barely clinging on."

The Kazekage followed up, "You weren’t able to uncover any detailed intelligence regarding the Akatsuki’s base?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "The Akatsuki has turned Amegakure into an impenetrable fortress. You could say that the entire village itself is the Akatsuki’s base. Because of that, it’s extremely difficult for outsiders to determine the exact locations where its members are hiding."

Kumogakure’s Two-Tails jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, leaned against the rock wall with her arms crossed and asked, "Without a specific target, how are we supposed to launch a surprise attack?"

Everyone inside the cave nodded in agreement.

Everyone present was, without exception, an experienced ninja, so they all understood the importance of gathering intelligence. In their view, a surprise attack could only be launched after the enemy’s exact location had been confirmed.

Sweeping his gaze across everyone, Hyuga Kagami frowned, feeling somewhat troubled.

Of course, he understood the importance of intelligence as well. But the enemy this time was anything but ordinary. Any attempt to infiltrate Amegakure to gather intelligence could alert the enemy.

No—it would alert them!

Therefore, he said, "I suggest that for this operation, we assemble all of our available combat forces and launch a direct surprise attack on Amegakure. That’s the only way to preserve the element of surprise!"

"Absurd!"

The moment Hyuga Kagami finished speaking, Yugito Nii let out a cold snort.

The Kazekage also shook his head. "Against a powerful enemy like the Akatsuki, launching a surprise attack without sufficient intelligence would be far too risky."

The Third Hokage fell into thought as well. Judging from his expression, he didn’t seem to agree with Hyuga Kagami’s suggestion either.

At that moment, Jiraiya stepped forward. "Then I’ll go scout Amegakure myself!"

Driven by his sense of responsibility, Jiraiya felt that he needed to personally make a trip to Amegakure. If possible, he even wanted to persuade Nagato to return to the right path.

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Jiraiya and sighed inwardly.

"After going around in circles, we’ve ended up right back here again."

The Third Hokage nodded. "Very well. You’ll handle it."

After all, it was only a reconnaissance mission. With Jiraiya’s strength, he believed there shouldn’t be any problems.

"I object!"

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami wasn’t about to stand by and watch Jiraiya walk straight to his death. After all, Amegakure at this point in time was even more dangerous than it had been when Jiraiya infiltrated it in the original timeline.

Right now, Sasori, Kakuzu, Biwa Juzo, and the others were all still alive. Add Hiruko, whose strength was difficult to accurately gauge, and if Jiraiya were actually discovered, he would undoubtedly die.

Jiraiya looked at Hyuga Kagami in confusion, but didn’t immediately speak, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

Hyuga Kagami said solemnly to everyone, "If this reconnaissance mission is discovered and the Akatsuki becomes alert, then the entire surprise attack will fail. That’s exactly why I suggested abandoning reconnaissance altogether and launching the surprise attack directly."

Jiraiya smiled. "Don’t worry. You shouldn’t underestimate my infiltration skills!"

"I didn’t mean to underestimate you, but this reconnaissance mission is simply too difficult." After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami swept his gaze across everyone in the cave and continued, "I’m afraid that no one present here possesses the ability to pull it off."

The Raikage snapped angrily, "What arrogance!"

Yugito Nii said indignantly, "Even you managed to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki. Are you saying that none of us can measure up to you?"

Hyuga Kagami slowly removed the mask from his face and said calmly, "I possess the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai. When it comes purely to reconnaissance ability, none of you here can match me. There’s no question about that."

"You..."

After being shut down by Hyuga Kagami bringing up the Byakugan, Yugito Nii was momentarily left speechless. After all, the Byakugan’s reconnaissance capabilities were renowned throughout the ninja world.

Hyuga Kagami silently looked at the three Kage. If the three of them accepted his suggestion and concentrated all of their forces into a direct surprise attack, then this operation against the Akatsuki would have a very high chance of success.

Conversely, if the three Kage insisted on conducting reconnaissance beforehand, then the consequences would become difficult to predict.

Perhaps because Sunagakure had fewer resources to spare, the Kazekage was the first to shake his head. "Reconnaissance is indispensable. We can’t simply skip this step because it’s difficult. Besides, Amegakure is enormous. We can’t exactly destroy the entire village, can we?"

Given the Raikage’s personality, he actually agreed more with Hyuga Kagami’s proposal. However, the two jinchūriki accompanying him represented Kumogakure’s greatest trump cards. If anything happened to them, Kumogakure could be plunged into an irrecoverable disaster, so he had no choice but to proceed cautiously.

In the end, the Third Hokage also shook his head. "Launching a blind surprise attack is too risky."

Hyuga Kagami sighed and said nothing more.

Knowing the Akatsuki’s true capabilities, Hyuga Kagami understood that the success or failure of this operation depended entirely on the element of surprise. But from everyone else’s perspective, engaging a powerful enemy capable of killing the "Demigod" Hanzo without conducting any reconnaissance beforehand was something no one could feel confident about.

So in truth, Hyuga Kagami could understand the three Kage’s decision.

But now that things had developed this way, Hyuga Kagami had no choice but to lower his expectations for the upcoming surprise attack. The Akatsuki had quite a few trump cards of their own. It wasn’t as though they lacked the strength to confront the combined forces of three Great Ninja Villages head-on.

Because of Hyuga Kagami’s repeated insistence, an exceptionally formidable reconnaissance team was soon assembled.

Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure was appointed as the team captain, while its members consisted of Jiraiya, Hyuga Kagami, and Kumogakure’s Two-Tails jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.

As a top-tier puppeteer skilled in the use of poisons, Chiyo was unquestionably an expert in infiltration and reconnaissance. On top of that, she had lived through several Great Ninja Wars and possessed even more combat experience than Jiraiya.

For those reasons, she was chosen to lead the reconnaissance team.

Jiraiya and Hyuga Kagami needed no explanation. As for Yugito Nii, she was included because the Two-Tails, Matatabi, was a cat spirit highly sensitive to chakra and possessed exceptional sensory abilities.

Time was pressing. While the three Kage secretly mobilized their forces, the reconnaissance team left the Land of Fire and swiftly infiltrated the Land of Rain.

Pitter-patter...

Looking up at the gloomy sky and listening to the endless sound of falling rain, Chiyo, who was serving as the temporary captain, said, "Amegakure is just ahead!"

Jiraiya surveyed the surroundings for a moment before saying, "I can use one of my toads to bring everyone into Amegakure through the waterways."

Amegakure was crisscrossed by an extensive network of waterways. If they could infiltrate the village through the water, their chances of remaining undetected would undoubtedly increase significantly. Chiyo therefore nodded without hesitation.

The four of them entered the mouth of a toad summoned by Jiraiya one after another. The toad then slipped into Amegakure’s water network and carried them into the village before releasing them inside a dark sewer.

"Byakugan!"

Without needing any instructions from Chiyo, Hyuga Kagami immediately activated his Byakugan and began surveying their surroundings.

A moment later, he frowned and said, "Something’s not right."

Chiyo asked, "What is it?"

"The rain covering this village seems to contain some kind of chakra."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hyuga Kagami exposed the secret behind Pain’s Rain Tiger at Will Technique.

"The rain contains some kind of chakra?!"

Startled, Chiyo quickly realized what that might mean and frowned. "It could be some kind of reconnaissance ninjutsu!"

Jiraiya nodded as well. "Yeah. Amegakure is a small ninja village, after all. It doesn’t have a sensory barrier covering the entire village, so using the ever-present rain as a means of surveillance and early warning wouldn’t be surprising."

Hyuga Kagami, however, pondered inwardly, "Logically speaking, Pain shouldn’t keep the Rain Tiger at Will Technique active at all times. Even for him, maintaining a technique over such a massive area should be quite a burden. So why did he just happen to activate it during our infiltration? Is it merely a coincidence... or has he already sensed something?"

The four members of the reconnaissance team soon left the sewer and emerged onto the streets of Amegakure.

Glancing at the fairly bustling street, Chiyo instructed the others, "We’ll split up. Remember, don’t let the rain touch you. Avoid unnecessary battles whenever possible, and if anything unexpected happens, immediately fire a signal flare!"

Keeping the entire team together would attract too much attention. Moreover, Amegakure was a sizable village, so moving together would also make their reconnaissance less efficient. After realizing that Amegakure was more prosperous than expected and that there were plenty of people on the streets, the reconnaissance team split up.

Walking beneath the eaves, Hyuga Kagami silently observed Amegakure.

Hyuga Kagami had visited many villages, but when it came to being this peaceful and tranquil, only Konoha could compare. Other villages he had visited, such as Sunagakure and Kusagakure, couldn’t match Amegakure at all.

Thinking that this peaceful place would soon be engulfed by the flames of war, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat melancholy.

Putting those complicated thoughts aside, Hyuga Kagami began examining the tall towers scattered throughout Amegakure.

Perhaps because the entire village had been built atop a network of waterways, the lower areas were far too cold and damp to be suitable for habitation. As a result, towers rose everywhere throughout Amegakure, making it resemble a modern city.

Hyuga Kagami’s memory of the tower where Pain resided had already grown somewhat vague. He only vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a strange human-face sculpture on the tower, and that the Deva Path Pain would often sit upon the tongue protruding from that face, overlooking the entirety of Amegakure like a god.

"Hm? Is that the one?"

With the aid of his Byakugan, Hyuga Kagami quickly located a tower that he suspected was Pain’s hideout.

That tower was noticeably taller than all the others. One could easily imagine that from its summit, the entirety of Amegakure could be observed at a glance.

Taking out paper and a pen, Hyuga Kagami briefly confirmed his position before beginning to sketch out the layout of Amegakure. In particular, he focused heavily on the tower where he suspected Pain was located.

Whoosh...

Bang!

With a piercing whistle, a brilliant flare suddenly burst across Amegakure’s gloomy sky.

"A signal flare?"

Hyuga Kagami’s brows knitted tightly together.

The blazing signal flare flashing in the sky undoubtedly meant that someone on the reconnaissance team had been exposed.

In other words, this reconnaissance mission had failed.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hyuga Kagami immediately put away his paper and pen and rushed toward the location where the signal flare had been fired.

At this point, he could no longer afford to worry about avoiding the rain. After such an obvious signal flare had been fired, there was no longer any point in doing so.

There was only one thing he cared about now—how to safely escape Amegakure.

But just then, Hyuga Kagami’s vision suddenly blurred as he sped forward. Countless sheets of paper descended from the sky, blocking his path before slowly gathering together into the graceful figure of a woman.

Hyuga Kagami abruptly stopped and clicked his tongue. "They locked onto me this quickly?"

At that moment, the humanoid figure formed from paper gradually became lifelike, as though a soul had been breathed into it. It transformed into a woman with light-blue hair, who coldly demanded, "Intruder, identify yourself!"

"Hmph!"

With a snort, Hyuga Kagami’s figure flickered. He directly used the Body Flicker Technique and slipped past her blockade.

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami recognized her at a glance.

She was Konan, the only person in the Akatsuki whom Nagato truly trusted, as well as one of Jiraiya’s three disciples.

Hyuga Kagami had a fairly good understanding of Konan’s strength.

From his vague memories of the original timeline, Sasori seemed to have been personally recruited by Konan. In other words, Konan had defeated Sasori in a one-on-one battle despite him possessing the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.

Although Konan later suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of Jiraiya and Obito, that didn’t mean she was weak.

Jiraiya was Konan’s Sensei and knew exactly how to counter her Paper Release. As for Obito, he had nearly been buried alive in Konan’s sea of explosive tags. It was only by relying on the Uchiha clan’s forbidden technique, Izanagi, that he barely managed to survive and find an opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

"Without entering Tenseigan Chakra Mode, I probably won’t be able to kill her."

As he raced forward, Hyuga Kagami glanced back at Konan, who had spread a pair of wings like an angel and was pursuing him through the air, and quickly arrived at that conclusion.

Behind him, Konan called out, "Give up. You can’t escape!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Konan casually waved her hand from the air.

Countless sheets of paper fluttered like butterflies, surging toward Hyuga Kagami from every direction as he fled across the ground.

Swish!

With the sound of rushing wind, Hyuga Kagami swung his blade and sliced apart the sheets of paper blocking his path.

Hiss... hiss... hiss...

However, from the shredded pieces of paper came a sound Hyuga Kagami was all too familiar with—

the sound of explosive tags being triggered!

Hyuga Kagami was startled. He discovered that it wasn’t just the pieces of paper he had cut apart. All the other sheets of paper surrounding him had begun emitting the same telltale sound of explosive tags activating.

Because his Byakugan was active, Hyuga Kagami was absolutely certain that these had all been ordinary sheets of paper just moments ago.

Yet in the blink of an eye, those ordinary sheets of paper had somehow been transformed into deadly explosive tags.

"So this is the power of Paper Release?"