Chapter 350: Feel Pain

Chapter 350: Chapter 350: Feel Pain

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"

In an instant, a spiraling vortex of chakra erupted amid the cluster of explosive tags that were just about to detonate, whipping up a swirling current around him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A deafening chain of explosions immediately rang out!

Hovering in midair, Konan stared coldly at the ground below.

Although the chakra spiral had only appeared at the very last instant before the explosion, it had been far too conspicuous to miss. With Konan’s extensive combat experience, she had naturally noticed it.

Because of that, she knew perfectly well that her previous attack shouldn’t have been enough to completely finish off the intruder.

The smoke from the explosions quickly dispersed.

Sure enough, the intruder’s motionless figure soon appeared within Konan’s field of vision.

"Hm...?"

After sizing up the intruder, Konan let out a faint sound of surprise.

Despite having been caught in that explosion just now, the other party appeared completely unharmed.

That surprised Konan somewhat.

After all, the attack she had just unleashed would have been more than enough to deal with the vast majority of jōnin from the smaller ninja villages.

On the ground, Hyuga Kagami’s expression had also grown somewhat grave.

Konan’s Paper Release not only allowed her to fly through the air, but also enabled her to create paper clones without forming hand signs. Even with the aid of his Byakugan, Kagami found it difficult to distinguish them from the real body.

And that wasn’t all.

The nature of her Paper Release also allowed Konan’s real body to transform into a mass of explosive tags at virtually any moment.

For a close-combat taijutsu specialist, this was undoubtedly an extremely troublesome ability.

Just imagine being locked in the middle of an intense fight, only for the enemy right in front of you to suddenly turn into a pile of explosive tags.

Who the hell could deal with that?

After a brief standoff, Konan coldly asked, "You’re no ordinary ninja. Who exactly are you? Why did you infiltrate our Amegakure?"

Holding Kusanagimaru in his hand, Hyuga Kagami slowly replied, "I’m merely a traveler passing through. Aren’t you Ame ninja making a little too much of this?"

As he spoke, he silently considered his next move.

He already had a rough idea of how to deal with Konan, but he still needed the right opportunity.

BOOM!

Just as both sides were itching to move and preparing to clash once more, a violent roar suddenly erupted in the distance.

Immediately afterward, even the earth beneath them began to tremble.

The explosion instantly caught both Hyuga Kagami and Konan’s attention, and the two simultaneously turned their gazes toward its source.

"That direction..."

Hyuga Kagami’s expression darkened slightly.

The direction the explosion had come from was precisely the same area where the signal flare had been fired earlier.

Clearly, a fierce battle was taking place over there as well.

Because of the distance, Kagami’s Byakugan couldn’t observe the details of what was happening there. However, judging from that enormous and ferocious chakra, Kagami suspected that the one fighting over there was most likely Yugito Nii, Kumogakure’s Two-Tails jinchūriki.

Aside from her, none of the other members of the reconnaissance squad could possibly possess such an enormous amount of chakra.

"Tch. I never should’ve brought that deadweight along!"

Hyuga Kagami silently grumbled to himself. The first member of the reconnaissance squad to expose themselves was, nine times out of ten, Kumogakure’s arrogant Two-Tails jinchūriki.

Kagami hadn’t wanted to bring Yugito Nii along in the first place, but the Raikage had insisted that a Kumogakure ninja be included in the reconnaissance squad. Since it was a perfectly reasonable request, neither the Hokage nor the Kazekage had any grounds to refuse.

And so, despite Kagami’s strong objections, Yugito, who possessed the ability to sense chakra, had still become a member of the reconnaissance squad.

Unlike Kagami, however, Konan slightly furrowed her delicate brows.

Chakra on the level of a tailed beast was still quite intimidating, and she seemed somewhat concerned about the battle taking place over there.

Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky and landed directly between the two of them.

The newcomer wore Akatsuki’s black cloak patterned with red clouds, and his eyes were a vivid scarlet.

It was none other than Akatsuki’s Mangekyō Sharingan wielder, Uchiha Shinichi.

Shinichi waved toward Konan in the air. "Leave this guy to me. Heh, it’s been so long since I’ve had a proper fight that my body’s starting to get rusty!"

Konan had a fair amount of confidence in Shinichi’s strength as a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder, so she nodded. She then spread her wings and flew toward the other battlefield.

As soon as Konan was gone, Shinichi hurriedly asked, "Hey, are we finally making a move against Akatsuki?"

There was no doubt that Shinichi had already recognized Hyuga Kagami.

The reason he had suddenly intervened was precisely to help Kagami shake off Konan’s pursuit.

Kagami immediately lunged at him, pretending to engage Shinichi in combat as he asked, "Aside from the rain, does Amegakure have any other means of surveillance?"

Yugito might have been somewhat arrogant, but she definitely wasn’t reckless.

Because of that, Kagami suspected that Amegakure possessed some other surveillance or sensory method that he didn’t know about.

Shinichi thought for a moment before replying, "Hiruko set up all kinds of weird crap throughout the village. Some of it might be related to surveillance. Why?"

Hyuga Kagami was speechless. "Then why didn’t you tell me?"

Shinichi looked helpless as well. "Hiruko and Sasori have been at each other’s throats lately for who knows what reason. They’ve been making all kinds of weird crap every single day. How am I supposed to afford sending you reports on every little thing?!"

Thinking about how Shozaimaru charged a fee every single time he delivered a message, Kagami realized that if Shinichi really did report everything to him every day, he probably wouldn’t be able to afford the communication fees either.

He curled his lips. "Originally, I planned to borrow the strength of the major ninja villages to make a move against Akatsuki. But now that this reconnaissance mission has been exposed, a surprise attack probably won’t accomplish much."

Shinichi frowned. "If you wanted intel on Akatsuki, you could’ve just come to me. Why did you have to risk infiltrating Amegakure yourself? Hey... don’t tell me you don’t trust me?"

Kagami snapped irritably, "What, you want me to tell the village that you’re my spy? Believe me, the moment I tell the village you’re undercover for me, Akatsuki will bury you alive the very next second!"

"Uh..."

Kagami continued, "I’ve already dealt with Shinno, so I’ve basically gotten hold of most of Akatsuki’s intelligence. The problem is, I have no way to make the major ninja villages completely trust the information I provide. They insisted on conducting an infiltration and reconnaissance mission themselves, and there was nothing I could do to stop them."

ROAR!

Suddenly, the roar of a wild beast echoed from the distance.

But within that roar seemed to be an overwhelming mixture of pain and anguish!

"Damn it!"

Kagami’s heart tightened.

He knew that Kumogakure’s arrogant Two-Tails jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, was probably about to go down.

Shinichi casually asked, "Sounds like they can’t hold out much longer over there. Should we go reinforce them?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head.

The reconnaissance mission being exposed also meant that the surprise attack to follow had been exposed as well. Their opportunity to wipe out Akatsuki in one fell swoop was already gone.

At a time like this, they should immediately retreat.

After all, with the reconnaissance squad’s current strength, taking the entire Akatsuki head-on would be an extremely unwise decision.

Under Shinichi’s cover, Kagami quietly withdrew to the sewer from earlier.

That was the designated rendezvous point for the reconnaissance squad. However, at the moment, only Chiyo of Sunagakure was there. Neither Jiraiya nor Yugito Nii was anywhere to be seen.

Seeing Kagami return safely, Chiyo said, "Yugito has been exposed. I observed the situation with one of my puppets. There’s no opportunity to rescue her. I’m afraid we’ll have to abandon her."

As an experienced ninja, Chiyo had made the same choice as Kagami and had not recklessly attempted to rescue Yugito.

Perhaps there was also some intention on her part to use Akatsuki to weaken Kumogakure.

After all, Sunagakure had only recently executed its own unqualified jinchūriki. By the time their next jinchūriki matured enough to become an effective combat asset, it might already be eight or even ten years later.

Kumogakure, meanwhile, possessed two perfect jinchūriki who were both in their prime.

As a result, the balance of power among the major ninja villages had already begun to tilt.

Kagami didn’t particularly care about the safety of Kumogakure’s jinchūriki. He asked, "Where is Lord Jiraiya?"

Chiyo shook her head. "I don’t know either. But you don’t need to worry. He didn’t intervene in Yugito’s battle, so he should still be hiding somewhere in Amegakure."

Kagami breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Losing a jinchūriki was already a major blow to this surprise operation.

If even Jiraiya went down here, then this entire operation against Akatsuki would become a complete and utter joke.

Chiyo said with a solemn expression, "I have to admit, your earlier judgment was correct. Amegakure’s defenses are even tighter than I expected. This reconnaissance mission was a mistake. We need to retreat immediately."

Hyuga Kagami nodded and sighed. "Too bad none of you listened to me."

There was already no point in remaining inside Amegakure.

If Jiraiya hadn’t been exposed, he wouldn’t need their assistance and could quietly withdraw on his own. And if Jiraiya had already been surrounded by Akatsuki, there was nothing they could do to save him anyway.

Rather than waste time waiting for Jiraiya here, it would be better to immediately send word back that the reconnaissance mission had failed.

Before long, Kagami and Chiyo followed Amegakure’s intricate underground network of waterways and successfully slipped out of the village, returning to the Land of Fire.

...

Meanwhile, atop the tower where Pain resided in Amegakure.

Watching Pain return to the tower, Obito asked, "Did you take care of everything?"

Pain merely gave a cold nod.

A mere Two-Tails jinchūriki seemingly wasn’t even worth mentioning in his eyes.

At that moment, Konan descended from the sky and landed atop the tower.

"Shinichi failed. One of the infiltrators escaped."

Obito was somewhat surprised. "Shinichi actually failed?"

Pain asked, "Who was the enemy?"

Konan thought back for a moment before replying somewhat uncertainly, "He seemed to be from Konoha’s Hyuga clan. He was indeed fairly strong. When I fought him earlier, I wasn’t able to subdue him either."

Because of their brief exchange earlier, Konan had been left with a deep impression of Hyuga Kagami.

In particular, Kagami’s composure had made her feel that he was an extremely troublesome opponent. Because of that, she didn’t suspect anything when Shinichi claimed that he had failed.

Obito was somewhat puzzled. "Aside from their clan head, the Hyuga clan doesn’t have any particularly powerful ninja. Are you sure he was a Hyuga?"

In Obito’s eyes, even Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan, might not necessarily be a match for Shinichi.

Konan didn’t answer Obito’s question. Her gaze remained fixed on the Deva Path Pain.

Pain said, "There were two infiltrators. One was Kumogakure’s jinchūriki, while the other was a Hyuga from Konoha. And they infiltrated the village at the same time. It seems the major ninja villages have already obtained intelligence about us."

Killing intent surged from Konan as she asked, "Orochimaru or Shinno?"

Without a doubt, Orochimaru and Shinno, the two members who had defected from Akatsuki, were the most likely candidates to have leaked information about the organization.

Obito shrugged. "Who leaked the information doesn’t matter anymore. What we need to know now is what exactly the major ninja villages are planning to do."

Pain said indifferently, "They even sent a jinchūriki. What they intend to do next is obvious."

Konan looked somewhat worried. "Konoha and Kumogakure have joined forces. Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure may also be involved. With our current manpower, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to withstand them."

Obito smiled. "Kirigakure isn’t involved. And ōnoki is currently negotiating a deal with us for the Chimera Technique, so Iwagakure probably isn’t involved either."

Pain walked out onto the enormous tongue-shaped structure extending from the tower.

Like a god looking down upon the mortal world, he gazed indifferently over the entirety of Amegakure.

Then, in a calm voice, he declared:

"This time...

I will make them feel pain!"

The corner of Obito’s mouth curled upward. He immediately took a step back and disappeared into a twisting vortex that suddenly appeared behind him.

Konan nodded as well. She spread her wings and flew away from the top of the tower, seemingly heading off to make preparations for something.

...

Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire, at the location of the Three Kage Summit.

"Damn Akatsuki! I’m going to wipe them off the face of the earth!"

Upon learning that the reconnaissance mission had failed, that the Two-Tails jinchūriki Yugito Nii had fallen into enemy hands, and that Jiraiya was missing, both the Hokage and Kazekage were stunned.

The hot-tempered Raikage, however, flew into an outright rage, his furious roar reverberating throughout the cavern.

The Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, asked Chiyo and Hyuga Kagami, "Even with Yugito’s strength, she couldn’t manage to retreat?"

Chiyo shook her head.

By this point, Kagami couldn’t even be bothered to say anything more.

In any case, Yugito had fallen into enemy hands in Amegakure, and whether she was alive or dead remained unknown. The ones who should be anxious now were Kumogakure, not him.

Just as Kagami had expected, the Raikage immediately said impatiently, "I propose that we launch an attack on Amegakure immediately!"

The Third Hokage nodded.

Jiraiya’s disappearance had left the Third with a faint sense of unease, so he also agreed with the Raikage’s proposal.

With both the Raikage and Hokage having made their decision, the Kazekage, whose village was the weakest of the three, naturally had little room to object. In the end, he could only nod along.

Kagami had barely stepped out of the cavern when Shisui approached him and asked in a low voice, "Senpai, I heard the reconnaissance mission failed?"

"A perfectly good surprise attack, and now it’s turned into this..." Hyuga Kagami shook his head before continuing, "You understand now, don’t you? This is exactly why I didn’t want you reporting Akatsuki’s intelligence to the village before the time was right."

Shisui’s expression darkened slightly. "Even though we’ve lost the element of surprise, we should still have a chance of winning, right?"

"Now that Akatsuki is prepared, even the combined strength of Konoha, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure might not be enough to gain the upper hand. What comes next will probably be a battle royale on an unprecedented scale!" After a brief pause, Kagami continued, "Notify Itachi. Tell him to be ready to support us at any moment!"

Shisui asked, "Senpai, are you planning to...?"

Kagami gave a slight nod.

"Yeah. If Kamigami doesn’t intervene, the village will probably suffer badly this time! Have Itachi team up with the Third Kazekage human puppet and handle support from the perimeter."

His expression remained calm as he continued,

"Kamigami has remained silent for long enough.

"It’s about time we showed ourselves in the shinobi world again."

Shisui was somewhat curious. "You’re planning to personally take action?"

Kagami replied calmly,

"If I don’t step in, there’s no one who can take on Akatsuki’s leader."