Chapter 5: Harmless!
Traveling west from the Land of Rain, crossing the Land of Birds, Nagato and Konan reached the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind after a three-day journey.
This area was unclaimed by any nation, and due to the harsh climate, it was rarely visited by people.
After traversing the rugged mountains, they arrived at an inland lake.
In the center of the lake, there was an island, and on the island, there was a temple.
At the entrance of the temple, a talisman was affixed to a shrine.
Nagato stopped and focused his gaze on the talisman.
"The talisman contains a barrier technique and the nature of Fire Release. Once someone steps into the temple, it will trigger the barrier..."
Could it be the Uchiha Flame Formation?
"Such craftsmanship, it must be here."
"Konan, step back a bit."
Nagato approached and extended his hand towards the talisman from a distance.
— Preta Path: Sealing Technique Absorption Seal!
"Whoosh!"
A hemispherical sealing barrier formed in front of his palm, absorbing the technique from the talisman upon contact...
The now ineffective talisman burned to ashes.
Nagato and Konan ascended the stone steps and pushed open the temple door.
Gazing at the large object displayed in the temple hall, Konan looked puzzled, "A shell?"
"No, it's a coffin made of shells..."
Nagato recalled that the data book mentioned Rin's fondness for collecting shells during her lifetime.
Konan sighed, "It seems there's a girl inside the coffin."
Nagato said, "Konan, if you're uncomfortable with this, you can wait outside."
"No need, Nagato. If you're doing this, there must be a reason. Otherwise, we wouldn't have traveled so far, following White Zetsu's information to get here."
"Something like that. According to White Zetsu's intel, this girl was once the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, so she must have had something extraordinary about her."
"The Three-Tails... jinchūriki!?" In Konan's mind, she imagined a burly, strong woman.
As the shell coffin opened, revealing Rin's true appearance, Konan's expression was quite a sight.
"Such a petite and adorable girl, it's hard to imagine she was once the vessel for the Three-Tails."
Rin hadn't been interred for long, and with some preservation measures by Obito, her appearance was unchanged from when she was alive.
"Nagato, if it's inconvenient, let me handle it."
"When creating the Deva Path, I learned the procedure."
"As a fellow woman, I should know how to arrange things without affecting aesthetics."
Nagato gladly accepted, "That would be perfect."
"Ding dong!" Various black rods of different sizes fell from his sleeve...
"Apologies."
Konan stepped forward to remove Rin's clothing, noticing the hole in her left chest, she couldn't help but worry, "With such an injury... can she still be used?"
Nagato replied, "No problem, once she's made into a Pain, I can use the Naraka Path to repair it."
"That's good." Konan got to work.
The entire process took half an hour.
"Nagato, how does this look?" After finishing, Konan wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
"It's simply amazing," Nagato praised.
On Rin's face, Konan used only three black rods, placed between her eyebrows above the bridge of her nose, and on the purple markings on her cheeks. Additionally, two small barbs adorned her lips, resembling little fangs.
As for the ones on her body, they were essential to ensure chakra reception efficiency.
"Let's see the result of our work!"
— Naraka Path!
Nagato summoned the King of Hell, which swallowed Rin...
Soon, a petite figure emerged.
Rin was now wearing a black cloak similar to Nagato and Konan's from the Hidden Rain.
Her hair had turned golden.
Her eyes had become Rinnegan.
Her consciousness was Nagato's.
Her voice... was Rin's.
"The Animal Path of Pain, complete."
This work emphasizes high quality and completeness!
Konan remarked, "Such an innocent-looking cute face might deceive enemies."
Unfortunately, Konan, that's not the case.
This face is only for those 'destined' to see...
Nagato took out a cat-face mask and placed it on Rin's face.
"Obito, I wonder, with your penchant for deceiving the world with masks, what expression will you have when you see the face beneath this mask?"
"When the time comes, I must tear off your mask and see for myself."
Nagato's animosity towards Obito stems from the original series, where he was the one who killed Konan.
He couldn't forget the 'bridge to peace.'
This is a personal grudge, but... is it a crime?
Leaving the nameless land.
Konan asked, "Where are we headed next?"
Nagato gazed towards the Land of Wind.
During his coma, the Third Shinobi World War had officially ended.
The direct cause was the final battle between the allied forces of Cloud and Sand against Konoha, the Battle of Kikyo Pass, which ended abruptly with the disappearance of the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village.
The instigator, Sasori of the Red Sand, hadn't escaped Zetsu's notice.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, the most talented ninja in the history of the Hidden Sand, are you planning to recruit him as a member of our Akatsuki?"
"Not for now. I just want to inquire about the whereabouts of someone, someone crucial to our future development..."
Indeed... Sasori, for some reason, had been searching for Orochimaru's whereabouts.
Currently, the only lead to finding Orochimaru... is Sasori!
— Summoning Technique!
The Animal Path of Pain summoned the Yatagarasu, with Rin standing at the forefront.
The Deva Path sat at the back, scouting the situation.
Nagato accompanied Konan, sitting in the middle.
The Yatagarasu soared into the sky, heading towards the desert of the Land of Wind.
Nagato took out a straw hat he had prepared along with the mask, "The sandstorm ahead will be intense, let's put on our hats."
Konan smiled, "It seems you had this journey planned before we set out."
Nagato laughed, "By the way, Konan, how long has it been since you soaked in a hot spring?"
Konan reminisced, "It's been so long... ever since we completed our training with Jiraiya-sensei, I haven't had the chance."
"Then after we meet Sasori, let's treat ourselves to a long-overdue hot spring bath."
Konan smiled, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."
"Boom!"
The Yatagarasu pierced through the clouds, diving into the swirling sands...
By evening, deep within the desert of the Land of Wind, Nagato observed a sand dune, "It seems we arrived just in time."
"Poof!" The Yatagarasu vanished.
The group landed on a distant sand dune.
They quietly waited for the person inside to complete his most satisfying work.
Late at night, amidst the tight wind, an unusual sound was heard.
A shadow appeared outside the sand dune, slowly dragging itself across the ground.
Seeing its somewhat menacing face, Konan was puzzled, "Is that Sasori?"
Nagato chuckled, "No, Sasori likes to hide his true self inside a puppet."
Finally, they witnessed Hiruko firsthand.
"Let's test the waters with Pain first."
"Swish!" "Swish!" The Deva Path and the Animal Path leaped to block Hiruko's path.
Hiruko coldly observed the figures ahead, a deep voice emanating from within, "What do you want?"
The Deva Path slowly advanced, standing in front of Pain Rin, or Pein for short, "We want to ask about someone."
"Oh ho? It seems you know who I am." Hiruko's eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to confirm if there were any Hidden Sand pursuers lying in wait.
"Unfortunately, the person you're looking for can't be found."
Evidently, Sasori misunderstood, thinking the two before him were Hidden Sand ninja seeking information on the whereabouts of the Third Kazekage.
"You will all die here, becoming part of my 'collection'!"
"Swish!!" As he finished speaking, Hiruko transformed into a shadow, directly moving behind Pein, "Let's take care of this seemingly ANBU girl first!"
The Deva Path turned to watch, "So fast..."
— Hiruko: Senbon Shower!
Countless poisoned senbon needles shot down, almost impossible to dodge...
But Pein, facing forward, suddenly crouched down swiftly, her small hand slapping the sand in front of her, "Summoning Technique!"
"Boom!"
The giant panda statue that stood behind her completely blocked the poisoned needles!
"What!?" Sasori was shocked, then was sent flying by the 'Bull' that rose from the white smoke!
"Swish!" The Deva Path raised his palm.
— Banshō Ten'in!
"Whoosh!"
Hiruko's puppet was pulled by an irresistible force, crashing into the black rod extended by the Deva Path's other hand with a "crack."
"This is unbelievable..."
Rustle... Its body disintegrated into sand on the black rod.
The Deva Path looked up, gazing at the hollow in the sand dune, "In an instant, he used a sand substitution, truly remarkable..."
"Where will he attack from next?"
"Click!"
From the sand, Hiruko's mechanical arm sprang up like a thunderbolt.
— Hiruko: Mechanical Arm Senbon!
The built-in mechanism cannon in the arm fired poisoned needles in all directions!
The Deva Path and Pein quickly retreated...!
"Poof!" At this moment, a puff of poisonous smoke emerged, obscuring the Deva Path!
"Boom!" Hiruko's true form erupted from in front of Pein, the tail stinger hidden in the ghost face at the tail mercilessly pierced through Rin's body!
"Just as I thought, I noticed earlier that you have the same eyes."
"Combined with the girl's behavior, your vision is shared, isn't it?"
"Poof!"
The summoned Bull vanished in a puff of white smoke.
"One down."
Hiruko flung Pein away with the tail stinger, coldly staring at the Deva Path, "Next, it's your turn."
"Is that so?" The Deva Path's expression was somewhat amused, raising his palm.
"Hmm!? That gesture, it's that troublesome technique that seems to pull things in from a distance! Better keep my distance!"
"Boom!" Hiruko used the tail stinger to stir up a large amount of sand, using it as cover to retreat!
"Don't be nervous, I'm just raising my hand..." The Deva Path lowered his palm.
"Swish!" Hiruko moved rapidly through the sand, never daring to approach easily.
"Yes, just need to buy time, he inhaled my poison smoke, he should be dying soon."
"But when did the Hidden Sand produce such individuals? I really should thank them for delivering themselves to me, my collection will have another addition..."
While Sasori was smugly calculating, he didn't notice that the Pein he had killed had disappeared.
"Whoosh!" On a distant sand dune, Nagato used the Naraka Path to revive Pein.
Konan said, "The two Pains seem to be struggling, should we join the fight?"
Pein smiled sweetly, "Pain's combat strength doesn't just depend on numbers, but also on tactics. Watch me pull a fast one on him..."
Hiruko moved swiftly through the desert, closely monitoring the Deva Path, gradually realizing...
"Something's not right, he should have been poisoned by now, why is he still standing unharmed?"
"Could it be... he's immune to poison?"
"Let's test it a bit."
He was about to charge forward to put some pressure on the Deva Path, but suddenly... his movement halted, as if something invisible had bound him tightly!
"What!?"
Immediately after, his body was lifted into the air!
"Sizzle!"
The hidden giant chameleon revealed its true form behind him!
"A summoning beast, I remember that girl used the same technique..."
His gaze turned to the distance, shocked, "The girl's body is gone!"
"Swish!!" At that moment, the Deva Path soared into the air, his palm facing Hiruko's menacing face, "Reveal your true self, Sasori!!"
— Shinra Tensei!