Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Amegakure is the Shinobi Village in the Land of Rain.
It was founded by the legendary Shinobi once known as the 'Demigod', Hanzo of the Salamander.
Due to its geographical location, the climate of Amegakure is perpetually rainy, with the rainwater flowing into the inland lake that surrounds the village.
Its position is at the crossroads of three great nations: the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth.
Consequently, whenever war erupts between these three countries, the Land of Rain is almost invariably caught in the crossfire, often being completely engulfed by the conflict.
Moreover, during the Second Shinobi World War,
the ruler at the time, Hanzo of the Salamander, in an attempt to expand the territory of the Land of Rain, initiated wars against the Lands of Fire, Earth, and Iron.
Although he achieved personal victory on the battlefield, on a national scale, it was a complete and devastating defeat.
From that point on, this land became a place steeped in resentment and death.
Now, Hanzo had been killed by the combined efforts of the mysterious masked man and Uzumaki Nagato, and Amegakure had become the primary base of the Akatsuki.
At that moment, inside a dark cave,
the sound of dripping water was incessant, and humid air filled the surroundings.
"Ooh ooh... looks like Konan is back, Pain."
A man, half-black and half-white like a pitcher plant, spoke in a strange voice, addressing the orange-haired man before him.
Hearing this, the orange-haired man slightly raised his eyes, gazing towards the cave entrance, and said indifferently:
"Two distinct Chakra Signatures."
"It seems Konan has successfully brought back Sasori of the Red Sand..."
Back when the mysterious masked man had assigned their tasks, Konan's sole responsibility was that one person, so Pain naturally jumped to that conclusion.
Just then, the sound of footsteps grew closer from the cave entrance.
Finally, a woman clad in the Akatsuki's black robe with red clouds and a young man with brown hair dressed entirely in black appeared together.
Naturally, it was Konan and Kyo, who had journeyed here from the Land of Wind.
Seeing the two appear, the nearby pitcher plant let out a somewhat curious sound and exclaimed:
"Arara? Konan, could this be the true form of Sasori of the Red Sand?"
"He's surprisingly young!"
Upon hearing this,
Deva Path furrowed his brow slightly.
'This person was actually Sasori of the Red Sand?'
'What was going on?'
'As far as I remembered from the intelligence, Sasori was supposed to be a guy with red hair, wasn't he?'
'Did he dye his hair?'
After pondering for a moment, he looked towards Konan and spoke coldly:
"What's the meaning of this, Konan?"
"Are you certain... that this guy is the genuine, talented puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sand?"
There was a hint of doubt in Pain's tone.
Hearing this,
Konan stopped in her tracks, shook her head slightly, and said calmly:
"No, Pain."
"Quite the opposite, I can confirm that he is not Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Hmm?"
As her words fell, a sound of surprise escaped Pain's lips.
And the nearby Zetsu let out an even more exaggerated gasp of astonishment: "Eh?! You deliberately brought the wrong person?!"
Undoubtedly, Konan's answer left them both deeply puzzled.
If she knew he wasn't Sasori, then why had she brought him to the Akatsuki's main headquarters?
In the orders given by that mysterious masked man, the quota for that specific individual, Sasori of the Red Sand, was clearly stipulated...
Just as they were contemplating this, Konan's gaze briefly glanced at Kyo beside her, then, with her eyes slightly downcast, she said quietly:
"The reason I brought him back..."
"is because... I personally witnessed him kill that Sasori of the Red Sand."
"?!"
"What?!"
At these words, Deva Path and Zetsu's expressions changed simultaneously.
'What?'
'Sasori of the Red Sand was killed?!'
'By this seemingly harmless guy standing in front of us???'
'Even the Chakra within him appeared so faint as to be almost imperceptible...'
'So how could someone like this have killed that Sasori of the Red Sand, who possessed the Third Kazekage puppet?!'
Seeing that Pain and the others seemed somewhat shocked, Konan continued to explain:
"When I located Sasori of the Red Sand's whereabouts, I happened to witness Kyo fighting him."
"It happened suddenly, and before I could even grasp the situation, I saw that both Sasori of the Red Sand and his Kazekage puppet had been pierced by the short blade at Kyo's waist."
"He is also a wanderer without a home, so... I took the liberty of bringing him back here."
"Someone capable of killing Sasori of the Red Sand surely has the power to join."
Konan spoke calmly, her gaze lowered.