Chương 355: Chapter – 350 Wait… wait… and more wait…

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

With the sound of breaking wind, dozens of shadows shuttled through the raining forest, disturbing the resting or sleeping crows, their bodies covered with a black cloak, and masks of various patterns covering their faces. Their speed was extremely fast… and they soon disappeared into the gloomy rain forest.

After the dozen or so shadows have gone away, hundreds of crows that were disturbed by the shadows converged together into the shape of a person on the branch of a tree, this figure was wearing Homusubi disguise of Amatsukami, and it was none other than Uchiha Itachi who has sneaked into the Land of Rain not long ago as per Kuroto's order and was currently waiting to meet up with the other member of Amatsukami together with whom he will be performing the mission entrusted to him by Kuroto.

While looking in the direction of the disappearance of the shadows, Itachi under his mask had a serious expression.

The dozen or so shadows that just went past him were none other than Konoha Anbu. Itachi already has a deep understanding of the Anbu as well as its various rules, formations, and various passcodes, because they are ingrained into him by Kuroto and Shisui, all for the purpose of fooling village authorities, and to be able to sneak in and out of the village without alerting anyone.

Considering the shortage of manpower especially in the Anbu department that the village has been facing for some time, because of so many deaths of the Anbu shinobi, most of the time at the hands of Akatsuki Shinobi, it was surprising to see a dozen or so Anbu moving together.

Anyone with some IQ can tell that the task these Anbu will be performing is definitely not simple.

Itachi is obviously very clear of what all is transpiring in the shadows for the past few months, and seeing these Anbu, he wondered, "More Anbu will be participating in the Joint Raid? It seems that Hokage-sama is quite serious about this after all."

Just as Itachi was wondering a few things, a shadow appeared above him, Itachi was immediately vigilant and looked up only to see another person dressed in a similar disguise as him, with a few changes, of course, and Iron Sand Wings at his back.

Before any further communication, the other party made a hand seal, the particular hand seal which indicates that he is another member of Amatsukami, and Itachi did the same.

Itachi noted the key differences between both of their disguises, one being the pattern of their mask, and the other being the symbol of Wind on the chest part of the other party.

After that person landed on the ground, and Itachi spoke politely, "Code name Homusubi, how may I refer to senpai?" – Itachi was rather surprised when he realized who the other part is. He expected to meet the Tsukihi-san here and perform the mission under her leadership, but it seems that his partner will be different this time.

The other person nodded towards Itachi and said, "A pleasure to meet you, you can refer to me as Fujin… my element is Wind."

Itachi nodded, and asked, "Are the two of us will be the only members on this mission?"

Fujin nodded, and said, "Yes, we will be the only additional members… now we are already quite late, so let's go."

After that, he controlled Iron Sand to form wings around his back and then flew in the direction of Amegakure.

While Itachi's body broke into hundreds of crows and those crows too flew in the direction of Amegakure.

The crows while flying towards Amegakure all had the same thought, 'Yatagarasu is a useful Jutsu, now traveling has become, what should be the right term? Fun, I suppose.'

(Translator's Note: 'Yatagarasu' a Jutsu that Itachi came up with upon Kuroto's insistence to Itachi in creating unique Jutsu that Itachi will only use when in his Homusubi disguise. It is a combination of Yin and Yang Release, not Yin-Yang, but Yin and Yang Release. This Jutsu is a permanent version of Karasu Kage Bushin no Jutsu, where even the main body of the user works in the same manner. For a much easier understanding, it is the Crow Version of Shikigami no Mai that Konan uses.)

…

At the same time on the other side of the Land of Rain.

A team of four shinobi was running towards Amegakure, these four shinobi were dressed in the Kirigakure Shinobi Gear.

The head of the four-man team is a fat man with a fish-like appearance, he has small round eyes and sharp jagged teeth, he also has long orange hair that reaches to his back. He was carrying by far the most dangerous sword of Kirigakure… Samehada. This man is none other than Suikazan Fuguki, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure.

Following him are three shinobi of Kirigakure, namely, Hoshigake Kisama, Momochi Zabuza, and finally Utakata the Jinchuriki of Rokubi.

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…Whoosh…

Just when the four people were crossing through a river stream, Hoshigake Kisama asked casually, "Why did Mizukage-sama suddenly give such an order? This mission is too unreasonable!"

Utakata who was at the last of the four voiced out his own thoughts, "If we partake in such a mission, then I am afraid that it will provoke a war with other shinobi villages. With the current situation of the village, we don't stand much chance of surviving should that happen!"

Momochi Zabuza was silent, and finally said, "Something seems to be wrong with Mizukage-sama for a while now, and now such a mission."

As soon as Momochi Zabuza's voice fell, the leader of the team, Suikazan Fuguki rebuked the three, "Shut up, questioning Mizukage-sama's order is equivalent to the death penalty!"

With the scolding of Fuguki, the other three did not voice out their thoughts anymore, but under their silence, each of the three had his own thoughts.

Ever since returning from the Second Gokage conference, the Yondaime Mizukage Karatachi Yagura, who was originally committed to reforming Kirigakure has now completely changed… he rarely shows up in public.

Not only this, but the Yondaime Mizukage has also become completely indifferent to the development and reforming of the village from all aspects, instead, he has made the rules of the village more severe and has been ruling the village with an iron fist.

On several occasions, there have been various public executions of those shinobi and individuals who tried questioning his orders, making everyone extremely afraid of him.

The atmosphere of the village that had started to turn for the better not long ago has now become gloomier and more dangerous, no one dares to stand up to the Mizukage… making the village return to its bloody times.

And beneath these bloody changes, there are also several undercurrents taking the form of a soon-to-be-breathing rebellion.

…

Land of Rain, Headquarters of the tri-Alliance.

Now all the people gathered together, including all the Anbu, the number of shinobi present here has increased to more than a hundred.

Raikage said, "We can't wait any longer, let's get this started!"

He understands that there are still many shinobi on their way here, but because the Jinchuriki of Nibi has been captured by the Akatsuki Organization, and the status of life and death are unknown so the coalition must hurry and rescue Nii Yugito before it's too late!

Taking into account that the news of the raid is now known to the enemy, Hokage also understood that the longer they delay, the worse the situation will get, so he also immediately nodded, "Alright, let's set out now!"

Kazekage Rasa obviously did not have anything else to say, so he nodded in agreement. Although he is no longer so optimistic about the upcoming raid, however, coming so far, he can no longer back down here… Because if he did back down here, then that would be a betrayal, and if Suna betrays the alliance, then no other Shinobi village would be willing to help Suna should Suna face a predicament in the future.

After everyone got ready to set out, only a few people were left behind at the headquarters to keep track of all the movements, also respond to the incoming reinforcements, and guide them towards Amegakure.

The team-11 of which Kuroto is a member of is also part of the raid group, and because of Kuroto's Byakugan and his previous two ventures to Amegakure, Kuroto is at the forefront of the raid group. He is responsible for safely leading the entire raid team inside Amegakure and then further.

Since the base of tri-Alliance is located not too far from Amegakure, therefore, it did not take them too long to reach Amegakure.

Drip… Drip… Pittar patter…

As soon as they were about to reach Amegakure, the sky had become extremely gloomy with raindrops dripping on the puddles of water on the ground. Everyone was getting wet, but no one stopped, with their rain covers over… they kept progressing in the direction of Amegakure, eyes stern, ready for the upcoming battle.

Everyone understands that this battle is going to be extremely dangerous… and no one below the level of a Jonin Class will have any role in it, therefore, those who came here are all around the Jonin Class or higher… and even then, each of them is prepared for their death.

After reaching the outskirts of the village without any obstacles, Hokage, Raikage, and Kazekage said unanimously, "Everyone, follow the plan!"

With that, Raikage and Kazekage nodded together and immediately led their respective subordinates and changed their routes, meanwhile, Hokage continued forward under Kuroto's lead.

The reason for Raikage and Kazekage to lead their subordinates away is obviously to create an encirclement around the entire village, to cover the maximum area and not allow even a single member of Akatsuki to escape.

Ninjas are different from Samurai, if gathered in large numbers in a small territory, then their abilities will be limited as they have to also make sure that their large-scale ninjutsu attacks do not hit their allies.

Kuroto scoffed at their idea of not allowing even a single Akatsuki member to escape, the enemy is expecting your attack incoming, it would be a miracle to be able to catch and kill only a few of them, do these Kage still expect to be able to eliminate all of them after the foolishness they have shown?

These Kages do not understand the power level beyond that of a Kage, they still do not understand, and are rather unwilling to believe that Pain could be so terribly strong that even three Kage at the same time will not be able to eliminate him. It has been several decades since Shodaime Hokage's power was shown so it's not a surprise that they do not understand such a thing.

Anyway, after the raid team was divided into three sub-teams, each Kage led their teams to their respective predetermined position of gatherings.

After Konoha reached their positions, the shinobi of Konoha stopped and waited for the signal.

The objective of stopping and waiting is to allow Kumo and Suna to take their positions.

Team -11 was not part of either of the three teams, they were tasked with sneaking into Amegakure from a different route and then finding and locating the three people left behind, namely Jiraiya, Nii Yugito, and Samui.

Finding Jiraiya was of course the major priority over the three according to Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen knew the reason why Jiraiya had stayed behind, Jiraiya has already confessed to him that the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Pain with the Rinnegan is most likely his disciple Nagato, one of the three children to whom Jiraiya once taught while he stayed behind in the Land of Rain for three years.

And Jiraiya also told Sandaime that he wants to try to persuade Nagato to change his path and give up on running the criminal organization Akatsuki.

So, it is natural to assume that this is the very reason why Jiraiya chose to stay behind.

Regarding Jiraiya's choice, Sandaime neither officially agreed nor denied it.

The reason for not agreeing is that he is worried about Jiraiya's safety. If Pain really cared about his sensei and sensei's home, then the members of the Akatsuki Organization wouldn't have attacked Konoha in the first place. So, Sandaime didn't really believe that Pain could be pursued.

As for the reason why he did not deny it? Well, it is because he also thinks that if this battle can be solved without any violence, then it would be for the better.

So, team-11 was now on their way sneaking into Amegakure.

Since Nii Yugito and Samui were captured, their memories would have obviously been read by Ningendo of Rikudo Pain, as such, Kuroto did not use the same route he took to Amegakure the previous time.

Fortunately, the waterway network of Amegakure is too densely spread throughout Amegakure. Under Kuroto's leadership, the four of the team rushed into Amegakure without any hurdles.

Coming out of the sewer, Kuroto said to the other three, "Make sure that rain does not fall upon us… We do not want to alert Akatsuki until the attacks from the three sides began. Additionally, there are also various animals or chimera beasts and puppets are spread throughout the village, so be careful of them too!"

"Right!" – After everyone nodded, Kuroto took out the map, and while pointing at the specific position of the Pain Tower he said, "Most probably, the leader of Akatsuki stays at this tower… so the area around here is the most likely place where Jiraiya-sama must be hidden."

Guy stared at the map and said, turned towards the direction of the village, and said, "All the buildings here are skyscrapers, and the scope is too big, how to actually search for Jiraiya-sama?"

With a bit of hesitation, Kakashi said, "Our best bet is to act separately… we must track Jiraiya-sama's position before the launch of the raid, and also try to see if we can locate the Jinchuriki of Nibi as well as the Jonin Kunoichi."

Shisui looked at his pocket watch and said, "If there is no accident, the raid should officially start within the next five minutes…"

Kakashi nodded and said, "Time is running out, we can only do our best and complete the mission our team is entrusted with."

Finding Jiraiya is extremely important, so after deciding the specific areas that they will be searching upon, Kakashi and Guy left one-after-another.

With both of them gone, Shisui and Kuroto made a Kage Bushin each, and those Kage Bushin will be searching in their stead.

After the two Kage Bushin have left, Shisui asked Kuroto, "Now, Kuroto-san, how are we going to act?"

"Wait. We are going to wait for a perfect opportunity to take the head of the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, doing anything else is simply meaningless."

Kuroto was not only waiting for the raid to officially start, but also for a message from Shinichi. According to Kuroto's previous instructions, Shinichi will be sending him Akatsuki's response and their deployment in the face of this raid.

But of course, Kuroto didn't really have much expectation about this as he also knows that the chances of any message coming at all are quite less.

The reason is obviously that Shinichi must be in the presence of other members of Akatsuki, as such he won't really have an opportunity to pass on the information.

Shisui asked, "I understand… but Kuroto-san, what are the chances of success of this operation?"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "I do not know either… there is no absolute certainty this time… it's possible for even me to die here… so stay vigilant at all times… I have also called for additional help from someone else, but I am not sure if that party will be willing to help or not… so stay vigilant either way."

Shisui asked with a surprise, "Aside from those two, who else have you called?"

Kuroto said, "Someone even I have to be incredibly careful against… as such stay on guard against snakes at all times!"

"Snakes?" – Shisui tilted his head in confusion, then suddenly his eyes widened, "You don't mean him, do you?"

Kuroto nodded, "It's him alright…"

Shisui questioned, "But will he really help… I don't think that he would be willing to help Konoha!"

Kuroto shook his head and said, "I don't think that's the case either, but considering that Akatsuki is also his enemy, so his priorities should be clear… well you just have to be careful against snakes… rest I don't think there is any need to worry."

Shisui said after a short silence, "Alright…"

Kuroto then said, "Also make sure to directly use Kotoamatsukami on the masked man should he appear before you, understand?"

Shisui nodded, "The one who tried kidnapping Uzumaki Naruto, right? And he is also the person directly responsible for the death of Yondaime Hokage-sama."

Kuroto nodded, "Yes, that's the one… he can use Izanagi as well, so stay vigilant against that too. And there are even chances that Kotoamatsukami won't work on him… so do not drop your guard even after having used Kotoamatsukami on him."

Shisui asked in confusion, "Are you worried about the possibility that he is immune to Kotoamatsukami?"

"Although chances are extremely less, however, it is still a possibility… I don't know if Kotoamatsukami will work when he is hidden inside the other space… so be prepared, the last thing I want is for him to gain access to your Kotoamatsukami, because if that happens then it would be the end of everything. It wouldn't even take a month and Juubi will already be knocking on our doors!"

After all, Obito has Hashirama cells transplanted into him, giving him unlimited access to the dojutsu powers of Mangekyou Sharingan, meaning he will be able to exploit the power of Kotoamatsukami to the fullest, completely disrupting the order of the shinobi world.

Shot… whistle…... Bang!

Suddenly there was a sound of Signal Flare firing up, and immediately following which heavy vibrations can be felt.

Shisui checked his pocket watch and said with a confused tone, "No, it is still two minutes early…"

Kuruto said calmly, "Nothing strange, why will Akatsuki Organization obediently wait for us to attack them? Whey must have launched the attacks from their side."

Shisui nodded, then said, "Should we stay here or go out?"

Kuroto said without any change, "Wait for a while, our goal is only the leader of Akatsuki Organization… let the others handle the rest of their members…"

As Kuruto finished, the sounds of explosions and the vibrations they were able to feel increased and now could be heard from all directions.

Shisui perceived the vibrations and said with a frown, "It seems that all the explosions are coming from outside Amegakure."

Kuroto nodded, "It seems that a battle on all sides has started even before they could sneak into the village."

Read up to Chapter - 604 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations