Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 335

He looked up, feeling the cold raindrops falling continuously on his face, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

This rain... seems a bit unusual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Concealing all his presence, Jiraiya blended into the shadows like a ghost, moving quickly and cautiously toward the interior of Amegakure.

The top floor of the central tower in Amegakure Village.

In the dimly lit hall, only the constant accompaniment of raindrops pattering against the exterior walls could be heard.

Pain sat quietly atop the mechanical device, like an unchanging statue.

Suddenly, his tightly closed eyes, which contained the ripples of reincarnation, snapped open.

The empty gaze seemed to pierce through the thick tower walls, looking towards the distant outskirts of the village.

Xiao Nan, who had been standing quietly to the side like a guardian angel, immediately noticed his unusual behavior and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Pain spoke slowly, his voice calm and even, yet carrying an all-encompassing indifference: "An acquaintance has arrived."

Xiao Nan's orange eyes narrowed slightly: "Should we go 'greet' him?"

A piece of white paper silently slipped from her hand, folded, and exuded a faint killing intent.

"No need for now."

Payne's gaze remained fixed on the distance, as if he were watching a play about to unfold: "Keep a close eye on his movements."

"Let's see what Jiraiya-sensei is trying to find out."

Xiao Nan nodded slightly, and the piece of paper in her hand softened again, disappearing into her robe sleeve.

Her figure slowly sank into the shadows of the ground, disappearing silently like melting snow, to carry out the monitoring orders.

Silence returned to the hall, with only the ripples of reincarnation in Pain's eyes gleaming coldly in the dim light.

Jiraiya has successfully blended into the village streets.

He changed into a dark cloak commonly worn by villagers of Amegakure.

He concealed his striking long white hair with a hood, deliberately concealing his powerful chakra fluctuations.

Like an ordinary middle-aged man struggling to make a living, he walked in the rain with his head down.

There were indeed more guards inside the village than on the outside, but it was far from being a state of martial law.

The villagers hurried along, their faces mostly showing numbness and exhaustion, and they didn't seem to be curious about the visitors from the outside world.

After observing for a while, Jiraiya settled on a small tavern that looked to be doing good business and was bustling with noise.

Such places are often the best locations for the flow of intelligence.

He lifted the damp curtain and went inside.

The air inside the tavern was murky, filled with the smells of cheap liquor, tobacco, and rainwater.

Several ninjas who appeared to be Chunin or Genin from Amegakure were gathered around a table, drinking and loudly complaining about the mission and the weather.

Jiraiya walked naturally to the bar, ordered a cheap sake, and then casually sat down in the empty seat next to the ninjas.

"This awful weather, it just won't end!"

Jiraiya took a sip of sake and complained as if he couldn't stand it, perfectly blending into the atmosphere.

"Haha, you're from out of town, right?"

A slightly tipsy ninja patted him on the shoulder: "You'll get used to it! This is just how the rain is in the Land of Rain!"

"Yeah yeah,"

Jiraiya seized the opportunity to continue the conversation, beginning to utilize his superb rhetoric and deception skills.

They chatted about everything under the sun, from local wines to interesting anecdotes about missions.

He quickly became friends with these ninjas, calling them brothers.

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

Jiraiya felt the time was right, so he pretended to be curious and subtly steered the conversation toward the heart of the village.

"Speaking of which, brother, that tall tower in the center of your village is really impressive! What's it used for?" he asked casually.

The previously noisy table fell silent for a moment.

The ninjas, who had been flushed from drinking, became noticeably more sober almost instantly.

A barely perceptible hint of wariness and...fear flashed in his eyes?

The ninja who had just been patting Jiraiya on the shoulder gave an awkward laugh.

He quickly waved his hand and lowered his voice, "Brother, you've had too much to drink... That kind of place isn't for us to inquire about. Come on, let's drink!"

The others chimed in, tacitly steer the conversation back to women and wine, as if the previous question had never been raised.

Jiraiya understood perfectly well, but on the surface he still maintained an "I know, I know" expression, smiling as he raised his glass without asking any further questions.

But he didn't give up.

In subsequent casual conversations, he subtly probed, guided the villagers through their occasional slips of the tongue, and made meticulous observations.

Like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, they gradually pieced together some fragmented but crucial information.

All the information points to one conclusion:

The one who rules Amegakure today is no longer that "demigod" Hanzo the Salamander.

When the villagers mentioned Hanzo, their tone was indifferent, even carrying a hint of subtle disgust, as if it were a distant memory from a bygone era.

Now, the one who controls everything is a being revered as a "god" by all the villagers of Amegakure.

This "god" is extremely mysterious; almost no one has ever seen his true face, and he never directly manages village affairs.

All the directives, regulations, and even this seemingly endless rain are said to originate from the will of "God".

All daily management and the work of conveying "divine pronouncements" were handled by a blue-haired woman known as an "angel".

When the villagers talked about the "angel," their tone was full of awe, even piety.

As for the central tower, it is an absolute forbidden zone.

It is the abode of "God," and any unauthorized approach is considered the most serious blasphemy and provocation, with unimaginable consequences.

At the tavern entrance, Jiraiya bid farewell to the few ninjas who were already drunk and staggering, put his hood back on, and stepped into the cold rain.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the layers of rain, looking at the towering, majestic tower in the center of the village that seemed to pierce the gray clouds.

The tower stands out like a crane among chickens among a cluster of low buildings, exuding a cold and mysterious aura.

"God? Angel?"

Jiraiya muttered to himself, a playful yet serious smile playing on his lips: "What a pretentious fellow... It seems that if I want to get the truth, I'll have to 'take a stroll' inside that tower."

His figure once again blended into the intricate shadows of Amegakure's streets.

Like the most seasoned hunter, they began their stealthy advance toward the tower that symbolized the final mystery.

He was unaware of every step he took from the moment he set foot on this land.

They had all already fallen into the gaze of those two Rinnegan eyes.

An invisible net is slowly closing in.

Chapter 356 Jiraiya: Tell me! Why have you all become like this?

Inside the tower in Amegakure Village, the light was dim, and the air was damp and stuffy.

Only the occasional low hum of machinery and the ceaseless patter of raindrops against the tower walls could be heard in the distance.

The complex network of metal pipes and corridors, like the blood vessels and intestines of a giant beast, exudes a cold and deathly aura.

A figure, almost blending into the shadows, was moving through them in a stealthy manner that defied common sense.

Jiraiya suppressed his chakra fluctuations to the extreme, his breathing becoming long and weak.

Its footsteps were as light as a feline's, each movement precisely avoiding debris and puddles that might make a sound.

His aura was so perfectly concealed that even when patrolmen passed by him, it was imperceptible.

They will most likely just ignore it as a minor draft or an annoying mosquito.

He moved cautiously while rapidly memorizing the complex structure inside the tower and the possible traps and mechanisms.

My brain is working at high speed, analyzing every possibility.

What kind of being could silently eliminate Hanzo the Salamander, who was known as a "demigod"?

And he can claim to be a "god" and control the entire Amegakure village?

Is he the leader of the Akatsuki organization?

What is his purpose?

The deeper you go, the more oppressive the atmosphere becomes inside the tower.

That invisible feeling, as if being monitored, became increasingly clear.

Finally, he passed through a narrow passage and entered a relatively open area.

This place seems to be a connecting hub inside the tower. The space is large, but it is still empty and deserted, with only cold metal floors and walls.

However, just as Jiraiya was preparing to quickly pass through this area and continue his infiltration into the more central region—

A clear, cool, and familiar female voice suddenly rang out in the center of the open space ahead.

The sound wasn't loud, but it resonated clearly in the silent space, carrying a calm that had been anticipated all along.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you've come all this way to our village, is this all you're doing, hiding away like this?"

Jiraiya's body froze instantly, as if he had been frozen by invisible ice!

He suddenly looked up and followed the sound.

In the center of the open space, a blue-haired woman wearing a black trench coat embroidered with red clouds stood with her back to him.

She stood tall and straight, her light blue hair swaying slightly in the dim light.

Even without turning around, it was as if he had already seen through all his actions.