Chapter 262: Infiltrating Amegakure
Star Capital, central administrative high tower top-floor conference room.
Sunlight poured through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, splashing into the spacious and bright space, illuminating the polished floor with a dazzling glow.
Menma, dressed in a black-based red-edged miko robe, sat solemnly in the main seat, his young face appearing both steady and full of authority amid the interplay of light and shadow.
Behind him was the vast blue sky and the burgeoning prosperous city visible below, symbolizing the vigorous vitality of this newborn country.
On both sides of the long table sat the core members of the Land of Stars: Military Minister Uchiha Hikari, Anbu Commander Kisame Hoshigaki, Finance Minister Miyashiro En, Administrative Minister Uzumaki Kushina, Judicial Minister Yoruya, and others.
In addition, there were two important figures who had recently officially joined the Land of Stars: Shisui Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga.
The atmosphere in the meeting was solemn and serious, with the agenda focusing on how to specifically accommodate and integrate the large numbers of Uchiha and Hyuga clan members after their joining, making their power efficiently integrate into the Land of Stars’ system.
“In summary, after initial reorganization, most ninjas from the two clans have been assigned to various units of the Star Ninja Army based on their abilities and wishes, enhancing our military strength.” Uchiha Hikari reported in her characteristic clear and cold voice, her gaze sweeping over Shisui and Hizashi.
“Next is the construction of the internal security system.”
Menma nodded slightly, taking over the conversation, his voice not loud but clearly reaching everyone’s ears: “The stability of the Land of Stars relies not only on a powerful army to resist external enemies, but also on a complete internal guard system to ensure the daily safety and order of the citizens.”
He looked at Shisui and Hizashi: “Shisui, you will serve as the minister of the Police Force, Hizashi, you will serve as the deputy minister.”
At these words, Shisui and Hizashi both showed slight emotion.
They had just arrived, and although they had gained attention due to their clans and personal strength, being directly entrusted with the top positions in such an important real-power department was still an unexpected level of trust.
Menma continued to explain: “The police department will be an internal security force based on rigorously trained ordinary police officers, with genin and chunin as the core backbone.”
“Its duties are mainly divided into two parts: first, routine security maintenance, including town patrols, dispute mediation, preliminary investigations of criminal cases, disaster relief, and so on; second, the special mobile police force, as a quasi-military unit, responsible for dealing with tricky bandit groups within the territory, border patrols, and assisting the army in executing some special tasks.”
He particularly emphasized one point: “Note that the police department only has enforcement power, that is, responsible for maintaining order, investigating cases, and arresting suspects. But the final determination of whether a suspect is guilty, and the specific sentencing, will be independently tried by the judicial department.”
“In the absence of a formal arrest warrant issued by the judicial department, any coercive measures by the police department against anyone are limited to listing them as suspects and requiring their cooperation in the investigation, and the time shall not exceed twenty-four hours. We must ensure that power is checked and balanced to avoid the occurrence of wrongful convictions and the abuse of rights.”
Shisui listened intently, a flash of realization in his eyes.
He nodded deeply, recalling the Konoha Military Police Force once solely controlled by the Uchiha Clan in Konohagakure, which not only handled enforcement but also had partial judicial power. Although power was concentrated, it also accumulated many contradictions due to lack of effective oversight, even exacerbating the estrangement between the villagers and the Uchiha Clan.
The model of separating enforcement and judiciary proposed by Lord Shura, though seemingly dispersing power, was more rigorous and fair, able to reduce many unnecessary troubles from the system level.
He said solemnly: “Understood, Lord Shura. Separating enforcement power from trial power can indeed better ensure justice.”
Hizashi also spoke: “The Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan has advantages in reconnaissance and tracking, very suitable for security tasks. We will do our utmost to maintain domestic stability.”
He felt the same sentiment in his heart; he hadn’t expected Lord Shura to directly hand over such an important force, which combined security and potential military reserve functions, to their two clans—this trust was weighty.
At this moment, Uchiha Hikari added: “Shisui, Hizashi, don’t underestimate the police department. It is not only an internal guard force but also our important military reserve strength. With the joining of the Uchiha and Hyuga, the police department’s strength will be greatly enhanced. In addition to handling daily security in each county, you must also strengthen the training of those ordinary police officers.”
“Most of them have undergone rigorous physical and discipline training, and can even refine a small amount of chakra, but limited by talent, they cannot reach the level of formal genin. But in the future, once mass-produced chakra powered armor is widely equipped, their general combat power will be elevated to the genin level.”
Shisui immediately grasped the deeper meaning: “So, this police force, spread across the country, familiar with local conditions, and trained, is actually the Land of Stars’ military reserve distributed everywhere. Once war breaks out, it can quickly transform into local defense or auxiliary combat forces.”
Hizashi also suddenly understood, deeply admiring Lord Shura’s layout in his heart.
This was not only trust in the two clans but also handing over one of the cornerstones of national security to them.
Menma nodded, affirming their understanding: “Exactly. The Uchiha Clan’s character is upright, suitable for enforcers; the Hyuga Clan is decisive and sharp, with Byakugan advantageous for surveillance, suitable for internal security. I hope you can make this system operate efficiently.”
His gaze swept over everyone present: “Whether it’s the army system or the police department, there is a clear promotion process based on ability and merit. Regardless of origin as ninja or ordinary person, as long as there is ability and contribution, one can obtain higher-level ninjutsu and more important positions. I also hope that the Uchiha and Hyuga clans can use your foundation and experience to discover and cultivate more outstanding talents for the Land of Stars.”
The meeting continued, discussing some specific organizational structures, equipment, and garrison allocations.
Just as the agenda was nearing its end, Menma’s brow twitched imperceptibly.
Through the “engraving chakra network,” he received an urgent message from Kado far away in the Land of Iron.
Akatsuki organization members had appeared and were fighting Kakuzu.
‘Akatsuki is starting to actively contact external personnel? It seems their recruitment plan has entered a new phase.’ Several thoughts flashed through Menma’s mind instantly.
Menma quickly scanned the message content and understood.
He raised his hand to interrupt Yoruya who was speaking, and said to everyone: “The subsequent specific handover work for the police department will be handled by Hikari and Yoruya coordinating with Shisui and Hizashi.”
With that, without waiting for responses, his figure blurred and he vanished silently from the spot, leaving only faint spatial fluctuations in the air.
Land of Iron, Tsuruga Port.
Kado was nervously hiding behind a crate, feeling the slight distortion in the air beside him, and immediately bowed respectfully: “Lord!”
Menma’s figure appeared out of thin air, nodding: “What’s the situation?”
Kado quickly reported the process of Kakuzu’s battle with the two Akatsuki members, especially the situation with the Sharingan boy.
Menma’s gaze turned to the distant messy battlefield.
At this moment, the battle seemed to have just gone through a climax.
On the open ground at the port, Kakuzu looked somewhat disheveled; his black casual clothes were torn more than halfway, revealing pale skin underneath and countless fine black stitches.
Most horrifying was a massive, nearly diagonal slash on his left waist and abdomen that almost split him open, deep to the bone—if it were an ordinary person, they would have died long ago.
However, little blood flowed from the wound; instead, countless line-like objects resembling black tendrils writhed and intertwined madly, forcibly stitching his split body together at a visible speed!
Opposite Kakuzu, Zabuza Momochi leaned on his ninja sword, panting slightly, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Itachi Uchiha stood a bit farther away, his expression grave, his three-tomoe Sharingan fixed intently on Kakuzu’s healing wound.
It turned out that before Menma arrived, the battle situation had suddenly changed.
Seeing Kakuzu’s overwhelming strength and the prolonged stalemate, Itachi Uchiha found an excellent opportunity and used his Sharingan to cast an illusion technique.
Although Kakuzu had a firm will, in the intense confrontation with Zabuza, a gap appeared in his spirit, and he was instantly pulled into the illusion.
Seizing this chance, Zabuza unleashed full power; the massive refined steel ninja sword carried an aura of tearing everything apart, slashing fiercely at Kakuzu’s waist and abdomen!
That slash nearly split Kakuzu in two!
However, just as the two thought they had succeeded, a certain “heart” in Kakuzu’s body erupted with powerful chakra fluctuation, forcibly breaking free from Itachi’s illusion restraint!
Kakuzu roared, ignoring his horrific injury, and formed hand seals with both hands:
“Wind Release: Suppression Harm!”
“Fire Style: Headcarving Bitterness!”
Composite ninjutsu!
Fierce wind pressure carried high-temperature flames, forming a destructive zone that instantly forced the approaching Zabuza and the attempting follow-up Itachi back!
“How is that possible?! With such an injury and still…” Zabuza gasped as he watched Kakuzu’s wound rapidly healing under the writhing black threads, inhaling a cold breath—this completely exceeded his cognition of “life.”
Itachi Uchiha’s Sharingan spun wildly, analyzing Kakuzu’s bizarre ability. “Intelligence severely mistaken… This isn’t conventional medical ninjutsu or substitution jutsu. It’s some kind of… forbidden jutsu that transforms the essence of life. Close to immortality…”
He made a snap decision, low-voicing to Zabuza: “Mission changed, retreat!”
Facing such an incomprehensible bizarre opponent, continuing to entangle posed extreme risk.
Though reluctant, Zabuza knew Itachi’s judgment was correct; the two quickly withdrew, disappearing into the port’s building complex after a few leaps.
Kakuzu watched the direction of their escape; his wound had healed more than halfway, leaving only a ferocious pink new flesh scar on the skin.
He was about to pursue when he sensed someone appear beside him.
Menma appeared like a ghost at his side, gazing calmly at the direction where the Akatsuki members had disappeared.
Kakuzu immediately knelt on one knee, respectfully: “Lord! Should I intercept them?”
Menma shook his head, gesturing for Kakuzu to rise.
“No need. Your ability has already caught their attention; that’s enough.” He thoughtfully looked at the rapidly fading scar on Kakuzu’s body.
‘Didn’t expect that after I recruited Kakuzu and Kisame, Zabuza would be recruited by Akatsuki. This way, the original Land of Waves plot is probably completely gone.’
He instructed Kakuzu: “You go back first to assist Kado in handling follow-up matters. If Akatsuki people come into contact again, no need to hold back—give them a profound lesson, but for now, don’t initiate war with them.”
“Yes! Understood!” Kakuzu responded solemnly.
‘Perfect timing; I was planning to go to Rain Village anyway to investigate Jigen and Amado’s whereabouts.’ Menma glanced once more at the direction where Zabuza and Itachi had disappeared, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave.
Thousands of miles away in the Land of Rain.
Menma’s figure appeared in the basement of an abandoned town.
The room was empty, with only a specially made Flying Thunder God Kunai hanging in the center emitting faint chakra fluctuation.
The air in the Land of Rain, perpetually shrouded in gloomy skies and continuous drizzle, was filled with dampness and dust.
‘After the last fight with Pain, Akatsuki went quiet for a while… Wonder who Nagato has recruited now as “talent.”‘ Menma pondered inwardly.
With Kisame Hoshigaki and Kakuzu, the originally planned members, snatched by him ahead of time, Akatsuki’s development trajectory must have deviated.
This piqued his curiosity; perfect chance to head to Rain Village and take a look.
But he didn’t directly intrude into Rain Village.
Nagato’s “Rain Tiger Justu” likely covered the entire village; any abnormal chakra fluctuation could alert them.
So he decided on a more covert approach.
Leaving the basement, Menma blended into the rain curtain; his figure flickered a few times, arriving at a main trade road leading to Rain Village nearby.
He silently infiltrated a merchant caravan struggling forward in the rain, hiding deep in the cargo pile of a horse carriage loaded with cloth, suppressing all chakra fluctuations, like a lifeless object.
…
Meanwhile, in a dense forest at the border of the Land of Rain.
Raindrops pattered on the leaves, making a rustling sound.
Deva Path, Konan, and Ringo Ameyuri formed a triangular formation, blocking a figure.
The man had pale skin, golden snake pupils, and emanated a cold and dangerous aura.
It was Orochimaru.
“Orochimaru, lately your subordinates’ spies have been very active in the Land of Rain.” Konan spoke first, her icy gaze vigilant: “Inquiring about Akatsuki intelligence—what do you want?”
Orochimaru’s snake pupils appraised Deva Path with interest, especially the Rinnegan with its concentric ripples, a greedy and eerie smile curling his lips: “Heheheh… So, are you here to kill and silence today?”
Though smiling, his body tensed slightly, ready to act at any moment.
‘The legendary Rinnegan, truly a fascinating treasure…’ Despite Lord Shura’s repeated warnings about the depths of the Rinnegan, seeing these long-coveted eyes up close, Orochimaru’s inner desire was almost uncontrollable.
“You can understand it that way.” Deva Path’s voice was emotionless, like a cold machine.
“Very direct.” Orochimaru licked his lips: “But I’m very interested in your Akatsuki organization. Perhaps… we can communicate in another way?”
Before his words finished, a powerful chakra aura erupted around him—cold, viscous, carrying a serpentine stench—shattering the stalemate first!
“Seeking death!” Ringo Ameyuri snapped sharply, unable to hold back any longer.
Her figure shot out like lightning, her seemingly ordinary ninja sword instantly wrapped in dazzling lightning!
A sharp lightning slash struck straight at Orochimaru’s face!
Orochimaru seemed unhurried, his body twisting at an angle defying human anatomy, narrowly dodging the ninja sword.
His hands quickly formed seals:
“Shadow Snake Hand!”
Several ferocious venomous snakes shot from his sleeves, hissing as they bit toward Ringo Ameyuri.
Ringo Ameyuri reacted swiftly, swinging her ninja sword with flashing lightning, severing and electrocuting all incoming snakes!
She pressed on without pause, closing in on Orochimaru; her swordsmanship swift and violent, lightning accompanying the blade edge, forming a deadly attack net!
Orochimaru’s taijutsu was equally bizarre, his body soft like boneless, always avoiding vitals in inconceivable ways.
He occasionally used earth release or wind release ninjutsu to interfere, but seemed not to be going all out, more like probing.
The two moved and clashed at high speed in the rain, blade light, snake shadows, and lightning intertwining in an intense scene.
In one seemingly dangerous clash, Orochimaru deliberately sold an opening, his movement half a beat slow.
A glint flashed in Ringo Ameyuri’s eyes; seizing the chance, her ninja sword thrust fiercely, piercing Orochimaru’s shoulder blade!
“Got him!” Ringo Ameyuri rejoiced inwardly, following up with a kick that sent Orochimaru flying, crashing through a small tree.
Orochimaru lay motionless on the ground, as if lifeless.
Ringo Ameyuri sheathed her sword, a trace of disdain on her face: “Hmph, one of the legendary Sannin, and that’s all? Truly disappointing.”
However, the instant she relaxed her guard, a sudden change occurred!
The “Orochimaru” corpse on the ground suddenly opened its mouth to an extremely terrifying extent, and another intact Orochimaru emerged wet and slimy from inside, like shedding skin!
Even more shocking, the new Orochimaru’s body stretched like rubber, his neck extending several meters in a thunderous strike, his right hand lunging straight at the silently observing Deva Path!
His target was unmistakably clear.
Those Rinnegan eyes!
This twist was too sudden—even Konan couldn’t react in time!
Orochimaru’s scheme was ruthless and precise; the previous battle entirely paving the way for this final assault!
Just as his hand was about to touch Deva Path’s eye socket, Deva Path’s Rinnegan remained calm as still water, merely raising a hand slightly.
“Almighty Push.”
An irresistible massive repulsion centered on Deva Path erupted with a boom!
Buzz—!
The air emitted an overburdened hum!
Orochimaru’s extended head and body slammed into an invisible, indestructible wall, rebounding at even greater speed!
Crashing through over a dozen big trees before heavily slamming into the muddy ground, splashing a large spray of water.
“Puh!” Orochimaru spat a mouthful of blood, his face full of shock and disbelief.
“No seals… and such powerful ninjutsu?! This is… the power of the Rinnegan?!” He had felt as if fighting the entire heaven and earth!
Ringo Ameyuri finally reacted, both shocked and angry, raising her ninja sword at Orochimaru: “You sly bastard!”
Orochimaru struggled to his feet; though injured, the excitement in his golden snake pupils intensified.
He wiped the blood from his mouth, laughing: “Heheheh… As expected of the Rinnegan. I’m increasingly interested in Akatsuki. How about it, Pain—consider letting me join? My knowledge and research abilities should be useful to you.”
Konan immediately flew to Deva Path’s side, whispering: “Pain, Orochimaru is too dangerous; he clearly wanted to take your eyes just now!”
Deva Path was silent for a moment, his Rinnegan gazing at Orochimaru, seemingly weighing pros and cons.
Finally, he spoke coldly: “Very well.”
To Konan, Deva Path said: “Better to keep him under our eyes than letting him lurk outside.”
Then he looked at Orochimaru: “Welcome to Akatsuki, Orochimaru.”
A triumphant smile appeared on Orochimaru’s face: “Wise choice.”
Ringo Ameyuri discontentedly “tch”ed, but knew it was the leader’s decision.
Orochimaru followed Deva Path, Konan, and Ringo Ameyuri toward Rain Village.
Looking at Deva Path and Konan’s backs, especially that orange hair and familiar demeanor, he felt like he had seen them somewhere before, but couldn’t recall.
Entering Rain Village’s iconic underground base shrouded in countless pipes and high towers, Orochimaru appraised his surroundings with interest: “Tsk tsk, hidden right under that old guy Hanzo of the Salamander’s nose— no wonder he searched for so many years without a clue.”
At that moment, Zetsu’s half-black half-white figure emerged from the ground: “Leader, Zabuza and Itachi’s mission report is back. There were some discrepancies; the target Kakuzu… seems to possess immortality-like ability—they failed.”
“Immortality?” Orochimaru’s snake pupils lit up instantly, filled with a researcher’s curiosity.
…
On the other side, Menma hiding in the merchant caravan’s horse carriage was meditating with eyes closed, waiting to enter Rain Village.
Suddenly, commotion and cries erupted outside the caravan.
Menma quietly activated Kagura Shingan; powerful perception spread like ripples.
He “saw” a group of ragged refugees surge onto the road, surrounding the caravan begging.
However, among these sallow and emaciated refugees were mixed several robust, fierce-eyed men with faint chakra fluctuations in their bodies.
‘As expected…’ Menma understood inwardly; such tragedies played out everywhere in the ninja world.
When the Rain Village ninja squad hired by the caravan stepped forward to drive away these “refugees,” a sudden change occurred!
Those robust men abruptly drew weapons from under their tattered clothes, roaring as they pounced on the Rain Village ninjas!
The real refugees scattered in fright, plunging the scene into chaos.
The bandits disguised as refugees clashed fiercely with the Rain Village ninjas; sounds of metal clashing, ninjutsu explosions, and screams filled the air.
Amid this chaos, Menma’s perception locked onto a special figure.
It was a little girl who looked only eleven or twelve, with rare purple short hair, her face smeared with mud, but her big eyes unusually bright.
She wore a Rain Village headband on her forehead, hiding behind the wreckage of an overturned horse carriage, tensely using kunai and shuriken to support her companions’ battle outside.
‘Konan?’ Menma recalled this name.
In the original story, she seemed to be a peripheral subordinate after Akatsuki killed Hanzo of the Salamander and took control of Rain Village, later made into the Animal Path after death.
He hadn’t expected her to become a ninja at such a young age.
Ninjas from small ninja villages outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages had no tradition of genin not taking B-rank missions; for small village genin, they’d take any mission to survive.
The chaos in the Land of Rain had bred many such seedlings.
He quietly observed, not planning to intervene immediately.
