The Five Great Nations of the ninja world each occupied vastly different regions.
The Land of Water lay isolated on an archipelago in the eastern sea, completely separated from the continent that formed the heart of the ninja world.
The Land of Lightning occupied the vast Cloud and Thunder Peninsula in the northeast. It was like a giant head growing from the continent's body.
The only problem was that this giant was somewhat oddly proportioned. Its body and head were enormous, but the neck connecting them was unusually thin. That narrow strip of land was the Land of Moon.
As the only land route into the Land of Lightning, it was known throughout the ninja world as the Lightning-Moon Corridor and had always served as the kingdom's gateway against foreign invasion.
The remaining three Great Nations divided up nearly all the rest of the continent, leaving only a scattering of smaller countries as buffer zones between them.
The Land of Fire occupied the most favorable territory in the southeast. The climate was pleasant, vegetation abundant, the soil fertile, and the economy prosperous.
The Land of Wind possessed the largest territory. Located in the southwest, it was overwhelmingly desert. Most of its people lived at the northern and southern ends of the country, as well as around its scattered oases.
The Land of Earth sat atop the northern plateau. Although living conditions there were not as harsh as those in the Land of Wind, they were hardly much better. Gravel plains and barren wastelands dominated the landscape.
The terrain of the continent itself followed a clear pattern: lower in the east and higher in the west, lower in the south and higher in the north.
Massive amounts of moisture evaporated from the southern oceans and drifted northward across the Land of Fire, where they met cold air descending from the north.
The result was a near-perfect climatic balance.
Throughout the Land of Fire, as well as countries such as the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Hot Water, and the Land of Rivers, rainfall was plentiful and evenly distributed throughout the year, making the region ideal for agriculture.
But things went slightly wrong when it came to the Land of Wind.
The cold air masses moving south from the north were blocked by the plateau of the Land of Earth. Meanwhile, the relatively flat terrain of the Land of Wind prevented the enormous moisture carried from the southern oceans from condensing into rain.
As a result, those moisture-laden air currents simply continued northward, crossed the border, and passed straight through.
Eventually, they too were blocked by the plateau of the Land of Earth. Most of the moisture gathered over the higher terrain of the Land of Rain, where it cooled as it rose and condensed into immense quantities of rainfall.
The Land of Rain was the source of many of the ninja world's rivers and could rightly be called its water tower.
Yet nobody thanked the Land of Rain for that.
A unique atmospheric cycle had created two nations trapped in opposite extremes.
The people of the Land of Wind could do nothing but watch the moisture drift across their borders while receiving none of it themselves, leaving them in perpetual drought.
Meanwhile, rain fell over the Land of Rain almost year-round. Of the twelve months in a year, its people saw the sun for less than one month in total.
One suffered from endless drought, the other from endless floods.
Because of this, the Land of Rain had earned a nickname throughout the ninja world:
The Weeping Country.
The name referred not only to the unending rainfall but also to its location at the crossroads of the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth, where it constantly became a battlefield for the great powers.
Whenever war broke out, shinobi died in large numbers, and ordinary civilians were driven from their homes.
It was as though even the heavens wept for this unfortunate nation.
The brutal reality of the ninja world and the tragic fate of shinobi were displayed there more vividly than anywhere else.
Perhaps it was precisely because all these factors converged that an organization like the Akatsuki was born—one dedicated to pursuing peace throughout the ninja world.
That the Akatsuki eventually descended into extremism and became a terrorist organization was almost inevitable.
Even without Madara and Obito manipulating events behind the scenes, the endless tragedies of reality would have eventually forced it to abandon its original ideals.
...
Late September, Year 66 of Konohagakure.
At the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.
The tremendous rainfall accumulated within the Land of Rain poured westward, southward, and eastward, carving countless rivers both large and small across the landscape.
One of the great rivers flowing south was called the Kaine River. It cut through the entire Land of Rivers from north to south before finally emptying into the sea in the Land of Rivers.
The southern half of the Kaine River was broad and calm.
Its northern section, however, was a completely different story.
Particularly near the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers, the river wound through deep mountain valleys. The channel twisted sharply, the currents ran swift, and the ravines plunged steeply, creating a labyrinthine landscape.
The terrain was harsh and complex, riddled with caves.
As a result, it had long been the perfect hiding place for rogue ninja and bandits fleeing the law.
Inside a massive cavern beside one of the river's tributaries, several rows of oil lamps burned in orderly patterns, evidence that humans occupied the place.
Compared to the electric lights and neon signs of the outside world, it looked like a relic from some primitive age.
And yet, in this seemingly backward location, a gathering was underway.
The most dangerous group of missing-nin in the entire ninja world had assembled there.
The glow of countless oil lamps still couldn't illuminate the depths of the cavern. Instead, they only heightened its eerie, unsettling atmosphere.
Deep within the cave stood an enormous statue.
The statue depicted a giant seated in meditation, as though carved from a single colossal tree trunk.
Its back was covered in vicious, stump-like protrusions. With its head lowered, it gazed at the cupped hands held before its chest, as if waiting for something precious to return to its grasp.
This was the shell of the Ten-Tails summoned by the Rinnegan—the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
At that moment, all ten fingers of the statue's outstretched hands were occupied by human figures.
Yet every one of them appeared as a phantom projection. Their features were impossible to make out, their identities impossible to distinguish. Like unstable holograms, they flickered in and out of existence, as though they might vanish at any moment.
They were the core members of the Akatsuki.
Through the Magic Lantern Body Technique, they had linked their thought waves together for a meeting. None of their real bodies were actually present.
The figure occupying the central position possessed a pair of purple Rinnegan eyes.
He was the Akatsuki's public leader—
Pain, the man who called himself a god.
Glancing at the assembled members, Pain said, "After years of preparation, the organization is finally ready to begin the next phase of our plan."
Kisame chuckled.
"My, my. It's finally starting? If we'd spent any longer preparing, I would've started thinking we were really just a mercenary group obsessed with making money."
Kakuzu snorted.
"What's wrong with making money? Anyone can betray you. Only money won't. Money is the most reliable companion I've ever had."
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"That's hard to say, Kakuzu. Financial hegemony in the ninja world is controlled by the Five Great Nations. In other words, if they choose to, the money in your hands can betray you as well and become completely worthless."
Kakuzu: "..."
Damn Orochimaru.
Money was practically the only emotional support he had left, and this bastard wanted to shatter even that illusion.
Couldn't he just let an old man enjoy his retirement in peace?
Hidan burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Kakuzu, I think Orochimaru has a point. So why not join me and worship Jashin-sama? Faith is the only thing that won't betray you."
Kakuzu replied flatly, "Will Jashin pay me?"
"Hey! Hey! You bastard, Kakuzu! Don't insult Jashin-sama with money!"
Sasori spoke next.
"Or you could join me in worshipping eternal art. Eternity won't betray you."
Deidara immediately nodded.
"Sasori-san is absolutely right, yeah! But only a fleeting explosion is true art. How can something eternal be art? The sun is eternal. Are you saying the sun is art?"
Orochimaru casually interjected, "According to the latest scientific research in the ninja world, the sun is a star, and stars have lifespans. Therefore, it cannot exist forever."
Tobi clapped his hands dramatically.
"Oh my, Orochimaru-san is so knowledgeable! Compared to him, the rest of us are practically illiterate!"
Sasori: "..."
Deidara: "..."
Orochimaru was annoying.
Tobi was even more annoying.
Pain finally cut them off.
"Enough."
"I don't care what any of you believe in. Only by completing the organization's plan will you be able to realize your dreams."
"When the world falls under our control, the organization will issue a unified currency. Kakuzu, then you won't have to worry about your wealth being betrayed by the financial policies of the Great Nations."
"Sasori and Deidara will also be free to pursue their art without concern."
"So for now, I ask all of you to put the organization's plan above everything else."
Kisame nodded.
"The leader makes a good point. Perhaps only then will the world stop being so false."
"So where do we begin?"
Pain turned his gaze elsewhere.
"Zetsu. How is the investigation into the Jinchūriki progressing?"
Black Zetsu remained silent.
He quietly observed the fully assembled Akatsuki.
These were all his pieces.
Every one of them was an S-rank missing-nin, each possessing strength on the level of a Kage.
But it wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Ever since a second God of Shinobi had appeared in the ninja world, these people no longer seemed nearly impressive enough.
Even Nagato didn't feel completely reliable to him.
After all, Nagato was merely a tool used to nurture the Rinnegan. He couldn't fully unleash the true power of those eyes.
What Black Zetsu desperately needed was stronger combat power.
Because according to the intelligence he had gathered, the second God of Shinobi—Higashino Makoto of Konohagakure—was so powerful that it exceeded his understanding.
Black Zetsu had lived for over a thousand years, yet he had never encountered a freak like this.
Then again, Black Zetsu was rather pitiful.
As a premature birth, he'd lost his mother too early and hadn't inherited much knowledge of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Now he was completely in the dark, unable to understand what exactly had happened to Higashino Makoto.
Unlike Urashiki.
As a genuine member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Urashiki had at least believed he understood Makoto's true nature before he died.
Lately, Black Zetsu had begun to regret something.
Damn it.
Back when Makoto was still a child, he should have encouraged Obito to kill him.
Now things were different.
Obito had already been traumatized by that man's beatings.
Even if you killed him, he wouldn't dare make another move against Makoto.