Yahiko turned to Nagato, worry evident in his eyes.
"Konoha, Kumogakure, Hidden Mist… what's going on?"
Nagato forced a calm smile.
"It's nothing, Yahiko. You don't need to worry."
Konan, standing beside him, also smiled gently.
But Yahiko had spent a lifetime with them. He knew exactly what Nagato looked like when he hid the truth, and Konan's expression only confirmed his suspicion.
"…I may not know what you did to provoke three major villages at once," Yahiko said seriously, "but I heard the names Mizukage and Raikage."
"Those are not people you can treat lightly."
His gaze sharpened with resolve.
"If I'm standing here talking, that means I can still fight. So I'll help you."
He didn't need explanations—Nagato and Konan were all that mattered.
Nagato's voice softened. "…Thank you, Yahiko."
Orochimaru let out a low chuckle from the side.
"Want to fight? That's fine. Whether it's the Mizukage or the Raikage—"
His smile widened.
"—they won't be leaving unscathed."
"I've prepared quite a few things."
Kabuto raised his hands, forming seals.
One after another, wooden coffins rose from the ground with heavy thuds.
The sheer number made Obito narrow his eyes.
"You're not planning to—"
Orochimaru smiled.
"Sasuke is on his way with Kabuto. I imagine he'll be… delighted to see these familiar faces."
Obito smirked.
"Still aiming for Sasuke, aren't you?"
Whether Orochimaru was using Sasuke or trying to get closer to him didn't matter.
With Edo Tensei backing them, even facing Konoha, Kumogakure, and Shigure's Mist simultaneously didn't seem impossible anymore.
The sky slowly darkened.
In the Land of Rain, near the abandoned factory, white doves circled before landing atop the towering chimneys.
Their pale feathers were stark against the night.
And in the distance, the Fourth Raikage and his team arrived at the perimeter.
Every face was grim.
"This is the place," Raikage muttered.
Darui stepped forward. "Lord Raikage… shall we proceed?"
"Of course."
They hadn't traveled all the way from Kumogakure to stop at the entrance.
Killer Bee's enemy was inside.
Raikage's hands itched to strike—but he restrained himself.
Anger mismanaged would only weaken the force of his punches later.
"Move in! Stay sharp. Their numbers are small, but every one of them is lethal."
With that warning, the Kumogakure squad entered the ruined factory.
Inside the Akatsuki base deeper within—
Nagato opened his eyes.
"They're here."
Beside him, Yahiko clenched his fists eagerly.
"I never imagined that even after dying… I'd still get another chance to fight beside you two."
He smiled brightly.
Nagato looked at him with silent guilt.
If only he'd been stronger back then… Yahiko wouldn't have died.
Time passed.
Obito glanced at Orochimaru.
"How's the situation?"
Orochimaru's tongue brushed across his lips.
"Kumogakure's guests," he said, "have already encountered the first… gift I prepared."
Meanwhile, in the underground corridor—
The Fourth Raikage and his team halted.
A lone figure stood ahead, half-shrouded in the dim light.
They couldn't see his face clearly, but the chakra he emitted was unmistakably powerful.
Darui's hand moved toward his sword.
"Akatsuki," Raikage growled.
"We finally found you!"
"Today, I'll personally avenge Killer Bee!"
With a roar, the Fourth Raikage shot forward like a cannonball, his fist tearing through the air as it smashed toward the lone figure.
But in the very next instant—
Crack!
Bang!
A violent shockwave burst outward.
The opponent took the full brunt of Raikage's punch without budging an inch.
"So this is the power of the Raikage of Kumogakure?"
The man snorted.
"Doesn't seem like much."
He lashed out with a kick. Raikage moved to block—but sharp, protruding bone spikes erupted from the sole of the attacker's foot.
Raikage's eyes widened. He retreated immediately, landing a few meters back.
"Tch… hiding weapons in your foot? What a nasty trick."
He glanced down at the shallow wound on his abdomen, blood already trickling.
At that moment, the candles lining the walls flared to life.
The entire underground chamber lit up—and the Kumogakure shinobi finally saw the attacker's face.
Raikage froze.
"You're… from the Hidden Mist? That's Shikotsumyaku!"
Darui's expression darkened.
Their intelligence had come from the Mizukage, Shigure—and now waiting for them was a Shikotsumyaku user.
Could the Mizukage have set a trap?
"I haven't been a shinobi of Kirigakure for a long time," the man said coldly.
A Missing-nin.
A Missing-nin working with Akatsuki—
That would explain the lack of a Mist forehead protector.
"I don't care which village you abandoned," Raikage growled.
"If you stand with Akatsuki, you're my enemy."
Lightning exploded around him.
"I will never forgive you!"
Meanwhile, deeper in the base, Orochimaru chuckled.
"I tried countless methods to cure Kimimaro's bloodline disease… yet who would've thought the simplest solution was to bring him back with Edo Tensei?"
"In this state, he feels no pain—his full power can finally be unleashed."
Obito smirked.
"So he's stronger dead than alive?"
"Exactly. Kimimaro is that kind of shinobi."
Boom!
Boom!
Kimimaro met the Raikage's lightning-charged strikes head-on, completely unmoved.
Freed from the agony of illness, his Shikotsumyaku manifested in its purest, deadliest form.
Raikage's raw power was immense—
but Kimimaro's bone armor and overwhelming physical ability matched him blow for blow.
The underground chamber quaked violently with every impact, as though it might collapse at any moment.
"Lord Raikage, we'll back you up!"
Two more chakra signatures flared as Kumogakure shinobi stepped forward.
But a cold voice cut through the chaos.
"You should worry about yourselves first."
"At a time like this, thinking only about your Raikage is a mistake."
When those two presences stepped into the light, Nagato and Yahiko's faces tightened.
Nagato's voice was low and ice-cold.
"If I could… I truly would kill him again."
Yahiko sighed beside him.
"It's fine. He's already dead. Killing him again won't change anything."