Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The Mist Village force, dispatched in anger, had been reduced to only one survivor, Kisame, who escaped unscathed to relay the information back to the village, though he couldn't foresee the consequences awaiting him.

Ye Zi sat in the rain, watching White Zetsu diligently work on desecrating the corpses scattered around.

After all suitable materials were gathered, Ye Zi used Earth Release to bury the corpses of the Mist Ninjas, leaving only bloodstains that would be washed away by the rain over time.

With their objective complete, Ye Zi and White Zetsu returned to the Village of the Rain.

While the forces of the Sand and Leaf Villages operated with unclear motives, the Mist forces had already descended into hell.

Upon returning to the Rain Village, Ye Zi stayed in his room, carefully reviewing Nagato's abilities from the recent battle.

Beyond his known skills, Nagato had showcased two abilities in this fight: the mechanization of his body into various weapons, and the ease with which he summoned numerous creatures, as well as the ability to absorb ninjutsu.

After making careful mental notes, Ye Zi recognized the potential importance of this information in the future, though surpassing Nagato, who wielded the Rinnegan, would ultimately require significant personal strength.

Ye Zi knew that Nagato hadn't revealed his full power, and with his current abilities, surpassing Nagato would not be easy.

While proficient in basic Wind and Fire Release, skilled in Lightning Release, swordsmanship, taijutsu, and Wood Release, Ye Zi's chakra reserves didn't match Nagato's.

Reflecting further, Ye Zi realized that Wood Release might be his only trump card against Nagato, but where else did his chances lie?

If Nagato, with his powers yet concealed, was already this formidable, then how powerful must Madara, the one who granted Nagato the Rinnegan, be?

Only by seeing a reference point could one truly grasp the difference; merely imagining it might narrow the gap, but it wouldn't change the reality.

To seize Nagato's Rinnegan, he would need tremendous strength, or else all plans would remain nothing but dreams.

Is the strength he currently possesses enough? Is it sufficient?

If he couldn't eliminate every obstacle before him, how could he move forward or reach his goal?

This dissatisfaction took root like a parasite, embedding itself deep within his bones.

Staring at the rain outside his window, Ye Zi fell silent. Having come this far with all his strength, did he amount to just this? So, how could he become stronger?

A day later, Yan Ye and Jin arrived at the Rain Village and met with Ye Zi.

Nagato was already aware of their arrival, and now, they just needed to wait for the other members to gather.

Weary from the long journey, Kotoe and Shin were both mentally exhausted and very hungry.

Ye Zi took them to a noodle shop in town to fill their stomachs and then arranged rooms for them to rest.

Currently, the Leaf and Sand Village alliance remained in the Land of Fire, exterminating any Rain Ninja within their borders on sight, leaving no survivors.

As the intelligence updates continued, Nagato showed little reaction. Meanwhile, the other members would soon arrive in the Rain Village.

Once everyone gathered, the first priority would be to deal with the Sand and Leaf Ninja.

The same day Kotoe and Shin arrived, the other members also began to arrive.

Sasori and Juzo Biwa were the second group to reach the village. After arriving, they headed directly to their pre-assigned rooms to rest, waiting for Nagato's summons.

Finally, in the evening, Kakuzu strolled into the village alone, paying no mind to the guards at the gate as he walked straight in.

In the high tower's empty main hall, Nagato and Konan stood by the window.

Without pressing matters, it seemed they could only stand here, watching the rain, passing the time until action was required.

Suddenly, Nagato spoke, "Everyone has arrived."

"Shall I notify them now?" Konan asked, gazing at the side of his face.

"No need, I'll notify them myself." Nagato paused before adding, "Kakuzu returned alone; his assigned partner must have met a similar fate."

Nagato's tone was indifferent, void of emotion.

Konan sighed, showing a hint of exasperation. "That makes it the third one. Should we keep assigning him partners?"

Training a jonin wasn't easy, and in such a short span, every jonin paired with Kakuzu from the Rain Village had met their end. It seemed the issue lay with Kakuzu himself.

"No, it's pointless to continue. Right now, we need to deal with the Sand and Leaf situation."

With that, Nagato began forming hand seals to summon everyone to him.

Simultaneously, Ye Zi, Kotoe, Shin, White Zetsu, Sasori, Juzo Biwa, and Kakuzu all received Nagato's summons.

"It looks like it's time."

In the room, Ye Zi stood, grabbing the Chijin on the table. Kotoe and Shin, who were also present, followed suit.

White Zetsu appeared from the corner of the wall, smoothly emerging through it.

Accustomed to White Zetsu's entrance, Kotoe and Shin simply glanced at him before averting their gaze.

The four left the room, heading to the place Nagato had designated for the meeting.

At the same time, Sasori, Juzo, and Kakuzu also made their way to Nagato's location.

Soon, everyone had gathered in the spacious, empty room.

Unlike virtual projections, they were all here in person, a rare occurrence.

Nine people formed a circle.

"Another major event, huh?" Kakuzu remarked.

Nagato looked at him and said, "The Sand and Leaf Villages have allied and dispatched numerous elites to target us. Therefore, we'll need to deal with them before capturing the Tailed Beasts."

"Oh?" Sasori looked surprised and said coldly, "The Sand has actually allied with the Leaf."

Ye Zi glanced at Sasori and said calmly, "Among the Leaf forces is White Fang."

"Hm?" Sasori tilted his puppet head to look at Ye Zi, then after a moment's silence, sneered, "So the Sand has fallen this far. White Fang, is it? Good… I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

A fierce fighting spirit rose within Sasori.

Seeing Sasori in this state, Nagato fell silent for a moment.

He had intended to send Sasori and Juzo to capture the One-Tails jinchūriki from the Sand Village while they engaged the Sand and Leaf forces.

But given Sasori's current mindset, this arrangement seemed impractical. So who would go to the Sand Village?

Nagato exchanged a glance with Konan, who understood and distributed intelligence scrolls to everyone.

"There are two tasks."

After distributing the scrolls, Nagato swept his gaze across the group and said calmly, "The first task is to eliminate the Sand and Leaf forces. The second is to capture the One-Tails in the Sand Village."

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