[Amegakure, Night]
On the street of District Four, located at the border between the upper and lower city areas, the four members of the Minato Squad set foot.
Because this mission was essentially letting a murderer investigate the crime scene, Minato's squad didn't feel any urgency. Even on the way to the Hidden Rain Village, Obito didn't use Kamui to fast-forward the journey.
It was only when they were close to the border of the Land of Rain that they took off their Leaf Village forehead protectors, put on black raincoats as light disguises, and silently blended into the crowd.
Although after Hanzo issued his prohibition order, more and more Rain ninja were patrolling the border, clearly, if Minato's squad wanted to sneak into a place, it was still hard to detect them.
Except for...
Obito felt a familiar chakra in the raindrops falling from the sky and said lightly, "Actually, we're already exposed."
Minato paused, then realized something, "You mean… the Rinnegan."
Obito nodded. He had possessed one of Madara's Rinnegan for a while before, so he was still fairly familiar with some of its techniques.
He said, "Looks like under Madara's guidance, Nagato has already activated the Rain Tiger At Will Technique. No wonder recently, every ninja from the other Five Great Nations who sneaked into the Land of Rain has been discovered without exception."
"In this kind of situation, if it were someone else, Akatsuki might have immediately sent people to handle it."
Minato hesitated and asked, "What about us?"
Obito smiled, "We're fine. Just keep wandering. I've stayed in the Land of Rain for a long time before. This time I'll let everyone experience the exotic culture."
———
A while earlier, at the Akatsuki base, Nagato was developing the Rinnegan's abilities under Madara's instruction.
Suddenly, he paused, closed his eyes to sense something, then opened them and spoke to Madara.
"Another group of ninjas has infiltrated. They're strong, four in total. Wait… this is Obito's chakra," Nagato opened his eyes and smiled, "So it's Obito. Then it's fine. Did he bring new companions again this time?"
Madara snorted, "Ignore him. If he wants to come, he'll come on his own. Let's continue."
Nagato nodded and resumed studying…
———
On the other side, the other members of Minato's squad were looking at Obito more and more strangely.
The Land of Rain was actually a very divided country. The border areas, due to years of chaos, left people not only without enough food or warm clothes, but without even shelter from the wind and rain.
They saw many refugees forced by various reasons to live displaced lives, only able to take shelter in caves, under bridges, and in various drainage tunnels.
But the deeper they went, the closer to the nobles' territory, the more prosperous it became.
District Four was already very prosperous. Even at night, in the heavy rain, many shops along the street were still brightly lit.
However, these shops didn't seem decent at all. What kind of proper store used bright red lighting? Even in the rain, there was a kind of seductive air about them.
Minato sighed, "Didn't expect the red-light industry in the Land of Rain to be this developed. If Master Jiraiya came here, he'd probably love it."
Obito couldn't help but complain, "Minato-sensei, Master Jiraiya's hobby can't exactly be called a good one."
"Especially some of his peeping behavior is really over the line. If the target were someone we knew, it'd be hard to accept."
Minato suddenly got embarrassed. That was indeed true, if Kushina were being peeped on… he'd go crazy.
He didn't dare continue on this topic and quickly asked, "But Obito, don't you think it's strange? The Land of Rain should have been worn down by war, exhausted to the bone, and shouldn't have the energy to develop this kind of industry."
Obito, however, shook his head, "Not strange at all. No matter how impoverished a place is, humans still seek joy amidst the bitterness. They develop their own forms of entertainment."
"Besides, not everyone in the Land of Rain is poor. Some nobles are wealthier than you'd imagine. They just don't care about the lives of commoners, but they still have money to build up this area."
"Because this country rains all year round and isn't suitable for outdoor activities, most entertainment takes place indoors."
"And the best indoor activity is, of course… cough cough cough."
Rin suddenly gave Obito a dangerous look and said in a ghostly tone, "So, Obito, the 'exotic culture' you said you'd show us is this? Do you often come to places like this?"
Obito panicked and hurried to explain, "Rin, how could I possibly have been to such places? I swear, not even in my past life did I enter a red-light district. At most, I just passed by."
Then, he glanced at Kakashi and muttered quietly, "Speaking of which, Kakashi is actually the more suspicious one."
Kakashi's dead-fish eyes rolled, "Hey, Obito, what do you mean by that?"
Obito looked at everyone, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, speaking mysteriously, "Do you know what the most profitable thing is in this red-light industry?"
Sure enough, everyone was hooked and perked up their ears.
Obito continued, "Actually, it's selling books. A very popular book. Its name… Icha Icha Paradise."
"Because the book is cheap, even poor people can grit their teeth and afford it. So its sales are excellent, far beyond other revenue streams."
Kakashi immediately became speechless, "I've said it a hundred times. I'm not the Kakashi you're talking about. I've never read Icha Icha Paradise, nor am I interested in what's inside."
Obito looked at Kakashi, his voice seductive, "Kakashi, are you really not interested? Aren't you curious why the Kakashi from the past life loved that book so much?"
Kakashi froze. It wasn't so bad when Obito didn't say it, but now that he did, he was indeed a little curious.
'Just what is in that book that it can attract my past-life self?'
'Should I maybe find time to buy a copy and critically analyze its contents?'
Rin, meanwhile, looked at Obito with a smiley expression, "So, Obito, you even know such details? And you say you've never been here?"
Obito only felt the rain in the Land of Rain was too heavy. Even with a raincoat, a lot of moisture still seeped in.
His palms were already full of rainwater.
He protested, "I'm not blind. You hang around a place like this long enough, and you naturally pick up on it. Rin, you have to believe I wouldn't lie to you."
Kakashi gave a teasing look from the side, "So, Obito, you really do want to go inside and look around, huh? Otherwise, how else would you experience exotic culture?"
Minato, though knowing Kakashi was joking, still put on the dignity of a teacher, "A place like this isn't for kids. Don't forget the Three Prohibitions of a Ninja. Even if you want to go in, the boss will kick you out."
Obito, however, seemed to think of something and shook his head.
His eyes grew deep as he said, "No… the Land of Rain isn't like Konoha. Because of constant chaos, it follows the most primitive and intense desires."
"Here… as long as you have money, they don't care if you're old or young. You can enjoy everything. Most of the ninja world is the same, it's a heaven for the rich, and hell for the poor."
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