__________ POV Narration __________

The sky cried with drops of rain.

The ground was barren and cracked, and the entire world seemed to have gained a gloomy atmosphere as soon as Ken stepped onto the Land of Rain.

The Blind Assassin felt the rain hit his hair, he felt the droplets reverberating as they hit his mask. It was a rhythmic song, one that he had already gotten used to.

Ken had always disliked the rain, as it bothered his sensitive ears at first. But now he was more than used to it. His senses weren't even dulled by it, although it still could help others hide their tracks and scent.

But even with that, the droplets of rain couldn't ever wash away the smell that tingled at the Blind Monster's nose.

Blood. Soaked into the earth, not allowed to go dry due to the frequent rain. It wasn't difficult for Ken to realize that he was dashing through a battlefield.

He could've gone via air too, his wings gave him that option, but he also didn't want to make his departure from the Dark Brotherhood too conspicuous.

Even if it was part of their plan, they couldn't quite make it that obvious for their enemies.

After all, Ken had always made an effort to travel stealthily, to attract as little attention as possible.

Clouds weren't always going to provide the Blind Monster with a perfect blanket, and Shinobi always had a keen eyesight.

Overall, it was much easier to hide among the vegetation, and he was also a lot more familiar with it.

But it seemed that even if he hid well, he was still being tracked...

'That spy, there were dozens just like him stationed throughout the forest as I traveled. Hiding in the ground, in tree barks, everywhere really.

They didn't notice me, at least I don't think so, but they clearly know where I'm going. I guess Saburo did his part well, but they still need some time to gather their troops.'

The executives of the Dark Brotherhood, namely Ken and the Blades, had speculated that their opponents would make a move right when the Blind Monster was going to return to the Dark Brotherhood.

Still, it was surprising that their enemies had stationed so many 'spies' along the road.

'I wonder how many of these things there are...'

They still didn't feel human to Ken. They felt about as human as he did, but somehow even less as not one of them even had a chakra network.

'At least it's doubtful that they are strong. Physically they should be decent, but I doubt any Jonin worth his salt would have trouble against them...'

Even if they had physical strength, it didn't mean much unless they also had more tricks up their sleeve.

Ken also had that advantage as a child over the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

He was physically stronger than most of them, but he hadn't yet gotten accustomed to the way that Shinobi fought, and he had almost died because of it.

Of course, that wasn't the only time he had almost died in his career. But that was when he had been the most unprepared for it.

One thing was for sure...

'Physical strength alone won't get you very far. I wonder if they have any other tricks up their sleeve...'

There were many variables at play. For one, what if they could also transform?

Ken's transformation awarded him with quite a few things, like his claws and tails. There was also the fact that he could manipulate his size at will.

But the thing with his transformation was that it relied on him sealing off his Tenketsu, stopping the flow of chakra in his body and limbs or at least thinning it out considerably. The things following him didn't even have any chakra.

'Going by what I know, these things should just be statues... We'll have to capture a few of them to study for sure.'

Now that he was on a mostly open field, Ken realised that the spies knew of his location, but at the same time.

That was also good, this way his enemies knew that their intel was 'correct'.

Ken was always thorough when travelling, yet at the beginning of his journey, he was very much willing to sit by the fire and eat with travellers. He didn't care if anyone saw him with the exception of his targets.

That had only really stopped after the Hidden Villages started annoying him. Constantly trying to recruit him and whatnot.

'It's actually a shocker that it took them this long to act out against me... I guess they were too busy biting at each other's throats.'

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It was a shame that his piece of heaven had to be threatened so often, but it was also inevitable.

Whether it was today or tomorrow, the Dark Brotherhood was bound to face adversity. But that was what they had been preparing for anyway, so all was well.

But for now, the Blind Monster was going to forget about the war and plotting... Currently, in his mind, he thought only of his goal within the Land of Rain. Meeting the Akatsuki.

It was undeniable that they had caught his interest. He now also had the perfect excuse to interrupt the Senjutsu Teachings and meet them.

They were residing within the Land of Rain, they were considered an insurgency, fighting to help the people of their Land against the injustice of war.

Honestly, the more Ken had heard about them, the more he wanted to meet them.

Of course, he wasn't expecting them to be completely altruistic or anything of the sort.

He had already gotten used to being disappointed by Shinobi, so he didn't set his expectations too high. But they were still higher than usual.

Eventually, he reached their camp. An assortment of tents at the bottom of a small ravine, and some caves also seemed to be dug out.

Ken stood at the extremity of the ledge, he was crouched down and observing the rather small group that was resting below.

There were only around 20 people from what Ken could feel. All of them seemed to be quite average in strength.

Everyone in the Akatsuki seemed to be wearing similar clothes too. To Ken, it felt like a zip-up robe. Most of them were also wearing forehead protectors, signifying that they either were or used to be shinobi.

But 3 of them, whom Ken assumed to be the leaders, were the strongest and most noteworthy. They stood at a small table with some papers on it, underneath a wooden roof.

They, alongside everyone in the camp, were around Ken's age. That is to say... Teenagers.

Two of the ones at that table seemed to be capable enough to be called Jonin. At least that was the vibe that they gave off to the Blind Swordsman.

They were likely going to be stuck at that level for a while without proper guidance. Still, for a boy and a girl in the early stages of life, it was remarkable.

The teenage boy was dressed like the rest of the Akatsuki, he seemed to have spiky hair that was raised up to the sky.

And the girl seemed to have a flower stuck to the bun that was to the side of her shoulder-length hair.

Those were about the most remarkable features they had, at least from Ken's senses.

But one of them was somehow even stronger than those two put together. His chakra reminded Ken of the Uzumaki, it was extremely vast.

His hairstyle was quite simple as well, his right eye was covered by hair, reminding Ken of how teenagers back in his old world used to style their hair in order to appear mysterious or something.

But he didn't spend much time dwelling on the hair... No, he was focused on something much more... Catching.

The teenager's eyes...

'I have never felt anything like this before...'

Those eyes gave Ken an odd feeling, intimidating even.

They seemed to contain powers that he knew nothing about, powers great enough to make him reconsider ever facing the wielder of said eyes.

'This feels far more powerful than the Sharingan... It almost feels unnatural, yet not at the same time. I can't quite put my finger on it...'

Ken mused over that feeling for a few good seconds. And in that time, it seemed that the one wielding those eyes spotted him as well.

The Blind Monster could feel those eyes on him, it was almost as if they were looking at his soul.

'Hmm... Good thing he isn't participating in the upcoming war.'

Ken sighed as he took a step off the edge and immediately plummeted towards the earth, much to the shock of the people below.

And just as he was about to hit his landing, the one with special eyes moved his hand, pointing his palm at Ken's airborne body.

The Blind Assassin felt a powerful force pluck him from the air and towards that open palm.

'Manipulating Gravity? No, is it space? Hard to tell...'

Ken resisted that pull with all of his might, twisting in mid-air and flipping over the special teen, grabbing his extended wrist in the process and pulling it up as he landed behind him.

Most of Ken's upper body was shrowded by the shadow of the wooden roof over their heads obstructing the dim sunlight.

Ken's movements seemed to be too fast for the other two teenagers to follow, but as soon as he landed they acted.

Almost as if on cue, both of the teenagers that had been idling by the side of the strongest rushed at Ken.

The boy held a short blade to his throat, and the girl pointed what felt like a paper kunai at his heart.

"Let go of Nagato, right now!" The boy shouted as he prepared to cut into Ken's neck.

Meanwhile, the one with powerful eyes, Nagato, stood still with his wrist still firmly in Ken's grasp. The Blind Monster could feel cold sweat rolling off of the boy's temple.

"K-Konan, Yahiko, calm down, put your blades down... He's not an opponent we can fight right now..."

Nagato still didn't turn around as he addressed his two friends, whom Ken now also knew the names of.

"Huh, what are you talking about Nagato?!? Your technique worked on him, that means we have nothing to be afraid of!" Yahiko commented while tightening his grip on the tanto that he held to Ken's neck.

At that time, Nagato couldn't help but feel fear. He gulped a bit internally.

'He could've easily ripped my head off as he passed by me just now. What an outrageous monster...'

His fear was well-warranted. No one had ever managed to resist the 'pull' of his technique before. No one up to this day.

The worst part was that Nagato could tell that Ken had done that with pure strength, a lot more strength than a human had any right to display.

So, Nagato was well aware that a monster was figuratively breathing down his neck while towering over him.

Thankfully, however, he managed to calm himself down slightly.

The Akatsuki hadn't offended anyone yet. Nothing to the point where they would gain such powerful enemies.

He had also managed to catch a glimpse of Ken's mask. And a glimpse was all he needed.

'He responded to our call for help!'

Ken seemed to be able to feel Nagato's hand relaxing, so he simply let go of it and took a step back.

Konan and Yahiko immediately got in between Ken and Nagato.

The boy with the special eyes immediately turned around and patted both of them on their shoulders, almost pulling them in an awkward hug as he gave everyone present a shaky smile.

"If my eyes do not deceive me, I believe that he is our guest... The Red Dot."

Nagato looked in between his two friends as he broke the news to them, Ken also smirked underneath his mask as he took a few steps to the side, essentially stepping into the light.

"Your eyes are keen, young man... Nagato was it?" The Blind Monster smiled as he internally vowed to remember that name.

Yahiko and Konan seemed to freeze in shock almost immediately. Both of their mouths hung wide open as they realised what they had just done...

'Did we just try to threaten and kill one of the strongest people alive? Also, it's the same person we are supposed to be begging for support?!?'

It was a horrific realisation to come to.

Nagato couldn't help but laugh awkwardly when seeing their stuck expressions.

"They may take a few seconds to recover mentally from this... But to answer your question... Yes, my name is Nagato! Sir Red Dot, it is a great pleasure to have you here!"

Although Konan and Yahiko were stun-locked, Nagato was still there to awkwardly but enthusiastically greet their guest.

"Oh please, call me Ken. I do not care to hear my nickname in casual conversation."

And on that note, the diplomatic talks between the Dark Brotherhood and the Akatsuki started.