{Somewhere in the Land of Fire}
{7:21 PM, 4th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
Ren paused as he considered what Aoi could have meant by using those words. 'God' and 'Angel', were not alias that normal shinobi would be able to hold. Just to call yourself 'God' the arrogance and confidence one must have in their strength must be through the roof.
'God and Angel... wasn't Hanzo called the demigod?' Ren thought. There was no way he upgraded his title, and even if Hanzo was the demigod, who was this 'Angel'. The curiosity at potential valuable intel got to him as he put the plans to assassinate Aoi aside for the moment.
"Wasn't Hanzo the leader of Ame called the Demigod? Did he upgrade his title?" Ren tried to joke but his question was returned with a serious look.
"Don't mention that name again," Aoi responded, he looked around almost instinctively to see if anyone had heard Ren before he continued, "Just don't speak about anything related to 'him' after you enter Ame, and let me do the talking in the beginning. Since you are a medic-nin you won't have to do the compulsory missions that most shinobi have to do to officially be a part of Ame." Aoi spoke, his eyes still looking around and now focusing on his genin squad.
"Keep your head down and gain enough merits, no one would dare to attack you in Ame... you will be safe," Aoi spoke a final warning before he ignored Ren and went ahead to whisper to his squad.
The joke about Hanzo had touched a nerve in Aoi and for the rest of the journey, he maintained the abrupt silence. The Miyazaki Town was less than a 2-day journey away from Ame, and Ren thought about quitting this plan several times but the curiosity was too much for him. The whole trek was finished in uncomfortable silence but soon they arrived at the border.
'I should be able to leave quickly if anything does go wrong, Ame is a small nation, and if only normal Jonin would be sent after me to pursue since they would underestimate me... Even in the worst-case scenario, they won't have S-rank shinobi lying around that would waste their time on me...' Ren thought.
He was quite confident in his escape abilities, with bodies of 4 Jonin level missing nin which could be turned into levels and thus extend the amount of time he could use Air Gliding + Body flicker was his ultimate trump card.
Ren was a newly promoted chunin, he had just graduated half a year ago so he wasn't aware that he was walking into one of the most dangerous areas in the elemental nation. Most Chunin learn about these things with their squad since Konoha doesn't believe in teaching the academy students that there are places in the world where Konoha shinobi couldn't go.
Ever since Nagato killed Hanzo, the whole of Amegakure had been under his control, with the rain itself working like a barrier no shinobi has managed to infiltrate into the Land of Rain in the past decade.
...
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{The Tower of Pain, Amegakure}
{9:12 AM, 6th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
Pain sat in his tower. His eyes closed as he poured his senses into the rain once again, he did this in irregular cycles fulfilling his duty and promise to protect 'their' home. He didn't notice anything abnormal at first but soon he realized that an unfamiliar chakra signature was present with a team that had just walked close to the main gates.
"Konan," Pain spoke as he looked into the distance with narrowed eyes. It wasn't an unusual situation, most of the Ame Shinobi were recruited this way, to act as cannon fodder for the village and also to boost Ame's economy and military might.
"Yes," Konan replied, her dead eyes staring at the face of the man she once admired. Now defiled with black piercings and chakra receivers, two pairs of dead eyes stared at one another.
"Another mercenary was recruited. Order Zetsu to keep an eye on him." Pain spoke, his eyes had already left the boy. Someone so insignificant wasn't worth his time.
Konan stared at the indifference in Pain's eyes and nodded. The disappointment at not seeing any emotion on 'Yahiko's' face was long gone and her heart was now set with pain and indifference. For the lack of a better word, pain was aptly named. It was all that remained.
...
Ren breathed a sigh of relief once they arrived at the gates, he could feel the chakra that was imbued in the rain. The large gate blocked the rain and for a moment he felt that some had locked on to his presence. It was similar to when the Kumo Jonin sensed him, but this tingling feeling was sharper.
'Someone is aware that I am here. I need to be very careful with my actions over, they shouldn't suspect me and the fact that I'm a medic should work in my favor. At the very least I managed to send a shadow clone back to Konoha before meeting Aoi, so I could convey if something went wrong.' Ren thought.
The Logical part of his brain was telling him to go away and leave. This was a dangerous situation and whoever it was that locked onto him was trouble. Plus he didn't owe Konoha anything to act like a spy, his mission was just to remain unnoticed by the shinobi world. But a small bit of sentiment still remained, Konoha was the only home he had ever known.
The discrimination was still there, the corruption and the alienation he had faced before the final year at the academy were all true. But in the last couple of years, he had finally found some people to care for. They were very few in number but they were there. Maybe waiting for him...
The dampness of Amegakure was in sharp contrast to the sunny atmosphere of Konoha. His footsteps stopped with a splash when he sensed two huge chakra signatures hovering above him.
She was beautiful in a more morbid sense, her eyes barely showed any emotion and her violet hair swayed slightly with the wind. Her skin was pale and her almost honey-gold eyes were enchanting. Thought her presence dwarfed the alien-looking man beside her. His whole figure was reminiscent of a plant and even his chakra had a natural feel, his bicolored skin created a sharp contrast and only his powers allowed him to see what was going on.
...
[Konan Lv 111]
[Black Zetsu Lv 123]
[White Zetsu Lv 93]
...
The other catchy thing about the weird-looking dude was that it was not a single entity. Somehow the man who looked like a single person was the black one possessing the white one?
'Three... well almost three S-rank shinobi in a small village like Ame?' Ren was shocked, thankfully his reaction wasn't absurd as even Aoi's eyes widened as he immediately bowed.
"Angel-Sama, this is a new recruit that one of the traders at the black market suggested to me," Aoi spoke, he tried to cram as much info as possible while also leaving himself an out in case anything goes wrong.
Ren was a bit startled by this interaction. He was about to follow Ren's example and bow when Konan spoke, "Stay still."
Her arm disintegrated into a bunch of papers, the papers folded into themselves and quickly enveloped Ren's upper body like a paper jacket. Ren was startled and his senses made him aware of the danger he was in.
Her papers were swift and from the look in her eyes, Ren was pretty sure she could control the papers at will. Each of the papers had a seal printed on it and judging by the amount of chakra each one had and the bits and pieces of seals he could see he was quite aware that he was covered in a jacket made out of explosive tags.
As his feet left the ground the only thing that made him not panic was the fact that Aoi was in a similar situation.
...
'Please don't tell me I have to go through a T & I department.'
...
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AN - Welcome to Amegakure no Sato!
P.S- Read 21 Chapters ahead at Pàtreon.com/Version_401.