"Kill me?"
"Hehe…"
Orochimaru let out a mocking laugh, then looked at Uzumaki Ku and said, "If Ku-kun can really do it, I'm actually looking forward to it."
Though Orochimaru's face was full of sarcasm, only he knew the truth, against that kind of eye genjutsu earlier, he had no chance of victory.
But survival… he was still confident in that.
"Orochimaru, Uzumaki Ku!"
The Deva Path's voice rang out. After glancing at the two, the Rinnegan in his eyes grew even deeper.
"Akatsuki does not allow infighting."
After saying this, the Deva Path turned to Orochimaru and Sasori. "I have my own arrangements for Uzumaki Ku's team. You've already met him, now you two should head out to complete your next mission."
The clash was ended by the leader's intervention. As Orochimaru left, his last glance at Uzumaki Ku was still burning with heat.
Now, only the Deva Path, Obito, and Ku remained in the cave. As for Zetsu, ever-present, he was likely hidden underground.
Obito looked at Ku. "By flaunting your intelligence-gathering skills, what exactly are you after?"
Ku smiled. "Nothing more than helping comrades of the same organization recognize themselves better. Isn't that good? Even you have gotten plenty of useful intel from me, haven't you?"
That made the Deva Path pause slightly, though he quickly dismissed the thought.
Looking at the two, he said, "Akatsuki is a god's organization. Whatever schemes the two of you may harbor, Akatsuki's ultimate goal must be realized."
Obito sneered. "Of course I know that. But he may not."
"Nagato, taking this man into Akatsuki, you'll regret it!"
With those words, Obito's figure vanished into a swirling vortex.
Now, only the Deva Path and Ku were left, and the air grew tense.
After a moment, Ku looked at Pain. "You and I do look very much alike, except for the hair color. That must be why you were angry the first time you saw me, right?"
The Deva Path remained expressionless. He understood now that the face Ku wore was his real one.
But no matter how much he resembled Yahiko, he was not Yahiko.
"Rest well. In a few days your teammate should return. Akatsuki is still in its incubation stage; we need to accumulate money and strength. With your power, you won't be wasted."
With that, the Deva Path turned to leave.
But Ku suddenly asked from behind, "About that man who calls himself Uchiha Madara, how much do you know?"
The Deva Path halted, but didn't look back. "Whether or not he is Madara doesn't matter. Even his true motives don't matter. Before a god, all schemes are illusions."
He disappeared into the corridor.
Behind him, Ku scratched his head. "Still so chuuni… Hard to brainwash that kind of personality."
He wondered if Naruto already had that number-one ninja skill, the ability to flip an enemy leader to his side over a single meal.
Even Obito, with a final boss backing him, eventually got swayed by just a few words in Ku's memories.
Compared to Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, wasn't that the real broken ability?
…
In the shadows, White Zetsu was reporting to Obito every word and action Ku had just made.
The two Zetsu clones imitated him perfectly, making Obito twitch, but the gist was clear enough.
"He hinted at my identity to Nagato?"
Heh…
From the moment Yahiko died, Nagato had lost all hope in this distorted world. Compared to Obito's identity, those details meant nothing to him.
If a few words could shatter his conviction, then all of Obito's elaborate plans would have been for nothing.
Heh…
'Uzumaki Ku, I'll be watching you.'
…
In the darkness, Black Zetsu's gaze was fixed on Obito.
'That conversation in the forest earlier… Uzumaki Ku?'
'A backup plan from Madara?'
'Knows most of the world's secrets?'
'Could this man possibly know my purpose?'
After a moment, Black Zetsu dismissed the thought. In thousands of years, Uzumaki Ku had never once appeared in history.
Humans in this world couldn't have such long lifespans. Without such a life, how could anyone possibly detect his existence?
'Mother… I will definitely save you. Unlike those two traitors who sealed you, I am your truest son!'
…
Ten days later, atop a cliff,
Kakuzu and his partner returned from their mission, and they saw the new member, Uzumaki Ku.
By now Sasori's burned puppet had been restored. Kakuzu said: "Your head has quite the price on the black market. But if you've earned the recognition of Sasori and Orochimaru, your strength must be real."
"You look just like the leader. Don't tell me you got into Akatsuki through connections? If that's the case, you'd better say so now, if you suddenly die, it'll be hard to explain."
Ku stretched lazily, ignoring Kakuzu, and turned to the Deva Path. "So, who's my partner? It's been ten days already. I thought Akatsuki had disbanded."
The Deva Path twitched at the remark but ignored it, pointing instead at Biwa Jūzō. "From today, he's your partner."
Ku then glanced at Konan beside him. "Say… how about I team up with your partner instead?"
Konan frowned, staring at the face identical to Yahiko's. "My partner is the leader. Are you trying to provoke me?"
Looks like he'd have to start with Biwa Jūzō after all.
Ku's request to pair with Konan was just a test. If he could really team up with her, working from the top down, maybe his goal could be achieved quickly.
If not, no big deal.
There would always be another chance.
Biwa Jūzō, somewhat displeased, spoke up: "Newbie, are you looking down on me?"
Ku looked at the bandaged man pointing the Executioner's Blade at him, shook his head slightly, and said: "I only thought working in male-female pairs is less tiring. I didn't mean to insult you. But doesn't this organization have a bit of a gender imbalance? Just one woman?"
The Deva Path twitched again. For the first time, he thought maybe letting this guy join Akatsuki had been a mistake.
Team up with Konan?
And with Yahiko's exact face?
Nagato, behind the Deva Path, suddenly wanted to drop a Chibaku Tensei on him, and keep it permanent.
At that moment, the long-ignored Kakuzu spoke up in anger.
"These rookies nowadays… truly arrogant! But now I'm certain, you have no connection to the leader."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu
.....
Also new ff Naruto: The Great Deception