"..."
Listening to the truth slip out of Kakuzu's mouth, Mui's eye couldn't help but twitch.
He and Kakuzu had been partners for a while now, and he understood him all too well.
If he didn't have a bounty on his head, Kakuzu would probably kill him for the reward money.
This guy didn't want to capture Hiruko alive. He was clearly using the pretense of "capture" to kill him on his own and drag his body to the reward station for cash!
"You..." Mui was about to say more.
But up in the air, Hiruko had recovered from his shock.
He looked down at the terrifying 'Satori' and the two people, Mui and Kakuzu, who had emerged from its mouth. An unprecedented sense of crisis gripped his heart.
He immediately understood that this sudden newcomer, like Kakuzu, was a member of the 'Akatsuki' organization.
Although they didn't look like strong individuals, the monster they controlled exuded a terrifying aura. And the fact that the man walked out of its mouth meant he could command it!
"Damn it! Where did these guys come from?!"
Hiruko cursed under his breath. Without hesitation, he slapped the head of the monstrous bird beneath him. "Hurry, let's go!"
"Screech!!"
The monstrous bird let out a piercing cry. The leg held by 'Satori' actually detached like a gecko's tail. Its enormous wings flapped furiously, stirring up a violent current of air.
Its massive body instantly changed direction, shooting off like an arrow, soaring into the sky without looking back!
It was so fast that it left a blurry afterimage in the air!
"Don't tell me you're just going to let him get away," Kakuzu asked coldly.
"Of course not." Mui didn't turn his head. His tone was calm as he said, "Muku."
Muku was the name of his son, whom he had personally sealed inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss after being bewitched by its power.
He had believed this would grant Muku the power of the box, but after years, he still hadn't managed to open it.
His goal for opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss had since changed to getting his son back.
However, his original goal had been achieved.
The Muku he called out to now was, in fact, 'Satori'.
Yes, the 'Satori' that 'Shadow' had separated from the Box of Ultimate Bliss was now guided by Mui's son's consciousness.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had been transformed into the core of the Holllow Realm and the Holllow Palace. 'Shadow' didn't like her "tools" having independent consciousness.
Even if Mui hadn't sought help from 'Shadow', she would have separated 'Satori's' consciousness from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
The current 'Satori' was much stronger than the original.
"Roar!"
A roar suddenly erupted from the giant mouth on 'Satori's' chest.
With this roar, its colossal mouth slowly lifted and opened to its maximum. A dark red energy intensely condensed and compressed within its depths.
'Satori's' massive body leaned back slightly, and then it spat out the red glowing ball, which traced a scorching path through the air!
Its target was Hiruko, who had flown far away and was now just a black dot.
Rumble!!
In the next moment, a tremendous explosion shook the distant sky!
In the area where Hiruko and the monstrous bird had been, the clouds were blown away, revealing a large patch of blue sky.
The violent shockwave, even from such a distance, swept toward them like a hurricane.
A black shadow fell from the sky. It was clearly Hiruko and the monstrous bird.
"..."
Seeing this, Kakuzu's eye couldn't help but twitch.
Is that 'Shadow' so generous? Just giving a monster like this to someone else?
Mui gently patted 'Satori's' massive, feathered body and whispered, "You've worked hard, Muku."
'Satori' slowly lowered its body, and the giant mouth on its chest closed.
"Let's go." Mui turned to Kakuzu. "I imagine that guy has calmed down now."
The Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Cold rain fell like a billion silver-gray strings from the leaden sky, endlessly drumming against the devil-like spire hanging over the center of the village.
The rain gathered and flowed down the cold metal surface of the tower, forming twisted, winding tear stains that ultimately merged into the rain-shrouded village below.
At the top of this tower, which symbolized the authority of Amegakure, a figure sat quietly on the tongue of the devil.
Nagato was clad in a wide black robe with red clouds. The top of Guruguru's head peeled back, revealing his face.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the endless gray rain curtain, listening to the monotonous and oppressive 'pitter-patter' of the rain striking the world.
Just then, countless thin, white paper sheets, like a flock of butterflies, converged silently from all directions, taking shape behind Nagato.
Konan stood there quietly, not speaking immediately, but simply watching Nagato's back.
After a long time, Konan's cold voice finally broke the suffocating silence.
"Nagato," she began. "According to Oyakata En's intelligence network, the five Kage have successively left their villages."
"Judging from the direction of their last known locations, their destination should be the Land of Demons."
"The time is right. Should we start our plan?"
In the past few weeks, the widespread appearance of 'Hollows' had caught them off guard.
They knew these creatures were 'Shadow's' doing, but they hadn't expected her to go to such lengths.
Not only did she and her subordinates, the 'Espada,' attack Konoha, but she also allowed these 'Hollows' to appear throughout the ninja world.
When Nagato and Konan received this news, they were genuinely stunned and silent for a moment.
For Nagato and Konan, who longed for peace, this naturally bred some dissatisfaction with 'Shadow's' actions.
However, since 'Shadow' hadn't truly joined the Akatsuki organization and they were currently just equal partners, they couldn't openly criticize her actions.
Fortunately, thanks to Nagato's 'Human Path' ability, the threat posed by the 'Hollows' was extremely limited. After understanding their nature, they were quickly cleared out.
Now, the Akatsuki organization finally had enough members. The five Kage had also left their respective villages, making it the perfect opportunity to capture the Tailed Beasts.
"Mhm."
Nagato responded softly and stood up. The wide black robe with red clouds made a faint rustling sound with his movements, which was especially clear in the silence.
"Before that," he said, turning to Konan. "Let's first meet our new members."
With those words, Nagato said no more and raised his hands to form a hand seal.
Boom!
As he completed the final seal, a formless yet immense chakra ripple spread out from him.
This ripple wasn't a physical shockwave but acted directly on a spiritual level, penetrating space and distance to connect with far-off chakra.
—The Technique of the Transcending Image.
This technique involved the 'Akatsuki' members' rings receiving their individual chakra, converting it into a special thought wave, and transmitting it to Nagato's location.
Nagato would then use his Rinnegan's power to amplify the thought waves, projecting a phantom image at a designated location that was completely synchronized with the original body's movements.
After Nagato performed this jutsu, the few people scattered in various places felt it. Some impatiently, others skillfully, and some with curiosity, they formed the hand seal. They all closed their eyes at the same time.
In the next moment, their consciousnesses were pulled by an unseen force, instantly leaving the cold rain tower and sinking into a dark, damp space.
There was no light, no sound, only silence.
However, in the center of this darkness, an unimaginably huge outline sat quietly, like a sleeping monster.
It had a humanoid shape, but its form was distorted and grotesque.
Its giant body, withered like ancient wood, was wrapped in thick, cold chains. Nine large eyes were closed.
Its enormous arms were raised, palms facing upward, with ten fingers naturally spread out like massive pillars.
Without a doubt, this was the empty shell of the Ten-Tails, the Gedo Statue!
This posture, however, gave its grotesque form a strange sense of divinity.
Nagato and Konan's consciousnesses slowly appeared, silently materializing on the Statue's fingertips.
Following them, eight ghostly blue lights rippled like water, illuminating the tips of the other eight fingers. They quickly condensed into eight semi-transparent humanoid phantoms.
Although the phantoms' faces were blurry, their outlines were clear, and their movements were completely synchronized with their bodies.
The ten phantoms stood silently on their respective fingers. The entire space was filled with a solemn, icy atmosphere.
Nagato's concentric Rinnegan slowly swept over each phantom present.
The ten fingers of the Gedo Statue were inscribed with ten characters: Zero, White, Black, Red, South, Void, Jade, Blue, North, and Three.
First, of course, were Nagato as 'Zero' and Konan as 'White'.
Then, just as in the original story, there was Kakuzu as 'North', Sasori as 'Jade', and Juzo Biwa as 'South'.
Hidan's 'Three' was now Hanzo, Itachi Uchiha's 'Red' became Oyakata En, and Deidara's 'Blue' was Mui.
The remaining 'Void' and 'Black', originally Orochimaru and Zetsu, were now Hiruko and Shinno.
"I have gathered you all to announce two things," Nagato's low voice broke the silence. He began, "First, welcome our new members: Hiruko, Shinno, and Sasori, to the 'Akatsuki'."
"..."
No one responded. They were all observing each other.
Especially the new members, Sasori, Shinno, and Hiruko.
Feeling the pressure of Nagato's substantial aura and the other phantoms' dangerous presences, their previously disgruntled minds couldn't help but feel a chill.
The members of the Akatsuki organization were all this level of power?
"From now on, Sasori and Hanzo will be a team, Shinno and Oyakata En will be a team, and Hiruko and Juzo Biwa will be a team." Nagato continued.
As he finished, the three new members subconsciously looked at their corresponding partners.
"Shinno?" Oyakata En smiled, looking in Shinno's direction, his dark red Dragon Eyes glinting. "Nice to meet you."
Sasori and Hanzo glanced at each other without speaking. Hiruko and Juzo Biwa did the same.
Hanzo didn't care who his partner was. Sasori, on the other hand, felt that Hanzo was worthy of being his partner.
"Joining 'Akatsuki' means accepting the organization's rules and will."
Seeing no objections, Nagato's tone became cold. "Everything else is unimportant. There is only one rule: no internal fighting."
"Any form of private combat or revenge between members is forbidden. Do not think you can get away with it. The result for any behavior that harms another member will be death."
As the word "death" fell from his lips, the coldness seemed to become tangible.
Under the gaze of his Rinnegan, all of their questions, grievances, and ambitions were forcefully suppressed.
This was a power they couldn't resist. Of course, this didn't stop two of them from developing a greedy desire for Nagato's eyes...
"Nagato," Hanzo, who had his arms crossed, suddenly spoke. "Aren't we missing one person?"
Nagato, knowing Hanzo was referring to 'Shadow', subconsciously frowned, about to say that 'Shadow' wasn't an official member...
"I'm here."
A voice filled with laughter suddenly entered their ears. Everyone instinctively followed the sound and looked up.
They saw that at some point, a dark figure was sitting on the head of the Gedo Statue, looking down at the ten people below and chuckling. "Please continue. Don't mind me."
Not having noticed when 'Shadow' had appeared, Konan's eyes couldn't help but show a trace of vigilance.
She would not trust anyone except Nagato.
Of course, 'Shadow' didn't care whether she trusted him or not, and he didn't care whether Nagato trusted him or not.
The "partnership" was, in fact, just a "utilization" of one another.
However, Nagato wasn't wary of 'Shadow's' appearance. If 'Shadow' really wanted to harm him, he could have done so long ago.
The two only had disagreements in their goals and beliefs. Nagato wasn't so hostile as to have animosity toward him yet.
"Continue, the second thing."
Nagato withdrew his gaze, sweeping over all the members. Calmly, he said, "The time has come. The five Kage have left their villages. The Tailed Beast Capture Plan will now begin."
As this final command was given, the newly joined Sasori, Hiruko, and Shinno all showed different expressions.
The Akatsuki's goal was the Tailed Beasts?!
However, upon realizing this, the three of them had different ideas.
Ambitious, cunning, and eager to act...
These lunatics felt only one thing: no fear.
One needed a large number of strong individuals to make human puppets, one needed to fuse with more bloodline limit ninjas to gain power, and one had always wanted to replace the Five Great Nations and rule the ninja world.
It could be said that the people 'Shadow' recommended to Nagato were the most suitable individuals to join the Akatsuki organization.
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