In the first half of the Grand Line, on a Floating Island at the intersection of Twin Cape and Ancient Island.
Pain and the others had flown for two days to reach here, and were still rapidly flying towards Twin Cape.
Pain, who was in the midst of Cultivating, suddenly felt a ripple in his thought waves and quickly linked up, and a Reno Projecting Image Technique appeared.
"Pain… I have already picked up the person you asked me to… and am now preparing to return to Alabasta to rendezvous with you… I'll report the specific situation when I get back…" the Reno Illusion Body said.
"Understood… See you on the way… We're almost at Twin Cape!" Pain replied, barely concealing his excitement. The thought of seeing Konan soon brought a touch of warmth to his cold, alien heart.
The day passed without incident, and Pain and Reno finally met on the second day of their journey.
Pain had Golden Lion use his Ability to fly the ship onto the Floating Island, and had Golden Lion's subordinates on the island unload all the Materials onto the island before returning to Alabasta at full speed. After all, two-thirds of the Materials in Alabasta had not yet been loaded, and these Materials were currently considered the organization's wealth.
On the island, Pain and Konan's eyes met, and they could no longer hide their excitement as they embraced deeply. Oden and the others knew it was a time for privacy, so they all found excuses to go to various parts of the island. Reno, on the other hand, went directly to Oden and asked to become his Disciple and Cultivate.
Oden did not refuse; having a good Disciple in his lifetime was also something Oden deeply desired. Oden took Reno to another side to provide Cultivation guidance.
As for the apprenticeship, Oden and Reno planned to inform Pain once he was free. Time seemed to stand still in Pain and Konan's embrace; both had a thousand words to say, yet neither broke the silence, simply holding each other tightly.
Who knows how long it passed, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day, perhaps a year. In Pain and Konan's hearts, they wished time would stop, and they would embrace like this until the end of time, until the seas dried and the rocks crumbled. But both knew this was temporarily impossible.
The Six Paths Sage had already informed them of their mission when they arrived in this world, and Pain and Konan both understood the importance of the mission. If it weren't for this mission, perhaps they would have long since perished, and there would be no reunion today.
"Konan… For me… you've suffered…" Pain was the first to break the silence.
"There's no suffering… For you and Yahiko, I'm willing to do anything…" Konan said, her eyes filled with tears of emotion, her face streaming.
Konan had thought she was certain to die, but the Six Paths Sage had pulled her Soul into the Six Paths space and told her everything about Nagato. Konan felt this was a great gift bestowed by the Six Paths Sage.
"I'm truly grateful to the Six Paths Sage… for allowing us to have this day of reunion…" Konan said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Ah… Indeed… Although the path of our mission is arduous… I firmly believe we can complete it… Although the three of us have reunited in this way, this world is also full of dangers… In the future, we still have many paths to walk…" Pain said, his eyes also glistening with tears.
"Nagato… I believe in you… A world with you in it is my everything… No matter how dangerous the place, as long as you are there, it is the safest place… No matter what happens in the future… I hope we will never be separated again in this life… I am willing to hold your hand… and grow old with you…" Konan confessed deeply, and without waiting for Pain to speak, her soft lips kissed Pain's.
That night, Pain and Konan poured out their hearts to each other.
That night, Pain and Konan were passionately entwined.
That night, Pain and Konan finally fulfilled the dream they couldn't in their previous lives. (Those familiar with Nagato will understand his previous body ←_←, but now…)
Time flew by, and ten days later, Pain and the others finally arrived in Alabasta. In these ten days, Pain had told Konan all the information he knew about the organization's personnel capabilities and the unique characteristics of this world.
Konan also gained a new understanding of this world. Golden Lion was still the same, drinking at the bow, but his direction and speed were unwavering. Reno, meanwhile, was undergoing various training under Oden's guidance.
Physical fitness, martial arts, swordsmanship, blade techniques, and Haki all involved Cultivation combining theory and practice. The only thing Oden could not teach Reno was the development of his own Devil Fruit Ability, as Oden was not an Ability User.
Reno was also greatly enlightened by Oden's teachings, realizing that he truly had been a frog in a well before. He knew many things but didn't understand them. Now, under Oden's guidance, although his strength had not yet significantly improved, he had laid a good foundation. With enough time, becoming a strong person was inevitable.
On this day, as the Floating Island reached the skies above Alabasta, Pain gathered everyone together, preparing to hold the organization's first-ever meeting since its establishment.
The personnel quickly assembled, and Pain was the first to speak, "First, let me introduce everyone… This is my wife, Konan, she is the organization's Vermilion Bird, code-named [White]."
Pain then introduced everyone to Konan.
"From now on, Konan will be responsible for the organization's task assignments… You can also contact Konan directly if you have anything… Reno, tell us about the intelligence you obtained…"
On the second day of Konan's return, Pain had engraved the Illusion Body formation on Golden Lion's body. Konan originally knew the "Projecting Image Technique," but when she came to this world, she missed Nagato, not Yahiko, and she hadn't expected Nagato to choose to continue using the name Pain.
Pain's Soul could sense Konan's thought waves, but the image couldn't manifest because it was Yahiko's external appearance. Konan, like her friends, was a Chakra Cultivation system and could perform hand seals and cast the "Projecting Image Technique" just like Nagato.
As Pain finished speaking, Reno interjected, "The one who attacked us last time was the World Government's secret intelligence agency, CP0."
"This agency has been monitoring our actions in Alabasta all along." Reno explained the information he had learned from Spandine to everyone.
Oden interjected, "Now that we've returned to Alabasta, although the World Government can't do anything in the sky, there are still Materials in the hidden location. Once we go to retrieve them, we will definitely confront this agency of the World Government."
"The World Government suffered a loss last time because they were unclear about our strength. This time, they will definitely send powerful individuals. Are we going to directly clash with the World Government now?" Oden understood the current situation; it all depended on Pain's decision.
"Gyahahaha… Directly engaging the World Government?… We shouldn't have anything to fear… If we can't win, we can always fly away, right?… Gyahahaha…" Golden Lion also offered his opinion.
"This will indeed be a tough battle… But it's not a direct head-on clash with the World Government… The World Government's current understanding of our organization is not complete… The reason it attracted the World Government's attention is the information about the Ancient Weapon "Pluton"… What truly caught the World Government's attention is the existence of my master, Oden…"
"Coupled with my master's strength… This time, the World Government is very likely to send Admiral-level combat power…" Reno added after organizing his thoughts.
"The World Government is unaware of our full strength… And we are also in an unknown state regarding the World Government's secret intelligence agency, CP0… In light of the above situation… I suggest sending the combat forces known to the World Government to the hidden location of the Materials for a probe…"
"I, Golden Lion, and Human Path will remain hidden on Sky Island and observe the situation… I believe the World Government won't reveal all its trump cards at once…"
After ten days of communication with Pain, Konan had gained an understanding of this world's information that was on par with Pain's. After listening to everyone's discussion and understanding some of the situation, she also expressed her views.
"I support Konan's view…" Oden was the first to state his position.
"I also think it's feasible…" Reno followed.
"Gyahahaha… The leader's wife is truly a heroine!… Your plan seems to be the most perfect for now… Although it's a bit regrettable that we can't go to war with the Marine yet… I also understand the importance of the bigger picture…"
Golden Lion was a war-mongering madman, but he also understood that he was no longer an individual but had joined an organization, so he knew his limits.
"Since everyone agrees with Konan's suggestion… then we will proceed as Konan said… The personnel for this mission are Zero Burial, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon…"
"We will be responsible for drawing out the Marine's trump cards… White Tiger and Kong Wu will act as opportunities arise on Sky Island… I will also temporarily keep Human Path on Sky Island as a trump card… This mission is our first direct confrontation with the World Government… After this… our organization will also officially emerge…"
"So… prepare to act…"
To be continued…