Akatsuki

"Dead?" Hidan was slightly taken aback, then turned his gaze to Uchiha Itachi.

"Wasn't Kisame in a group with Uchiha Itachi? How could he be dead?"

As Hidan finished speaking, everyone turned their attention to Itachi.

Even though they were all unruly and highly skilled S-rank missing-nin, in everyone's eyes, there were still clear differences in strength among the Akatsuki members. For example, Deidara was recognized as the weakest member...

Because of the Sharingan, especially the Mangekyō Sharingan has extremely high intimidation power, and the fact that it could defeat Orochimaru with a single glance, everyone unconsciously places Itachi at a very high level of strength.

Even at a level second only to the leader.

--This is quite close to the truth.

Kisame Hoshigaki is also recognized as one of the best fighters. Even Sasori of the Red Sand, who is as proud as he is, would not dare to say that he is confident in defeating this humanoid beast.

How could someone die in a mission involving such a highly skilled team of two?

Rather than accepting that Kisame was killed by the Seven-Tails or someone else from the Land of Waterfalls, they prefer to believe that Itachi and Kisame had an internal conflict, leading to Kisame being killed by Itachi himself...

"It's true!" Zetsu said in his habitually glib tone, "I saw it with my own eyes, and I carried his body back myself. Kisame- senpai weighed 160 pounds, dragging him through hundreds of kilometers Earth Release was exhausting!"

"Is the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki really that strong?" Kakuzu frowned, but his mind was elsewhere—

What was Kisame Hoshigaki's bounty again? He wants to take Kisame's corpse to claim the bounty!

By the way, if the Seven-Tails is also very strong, her bounty should be even higher.

This is going to be a huge financial windfall!

"No!" Zetsu replied, "It wasn't the Jinchūriki killed Kisame; she was very weak. Itachi-nii killed the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki with a single glance the moment they met! You all know the person who killed Kisame, and you all remember them vividly..."

Guess who she is?

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, Jue, with a touch of mischievousness, kept them in suspense.

"It's Sakura Haruno."

Uchiha Itachi said coldly.

He had neither the interest nor the time to engage in the quiz game, and simply gave his answer.

"Sakura Haruno?"

Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasori of the Red Sand all repeated the girl's name in perfect unison.

Sakura Haruno, they really left a deep impression.

That's incredibly profound!

Hidan rubbed his face; the intense pain from being hit head-on by the Monstrous Strength Technique last time still seemed to linger in his nerves. He shouted, "Why is it her again?"

It's quite a coincidence. Of all the battles Akatsuki fought against the outside world, aside from the battle to capture the Jinchūriki, almost all the other battles were directly related to that Water Release girl.

"It wasn't a coincidence... Sakura Haruno was returning to Konoha with the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki at the time," Pain explained. "The battle broke out because of the Jinchūriki."

"If that's the case, then Sakura Haruno is too amazing! She fought against Itachi and Kisame all by herself and even killed Kisame!" Obito —who is now operating as Tobi —stood on the far side and exclaimed loudly, feigning surprise.

Itachi looked at Obito with his cold, Mitsudomoe.

His sharp gaze seemed to see through Obito's mask, revealing the true face beneath.

"No, Kisame was killed in a one-on-one battle with Sakura Haruno," he said slowly.

"Oh... and what about you, senior? What were you doing at the time?" Tobi asked in return.

There was no response.

Uchiha Itachi remained silent, ignoring Tobi's question. His cold features and indifferent expression made it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Is it that it's inexplicable, or that they disdain to explain?

"Itachi is Sasuke Uchiha," Zetsu interjected. "Kisame is confident he can defeat Sakura Haruno, so he told Itachi not to interfere."

"But not long after, he was killed!"

His tone was so smug that it was hard to tell whether he was gloating or not, even though his words were outwardly full of respect for his senior.

"Let's not get sidetracked," Pain coldly interrupted the conversation. "Our mission is urgent. We need to extract the Chakra of the Seven-Tails, Five-Tails, and Two-Tails Jinchūriki in one go. Including rest breaks, it will take at least a month to complete."

"More than half a month?" Zetsu was somewhat surprised. "Is it because Orochimaru, Deidara, and Kisame are missing? It's taken much longer than expected!"

Pain nodded. "So this time Tobi will also be joining as a candidate... Enough with the chit-chat, let's get started!"

Everyone stopped talking and silently formed the seal of "wei".

Chakra began to circulate wildly.

A faint glow suddenly flickered from the mouth of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

"Sealing Jutsu - Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!"

Pain suddenly channeled his Chakra, manipulating the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to unleash nine illusory, glowing giant snakes that lunged at the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki lying on the ground!

The process of sealing the Jinchūriki was unremarkable and will be skipped.

More than half a month later.

In the Land of Rain, at Akatsuki's base.

In a familiar, spacious hall.

The three members of Akatsuki— Pain, Nan, and Obito —seemed to have gotten used to meeting here.

Nan slumped on the sofa to the side, her red and black robe hanging to one side. She was only wearing a close-fitting combat suit, with the collar slightly open to let in some air. Her lazy posture completely revealed the long legs and exquisite figure of the only woman in Akatsuki.

Although she didn't want to show any weakness in front of Obito, after nearly a month of arduous sealing, Nan, being a woman, was already physically exhausted. Upon returning to the base, all she wanted to do was lie down, unwilling to move even a finger. Despite forcing herself to stay awake, Nan simply didn't have the strength to sit upright anymore.

Despite the allure of her beauty, Obito didn't even glance at her, instead staring blankly at Pain.

"Our thorn in Xiao's side, she's caused him even more trouble!" he said coldly from the other side.

Kisame was Obito's most useful pawn, without exception. He was far more useful than Pain, who became Pain after gaining power and regarded himself as a "god." It was unexpected that he would die so quickly, which is why Obito was so angry.

"That's right. However, she only killed Kisame; she didn't stop us from retrieving the Seven-Tails..." Pain replied nonchalantly.

Unlike Obito, Pain wasn't heartbroken when Kisame died. In Pain's eyes, Kisame was just an ordinary member of Akatsuki. To "God," even someone like Kisame was nothing more than a consumable. If his life could be exchanged for the Seven-Tails, then there was nothing to regret.

This transaction, while not profitable, also doesn't result in a loss.

"Find an opportunity to take her out as soon as possible," Obito, his voice brimming with murderous intent.

To think she could kill Kisame... Sakura Haruno's growth is astonishingly fast, somewhat beyond his expectations.

Obito's first thought when faced with something that might be beyond his control is to destroy it.

Just as he once managed to destroy the ever-growing Uchiha Clan.

Pain simply shook his head. "Although she is a thorn in our side... the upcoming Tailed Beast retrieval missions will all be conducted far from Konoha. We don't need to, and we don't have enough energy or combat power, to create unnecessary trouble!"

Apart from the Nine-Tails of Konoha and the Seven-Tails of neighboring countries, the remaining Tailed Beast are not located near Konoha.

The One-Tail Sand Ninja; the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Kumogakure Ninja; the Three-Tails and Six-Tails Mist Ninja belong to the Mist Village; Four-Tails and Five-Tails Ninja belong to the Stone Ninja.

Therefore, Pain did not believe that his next mission would involve contact with Sakura Haruno.

There's no need to rush into taking action against her.

"Don't rush, Madara! When the plan reaches the stage of retrieving the Nine-Tails, I will personally take action!"

Pain's tone was so cold it seemed to freeze the air.

Konoha.

The village where my mentor Jiraiya lived.

It was the village that killed all his relatives!

Pain would never forget the day when Konoha Ninja broke into his house and killed his parents.

In return, Pain intends to make the people of Konoha taste the bitterness of family destruction!

Looking into Pain's determined eyes, Obito knew that once he made up his mind, he wouldn't easily change it.

"Getting back to the point," he said, not continuing his attempt to subdue Pain, but changing the subject, "After the alliance of Konoha, Sand Ninja, and Mist Ninja, Kumogakure Ninja and Stone Ninja are also eager to join the alliance and fight against us!"

"Hmph... just a bunch of chickens and dogs." Pain scoffed dismissively, making his conclusion without hesitation. "Even if a rabble unites, it's still a rabble!"

His words were full of arrogance towards the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Pain made no secret of this.

He didn't think this alliance would become any threat. The Five Great Shinobi Villages were sworn enemies; how could they possibly unite so easily? If they were forced together, they would only become a deformed entity where internal strife outweighed external warfare.

"That's right, it's indeed very difficult for the Five Great Shinobi Villages to truly unite," Obito said calmly, "Unless..."

Unless they encounter a formidable enemy that a single village cannot contend with.

Dawn.

Moreover, the Akatsuki is becoming increasingly active, capturing more and more Tailed Beast, and causing greater and greater losses and threats to various villages.

Pain hesitated for a moment.

He was just arrogant, not stupid, so he quickly admitted that Obito's words did make sense.

"If that's the case, Five Great Shinobi Villages can truly unite against us, then that would indeed be a bit troublesome... Although that still wouldn't stop Akatsuki's will, it's better to minimize the trouble." Pain lowered his eyes, pondering as he spoke slowly.

Do you have any good ideas?

A slight smile Obito's mask.

"I've already come up with a plan." No, I should say, the plan is the same old thing, it's never changed.

"With just a few incidents... they'll fall into mutual suspicion and distrust, and their so-called alliance will crumble without a fight!"

Just like how they tried to sow discord between the Uchiha and the village back then...

If we let the Nine-Tails, controlled by the Sharingan, do some bad things in the village Uchiha Clan, unable to find or deliver the culprit, will gradually drift away from Konoha amidst suspicion and distrust. Then, with a little more effort, we can completely destroy the clan!

"This won't take up too much of our energy. Leave this to me!"

Obito said it for the last time.

He didn't tell Pain that he had other plans involved.

Pain gave him a deep look.

This Uchiha clansman, who called himself Madara Uchiha, always operated outside of Pain's control. In Kirigakure and Konoha, he did many things that were not at Pain's behest.

It's obvious that he has his own calculations in mind this time as well.

This man is not trustworthy.

At this moment, when the plan was progressing smoothly and the dawn of success was in sight, Pain felt a deep sense of apprehension towards his partner.

"Then I'll leave it to you," Pain said.

He concealed his thoughts, nodded to Obito, and watched him transform into a spatial ripple and disappear into the hall.

"He's gone," Nan said softly.

"Hmm... let's call it a day." Pain glanced in the direction Obito had left and replied casually, "You've had a tough time."

"Nagato, you should rest too..." The woman stood up with effort, walked to Pain's side, and said gently.

"Don't shoulder everything yourself... Our plan is going very well, and the new world you're creating will arrive soon." She patted his shoulder and smiled faintly, "Just don't exhaust yourself before that happens!"

A smile appeared on Pain's cold face at this moment.

"God... will never tire."

"Thank you, Nan."

A serene and gentle smile appeared on Nan's face.

[Second update.]

[These two chapters, totaling 6000 words, were completed in just six hours...]