Inside the cold, stone-walled circular hall, eight flickering, illusory figures floated like will-o'-the-wisps.
Deva Path Pain merely glanced at Deidara upon hearing this, his voice cold and hollow, his oppressive Rinnegan sweeping over everyone present.
"Start--"
Upon hearing this, the previously lax Akatsuki members immediately straightened up.
"Deidara and I are currently working on a mission, which should be completed within a day at the earliest."
Scorpion's Hiruko tail was raised high, making a teeth-grinding swishing sound, while a dull thud came from under its hood.
Deidara, standing beside Sasori, listened to Sasori's report without offering any objections, a rare occurrence for him.
The Rinnegan of Pain at the head of the table shifted slightly, looking in another direction.
Kisame, being watched by the Rinnegan, grinned, and even in an illusion, his unusually large teeth were visible.
"The whereabouts of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki have been found. If you're ready to begin, I can start now."
"No, the initial capture must be swift, so I'll be the one to go."
Pain said calmly, "As this is Akatsuki's first capture, we can't make too much of a commotion, or the Five Great Nations will find out."
That's not such an easy thing.
As soon as Pain spoke, all the phantoms in the hall looked over, after all, he had previously said that he needed to save up funds.
I didn't expect it to start so soon, and the leader himself was the one to take action.
"I have some information here too~"
A giant pitcher plant spoke up, "It seems the Five-Tails Jinchuriki has been sent out on a mission by the Tsuchikage, so this is also an opportunity."
Black Zetsu's voice was very deep, but it was full of seductive power.
"The change in the action plan is because the Kumogakure is about to form an alliance with the Konoha— "
"And Iwagakure seems restless, preparing to have us sabotage this alliance."
Pain ignored Zetsu's words and instead explained why he had made the change.
Everyone in the hall turned to look, as this news was quite a shock.
"Scorpion, go to Sunagakure and create chaos. Since Kumogakure is going to form an alliance with Konoha, Sunagakure cannot remain indifferent."
"Can--"
Scorpion did not refuse and readily agreed.
As one of the earliest members, he had naturally already told Pain about his background.
"Deidara, working with Sasori, threw the Sunagakure Village's leadership into chaos. The Iwagakure alone can't disrupt Konoha's plans."
Deidara scoffed, "Heh, I will make Sunagakure bloom with the most beautiful art."
"Kakuzu, keep a close eye on the movements of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki Kumogakure. Kisame, you coordinate with Kakuzu."
"Sure," Kisame replied nonchalantly.
Kakuzu glanced in Kisame's direction but remained silent.
"Zetsu, find the Three-Tails as soon as possible, don't let things turn out like before." Pain turned to Zetsu, his words cold and indifferent.
"Oh dear~ It wasn't intentional last time, who knew the Fourth Mizukage would be so fragile."
However, sensing that Pain's aura was growing increasingly cold, the White Zetsu quickly changed their tune:
"The White Zetsu clones are being searched for as quickly as possible--"
Pain withdrew his gaze from Zetsu and scanned everyone present once more.
"Since this world desires to experience pain, let it experience it more profoundly—"
"All obstacles must be... eliminated!"
"Disperse."
The cold words vanished as soon as they were spoken.
After watching everyone disappear, Zetsu glanced at the spot where Pain had just been before slowly vanishing.
The Land of Rain--
After breaking free of the illusion, Pain stood alone by the window, while a torrential downpour raged outside.
Her eyes reflected the shattered sky outside the window, and a soft whisper drifted from her lips:
"... Let the world feel pain!"
--
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Beside the waterfall, Sasuke opened his mouth and spat out flames, which shot towards the waterfall in three directions.
As he exhaled, Sasuke used Chakra to control the direction of the fire dragon.
Rumble--
The raging flames surged towards the waterfall like a giant dragon, then exploded, filling the surrounding area with scorching steam.
Whew--Whew--
Sasuke, panting, looked at Hagoromo beside him with a questioning expression.
[You taught Sasuke Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and enabled him to quickly learn it, gaining Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel (Proficient)!]
Hagoromo chuckled lightly; Sasuke had unleashed a B-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu on him in just two hours.
"Very good, Sasuke."
Hagoromo nodded to Sasuke.
"Both the compression of the flame and the control of its direction are already quite good; all you need to do now is Proficient."
Yes, teacher!
Sasuke's lips curled into a slight smile upon hearing this, clearly pleased.
"It's clear you haven't been slacking off lately; your Chakra control has improved significantly."
If a disciple makes progress, Hagoromo will naturally offer praise.
Sasuke was even happier to receive Hagoromo's praise, and glanced at Naruto beside him.
"Teacher! I've learned it too!"
Naruto naturally noticed Sasuke's smugness and quickly raised his hand to speak.
"You've mastered it?" Hagoromo was a little unsure, since it seemed that what he had taught Naruto before was B-rank Earth Style Wall.
"That's right! Teacher, look!"
After Naruto finished speaking, he began to form hand seals and then slammed his hand on the ground.
"Earth Release · Earth Style Wall!"
Rumble--
As a massive amount of earth-attribute Chakra was poured into the ground, a tall earthen wall, about ten meters high, was erected directly from the ground.
Hagoromo looked at the massive Earth Style Wall and couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
It's almost as advanced as the Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart Technique, and it's not just because of Naruto's Chakra.
This also shows that Naruto has definitely not been slacking off in his training of Earth Release: Nature Transformation lately.
Hagoromo estimated that Naruto's Earth Release: Nature Transformation had reached Proficient or higher, but had not yet reached the Mastery level.
However, with the added boost of massive Chakra, it was barely enough.
Heave--
Naruto landed and quickly went to Hagoromo's side, his face full of pleading for praise.
Hagoromo reached out and patted Naruto's head, saying, "It seems you haven't been slacking off while your teacher was away."
"Hehe, definitely."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed expression, after all, Neji was improving, Sasuke was not weak either.
There was no way he could let the two of them catch up; the only option was to put in the effort to cultivate his skills.
Moreover, unlike Sasuke and the others, even without Hagoromo, Minato Namikaze was able to ask around.
At least you won't get stuck on something you don't understand.
"Keep it up! When the teacher went to Kumogakure, he encountered a master of Earth Release."
"His Earth Release Nature Transformation is arguably one of the best in the Shinobi World."
Hagoromo then thought of Kitsuchi, the steady son of the Tsuchikage, whose talent was definitely not low.
"Huh?! That's amazing?" Naruto asked, looking surprised.
"Yes, he's known for his ability to manipulate the earth; that's something he earned on the battlefield, and the teacher witnessed it firsthand."
"Indeed, it's not weak."
"Don't worry, teacher! I will surpass him!" Naruto said, full of fighting spirit.