"No entry allowed here."
As Itachi looked up at the falling raindrops, a voice appeared nearby.
"Is this the headquarters of Akatsuki?--"
When Uchiha Itachi turned his eyes, the Mangekyo with its Shuriken patterns was already activated.
"Damn brat!"
Black Zetsu's voice suddenly rang out, just as he was about to make a move.
"Uchiha Itachi."
A deep voice rang out.
In the rain, a figure slowly approached.
The spiral-shaped mask made Uchiha Itachi raise an eyebrow.
"What brings you here?"
Obito Uchiha's single eye was fixed on Uchiha Itachi, only slightly avoiding Itachi's gaze.
"In order to join the Akatsuki."
Uchiha Itachi stated his purpose in a very calm tone.
"Oh--"
Upon Obito couldn't help but chuckle.
"Do you think that's funny?"
Uchiha Itachi glanced slightly to the side; the figure he had just pulled into Tsukuyomi had already disappeared.
At this moment, countless figures were slowly surrounding him.
Just as Itachi was about to make a move, another person appeared, breaking the tense atmosphere among those present.
"Pain, I want to see him."
Upon hearing this, Obito looked behind him and saw the woman—
"Come with me."
Konan ignored Obito's gaze and spoke to Uchiha Itachi.
Snap--
Snap--
On the water, Itachi paid no attention to the Masked Man in front of him, and followed Konan by stepping on the water.
"Ban, are we just going to let him go see him like this?"
A brand new pitcher plant slowly emerged from the water's surface; it was none other than the one that had just disappeared.
"It's nothing, just a Mangekyo."
Obito seemed unconcerned and spoke softly.
"It's different. I was just momentarily distracted when he pulled me into the Genjutsu."
"This guy's eye power is very strong!"
Obito did not respond to Zetsu's statement, but simply looked at the tallest Central Tower in Amegakure.
Pain was starting to get restless.
Inside the circular hall, when Uchiha Itachi stepped in, he was immediately overwhelmed by an overwhelming aura.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"Konoha Anbu Captain, Young Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan."
As Pain spoke, he opened his Rinnegan -like Rinnegan and stared directly at Uchiha Itachi in front of him.
"That's all in the past. I'm here to join the Akatsuki."
Uchiha Itachi completely ignored what Pain said and instead looked intently into Pain's eyes.
"That is... the Eye of the Six Paths?"
Upon hearing this, Konan looked at Uchiha Itachi with a cautious expression.
"Ah, these are the eyes of God."
Pain, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about Uchiha Itachi's attitude and responded indifferently.
"So, can I join?"
Uchiha Itachi nodded and looked at Pain in front of him.
"Reason—" Pain asked after a long silence.
"I'm tired of war." Uchiha Itachi said without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Konan clenched her fists. This guy...
"Can."
Pain nodded, raised his right hand, and something flew towards Uchiha Itachi.
"From today onwards, your codename is Suzaku."
After saying that, Pain's figure disappeared from the spot.
"Let's go, I'll take you to get your uniform," Konan said, then turned and walked out of the hall.
Looking at the trench coat in his hand, Itachi put it on without hesitation.
He then removed his Forehead Protector and slashed it with his Kunai, leaving a glaring mark on the Konoha Forehead Protector.
"I'll notify you when there's a task."
Konan watched as Uchiha Itachi finished doing all this, then turned and left.
After Konan left, Itachi finally looked up and looked around.
"Exactly the same thing Orochimaru said."
I recall defeating Orochimaru in the Land of Rice Fields, when he asked Orochimaru about the Akatsuki.
Orochimaru grinned and said that Itachi would have to go and find out for himself.
Just say you want to join; as for the reason, you can make one up.
Nobody cares whether he's telling the truth or not.
After all, Orochimaru had only said he wanted to pursue the truth of the world, and Pain had already let him join.
This is also the point that Itachi understands the least.
Despite knowing he might be an undercover agent, he completely disregarded whether he would do anything detrimental to the Akatsuki.
Was Pain simply overconfident in his abilities, or...?
Itachi shook his head; he'd deal with those things later.
--
"Pain, that guy clearly has ulterior motives."
After leaving, Konan came to the platform of the tower and looked at the figure in front of her, and spoke.
"It's alright, the Akatsuki is currently in dire need of members."
"He has his own agenda; all we need is for capable people to join us."
"As for what happens next, if there are any unusual developments—"
"Then I'll take care of it."
Pain didn't turn around; he simply spoke his mind.
"Konan, let's speed up the recruitment process."
Pain gave instructions to Konan, then continued to look down at Amegakure.
"Good."
--
"Father, what did you say?"
Sasuke asked Uchiha Fugaku with an incredulous look on his face.
"The village has a mission for Itachi to carry out, so they'll tell the outside world that he betrayed Konoha," Fugaku said calmly.
"Why?"
Sasuke couldn't believe it; that was missing-nin, and now Itachi needed to use his missing-nin identity for a mission.
"There's no reason, Sasuke, this is a decision already made."
Fugaku looked at his youngest son for a long time before finally speaking.
"I'm going to find my teacher!" Sasuke looked at his father, turned around, and ran out.
"Fugaku, is this really the way to go?"
Uchiha Mikoto emerged from the side room, her face filled with worry, and asked...
"Ah, don't worry, the Hiruzen Hokage said it's necessary for the mission, and it will be announced when Itachi returns."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded.
He had worked with the Third Hokage for so long that he knew a fair share of things.
Furthermore, to avoid disbelief on his own part, Hiruzen Sarutobi wrote down a scroll, which would be kept by whoever became Hokage in the future.
His scroll was enough to prevent Uchiha Itachi from being branded a missing-nin ninja.
--
On the training field, facing Sasuke came to find him, Hagoromo rubbed his temples helplessly.
Last night, the Hiruzen directly issued this order.
This was undoubtedly a bomb dropped directly into the Jonin ranks of Konoha, and countless people were immediately searching for the reason.
However, the Hiruzen directly ordered that no discussion be allowed, and some clever people realized what was going on.
Those who hadn't yet realized what was happening quickly shut their mouths and stopped asking questions.
"Don't worry, Sasuke, Itachi is just going on a mission."
"It's just that this mission takes too long, and we can't use our Konoha identity."
Helpless, Hagoromo could only offer this explanation when looking at Sasuke before her.