Akatsuki Organization

In a dark cave stood a colossal statue.

Its body looked as though it had been carved from rock, possessing the texture of stone.

Its ten fingers pointed toward the sky, each one large enough for a person to stand upon.

Swish, swish, swish—

One figure after another appeared atop its ten fingers.

Some had faces that were half black and half white, their heads wrapped in pitcher plants.

Some carried enormous swords on their backs, their blades strangely shaped, with bizarre hollow circles at their tips.

Some were short and stout, like old men crouching down.

Some had bluish-purple hair and wore pale blue flowers.

Some wore indifferent expressions, their eyes marked by strange ripple patterns.

All of them wore Black Cloud Red Robes and rings that represented their identities.

They were the members of the Akatsuki Organization, which would later become renowned throughout the shinobi world and trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"Kakuzu has disappeared!"

Zetsu, the man with the half-black, half-white face, spoke.

"Disappeared? That can't be. With Senior Kakuzu's strength, aside from a select few, no one in the shinobi world should be capable of killing him."

The man carrying the huge sword on his back spoke in surprise.

His name was Juzo Biwa. Before joining the Akatsuki Organization and becoming a rogue ninja, he had been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure.

"He might not necessarily be dead. He could have defected."

The short man said in a hoarse voice.

His codename was Sasori of the Red Sands. A rogue ninja from Sunagakure, he possessed extremely high attainments in Puppet Technique and was hailed as a genius puppeteer.

"If his defection is confirmed, can I turn him into a puppet?"

He looked toward the man with ripple-patterned eyes, hidden apprehension in his gaze.

He had immense confidence in his own strength. Even the strongest Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage, had been killed by him and turned into a puppet.

Yet, he had no confidence at all in defeating the man before him. Rather, if he faced this man, defeat would be inevitable.

"Where was Kakuzu last seen?"

The man with ripple-patterned eyes had remained indifferent—or rather, cold—from beginning to end.

He was Nagato, the Akatsuki Organization's nominal leader. His ripple-patterned eyes were the legendary Rinnegan, said to be the same eyes possessed by the Sage of Six Paths.

He turned to Zetsu and asked.

"At an Underground Black Market in the Land of Fire. He accepted a bounty there to assassinate Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan."

The black half of Zetsu's face spoke.

"Uchiha?"

Nagato's expression did not change upon hearing the name, but waves rose in his heart.

With the Rinnegan, he possessed incomparably formidable strength. Yet there was one person he deeply feared.

That person claimed to be Uchiha Madara.

Though he could not confirm whether that person truly was Uchiha Madara, the elusive spatial ability the other party had displayed was enough to trouble even him.

"What did the investigation find?"

"The White Zetsu clone I sent is still on the way, but there should be results soon."

The white half of Zetsu's face said.

Just then, an extremely pale man emerged from the ground and appeared at the place where Uchiha Fugaku and Kakuzu had fought. It was precisely his White Zetsu clone.

Before long, the White Zetsu clone made a discovery. Amid the ashes, it found a ring that had been warped by burning.

"There are results. A battle took place at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Kakuzu's ring was left at the scene."

"A battle took place, and Senior Kakuzu's ring was left behind. Senior Kakuzu was really killed?"

Juzo Biwa asked in astonishment.

Though he had suspected as much, he could not help but be shocked upon truly learning it.

"Most likely. The person who killed him was probably Uchiha Fugaku, his target this time."

The white half of Zetsu's face said.

"Who would have thought Senior Kakuzu would one day die at the hands of his own target? To kill Senior Kakuzu, Uchiha Fugaku must be at least Kage-level, right?"

Juzo Biwa sighed.

"It may not have been Uchiha Fugaku. He could have encountered another powerful enemy before that."

The woman with the pale blue flower in her hair said.

Her codename was Haku, and her name was Konan. She was the only woman in the Akatsuki Organization.

"No matter who it is, anyone capable of killing Kakuzu is worth turning into a puppet. How about leaving this person to me?"

Sasori of the Red Sands spoke with considerable interest.

He enjoyed killing powerful ninja and turning them into human puppets. The person capable of killing Kakuzu clearly had the value of a human puppet.

If he was lucky, he might even obtain Kakuzu's corpse from the other party, gaining two powerful human puppets.

"Fine."

Nagato said coldly.

Kakuzu's strength was decent, but he was nothing significant to Nagato.

Therefore, he was not particularly concerned about whoever had killed Kakuzu.

Suddenly—

"Hmm...?"

Zetsu let out a surprised sound.

"Traces of Fire Release, Water Release, Lightning Release, Wind Release, and Earth Release ninjutsu remain here. One of the people who fought here was undoubtedly Kakuzu."

After analyzing the traces left at the scene, White Zetsu reached a conclusion.

As a member of the Akatsuki Organization, and one skilled at gathering intelligence, he naturally knew that Kakuzu possessed five hearts and could use ninjutsu of five different attributes.

"Was Uchiha Fugaku the one who fought Kakuzu here?"

His expression was somewhat doubtful.

Although Kakuzu's target this time had indeed been Uchiha Fugaku, that did not prove Uchiha Fugaku was the one who had fought Kakuzu here.

Kakuzu was an S-rank rogue ninja with a high bounty in the Underground Black Market. He had also accepted assassination bounties for many important figures from the five great ninja villages.

If the five great ninja villages learned of his whereabouts, they would inevitably hunt him down.

"But if it really was Uchiha Fugaku, then Uchiha Fugaku's strength..."

His expression turned slightly grave.

There was no doubt that Kakuzu possessed Kage-level strength. If Uchiha Fugaku had fought and killed Kakuzu, then Uchiha Fugaku must also possess Kage-level strength.

Moreover, he might not merely be an ordinary Kage-level ninja.

If that was truly the case, then Uchiha Fugaku had hidden himself far too deeply.

"Still, he may not have encountered an enemy. There is also the possibility that he faked his own disappearance."

He thought to himself.

Aside from a small number of people, most Akatsuki Organization members were rogue ninja from various villages.

The fact that they had become rogue ninja already showed that there was something wrong with their personalities.

It was entirely possible that someone had faked their disappearance to escape the Akatsuki Organization's pursuit.

"I didn't wait here for nothing!"

Within the dense foliage of a nearby tree, an eye peered through the leaves at the White Zetsu that had appeared here.

That person was Uchiha Fugaku.

Originally, he had planned to enter the Land of Rain and search for White Zetsu within its borders.

But after thinking it over carefully, he realized there was a better option.

As a member of the Akatsuki Organization, once Kakuzu disappeared, the Akatsuki Organization would certainly investigate.

As long as he waited here, White Zetsu should eventually appear.

Of course, this approach carried risks.

If the one who came was not White Zetsu but other Akatsuki Organization members—and several of them at that—then he would be in danger.

Fortunately, that did not happen. It was White Zetsu who came, not other members of the Akatsuki Organization.