Amegakure), Akatsuki.
In the basement, Pain stood on the finger of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, with five or six illusory figures appearing on the other fingers. The figures were somewhat distorted, but this did not hinder communication.
If I didn't know that this was the function of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, I would really think that this organization had mastered some advanced projection technology.
As the last figure appeared, Pain, the leader, slowly opened his Rinnegan.
"The operation to capture One-Tail was successful, but we also lost two important members!"
As he spoke Pain glanced at Shinno and Itachi, especially the latter. His blue Rinnegan and scarlet Sharingan at each other for a moment before he looked away.
Itachi was the only one to escape unscathed from the operation, which made Pain suspicious. However, he had no evidence to prove that Itachi had sabotaged the operation and was powerless to do anything about it.
"Their sacrifices were not in vain; the organization will remember their contributions!"
After calming the troops down, Pain then explained the purpose of the gathering.
"Two-Tails has already gathered some information. It's located within the Land of Lightning. We'll find the contact person for more details later!"
After speaking, Pain scanned the crowd and immediately selected his men.
"Please assist Hiruko Tenkūjo in making this trip!"
The two had no objections upon hearing this and were the first to dispel the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
Pain then turned his attention to Itachi. His partner had died, and he needed to find a replacement. After a moment's thought, Pain made a plan.
"The Three-Tails should be reborn soon, so you and Konan will be temporary partners. We'll assign you a new partner after we complete this mission! You don't have any objections, right?"
"No, it's all arranged by the organization!"
The Tailed Beasts Capture Project is a complex undertaking with far-reaching consequences. The reason for recruiting so many members is to complete the project as quickly as possible.
The first few Tailed Beasts can act immediately once they receive the news, and it's not impossible to take a two-pronged approach, especially since the Two-Tails, the Three-Tails, are currently without owners.
After everyone had left, Pain turned his gaze to Konan.
"Itachi has been acting a bit strange lately, keep an eye on him!"
Konan, who had also noticed this, nodded. These members had different thoughts, but they were all tolerant as long as it didn't involve the organization's safety.
"It is said that his younger brother Sasuke Uchiha training with Orochimaru, and the two are expected to have a battle soon!"
"As long as it doesn't affect the implementation of the plan, we can do whatever we want with him..."
Unbeknownst to them, while the organization was making plans for its next move, someone was stirring up trouble under their guise.
After thoroughly enraging Naruto, Orochimaru immediately ordered Sasuke to come out of the basement.
"Haven't you been out of action for a while? This opponent should be a good fit for you!"
After speaking, Orochimaru slowly sank into the ground, leaving Sasuke bewildered to deal with Four-Tails 'Naruto rage.
"Is this the power sealed within you?"
At this moment, Naruto had lost all reason; even his closest friends and family would be seen as his enemies.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
He immediately unleashed the signature move Orochimaru had taught him: a barrage of shuriken aimed directly at Naruto.
If Sasuke had awakened the Rinnegan and Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke, he would still have some killing power against the Tailed Beasts. At this point, Sasuke would be slightly inferior. Even Itachi would be injured when facing Yagura in his Tailed Beast Transformation Yagura, let alone him.
Faced with a hail of shuriken, Naruto simply shielded his eyes with his arm. The next moment, his arm slammed into the ground, causing a violent explosion around him.
Before the smoke and dust had cleared, a sharp claw emerged from the smoke and went straight for Sasuke.
Sasuke had already awakened his Sharingan, easily dodged the attack and immediately imbued his katana with Lightning Release Chakra, slashing at Naruto.
The lightning wrapped around the katana greatly enhances its sharpness, but even though Naruto was wide open and was slashed several times, he was unharmed, which only angered his opponent.
All four tails swept towards him simultaneously, each swing creating a powerful gust of wind, and each slam into the ground leaving a large crater.
If Sasuke hadn't dodged with agility, he probably would have been hit. Even so, he was still struck by the One-Tail and sent flying more than twenty meters away.
"He can't gain any advantage in close combat at all; this guy really is a monster!"
Sasuke frowned, realizing how troublesome his opponent was after just a few exchanges.
If Uchiha Sasuke were still the same as in the Original Work, Sasuke would be incredibly arrogant at this point, and Naruto wouldn't be a match for him.
But that was Naruto in his normal state; in his Tailed Beast Transformation form, he had no right to be arrogant.
At this point, Sasuke had only activated the Three Tomoe, and his Mangekyō Sharingan had not yet awakened. His greatest asset, Susanoo, Susanoo still nowhere to be seen. To suppress Naruto at this time, he would have to possess Amaterasu like Itachi, or be as powerful as Pain!
"This is..."
While Sasuke was thinking of a solution, Naruto flicked his body, and tiny Chakra energy balls floated out from his body.
With a wide-open mouth, he swallowed the high-density Tailed Beast Chakra floating in the air, and the ground was also crushed into a large crater by his limbs.
"Not good!"
As if he had just thought of something, Sasuke immediately threw the long sword in his hand aside and formed several hand seals.
"Four-Layer Rashōmon!"
As he slammed his hands on the ground, four Rashōmon rose in front of him, and at that moment, Naruto spat out the Tailed Beast Bomb from his mouth.
With a deafening roar, Rashōmon was completely destroyed by the Tailed Beast Bomb, though it did slightly alter the Tailed Beast Bomb's trajectory, causing a small mushroom cloud to rise forty or fifty meters away.
The battle between the two had already attracted the attention of Jiraisui and others, especially Sakura, who looked at the two in the arena with both excitement and disbelief.
"Was that Rashōmon?"
The Jiraisui was astonished as it appeared at what had just happened. This technique was said to be Ninjutsu that only the First Hokage knew, and it was unexpected that someone had learned it again after so many years.
Moreover, it appeared with four layers, only one less than the First Hokage's.
Currently, the First Hokage can only summon Rashōmon because Rashōmon only has five levels, and it can only be summoned with one hand.
Sasuke can only reach the fourth level of summoning because his abilities can only reach the fourth level, and he summons with both hands, which seems to have consumed a lot of energy.
Should we stop them?
Sakura, regaining her senses, said to the Jiraisui and Sai beside her, "If you ask me who wants them to stop the most, it's probably me."
"We cannot interfere in the current battle!"
Sai calmly analyzed the situation on the field, and Jiraisui nodded in agreement, glancing at the distance out of the corner of his eye.
"And it seems that it's not something we can stop just because we want to!"
"Well?"
The other two looked in the direction the Jiraisui was pointing, and when they saw Kabuto and Orochimaru standing there, their brows furrowed deeply.
"Let's see how things go first! If the situation becomes dire, I'll take action anyway!"
The two on the field were naturally unaware of the discussions around them. After avoiding Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb, Sasuke began to attack Naruto again.
Since the opponent is attacking based solely on instinct, he is not without a chance of winning.
In no time, countless threads wrapped around Naruto's limbs, temporarily restricting his movements.
Sasuke seized the opportunity and immediately launched an attack on Naruto.
"Lightning Release: Wan Lei Tian Lao Yin!"