The Akatsuki Organization Didn't Keep Dead Weight

"Such a pain!"

Uchiha An furrowed his brow and swiftly formed hand seals with one hand. Susanoo spewed another mouthful of flames, burning the Poison Dragon to nothing, but new shadows kept appearing.

While he was dealing with Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza had already charged in. His enormous palm clamped around Susanoo's arm like an iron vise, his muscles bulging to their limit as he roared like thunder.

"Let's see you form hand seals this time!"

In the blink of an eye, another Shadow Whip Poison Dragon took shape. It leaped out of the ground as if from thin air, writhing in midair like a living giant serpent as it lunged at him again, even larger than before.

"Heh... Who says Susanoo only has two arms?"

Uchiha An gave a cold laugh. At his mental command, a third arm abruptly extended from Susanoo's right side. Dark red Chakra rapidly coalesced into shape, its fingers nimble as they formed hand seals along with him.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

In an instant, a blazing dragon-shaped flame roared from Susanoo's mouth, tracing a graceful arc through the air as it surged toward its target with the force to destroy everything.

This time, his Ninjutsu didn't just target the Shadow Whip Poison Dragon. After destroying the Shadow Whip, he turned his head and sprayed the surging torrent of flames at Akimichi Choza, who was grappling with Susanoo.

The flames hadn't even reached him, but the intense heat was already warping the surrounding air. The rain vaporized in an instant.

Akimichi Choza hurriedly released Susanoo's arm and tried to retreat, but Susanoo's countering grab was even faster.

The massive hand of energy clamped tightly around his wrist, leaving him unable to escape.

This time, he was the one who'd been caught!

He was only half a beat too slow. The raging flames blasted Akimichi Choza from close range.

The flames curled around his enormous body like living things, swallowing him in an instant and setting him alight like a blazing torch.

In his Super Expansion state, his body made ideal fuel. The fire quickly spread over him, crackling as it burned. The stench of scorched protein filled the air, nauseating anyone nearby.

"Damn it!"

Nara Shikaku's heart lurched. A new Shadow Whip shot out from beneath his feet, reaching toward Akimichi Choza's feet.

"Shadow Grip Technique!"

Akimichi Choza instinctively tucked his head and limbs inward, turning himself into a massive ball of flesh. The Shadow Whip pulled him up and hurled him toward Uchiha An.

"Human Boulder: Human Cannonball!"

The rapidly spinning ball of flesh was covered in flames, making its impact all the more powerful. And as it ground violently against the ground, the fire on Akimichi Choza gradually went out.

Attacking and putting out the fire at the same time—perfect, killing two birds with one stone.

"What a nuisance!"

Uchiha An swung Susanoo's Scepter, knocking Akimichi Choza back once more. He himself leaped backward a few steps, then turned to look into the distance. The indistinct silhouettes of several shinobi had appeared there. The symbols on their forehead protectors told him they were shinobi from the Land of Rain.

He looked up at the sky. The rain was still pouring without end, which struck him as odd.

The rain carried a faint trace of Chakra. It was clearly Nagato's Rain Tiger At Will Technique.

With this technique, Nagato could keep every corner of the Land of Rain under close watch. No one could infiltrate without his knowledge.

He had made the Akatsuki Organization his home and devoted himself to building it up. He would never let outsiders run wild on his turf.

With such a commotion, even ordinary shinobi had come running. There was no way he hadn't noticed. So why hadn't he shown himself?

Or was he watching from the shadows?

Uchiha An's judgment was right. Pain had indeed arrived, but he hadn't rushed into the fray.

The Akatsuki Organization was currently keeping a low profile. Carelessly provoking a major enemy like Konoha wasn't a wise move.

Pain and Konan stood side by side, keeping an eye on the scene from the shadows.

"Why does he look like Uchiha Itachi?" Konan asked in puzzlement. "Shouldn't Itachi be in the village? Or is this Uchiha Itachi's twin brother?"

"He's an impostor," Pain replied expressionlessly. "The real Itachi is still in the village. The Six Paths can see him."

"Zetsu investigated the Uchiha Clan's intelligence before. Uchiha Itachi has only one younger brother, who's still a child. He doesn't have a twin."

"Someone must have used the Transformation Technique to take his appearance and fight Konoha's shinobi here."

"The Transformation Technique can change someone's appearance, but you can't conjure up the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan out of thin air. And Susanoo is even more impossible," Konan countered.

"That can only mean he's another Mangekyo Uchiha!" Pain said coolly. "If Uchiha Itachi could massacre his clan and defect, then other Uchiha could do the same."

"They both have the Mangekyō Sharingan. Uchiha Itachi might not even be able to kill him."

"That's true." Konan sighed. "The Uchiha really are one of Konoha's great clans. Their geniuses keep appearing one after another!"

"First there was Uchiha Madara, then Uchiha Itachi came along, and now another Mangekyo Sharingan user has appeared."

"Fortunately, they're constantly fighting among themselves, and their own people have wiped them out. Otherwise, they'd surely get in the way of our plan to gather the Tailed Beasts."

"It doesn't matter," Pain declared proudly. "No matter how many Mangekyō Sharingan they have, they're still just ordinary people with a little more power."

"And I am a god!"

"The god of a new world!"

"No one can stand against a god's will!"

Konan looked at Pain with concern but said nothing. She only nodded silently and asked in a low voice:

"Then, should we recruit him?"

Pain fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"That Uchiha Madara is a man of inscrutable motives. Who knows what he's plotting?"

"I'm confident I could overpower him, but if he started meddling behind our backs and sabotaging us, that would be troublesome."

"We already have two Mangekyo Uchiha in the organization. There's no need to add another."

Konan shook her head.

"This Uchiha might not be working with those two Uchiha Madara."

"He disguised himself as Itachi and fought Konoha's shinobi. He's probably holding a grudge against Itachi and trying to frame him."

"Perhaps he's a survivor who escaped death when Uchiha Itachi massacred his clan."

"Then he'd have an irreconcilable blood feud with Itachi for killing his family. We might be able to recruit him and use him to keep an eye on those two."

"I see." Pain lowered his head and considered it. "Then let this be his test."

"The Akatsuki Organization doesn't keep dead weight. If he can escape Konoha's pursuit, only then will he be qualified to join us."

After hearing that, Konan said no more. She simply stood beside Pain, silently watching the scene and following what happened next.