I Am Very Capable!

Uchiha An flipped himself in mid-air, landing steadily. He reached up and wiped his face, smearing away the tears of blood beneath his eyes.

When he looked up again, his vision was somewhat blurry, but it quickly returned to normal with the nourishment of Yang Release. Furthermore, the regenerated eyeballs had repaired some of their previous defects.

It was conceivable that after just a few more instances like this, his Mangekyo Sharingan would likely evolve into the Eternal Mangekyo on its own.

Pain descended slowly from the sky, separating the two of them. With a flick of his finger, he sent a ring floating before Uchiha An and said in a tone of absolute certainty:

"Put on this ring. From this day forward, you are the eighth member of the Akatsuki Organization, codenamed 'North'."

"Internal conflict is forbidden within the Akatsuki Organization."

"I don't care what grudges you have with Uchiha Itachi, you are forbidden from engaging in a death match with him again."

Pain stared intently at Uchiha An, giving the impression that he would teach him a lesson if they disagreed.

To his surprise, Uchiha An unhesitatingly took the ring and put it on his left middle finger, chuckling as he said:

"'North,' huh?"

"The Southern Dipper governs life, the Northern Dipper governs death. This ring suits me quite well."

"Oh, Leader, why are you looking at me like that!"

"Don't worry, I'm a very magnanimous person!"

"Although I have a grudge against Itachi, revenge doesn't necessarily mean killing him."

"Sometimes, living is worse than dying!"

"Closing your eyes and knowing nothing would be so liberating!"

"Killing a beast like him would be too easy for him!"

"I will destroy the Konohagakure he loves so dearly, and let him truly experience what hell is like."

"However, Leader, while I am magnanimous and don't mind letting go of my grudge with him, he doesn't seem to have the same breadth of spirit. He's distraught over the death of his younger brother."

"Heh heh..."

Upon hearing this, Pain turned his head and looked coldly at Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi, what is your stance?"

Veins bulged on Uchiha Itachi's face, his teeth clenched, and he panted heavily. His Mangekyo Sharingan stared fixedly at the grinning Uchiha An, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

After a moment of this, just as Pain was beginning to lose patience, Uchiha Itachi slowly closed his eyes, wiped the tears of blood from beneath them with his sleeve, and replied in a hoarse whisper:

"I understand."

"I will control my emotions and will not engage him in a death match."

"Very good." Pain nodded with satisfaction and turned back to Uchiha An.

"Since you have joined the Akatsuki Organization, you should stop using Itachi's face. Who are you, really?"

Uchiha An dispelled his transformation jutsu, revealing his true appearance.

"My name is Uchiha An. I was originally a regular Jonin. With Itachi's 'help,' I successfully awakened my Mangekyo."

"As thanks, I took the liberty of beheading his brother. Perhaps that will be a fitting repayment to Itachi."

Seeing Uchiha An's intent to provoke again, Pain frowned and shouted:

"Enough, stop provoking Itachi!"

"Everyone return to the village. We will discuss how to deal with the impending retaliation from Konohagakure."

Thinking that these troubles were all caused by the person in front of him, Pain couldn't help but feel annoyed and shot Uchiha An a hateful glare.

As a result, he saw Uchiha An suddenly raise his arm high and shout with a grin:

"Leader, I want to report!"

"Uchiha Itachi did not truly betray the village; he is Sarutobi Hiruzen's dog, a spy sent by Konohagakure!"

"If we are to go to war with Konohagakure, we must first eliminate this spy!"

"Otherwise, before Konohagakure even attacks, all the intelligence of everyone in our Akatsuki Organization will be leaked!"

Pain frowned again upon hearing this.

However, during the previous fight between Uchiha An and Itachi, emotions had run high, and all sorts of information had been leaked.

He had also understood clearly that Uchiha Itachi had indeed been instructed by the higher-ups of Konohagakure to carry out the clan extermination plan.

Therefore, the claim of him being a "Rogue Ninja" was indeed somewhat shaky. Whether this person was trustworthy or not was still uncertain.

Facing Pain's doubtful gaze, Uchiha Itachi said with a cold face:

"Perhaps I wasn't a Rogue Ninja of Konohagakure before, but after this person impersonated me and caused trouble, even if I wanted to not be a Rogue Ninja now, it's impossible."

This was not an incorrect statement. If a ninja were to kill the Hokage's grandson, abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and directly or indirectly cause the deaths of a large number of elite ninja in the village, they would truly have no choice but to become a Rogue Ninja.

If someone could still receive forgiveness from Konohagakure under such circumstances, that person must have deep connections.

For example, the Third Hokage's favorite disciple, or the Seventh Hokage's best friend.

Pain nodded, delivering his final verdict:

"Itachi's identity is beyond doubt. Do not question it again."

Uchiha An pouted and said nothing.

Outsiders could never understand the obsession of the Mangekyo Uchiha; explanations were useless.

The Mangekyo Sharingan itself was unreasonable. Using common sense to judge the logic behind a Mangekyo Uchiha's actions was entirely mistaken.

All Mangekyo Uchiha were lunatics, without exception.

Without madness, there was no survival; those not mad enough could not awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Seeing Uchiha An fall silent, Pain used the Body Flicker Technique to leave and return to the village.

The others also returned to the village one after another. Uchiha An followed behind them, arriving at Amegakure with them.

The rain in the sky began to fall again, pattering down, as if Uchiha Itachi were crying.

Uchiha An, however, was cheerful. He looked around with interest as they walked, completely ignoring the murderous gazes occasionally directed at him from behind, acting as if Uchiha Itachi didn't exist.

Soon, everyone arrived at the central high tower, the dwelling of their god and the Akatsuki Organization's lair.

Upon entering the meeting hall, they took their seats. Pain sat in the main seat, and beside him sat a person wearing a mask that revealed only one eye. Inside, the blood-red Three Tomoe clearly belonged to Uchiha Obito.

Wasn't this guy always causing trouble from the shadows? Why did he show up today?

Was it because Uchiha Itachi was introduced?

Or does he think the war with Konohagakure is about to break out, so there's no need to hide anymore?

Not only did he have questions, but the other members of the Akatsuki Organization were also puzzled, wondering who this unfamiliar Uchiha who suddenly appeared was.

As if sensing their confusion, Pain introduced him:

"This is a collaborator of the Akatsuki Organization, one of the earliest founders of Konohagakure, a legend of the ninja world who, alongside the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, pacified the chaotic era and established the ninja village system—Uchiha Madara!"

"Oh!" Such a terrifying title immediately stunned most of those present, and they gasped in unison.

If anyone else had introduced him, they certainly wouldn't have believed it. But Pain was incredibly arrogant, calling himself a god and looking down on everyone. Now that he was introducing this person so solemnly, his identity gained a degree of authenticity.

Uchiha Obito nodded pretentiously and was about to say a few words when a sudden "Pfft" sound came from beside him. Uchiha An burst into laughter.

"Haha..." Uchiha An clutched his stomach, looking like he was about to roll on the ground. He pointed at Uchiha Obito, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes.

"This trash dares to call himself Uchiha Madara?"

"If he's Uchiha Madara, then I'm the Sage of Six Paths Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo!"