In a dimly lit room, four people wearing black cloaks with red clouds were talking.
The four were Obito, Zetsu, Konan, and Nagato. They were also the true core members of the Akatsuki.
Since Yahiko's death, the Akatsuki had been completely reorganized. Not only had the members' uniforms changed, but the organization's entire mission had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Nagato wasn't present in person. Instead, he had turned Yahiko's corpse into Deva Path Pain and was attending as Pain.
Nagato's legs had been crippled after he was caught in Hanzo and Danzo's ambush in Amegakure. Furthermore, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had left his Chakra severely depleted. He now relied on special equipment to stay alive and had almost completely lost his ability to move. Whenever he needed to act outside, he did so by controlling the Six Paths of Pain.
Obito could have used Hashirama Cells and White Zetsu tissue to repair Nagato's legs and restore his lost vitality. But that would also have returned Nagato's power to its peak, or even made him stronger. That would have made him harder to control, so Obito hadn't done it.
"How's the recruitment going?" asked Obito, wearing a red, spiral-patterned mask. He was still acting in Madara's name, so Nagato and Konan continued to believe that the masked man before them was Uchiha Madara.
"We've found a few capable people so far: Kakuzu, a missing-nin from Takigakure; Biwa Juzo, a missing-nin from Kirigakure; and Sasori of the Red Sands, whom we just recruited," Konan replied expressionlessly.
Ever since Yahiko's death, Konan's personality had changed completely. Once gentle toward everyone, she had become aloof and cold, wearing an expression as icy as if she had lost all feeling.
At Konan's words, Obito furrowed his brow beneath his mask. "The progress is a little slow. We're still nowhere near enough people. We need to gather around ten full members, at least."
"We also hope to find suitable candidates as soon as possible and move the organization's plans forward, but there aren't many strong shinobi operating outside the villages. You provided the information on several of our previous members. Do you have any new candidates?" Pain asked Obito in a frigid voice.
The Akatsuki's plan involved not only collecting the Nine Tailed Beasts, but also amassing a large amount of money beforehand. Both tasks required enough people to carry them out. Pain had already begun assigning members high-paying bounty missions to raise funds.
"Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin, defected some time ago. We recently discovered where he's hiding. He's a difficult man to read, and we're concerned that approaching him could be risky. But since you're the leader, you should decide whether to recruit him," Black Zetsu said from the side.
"Orochimaru won't be easy to deal with. Of the Sannin, he's probably the strongest right now," Obito added.
Pain dismissed Obito and Zetsu's concerns. "Orochimaru won't be able to cause any trouble before these Rinnegan."
"Give me the information on his location. I'll go there with Sasori myself. If Orochimaru agrees to join, I'll make him Sasori's partner. If he refuses, I'll take care of him while I'm there."
Several days later, in a gloomy underground cavern, Orochimaru had just sealed Shukaku's Yin Release Chakra into the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal within his body.
"Perfect. I've never felt so powerful," Orochimaru exclaimed, his pale face alight with excitement.
Anyone familiar with Orochimaru would have noticed that he was now a little shorter than before. That was because he had successfully completed his first Living Corpse Reincarnation!
Orochimaru had waited until now to seal Shukaku's Yin Release Chakra, rather than doing it immediately after obtaining Shukaku, because he wanted to seal it into his new body after reincarnating.
Thanks to his scholarly friend Yusuke, Orochimaru's technical skill had improved considerably compared with what it would have been in the original story. The Living Corpse Reincarnation, which should not have been developed for several more years, had been completed ahead of schedule. He had also found a way to temporarily compensate for the severe weakening of his spiritual power after reincarnation: the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal.
Orochimaru looked at Shukaku, now half its original size and left with only Yang Release Chakra, and frowned.
He didn't currently have a suitable vessel in which to seal Shukaku. If he sealed it inside another shinobi to make them a Jinchuriki, he would need not only a shinobi with a suitable constitution, but also the corresponding Sealing Jutsu.
At present, only Sunagakure had researched the Sealing Jutsu needed to seal Shukaku inside a shinobi and create a Jinchuriki. Orochimaru didn't yet have the means to make a One-Tail Jinchuriki.
As long as Shukaku remained with him, Orochimaru would have to watch over it himself. Shukaku was hot-tempered and far too talkative, which had worn on his nerves. But letting it go would be a waste.
The half of Shukaku left in Orochimaru's hands had become little more than dead weight.
After thinking it over for a moment, Orochimaru decided to kill the half of Shukaku. It was a pity, but he didn't have the spare energy to keep watch over it.
Of course, even if Orochimaru killed Shukaku, it wouldn't truly die. Before long, it would revive in the Nara Desert.
I wonder if Yusuke has found the materials needed to seal Yang Release Chakra with the Reverse Yin-Yang Seal.
Orochimaru couldn't help thinking of Yusuke. If he could complete the Reverse Yin-Yang Seal now, Shukaku's other half—its Yang Release Chakra—wouldn't go to waste.
When Yusuke had first proposed the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal, the idea had been to use the powerful Yang Release of Hashirama Cells to seal Yin Release Chakra, achieving the effect of restraining yin with yang and forming the seal.
The Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal worked on the same principle as the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal. By using some material imbued with powerful Yin Release, it could restrain yang and form a cursed seal capable of sealing a vast amount of Yang Release Chakra.
The Sharingan should work as a material representing Yin Release, but an ordinary Sharingan definitely wouldn't be enough. It would have to be something like the special Sharingan Shisui Uchiha used when he fought Yusuke.
But it would be such a waste to use a pair of those eyes as material for a cursed seal.
It just isn't worth it. It just isn't worth it!
Setting aside the idea of the Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal for now, Orochimaru's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he slowly approached Shukaku.
At that very moment, two people wearing black cloaks with red clouds were approaching the cavern where Orochimaru was hiding.
"It looks like this is the place," Sasori said slowly, looking at the cavern entrance ahead. He was concealed inside his puppet Hiruko, which lay belly-down on the ground. His voice had also been specially altered, making it extremely hoarse.
"It seems so. We haven't concealed our movements, so Orochimaru has probably noticed us," Pain replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru slowly emerged from the cavern.
Orochimaru had just strangled the Shukaku that was left with only Yang Release Chakra when he noticed Pain and Sasori's arrival.
Sensing that his visitors meant trouble, Orochimaru went to meet them at the entrance. He also wanted to test what kind of power his newly reincarnated body could wield after receiving the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal.
In the original story, Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki relatively late, and Kabuto had been working undercover under Sasori. By the time the Akatsuki approached him, Orochimaru already knew quite a bit about the organization.
But now Kabuto had been lured away by Yusuke, and the Akatsuki had noticed Orochimaru much earlier. At this point, he knew very little about them.
Looking at Deva Path Pain, Orochimaru didn't recognize him as one of the three orphans he had once encountered in Amegakure alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade.
He had seen far too many war orphans like him to give him a second thought. All his attention was fixed on the pair of rippling Rinnegan.
Those eyes... They're an extremely unusual ocular Kekkei Genkai! Orochimaru thought, extending his snake-like tongue to lick his lips.
Though he immediately noticed Deva Path Pain's unusual eyes, Orochimaru didn't recognize them as the legendary Rinnegan.
Still, instinct told him that the eyes were incredibly powerful. Under their gaze, Orochimaru felt like prey with nowhere to hide, firmly locked onto by a hunter.
"Orochimaru, long time no see," Sasori said, taking the initiative to greet him.
Orochimaru shifted his gaze from Pain to Hiruko beside him. He studied the puppet carefully, then asked uncertainly, "Are you Sasori of the Red Sands?"
Orochimaru had met Sasori once before, when Sasori hadn't yet joined the Akatsuki or hidden himself inside the puppet Hiruko.
But Orochimaru had a keen eye. He had spotted some clues in the puppet, though he couldn't be completely sure.
"That's right," Sasori replied.
Orochimaru's trademark sinister smile slowly appeared. "I wonder what brings you to visit me dressed so strangely, Sasori?"
Sasori snorted. "You're one to talk. Take a look at yourself. That Shimenawa doesn't suit you at all!"
At Sasori's words, Orochimaru's smile froze. He couldn't help remembering how Yusuke had also suggested he change his clothes on the night they had traded for Shukaku.
Is this outfit really that bad? Orochimaru began to wonder.
Orochimaru was still wearing his signature outfit, with a hemp rope wrapped around his waist and tied into a large bow at his back. In Japan, this kind of rope was called a Shimenawa.
Pain snorted. "Enough, Sasori. Stop talking about irrelevant things and get to the point." He hadn't expected Sasori and Orochimaru to stray so far from the subject that they were discussing their fashion choices.
Sasori still held some respect for the powerful Pain. He turned to Orochimaru. "Our organization is recruiting powerful shinobi, and you're strong enough to meet our standards."
"You have two choices: join us or die!"
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