Pain ignored the bickering between Orochimaru and Sasori.
"Kakuzu, you and Tang San will be a team. Head to the Land of Earth."
He had paired Kakuzu with the nameless extra from the original story—the one Kakuzu had killed.
Kakuzu had no objections.
He was even a little pleased.
Chiya had just destroyed four of his hearts, and he'd been worried about where to find replacements of such high quality.
After all, the heart of an elite jōnin was a rare thing.
And now, a high-quality heart had practically delivered itself to his doorstep.
All he had to do was arrange an accident during the mission.
"Konan will stay with me."
As a senior member and Nagato's close friend, Konan naturally had no objections.
"Jūzō, you and Itachi will head to the Land of Water."
"Yeah." Jūzō answered reluctantly.
If he could help it, he never wanted to return to that country of blood and tears.
Unfortunately, he was near the bottom of the Akatsuki in terms of strength, only slightly stronger than the extra who was about to die at Kakuzu's hands.
He had no right to refuse.
At least they weren't going to Kirigakure. Otherwise, he might have been ready to die.
After all, he had escaped from that Village Hidden in the Blood Mist.
"As for Chiya..." Considering the formidable strength Chiya had just displayed, Pain pondered for a moment before saying, "You'll team up with Zetsu for now. Zetsu's main job is gathering intelligence, and he isn't much of a fighter. You'll have to bear with it for a while. I'll find you a new teammate as soon as I can."
"Fine, as long as he doesn't suddenly pop out while I'm sleeping." Chiya was a little disappointed. He'd originally wanted to team up with Konan.