Akatsuki's New Recruit

Konoha's counterattack was like pouring a ladle of ice water into a boiling pot of oil, instantly igniting a second tsunami of public opinion in the Ninja World. Compared to the previous speculative and inflammatory rumors about the "Tenseigan," the information leaked by Konoha this time seemed "solid" and chilling.

A mysterious uniform with black background and red clouds, an S-rank Rogue Ninja active in the shadows, a long history of stirring up conflict across national borders, and a mad goal of collecting Tailed Beast to create the "ultimate weapon"----

Although the specific incidents were not named, they vaguely matched certain unsolved mysteries in the intelligence systems of various villages and the mysterious disappearances of some elite ninjas.

The most significant and impactful piece of information is undoubtedly the core message: the leader of the Akatsuki possesses the legendary Rinnegan, the Sage Eye!

This intelligence was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake; the ripples it created quickly spread, overlapped, and eventually turned into towering waves.

Unlike the "Tenseigan" of Konoha, which is still in the "legend" and has never been seen, this "Akatsuki" with the Rinnegan is a real entity, and its threat seems more imminent, more real and terrifying!

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office.

Ōnoki, short in stature, sat behind his desk, his withered fingers gripping a secret report that had just been presented by the Anbu.

On the desk in front of him, countless reports about the fruitless search for Rōshi were scattered about. His cloudy old eyes were fixed on the glaring words "Rinnegan" on the secret report, and below it, the Akatsuki's objective was to capture the Tailed Beast.

"Hoo----" Ōnoki's long sigh echoed in the deathly silent office. The rage, anxiety, and the increasingly heavy sense of foreboding deep in his heart finally found an outlet at this moment, turning into cold despair.

He waved his hand, as if using all his strength, signaling the Anbu Captain below, who was about to report again that "there is no trace of Rōshi," to step down.

The office door closed gently. Ōnoki, his back hunched, slowly walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window were the rugged, steep rocky mountains surrounding Iwagakure.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the mountains with a tragic dark red.

His withered hands repeatedly stroked the secret report about the Akatsuki and the Rinnegan, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Rōshi —who told you to leave the village without permission—" Ōnoki's voice was hoarse and low, filled with the sorrow and helplessness of a hero in his twilight years, "You—you're never coming back, are you?"

It has been almost three months since Rōshi left the village. At first, the village could still receive information from him through other Rock Ninja, but later only occasional intelligence about his attack was sent back.

One or two times might be reassuring, but repeated occurrences inevitably raise suspicions, especially since the Anbu who Scout based on intelligence always end up empty-handed. Even a fool could see the oddities, let alone ninjas who are experts in this field.

After a long silence, the Tsuchikage abruptly snapped out of his reverie, his eyes flashing with the ruthlessness and decisiveness characteristic of the "Two-Day Balance" (a powerful, ruthless leader). He pressed the communicator on the table, his voice as cold as ice. "Order! From this moment forward, all ninjas on missions outside, gather all intelligence on the Akatsuki and its members! Especially Pain, who possesses the Rinnegan! Report any clues immediately! Top priority!"

The Land of Rain, the Akatsuki Base.

The cold rain relentlessly pounded against the mountain rocks, and a damp, chilly atmosphere, even more so than usual, permeated the depths of the base.

"Bang!"

The hard rocky ground was shattered by a single stomp! Shards flew everywhere, making a crackling sound as they hit the ground.

"Useless! Fool!" Obito's furious roar echoed in the empty cavern, his voice sounding even more distorted and muffled through his mask.

He whirled around, his right Sharingan, the only eye visible, spinning wildly, its crimson light locked onto the silent Zetsu, his killing intent almost tangible!

"Who told you to be so clever as to reveal the exact power of the Tenseigan? Hmm? All we need to do is make Konoha the target of everyone's attacks! Who told you to overcomplicate things?"

Pain stood motionless not far away, his Black-bottomed Red Cloud Robe remaining perfectly still in the dim light. But in his Rinnegan, purple ripples rippled violently, and a chilling killing intent, like a tangible cold current, silently spread out, lowering the temperature of the entire space by several degrees.

He didn't speak, but the silent pressure he exuded was even more suffocating than Obito's roar.

Zetsu's half-black, half-white body trembled slightly, whether from fear or deliberate, it was unclear. The White Zetsu emitted an exaggerated, high-pitched voice. "I—I just wanted to add some spice to Konoha —who knew—who knew Konoha would react so decisively, so ruthlessly—directly pulling out the Rinnegan."

"Add some spice?!" Obito's voice suddenly rose, filled with absurd anger, "The little 'spice' you added has put us right on the fire! Look outside! The Rinnegan, the ultimate weapon for collecting Tailed Beast!"

The entire Ninja World is watching! That old dog from Iwagakure has directly ordered all Rock Ninja to gather intelligence on Akatsuki.

Black Zetsu was speechless. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. He felt that the pressure on Konoha was not enough, so he added more pressure. He did not expect this turn of events.

Black Zetsu remained silent, and his body was naturally taken over by White Zetsu.

"Oh dear, we're in so much danger right now. On my way back, I've noticed more than once that people are trying to gather information about us."

It would have been better if we hadn't said anything; the more we talk about it, the more Black Zetsu's incompetence is revealed.

Seeing that no one responded to him, White Zetsu was struck by a strange sight. He turned to look at Obito and Pain, but then he discovered that he had lost control of his body once again.

Not only that, when he opened his mouth to complain, he found that he couldn't even move his mouth; all he could do was move his eyes from side to side.

In the midst of this silence, the soft "tap tap" of footsteps became all the more distinct.

The three of them turned to look in the direction from which the footsteps came, and saw Konan with short blue hair walking towards them with a happy expression.

Konan, who had just entered, was clearly immersed in joy. Even when she saw Obito and Zetsu present, she was only slightly taken aback, but it did not diminish her happiness.

"Pain, good news, I've found a new member."

Konan nodded to Obito and Zetsu as a greeting, and then eagerly revealed the source of her joy.

During this time, she and Kakuzu been running all over the Ninja World, trying to find a new member to replace her as soon as possible.

How many people know how worried she is about Nagato's health at the base every night when she rests and her mind is blank?

For this reason, she didn't hesitate to endure Kakuzu's murderous gaze, urging him to travel between different Exchange Shop every day, until finally she found a suitable target in the Land of Bears.

"Oh, really?" Pain's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to smile, but his stiff muscles could only manage that much.

"That's certainly good news; our strength has increased once again."

Pain, of course, knew what Konan was thinking. Touched, he didn't want to disappoint her. "In that case, come back and let the new member team up with Kakuzu."

Pain had absolute trust in Konan, making his decision without even asking for information about the new member.

But how could this satisfy Obito nearby?

"Uh-huh!"

He coughed lightly to attract the attention of others, and calmly asked the question that had been bothering him.

"Konan, what's the new member's name? What's his/her identity? What are his/her abilities? Since you're the one who discovered him/her, why don't you introduce him/her?"

Konan heard Pain's arrangements, a bright smile appeared on her face, and she even gave Obito a rare kind look when he asked her questions.

"Speaking of which, that person was born at the same time as you?"

Konan made a teasing remark, which made Obito's muscles tense up, as he thought his identity had been exposed.

"That's also a Rogue Ninja from Konoha, named Hiruko. She defected from Konoha near the end of the Third Shinobi World War. She's fairly strong, but has good potential for development."

"Hmph!" Obito snorted disdainfully, saying with displeasure, "I am no Rogue Ninja. Don't compare yourself to these ignorant juniors."

However, Obito only expressed his dissatisfaction slightly and did not pursue the matter further; his attention remained on the newcomer.

"Good development potential" means his current strength is insufficient. What we need now is actual combat power, and someone who still needs to be trained may not be suitable for us.

Obito was expressing his opinion and wanted to hear Konan's explanation. If the other party truly had great potential, it wasn't impossible to be accommodating.

"Just listening to my words isn't enough to be sure. Luckily, I've brought him to the vicinity, so everyone can verify it for themselves."

Pain and Obito exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. "That's excellent."

Not far from Akatsuki's base, in a dense forest, Hiruko against a thick tree trunk, his toes unconsciously grinding the fallen leaves beneath his feet, making a soft crunching sound.

His fingers nervously twisted the hem of his greyish-white robe, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

Every time he heard the slightest rustling of grass in the distance, he would abruptly raise his head, his slightly narrow eyes scanning the area like a startled wild beast, only to quickly dim again when he saw nothing there, revealing the anxiety and unease hidden beneath.

"Tsk."

A short, cold click of the tongue came from not far away, breaking the silence that was filled only with the sound of rain.

Kakuzu also leaned against an ancient tree, his dark green eyes peering through the rain like the most precise weight, Hiruko over and over again.

That gaze wasn't scrutinizing; it was more like estimating how much money this restless, rogue Konoha Rogue Ninja could get if he were taken to the nearest Exchange Shop right now.

His lips moved silently; only when one was extremely close could one barely catch his murmur, "This reward—it seems it's going to slip away—what a pity—"

Time crawled slowly to the rhythm of raindrops pattering on the leaves, each second feeling like an eternity to Hiruko.

Just as he was about to be driven mad by the endless waiting and inner torment, a very faint sound of footsteps pierced through the rain and slowly approached from the depths of the forest.

It's here!

Hiruko's heart leaped into his throat. He straightened his back, which had been slightly hunched due to tension, and turned his gaze like lightning toward the direction from which the sound came.

However, when the figure became clear in the hazy rain, the hope in his eyes deflated and died out like a punctured balloon, replaced by a chilling coldness and unbelievable humiliation.

There was only one person.

Only the woman with short blue hair walked back slowly, all by herself. Behind her was nothing; the expected leader of the Akatsuki or any of the others did not appear.

An indescribable surge of pent-up inferiority and anger, like magma, erupted from Hiruko's head, scorching away his last shred of reason.

"Heh--heh-heh--" He let out a series of low, twisted chuckles, his body trembling slightly from extreme emotion.

He took a sudden step forward, oblivious to the mud splashing onto his trousers, his gaze fixed on Konan's calm, expressionless face. His voice, sharp and shrill with agitation, rang out. "What? Your Akatsuki invited me all this way, and now you're not even going to give me a chance to test myself? You're just sending me back like this?"

Ha! What a show of power! What a mysterious and powerful Akatsuki! Turns out they're nothing special! Just like those arrogant guys in Konoha, blind to all the good stuff!

Such dismissive treatment instantly ignited the bitterness and resentment that had been building up in Hiruko's heart for over a decade.

He, Hiruko, a Civilian ninja without a distinguished family background or special bloodline, put in many times more effort and sweat than ordinary people to squeeze into the Jonin through countless life-and-death battles.

This should have been an achievement to be proud of. However, fate gave him three brilliant and dazzling friends from the same Sun Barrier Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya!

While he was still struggling in the mire of Genin, they were already Chunin; when he finally rose to the Chunin, they were already renowned Konoha Jonin Konoha; and when he finally became Jonin after all the hardships, thinking he could finally get a little closer to his friends, they were already legends known throughout the Ninja World.

The final straw that broke the camel's back was that monster named Taichi Matsushita!

A child young enough to be his son! How could he, at such a young age, possess such despair-inducing talent that he could sweep across the battlefield, achieving remarkable feats, even forcing this veteran Jonin to bow his head and respectfully address him as "Lord Taiichi"?

At that moment, Hiruko at his face in the mirror, distorted by jealousy and despair, and at his eyes filled with the word "mediocrity." He knew that there was no place for him in Konoha anymore.

The Chimera Technique, which he had devoted all his efforts to researching, was a taboo that Konoha would never allow. So, on the day when Taiichi returned victorious from the front lines and the entire Konoha was cheering and celebrating, he accepted a mission far from the village and embarked on his path of defection without looking back.

I thought the Akatsuki would be the discerning mentor who recognized his talent, and a brand new stage for him to realize his ambitions and prove his worth to the world!

But now? He's been so contemptuously stripped of even the right to meet the leader? This huge disparity and the familiar sense of disdain are like the sharpest knife, tearing open the deepest scars in his heart.

Faced with Hiruko's almost out-of-control roaring questioning, a barely perceptible look of surprise flashed across Konan's pale purple eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

She showed no sign of anger at being offended, but responded with her cool, clear voice.

"You didn't notice at all?"