Akatsuki Takes the Field!
"Is that... the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"I never expected that Konoha would produce another genius capable of mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the son of the Fourth Hokage no less."
On the platform, Rasa completely ignored the Anbu Ninja around him who already had Kunai at their sides, Jiraiya with a sigh:
"Is this what they call inheritance?"
"However, there's something I still don't understand."
Looking at the imposing Jiraiya before him, Rasa asked in a low voice, full of doubt:
"How did you learn about Sand Village's plan in advance?"
Who was the person who informed on you?
"Enough with the nonsense, Rasa."
Jiraiya showed no intention of answering his questions, and instead spoke in a cold, stern voice:
"You should know very well that even with that out-of-control One-Tail, you still have no chance against me."
And those ninja units from Sand Village that were lurking around Konoha have already been completely taken down by us.
The arena has been Sealing Jutsu, and the Old Man, Kakashi, and the others are already on guard throughout Konoha. They will arrive immediately should any unexpected incident occur.
Jiraiya said to Rasa in Rasa voice:
Your plan has completely failed!
Don't continue down this path of delusion; it's not too late to turn back.
Think about it carefully. What good would launching a war against Konoha really do for Sand Village?!
Rasa snorted coldly, a mocking smile appearing on his stern face:
"Now that things have come to this, don't you find it ridiculous to say all this?"
Both I and Sand Village made this decision after careful consideration.
Even if you yourselves know very well that this decision... is fundamentally wrong!
"Ha, how arrogant."
Rasa gazed intently at the Fifth Hokage before him, and spoke meaningfully:
"And why are you so certain that Sand Village has already lost?"
Having said that, he seemed to have completely lost interest in arguing with Jiraiya. He turned to look at the guard beside him who had remained silent throughout, and said in a calm, deep voice:
"It's time to fulfill our contract, Mr. Pain of Akatsuki."
Upon hearing Rasa's address, Jiraiya's heart tightened, and he quickly followed Rasa's gaze to look at the ordinary-looking guard beside him.
Meanwhile, the guards beside Rasa were also watching him with complicated expressions.
He completely ignored the Anbu Ninja attacking from all sides, pressed his hand to the ground, and hissed:
"Summoning Technique!!"
Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively roared at the surrounding Anbu:
"Everyone, come to my side immediately! Create distance between them!!"
The Anbu Ninja felt the terrifying pressure emanating from the white smoke rising from the Summoning Technique, and a chill ran down their spines.
Without hesitation, they followed Jiraiya, Body Flicker Technique teleporting away from the platform and landing on the relatively safe rooftops opposite the arena.
As the white smoke from the Summoning Technique slowly dissipated, the ordinary-looking guard finally revealed his true appearance.
He was a man with long orange hair, wearing Forehead Protector belonging to missing-nin from Amegakure on his forehead, and his indifferent face was covered with black Chakra rods.
But what caught everyone's attention the most were his eyes—eyes that shone with a cold, purple light and had concentric circles of patterns.
That is the legendary Rinnegan, the foremost of the three Dōjutsu!
On the distant rooftop, Jiraiya and the Konoha Anbu were startled when they saw the Animal Path reveal its true form. Their attention was then drawn to the several figures that appeared on the platform after the smoke and dust dissipated.
At that moment, eight figures appeared simultaneously beside Rasa on the platform.
They were all dressed in the iconic Black Cloak with Red Clouds, and wore Forehead Protector of missing-nin from different villages. Their ages and appearances varied, but each of them exuded a terrifying pressure that was enough to make all the Anbu present feel suffocated.
The entire Akatsuki is in position!!
Pain gazed at Jiraiya in the distance, a faint trace of nostalgia flashing in his eyes:
"It's been so long, Jiraiya- Teacher..."
On the opposite rooftop, Jiraiya gazed at the face he would never mistake—the face of Yahiko —and a bitter feeling welled up inside him.
"Nagato..."
"Ugh! Boss, how did we end up here?!"
On the platform, Deidara rubbed his still somewhat dazed head, looking around blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings.
His gaze fell on the Animal Path behind him, his eyes wide open:
"Huh?! Who is this guy?! Why is he wearing our Akatsuki uniform?! And he even has the exact same eyes as our boss?!"
What on earth is going on? Could this guy be your twin brother, boss?!
Hearing Deidara's surprised and doubtful voice, apart from Konan, all the Akatsuki members turned their gazes to the Animal Path, and all sorts of speculations surged in their minds.
But sensing Pain's dangerous gaze, they all tacitly chose to remain silent, quietly watching their unassuming leader with meaningful glances.
"Looks like your plan has gone wrong, Fourth Kazekage."
Sasori was the first to shift his gaze from Pain, coldly sweeping his eyes across the now-empty arena, and mockingly said to Rasa:
"You can't even handle such a small thing? What was that old woman Chiyo thinking, letting a piece of trash like you sit in the position of the Fourth Kazekage?"
"Ha, Sand Village is really getting worse with each generation."
Rasa frowned unhappily and replied coldly:
"The plan did indeed encounter unexpected changes, but the one who should bear the responsibility for this is Xiaocai, right?"
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Pain, who was at the head of the group, and questioned him with displeasure:
"According to the original plan, didn't Akatsuki already arrange for one member to infiltrate the Chunin Ninja Exams arena?"
However, even with so many unexpected changes that have occurred, the Akatsuki member has not shown up since then.
"You all know this, don't you intend to offer an explanation?"
Hearing Rasa's accusatory questioning, apart from Pain and Itachi, the rest of the Akatsuki members looked at each other with confusion.
"That's true, really."
"Where did Brother Kou go?"
Deidara tilted his head, muttering in confusion:
"Shouldn't he have been waiting for us here already? Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Could it be... that something unexpected happened?
"Hmph, who knows?"
Kakuzu glanced coldly in the direction of the Hokage Building and slowly speculated:
"Who knows, maybe that kid is planning to take this opportunity to make a killing in Konoha?"
After all, he's never been exactly friendly to Konoha.
"It doesn't matter what happens to that guy, we're more than enough with us here!"
Hidan put his hands behind his head, casually interjected, and lazily glanced at Jiraiya and the Konoha Anbu under the opposite roof, muttering with some disappointment:
"It's a real shame that there are so few people."
I was hoping to offer some interesting sacrifices to the Lord Jashin, but what a disappointment!
Itachi remained silent throughout, simply standing quietly at the very edge, observing every subtle change in Pain's expression.
"... You don't need to worry about the knocking for now."
Pain slowly withdrew his gaze from the rooftops opposite him and turned to look at his subordinates behind him, each with their own thoughts:
"Don't forget, our target for this operation is all three Jinchuriki, including the One-Tail Beast."
Perhaps he made a last-minute decision to hunt down the two Nine-Tails and Seven-Tails Jinchuriki had already left the area; who knows?
When we see him again, we will naturally know his whereabouts.
As he spoke, he turned his gaze back to the colossal creature wreaking havoc on the arena and said in a calm tone:
"Right now, there's only one thing we need to do first."
"That's the one we're about to capture... One-Tail!!"
Hearing Pain's calm and clear instructions, the Akatsuki members instantly reached a consensus and nodded in unison.