After the battlefield had been cleaned up, Hyuuga Nen and the others returned to the Temporary Base. They entered the hall, sat down at a long table, and waited for the meeting to begin.
After some time, Pain and Konan walked in and took seats at opposite ends of the table.
"Now, I'll tell you about the Akatsuki. It may not be what you expect, but the Akatsuki was founded to achieve world peace," Pain said solemnly.
He surveyed the members. Seeing their dismissive expressions, Pain's own expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this reaction.
"You've been with the organization for less than a year at most, and some of you for only a few days. The organization had few members before, and I never explained its goals in detail. Now that we've grown to a certain size, it's time to inform you and establish some rules."
Pain paused, then continued. "Before joining the organization, you were traitors, murderers, fugitives, and more. Some of you even had several of those labels. But I don't care about any of that. All I ask is that you use your strength to serve the organization. Do you understand?"
As he finished speaking, an oppressive aura radiated from Pain.
Feeling the pressure he exerted, Hyuuga Nen and the others dropped their nonchalant attitudes and answered affirmatively.
"Then how do you plan to achieve peace, Leader?" Hyuuga Nen asked.
"It seems you've given some thought to peace yourself." Pain nodded at Hyuuga Nen.
Heh. Hyuuga Nen chuckled inwardly. He had no interest in discussing peace with Pain right now. All he cared about was staying alive and growing stronger. He didn't have time to worry about anything else.
But if Hyuuga Nen didn't speak up, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Orochimaru would probably stay silent