Joining! The Akatsuki's First Mission

At these words, not only was Kakuzu, who had questioned Uchiha Ye, taken aback, but even the eyes of Pain Deva Path revealed a hint of surprise.

Both men couldn't help but look toward Konan, who replied, "Sasori ended in a draw with him. Well, it was Sasori who proposed it himself."

Now it was Kakuzu's turn to be astonished: "To think he could make Sasori voluntarily suggest a draw? Then I truly underestimated you."

He knew Sasori's strength well.

He was only a hair's breadth behind him!

Yet Uchiha Ye, at such a young age, was actually able to fight Sasori to a draw; he was truly a monster.

It seemed one really could not look down on this man.

Even Nagato, behind Pain Deva Path, felt a chill in his heart: "No wonder Madara specifically instructed Konan not to underestimate Uchiha Ye before she left. It was indeed the right choice to have Sasori go along."

Otherwise, Konan's mission might truly have ended in failure.

"Yo, Itachi, you're here too!"

Uchiha Ye expressed his gratitude to Sasori, then looked at the Magic Lantern Body opposite him, feigning ignorance with a brilliant smile: "It seems our choices were surprisingly identical!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi's Three Tomoe spun, his gaze sharp: "You hid yourself so deeply; even I was deceived by you."

He paused, then said coldly: "You killed Uchiha Tensho, didn't you?"

When he heard that Uchiha Ye had fought Sasori of the Red Sand to a draw, he understood everything.

His tone was incredibly sharp: "A person like you, who hid within the Uchiha clan and has now joined the Akatsuki, what exactly are you trying to do?"

He held back the second half of his thought: Are you planning to act against Konoha?

Uchiha Ye smiled at the words, his eyes narrowing: "What meaning is there in saying all this now?"

Uchiha Itachi's gaze only grew more piercing: "I will keep my eyes fixed on you. I will never let you run wild and endanger the organization!"

As for this little scene of "Uchiha infighting," the others were happy to watch from the sidelines.

Sasori, seeing this, exchanged a glance with Uchiha Ye, their eyes conveying the question: Do you want me to kill Uchiha Itachi?

Uchiha Ye shook his head, thinking to himself: The fear that I might be a threat to the Akatsuki is a lie; the truth is he fears I might be a threat to Konoha!

He then responded to Uchiha Itachi: "I'll be waiting!"

He had to monitor Uchiha Obito and prevent that mysterious man from acting against Konoha.

Now, having to guard against him as well, it was surely a massive drain on his energy.

It was no wonder Uchiha Itachi died young in the original story.

Perhaps excessive expenditure of energy was one of the reasons.

The Konoha high command slaughtered your entire clan out of fear of your bloodline's power, yet you still choose to protect Konoha for the sake of the Will of Fire in your heart. You voluntarily became a spy to infiltrate the Akatsuki, providing intelligence for Konoha without complaint or regret, all to prevent the Akatsuki from harming the village.

He sighed inwardly: "Is all of this really worth it, Itachi?"

In his past life, he had been very fond of the character Uchiha Itachi.

Calm, powerful, and cool!

But he truly could not understand the "Will of Fire" that Uchiha Itachi clung to.

He could never choose to sacrifice his own self for the greater good, leading to the heartless slaughter of the entire Uchiha clan, or even turning his blade against his own parents.

Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi stared at Uchiha Ye, saying firmly, word for word: "I will!"

In the shadows, Uchiha Obito watched this scene with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

What he feared most was Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Ye joining forces.

Fortunately, that had not happened!

As he looked at Uchiha Ye, his gaze turned sharp: "Uchiha Ye, grow up quickly. Awaken your Three Tomoe Sharingan as soon as possible, so that I may harvest a better pair of eyes later."

Was there any need for him to stop Uchiha Ye from joining the Akatsuki?

Not at all!

A ready-made pair of Sharingan was right in front of him; he only needed to wait for the target to fully mature and then pluck the ripe fruit.

Why wouldn't he?

Not to mention, he had far more important matters to attend to and no time to target Uchiha Ye.

"Then..."

Pain Deva Path spoke again: "Let me tell you about the goals of our Akatsuki members."

He began by speaking of accumulating vast wealth, moving on to establishing an independent mercenary group, monopolizing all war commissions, and gradually revealing plans to destroy the ninja systems of the great nations.

"Our ultimate goal is to collect all the Tailed Beasts to create the ultimate weapon, and through the deterrence of absolute force, achieve peace in the ninja world!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but feel a chill, his fists clenching involuntarily: Even the Tailed Beasts are their targets. The Akatsuki is indeed a very dangerous organization. It seems my choice to infiltrate them was truly the right one.

They will inevitably act against Konoha in the future.

And Uchiha Ye...

He simply feigned a look of great astonishment: "That is truly an incredible goal, Leader."

Kakuzu let out a scoff, teasing, "Kid, even if you're scared, it's too late to apply for a withdrawal now!"

Uchiha Ye replied immediately, "It seems I have no choice but to see this through to the end. I hope the power of the Tailed Beasts won't disappoint me!"

Pain Deva Path nodded at this, then swept his gaze over the group. "But the most important matter before us now is to continue filling out our ranks."

"Everyone, do you have any candidates to recommend?"

This question caused everyone to shake their heads.

Uchiha Ye certainly had a few people he could recommend.

But why would he?

Wouldn't an overly dazzling performance make Uchiha Obito even more wary of him?

At this stage, it was better for him to keep a low profile.

"Since you have none, I have two."

He looked at Uchiha Ye and Uchiha Itachi. "I will leave the recruitment of these two to you, Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird. How about it?"

Uchiha Ye's heart stirred at these words, knowing the two people he spoke of must be Deidara and Hidan!

"To be given such an important task right after arriving—how exciting!"

Uchiha Ye looked at Sasori of the Red Sand beside him. "Brother Sasori, what do you think?"

Sasori of the Red Sand replied, "That works."

Uchiha Itachi naturally did not express any refusal.

"Here is the information on those two!"

Two scroll projections appeared, unfolding before the four of them.

"The Jashin Cultist 'Hidan,' regarded as the number one villain by the typically peaceful people of the Village Hidden in Hot Water. He has committed countless murders, and they have specifically commissioned the Akatsuki to eliminate this heretic to ensure peace within the village!"

Sasori of the Red Sand frowned as he read the file. "He doesn't seem like a proper ninja at all."

As for Uchiha Itachi, his file was on the 'genius explosion-style ninja' of the Village Hidden in the Rocks, Deidara.

Just as I thought...

Looking at these two files, Uchiha Ye thought to himself, It really is these two!

In that case, the countdown to Orochimaru leaving the Akatsuki can officially begin.

Glancing at Orochimaru, who was staring fixedly at Uchiha Itachi with greedy, burning eyes, Uchiha Ye made his calculations.