After all...
Whether it was to take advantage of Uchiha Ye's strength and have him help capture the Tailed Beasts, speeding up the Eye of the Moon Plan,
or to take his Three-Tomoe Sharingan for himself once Uchiha Ye had grown stronger,
he shouldn't be in such a hurry. He should let Uchiha Ye grow for a while first.
Although that carried the risk of playing with fire and getting burned,
he believed that as long as he kept Uchiha Ye's growth under control and killed him before he got beyond his reach, there would be no risk at all.
To that end, he only needed to make one small preparation.
He would have Zetsu give up his identity as an Akatsuki member and go undercover, reducing the burden of his assignments so he could devote most of his energy to monitoring Uchiha Ye.
By a lakeside!
"Dog-Biting Crimson Lotus!"
"Hellhound!"
"Great Eruption!"
"Lava Style: Scorch Flow Explosion!"
Uchiha Ye created a Shadow Clone and engaged himself in a fierce, intense battle,
honing his techniques and developing his Devil Fruit Ability.
Thanks to the Chakra Control Scroll he'd obtained from Root, he now used far less chakra while maintaining the same level of attack power.
Moreover, precise chakra control had also raised the upper limit of the destruction his Devil Fruit Ability could unleash.
If he fought Tobirama Senju again, he'd be able to handle him much more easily.
An hour later!
The lake had been completely evaporated, leaving only a vast crater!
Dark clouds had gathered in the sky like never before, and the air was hot and humid.
Yet the ground in the crater was parched, strewn with shattered rocks!
The stark contrast between the heavens and the earth was undeniably strange.
But it was also a testament to the Magma-Magma Fruit's power—scorching heat and devastating destruction.
"Still, I'm probably not strong enough yet to face an enemy like Uchiha Obito!"
He caught his breath. "After all, he was trained by Uchiha Madara to be his successor. His strength shouldn't be underestimated."
"This isn't the time to slack off. I need to keep getting stronger so I can face the crises ahead without fear."
The other day, Zetsu had been watching him, but Ye had noticed. That had been deliberate.
His goal was to get Zetsu to report the incident to Uchiha Obito, making Obito consider him more dangerous.
He'd made an enemy of Uchiha Obito back in Konoha.
Ye was sure Obito wouldn't want to see him become stronger than himself.
So, once Obito learned that Ye had become even more dangerous, he couldn't possibly sit back and do nothing.
And that was exactly what Uchiha Ye wanted.
Having someone who could threaten his life would spur him to grow as quickly as possible, until he had enough power to control his own fate in this world.
Otherwise, he'd never be foolish enough to reveal how keen his senses were and make Uchiha Obito even more wary of him.
Wasn't keeping a low profile and growing stronger the better option?
Two days later!
"A new mission... recruit someone?"
In a cave, Uchiha Ye listened to the task Deva Path Pain had assigned and felt puzzled in his Magic Lantern Body state. "Leader, aren't all our spots already filled?"
"What rank would the new recruit have? And would they even accept it?"
There was no need to think twice.
Anyone Akatsuki considered recruiting had to be an S-rank rogue ninja.
But every S-rank rogue ninja was an unruly sort.
If they joined as full members, that would be fine.
But Akatsuki's ranks were full, so they'd have to join as an outsider.
How could they expect the recruit to accept that?
Uchiha Ye's question made Sasori of the Red Sands, Kakuzu, and Biwa Juzo nod in agreement. They all looked toward "Pain," Deva Path Pain.
Hearing the question, Deva Path Pain said, "That's right, Azure Dragon..."
He glanced around before continuing in a steady voice. "For certain reasons, Genbu has other matters to attend to and will no longer carry out missions for the organization."
"His position is now vacant, so we need to recruit someone to fill it."
"And we've already chosen the candidate."
A copied scroll appeared before them, containing information about their newest member.
[Kirigakure S-rank rogue ninja, the "Demon" Momochi Zabuza]
Uchiha Ye stared at it, quite taken aback.
"Zabuza?"
He was baffled. What's going on? Why did they invite him to join Akatsuki?
This was completely different from the original story!
If they were recruiting someone, it should've been Kisame Hoshigaki!
"Is this what they call the transmigrator effect?"
Uchiha Ye thought with a slight frown. Did my arrival make the original story start veering off course?
He'd been prepared for this sort of thing.
But it had happened a little sooner than he expected!
"Still, Zetsu leaving at a time like this..."
He couldn't help but understand. Did my deliberate discovery of Zetsu watching me the other day already start to work?
"Impressive, Uchiha Obito. You're quick to act."
That made him feel a sudden sense of urgency.
He had to guard against Zetsu's surveillance and keep too many of his cards hidden.
At the same time, he needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible so he could face Uchiha Obito.
Just thinking about it was thrilling!
"What? My partner's leaving just like that?"
Deidara looked completely bewildered. Then he couldn't help complaining, "Seriously? I'd only just gotten used to my partner, and now I have to start over?"
For once, Pain spoke to reassure him. "It was necessary. I hope you can understand."
In truth, Nagato, who was behind the scenes, didn't understand why "Madara" had suddenly withdrawn Zetsu.
But the other man had said it would help Akatsuki carry out its ultimate plan, so Nagato had agreed.
Deidara could only accept it helplessly.
"Azure Dragon (Uchiha Ye) and Virgin (Sasori), you two will carry out the mission to recruit the new member!"
Pain spoke again. "Vermilion Bird (Itachi) and Nanto (Biwa Juzo), as well as Hokuto (Kakuzu) and Santai (Hidan), your two teams have other assignments."
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
"But without Genbu's intelligence, how will we find Momochi Zabuza?"
Uchiha Ye asked.
Of course, he had his own reasons for asking.
Pain's answer would tell him what state Zetsu was in.
Had he left the organization entirely, or was he merely working in the shadows?
Those were two very different things!
Knowing which was the case would let Uchiha Ye choose the right way to respond.
But he wasn't the only one wondering. The others had the same question.
Without Zetsu's intelligence, their missions would be much harder.
They needed a proper solution.
In response to Uchiha Ye's question, Pain replied, "There's no need to worry. Though Genbu will no longer carry out missions for the organization, he will continue to provide intelligence promptly."
Uchiha Ye nodded. "I see. That's good."
He understood what measures he should take.
The meeting soon ended.
"Come on. Let's use this guy to test how well my modified Hiruko performs!"
Sasori sounded excited. "He's an S-rank ninja, after all. I hope he doesn't disappoint me!"
Before you continue