No Way! Someone Actually Joined the Akatsuki Just to Get Skins?

Uchiha Genba wasn't enthusiastic about joining the Akatsuki from the start.

Another Uchiha who joined the Akatsuki, besides getting an Akatsuki cloak for nothing, didn't seem to have accomplished anything meaningful.

That's right, that Uchiha was the future Second Pillar.

However, at this moment, Genba was uncharacteristically thinking seriously about whether to give joining the Akatsuki a try.

Genba stroked his chin, his gaze scrutinizing Kakuzu. "Kakuzi, are you sure the Akatsuki can provide me with ninjutsu, or a way to obtain it? I've never heard of such a thing."

Genba was quite familiar with the Akatsuki's background.

He knew very well that the Akatsuki had no tradition of providing ninjutsu to its members, so Kakuzu's sudden proposal naturally made him suspicious.

Kakuzu was puzzled as to why Genba knew so much about the highly secretive Akatsuki.

However, what Genba said was not wrong; the Akatsuki had indeed never provided ninjutsu to its members before.

But Kakuzu happened to know how to answer the question Genba raised.

He had specifically mentioned this matter to Konan before coming to find Genba.

Kakuzu immediately crossed his arms, appearing nonchalant as he explained, "The Akatsuki's capabilities far exceed your imagination. Normally, we don't proactively provide ninjutsu channels to members, but as long as a member has this need, the organization can help fulfill it."

Genba let out a noncommittal "Oh" upon hearing this.

Based on the intelligence Genba possessed, joining the Akatsuki did not directly grant ninjutsu; otherwise, he would have joined long ago.

But now, Kakuzu spoke with such conviction, and recalling that Kakuzu had disappeared for several days recently, Genba guessed that Kakuzu had likely discussed this matter with Konan and Pain beforehand.

After all, the Akatsuki had cooperated with various forces in the ninja world, so obtaining a few ninjutsu scrolls wouldn't be difficult.

Thinking of this, Genba suddenly laughed. "I won't consider officially joining the Akatsuki for now. However, the Akatsuki can hire me to do work for you."

Kakuzu: (O_O)???

Kakuzu was stunned this time; this was a path he had never envisioned.

To successfully recruit Genba, he had even gone to the Black Market beforehand to gather information on Genba, deducing that Genba's demands were nothing more than money and ninjutsu.

But he never expected Genba to propose such an unconventional request.

Not joining the Akatsuki directly, but having the Akatsuki hire him to work.

In Kakuzu's many years with the Akatsuki, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Kakuzu was silent for a moment and could only say to Genba, "I can't make this decision. You can come back to the Akatsuki headquarters with me, and the higher-ups will decide whether to agree to your request."

Kakuzu felt a headache coming on. This brat Genba didn't play by the rules at all, and he worried he might have made this trip in vain again.

If Genba was too cautious and refused to go to the Akatsuki headquarters with him, it would be troublesome.

However, Genba didn't hesitate and simply blurted out two words: "Lead the way!"

"Huh?"

Kakuzu was taken aback, then nodded and immediately turned to lead the way to Amegakure.

Genba didn't dawdle and followed immediately.

Inside Amegakure, the sky was overcast, and fine rain dripped incessantly.

Looking around, the buildings in Amegakure were mostly tall, tower-like structures, with metal pipes densely covering the exterior for drainage.

Generally, the residents of Amegakure lived in the lower levels of the towers, while the upper levels were used to store corpses.

Others might not understand why Amegakure had such a bizarre custom, but Genba knew it was to facilitate Nagato's creation of "Pains."

Nagato, now crippled, was confined to life-support devices and couldn't easily travel elsewhere to create Pains.

As soon as Genba and Kakuzu stepped within Amegakure's sensory range, Konan, Pain, and the other members of the Akatsuki immediately received a message that newcomers were approaching.

On the open space at the top of Amegakure's tallest tower, Pain, Konan, Zetsu, Orochimaru, and others gazed down at the distant streets.

Beside Orochimaru, Sasori, hidden within the Hiruko puppet, asked hoarsely, "Orochimaru, do you have any impression of this newcomer?"

Orochimaru let out a disdainful chuckle. "Tch! How could I possibly pay attention to such a nobody?"

As a rogue ninja from the Leaf Village, he was quite familiar with the internal affairs of the Leaf.

However, he had never heard the name "Uchiha Genba" when he was in the Leaf Village, let alone had any impression of him.

There were two possibilities for this.

Either Genba was an unknown nobody, which was why he hadn't heard of him.

Or the Uchiha Clan was too deeply hidden, having secretly cultivated an extremely powerful member.

Although the latter possibility was not entirely impossible, Orochimaru felt the chances were slim.

While they were discussing Genba on the tower, Genba and Kakuzu had already entered the streets of Amegakure, their figures appearing in everyone's sight.

Among the Akatsuki members, a pitcher plant-like creature, half black and half white, stared at Genba for a moment and shook its head. "This Uchiha looks quite ordinary."

It was clearly Zetsu.

Zetsu's statement was not without reason.

After all, he had "seen" Madara.

Compared to this Lord, Xuan Yu at this stage was indeed overshadowed.

As soon as Zetsu spoke, Kisame Hoshigaki followed up with a critique: "You can't judge a book by its cover, that's what they say... but this newcomer really does look rather ordinary."

While everyone was discussing Xuan Yu, Pain and Konan remained silent.

They had already learned some information about Xuan Yu from Kakuzu beforehand, and knew that Xuan Yu was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

However, compared to those renowned Uchiha clansmen, Xuan Yu was indeed not impressive enough at the moment.

Yet, as everyone was talking, Xuan Yu on the street below suddenly moved!

"Swish!"

Xuan Yu instantly pushed his Body Flicker Technique to its maximum speed, his entire body shooting out like an arrow loosed from a bow!

Kakuzu's vision blurred, and he had no time to react.

Xuan Yu's mastery of the Body Flicker Technique was already extremely high, and now, combined with his terrifying speed attribute of over 5000 points, his full burst was so fast it was almost impossible to track his trajectory.

His entire being seemed to transform into a black lightning bolt, flashing several times in the rain before vanishing from his original spot in the blink of an eye.

On the high tower in Amegakure, many Akatsuki members witnessed this scene with their own eyes, their expressions immediately becoming quite interesting.

Setting aside everything else, just in terms of speed, Xuan Yu could absolutely be called the undisputed number one person in the Akatsuki organization at this moment!

"Heh, this is a bit interesting." After Xuan Yu's figure disappeared, Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly and commented nonchalantly.

However, before his words had even landed, Xuan Yu suddenly appeared at the entrance of the tower platform!

Xuan Yu said no wasted words after appearing, his gaze directly locking onto Orochimaru, and he suddenly unleashed a Leaf Taijutsu Secret Technique.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

In the blink of an eye, Xuan Yu flashed before Orochimaru, raised his leg, and delivered a powerful and unyielding Whirlwind Fierce Kick, sweeping out fiercely!