Members of Akatsuki

At that moment,

inside Amegakure.

In a dim cave, footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance.

They were steady and unhurried.

With his hands tucked into the pockets of his Akatsuki cloak, Chen Xiaoxi strolled in at a leisurely pace.

But the moment he stepped inside, he discovered that every remaining member of the organization had already gathered.

From left to right, they were:

Akatsuki's leader—Rice-Resisting Expert Deva Path Pain.

Akatsuki's White Tiger—the Ninja World's wealthy lady, Konan.

Akatsuki's Pitcher Plant—Intelligence Agent Number One Actor Zetsu.

Akatsuki's Worker—the Shuriken from Eight Hundred Miles Away, Kakuzu.

Akatsuki's Traitor—Lead Scientist Orochimaru.

Akatsuki's Iron-Headed Kid—Sword-Blocking Tailed Beast Bomb Juzo Biwa.

And Akatsuki's Small Fry—a passerby with a forgettable face who was about to be killed instantly by Kakuzu, Fujii.

Looking at the lineup before him, Chen Xiaoxi couldn't help chuckling. It was quite different from the original story's standard ten-member dream team.

The instant Chen Xiaoxi walked in, everyone turned to look at him.

The first to speak was Konan, who had always thought well of Chen Xiaoxi. She raised her eyes slightly and spoke calmly:

"You're here, Chen Xiaoxi."

"Today, a new member will be joining Akatsuki. We may as well take this opportunity to formally decide everyone's partners for missions."

"After all, up until now, we've just teamed up however we liked."

At that,

Chen Xiaoxi nodded, looked at Konan, and smiled amiably.

"Got it."

As he spoke, he started to walk over and join the group. But the moment he took a step, a somewhat boisterous voice suddenly rang out from the cave entrance—

"Whoa!"

"What's going on here?"

"All the senior members of Akatsuki have gathered in one place already?"

"That's incredible! I've never seen anything this amazing!"

Before the voice had even faded,

everyone turned to look toward the source of the sound.

Two people had come in.

They were none other than the mysterious Masked Man and Itachi Uchiha.

Seeing the scene, Juzo Biwa raised his chin slightly and spoke impatiently:

"Hey, hey... who's this noisy masked guy?"

"Can't you keep it down?"

As soon as he finished,

the Masked Man suddenly put on a startled expression and hurriedly explained:

"Ah, good morning, Senior Juzo!"

"I'm Tobi! An Akatsuki trainee! But only for now!"

"Because this time, I brought an incredibly powerful new member into the organization, so I'll definitely be promoted to full member in no time!"

The Masked Man finished speaking excitedly, waving his arms around.

Although everyone found him noisy, they immediately caught the important part.

This guy... had brought a new member to Akatsuki?

In an instant,

everyone turned their eyes toward the figure behind the Masked Man, dressed in a Konoha Anbu uniform.

At that moment, as if afraid no one had noticed, the Masked Man immediately grinned and said:

"Do you seniors know who this person behind me is?"

"Heh heh, he looks a little younger than Senior Chen Xiaoxi, but he might even be stronger than Senior Chen Xiaoxi!"

"And why's that? Well, hee-hee—"

"This is Itachi Uchiha. He personally slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan of Konoha!"

The moment Tobi finished speaking,

the whole cave fell completely silent!

Everyone except Chen Xiaoxi narrowed their eyes in shock.

First, they looked at the blood-red Sharingan in Itachi's eyes and confirmed his identity. Then, they struggled to make sense of it.

Well...

Itachi Uchiha looked only about thirteen or fourteen, didn't he?

And he'd personally wiped out his own Uchiha Clan?

That was ruthless...

What could possibly have made him do such a thing?

Clearly,

this wasn't the right time to ask.

So, after a moment of silence, Lead Scientist Orochimaru was the first to speak.

A sinister smile appeared on his face as he said:

"Well... Itachi Uchiha. It's been a long time."

At that,

Itachi turned to look at him. The moment he saw that face, he paused slightly and blurted out:

"...Orochimaru?"

As soon as he spoke, the Masked Man beside him immediately made a gesture of sudden realization and said:

"Oh, right!"

"Come to think of it, Itachi and Senior Orochimaru are from the same village. What a nostalgic reunion~"

"..."

Orochimaru, however, paid no attention to that. He simply kept looking at Itachi and smiled.

"Just as I expected,"

"you were born to belong 'on this side,' Itachi."

Hearing this, Itachi raised his eyes slightly and repeated, puzzled, "'On this side'?"

"That's right."

Orochimaru raised a hand with a sinister grin, then explained:

"A shinobi who can put the village, comrades, and family aside and see them all as burdens belongs here."

"Welcome to Akatsuki, Itachi Uchiha."

"..."

When he finished,

no one spoke this time.

Deva Path Pain leaped down from the raised ledge nearby and slowly walked toward Itachi, speaking in his usual detached tone as he went.

Once again, he delivered his famous recruitment speech—

"Akatsuki's goal is true peace in the Ninja World. Akatsuki will take over the Five Great Nations and rule the world."

"That is why we gather excellent shinobi, regardless of their origins or past."

"With the strength we gather, we will change the Ninja World!"

"And now—"

"Itachi of Konoha, welcome to Akatsuki."

As he spoke,

Pain calmly raised a hand and held out a Kunai.

Seeing this, Itachi paused slightly.

But a moment later, he immediately understood.

Without a word, he took the Kunai from Pain, then slowly removed the Forehead Protector he had worn for years.

Itachi lowered his head and looked at the Forehead Protector. A complicated emotion briefly flickered in his eyes.

But it vanished almost at once.

Then he raised the Kunai and forcefully dragged it across the Forehead Protector.

The slash running across it destroyed Konoha's symbol.

This was—

the mark of a rogue ninja.

Itachi lowered his eyes slightly and quietly let out a breath.

He knew.

From this moment on, he would no longer be a shinobi of Konoha.

He would take on a completely new identity.

At that moment,

Deva Path Pain also handed Itachi the red ring called Vermilion Bird and said coldly:

"From today onward, you are Akatsuki's Itachi.

"Join us in striking back at Konoha even harder!"

What a ceremonial way to join the organization.

Chen Xiaoxi watched the whole process with a chuckle, increasingly sensing a cult-like air about Pain.

Too bad he was using it on the wrong person.

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