"Oh?"
Pain rose from his seat and walked toward Josuke.
Those mysterious Rinnegan stared fixedly at Josuke.
Josuke couldn't help feeling a little creeped out.
"Are you the leader of Akatsuki?"
Josuke asked.
Pain glanced at Josuke without expression.
Then he spoke to the Akatsuki's White Tiger, who was also the White Tiger in real life—and the author's wife—Konan.
"Bring me the clothes and the ring."
(My wife) Konan nodded.
She took three robes patterned with red clouds and a ring from the side, then handed them to Pain.
Pain nodded at Konan.
Then he turned to Josuke.
"These are your clothes, and the token that represents you in the Akatsuki Organization."
"Akatsuki's Kū!"
Akatsuki's Kū?
Josuke remembered that the previous owner had apparently been Orochimaru!
Holy crap.
Josuke's expression tightened.
"Mm, got it. By the way, who's my partner? As far as I know, you Akatsuki members work in pairs."
Josuke was right. Pain had noticed the same thing.
"One-Tail, Two-Tails, I'm Tobi."
A playful voice rang out just then.
Pain looked over as Deidara whispered to Tobi.
"Hey, Tobi, the leader's right here."
As his teammate, Deidara had long since gotten used to Tobi's antics.
Pain took a look.
No one knew what he was plotting.
Then, after a moment's thought, he said,
"Josuke, for now, you'll be teamed up with Tobi and Deidara."
He was suspicious of Josuke's joining, and he didn't trust Tobi either.
Madara Uchiha, huh?
Nagato, the scrawny puppet master, sneered. Let's see whether your successor is more capable than you.
Poor Nagato knew only that Tobi might be Madara. He didn't know that Tobi was the most devoted man under Kamui—a man as devoted as himself.
Off to the side, Josuke struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
*Do you