Show of Force

Deep within the tower, inside a massive stone chamber.

Six figures stood in the shadows.

Their gazes were cold, almost godlike.

Deva Path Pain looked down at Uchiha You and Kisame.

Konan stood at his side.

Tobi leaned off to one side, still maintaining that frivolous posture.

Kakuzu leaned against the wall, his green eyes coldly assessing the newcomers.

Sasori hid within Hiruko, his voice hoarse.

"You killed Juzo and brought his sword to meet us."

"Newcomers these days certainly have some nerve."

Kakuzu sneered.

"Guts aren't worth money."

"Brains are."

"The heads of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist fetch quite a price on the black market."

Kisame looked at Kakuzu and bared his teeth in a grin.

"You're Kakuzu?"

"I heard you really like money."

Kakuzu said coldly.

"In this world, only money will never betray you."

Kisame smiled.

"That's true enough."

Pain ignored their idle chatter.

His gaze remained fixed on Uchiha You.

"Uchiha You."

"You killed a member of the Akatsuki."

"And now you want to join the Akatsuki."

"Give me one reason."

Uchiha You raised his head to look at Deva Path Pain.

The Rinnegan.

The eyes of the sage from legend.

Uchiha You said calmly.

"The reason is simple."

"Juzo Biwa died because he was too weak."

"I can stand here because I am stronger than him."

"Since the Akatsuki recruits rogue ninja, it should not cling to any sentiment of comradeship."

"Those with value stay."

"Those without value die."

The moment those words fell, the atmosphere in the stone chamber sank.

The corners of Kisame's mouth curled up.

That was direct enough.

Kakuzu's eyes brightened slightly.

This newcomer suited his tastes quite well.

Sasori also let out a low laugh.

"He does seem suited for the Akatsuki."

Konan frowned slightly.

She did not like that way of speaking.

Pain's voice remained cold.

"The Akatsuki is not merely an organization of assassins."

Uchiha You said.

"I know."

"That is why I came."

Pain looked down at him.

"You know the Akatsuki's goal?"

Uchiha You glanced at Tobi before withdrawing his gaze.

"Collect the Tailed Beasts."

"Create deterrence."

"Suppress war with absolute power."

Konan's expression shifted slightly.

Kakuzu and Sasori both turned to look at Uchiha You.

The lone eye behind Tobi's mask abruptly turned cold.

Ordinary newcomers should not have known about this.

How did Uchiha You know?

A trace more pressure appeared in Pain's Rinnegan.

"Who told you?"

Uchiha You did not answer.

He merely continued.

"That is not important."

"What matters is that I can bring you closer to that goal."

Pain said coldly.

"With you?"

"With me."

"And with the Uchiha Clan."

"And with an internal conflict about to erupt in Konoha."

At the mention of Konoha, Sasori and Kakuzu became visibly more interested.

Kisame looked thoughtful.

Konan's gaze also grew more serious.

Pain asked.

"An internal conflict in Konoha?"

Uchiha You said calmly.

"The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's upper ranks has already reached the brink of eruption."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Konoha's advisers, and the ANBU Root are all watching the Uchiha Clan."

"If nothing unexpected happens, something major will occur inside Konoha within half a year."

He spoke very evenly.

Yet every word was like a stone dropping into the hearts of everyone in the chamber.

Konoha.

The strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

If great chaos erupted within Konoha, it would mean something entirely different for the Akatsuki.

This would not be an ordinary mission.

It would be an opportunity to shift the entire balance of the ninja world.

Kakuzu was the first to speak.

"There are many bounty targets in Konoha."

"If we can enter amid the chaos, there will indeed be considerable profit."

Sasori said hoarsely.

"Although Konoha's White Fang is dead."

"Konoha still has not repaid what it owes the Sand Village."

Konan said nothing.

Pain remained expressionless.

"You want to use the Akatsuki."

Uchiha You did not deny it.

"That's right."

"But the Akatsuki can use me as well."

"That is called cooperation."

"I did not come here to kneel and beg you to take me in."

"I came to offer the Akatsuki an opportunity big enough to matter."

The air fell silent once more.

Tobi said with a smile.

"You-kun really is confident."

Uchiha You glanced at him.

"People without confidence usually only dare to hide behind masks."

Tobi: "..."

Kisame nearly burst out laughing in the stone chamber.

Kakuzu also glanced at Tobi.

Though he did not care about Tobi, watching this fool who was always playing crazy and dumb get put in his place was rather amusing.

Tobi's face behind the mask darkened somewhat.

This Uchiha's tongue was too sharp.

Pain did not question him further.

He looked at Uchiha You and slowly said.

"You may remain for the time being."

"But the Akatsuki does not accept people who cannot be controlled."

Uchiha You said calmly.

"Then I am afraid you will be disappointed."

"I have never been controlled by anyone."

Konan's eyes turned cold.

Paper slips appeared once more.

Pain's aura also abruptly sank.

A terrifying pressure blanketed the entire stone chamber.

Kisame gripped the hilt of his sword.

Kakuzu and Sasori merely watched the show.

Tobi did not move, but his gaze had already turned cold.

Uchiha You stood where he was, his expression unchanged.

Pressure?

If Nagato himself had come, he might have taken it a little more seriously.

But a mere Deva Path Pain was not enough to make him bow his head.

Besides, this was precisely the effect he wanted today.

A place like the Akatsuki did not care about reason.

The more polite you were, the more they looked down on you.

To establish himself among a group of S-rank rogue ninja, the first thing he needed to tell them was—I am not someone to be provoked.

Pain said coldly.

"Uchiha You, are you provoking a god?"

Uchiha You raised his head and stared directly into those Rinnegan.

"A god?"

"If a god can only hide in a tower and look down upon suffering, then such a god is nothing special."

Boom!

Deva Path Pain's aura erupted completely.

An invisible repulsive force instantly bore down on Uchiha You.

Shinra Tensei!

Though it was only a probing strike, it was enough to send an elite Jonin flying.

Yet at the instant the repulsive force reached him, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Uchiha You's right eye abruptly appeared.

White Umbrella: Cellular Reconstruction!

Chakra erupted.

At the same time, the Black Umbrella's ocular power spread from his left eye, forming an extremely thin black-red chakra membrane in front of him.

Boom!

The repulsive force slammed into Uchiha You.

The ground beneath his feet instantly shattered.

Cracks spread like a spiderweb.

Uchiha You was not sent flying. He merely slid half a step backward.

Everyone in the stone chamber fell silent.

The battle intent in Kisame's eyes grew even stronger.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.

Sasori stopped chuckling as well.

Konan's expression changed slightly.

Behind Tobi's mask, his single eye suddenly contracted.

He blocked it?

This Uchiha had taken Pain's repulsive force head-on?

Although Pain had not attacked at full strength, it was still astonishing enough.

Uchiha You raised a hand and dusted off his shoulder, his tone calm.

"If this is the power of a god."

"Then I suggest you redefine what a god is."

A slap in the face.

A blatant, naked slap in the face.

Pain had just proclaimed himself a god, and Uchiha You immediately took Shinra Tensei head-on, then said that gods were nothing special.

If anyone else had said that, they would have long since been blasted into pulp.

But Uchiha You had stopped it.

That gave his words weight.

Pain's Rinnegan turned cold to the extreme.

Konan was already preparing to make a move.

But at that moment, Tobi suddenly spoke.

"Alright, alright."

"We're all comrades. There's no need to fight to the death the moment we meet."

His tone was flippant, but inwardly, he raised Uchiha You's threat level once more.

He could not let him and Pain completely start fighting now.

No matter who was injured, it would not serve his plans.

Uchiha You did not continue provoking him either.

His goal had been achieved.

He had made Akatsuki understand that he was not a member like Juzo Biwa, someone who could be replaced at will.

He had made Pain understand that he was qualified to negotiate terms.

Pain fell silent for a moment before slowly withdrawing his chakra.

"Uchiha You."

"You may join Akatsuki for now."

"But remember this."

"Akatsuki's objective will not change because of you."

Uchiha You replied blandly.

"Of course the objective does not need to change."

"I only want to make it happen faster."

Pain gave him a deep look.

"I hope you are worth it."

With that, Deva Path Pain turned and left.

The other Pains slipped into the shadows as well.

Konan gave Uchiha You a cold glance.

"Come with me."

"Rooms have already been arranged for you and Kisame."

Uchiha You nodded.

Before leaving, he glanced at Tobi.

Tobi was still smiling as he waved.

"You-kun, welcome to Akatsuki."

Uchiha You said blandly.

"Don't be so quick to welcome me."

"You'll be even more surprised later."

Tobi: "..."

For some reason, he suddenly felt that those words did not sound like a good thing.