Nagato

"They're here! They've finally shown up!"

Candle Yong was beside himself with excitement.

He knew that with their arrival, Long Ye was as good as dead.

After all, Hidan's condition was plain to see. Long Ye had done that to their companion, and there was no way they would let it go.

In Candle Yong's eyes, however strong Long Ye was, he could never defeat them.

Especially not the one with that strange eye. His power had surpassed the bounds of what a human could possess.

At the sight of the four newcomers, Long Ye couldn't help laughing.

"Well, I didn't expect to see so many familiar faces!"

The four stood in a row. Two of them looked ready to tear him limb from limb.

One was Kakuzu.

Last time, Long Ye had cut him in half and then openly scorned him. With only one life left, Kakuzu had been forced to swallow the insult.

The other was an even older acquaintance.

It was Orochimaru, whom Long Ye had beaten into fleeing underground not long ago.

Orochimaru had changed his colors since then. He was even wearing Akatsuki's distinctive cloak, having clearly just been persuaded to join the organization.

Long Ye had dealt him one crushing setback after another, and Orochimaru hated him for it.

What Orochimaru found hardest to bear was that the man clung to him like a bad smell. He turned up everywhere. Barely a few days had passed, and here he was again. It was enough to make Orochimaru's blood boil.

Last time, Long Ye had beaten all the fight out of him. If Orochimaru had been alone today, he would have left without a word.

But today was different. He had allies to back him up. He disliked the idea of relying on others to