"I'm going to sacrifice this brat to Lord Jashin!"
No sooner had he spoken than the ring abruptly vibrated.
An unfamiliar, oppressive chakra descended upon the battlefield.
Light and shadow distorted before Hidan, gradually coalescing into a blurry figure.
Short orange hair.
Black rods studded his face.
Most striking of all were his pale purple eyes, covered in concentric rings.
The Rinnegan.
Holding both swords, Cangyue's gaze sharpened slightly.
Deva Path Pain.
Though this body wasn't the original, he was the Akatsuki's public leader and the most suitable representative for Nagato at present.
Once the Holographic Projection formed, Pain ignored Hidan's shouting.
His gaze first swept across the battlefield.
Hidan's right arm had been severed at the shoulder, the detached hand still gripping the chain of his bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe.
A wound pierced Kakuzu's chest, with the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear continuously spilling out.
Only four masks remained on his back; one had already been shattered along with its heart.
Finally, Pain looked at Cangyue, who held the Flame and Thunder Swords.
Around twelve years old.
A Konoha Forehead Protector was tied between the sword hilts.
No obvious injuries on his body.
Working together, Hidan and Kakuzu had not only failed to kill their target but had been beaten into this state instead.
For the first time, a measure of scrutiny entered Pain's Rinnegan.
"Another genius on Uchiha Itachi's level?"
Ninja Blade in hand, Gojō Ryūsen took half a step forward.
He didn't recognize the Rinnegan, but he could tell that Hidan and Kakuzu had noticeably restrained themselves after the apparition appeared.
Someone who could command two Kage Level missing-nin was most likely the Akatsuki's leader.
Gojō Ryūsen unobtrusively positioned himself ahead of Cangyue and slightly to one side.
Chakra slowly seeped into the soil beneath his feet.
At the first sign of anything unusual from the apparition, he would immediately unleash Earth Release.
"Pain, this is the bastard!"
Hidan pointed at Cangyue and cursed.
"He ambushed me before I was ready, then ganged up on me with that guy beside him!"
"Hurry up and send someone to capture him!"
"I'm going to hold a sacrificial ritual for three whole days!"
The corner of Gojō Ryūsen's eye twitched.
Did this guy really have no idea who had laid the ambush and who had swung his scythe first?
Cangyue didn't argue.
He released his left hand.
The Flame Sword, burning with purple flames, flew out on its own and lifted the severed arm from the ground.
The detached hand still clutched the chain tightly as the sword tip carried it into the air and waved it twice before Hidan.
Then the Flame Sword flicked lightly.
Smack.
The severed arm landed at Hidan's feet, its fingers twitching once from residual nerve activity.
Only then did Cangyue speak.
"If you can't even keep your own hand, don't presume to make decisions for others."
Hidan's face instantly flushed red.
"You're dead!"
He grabbed the Triple-Bladed Scythe with his remaining hand and made to charge.
A mass of black threads suddenly surged from Kakuzu's back, wrapping around Hidan's waist and left arm and forcibly dragging him back.
Hidan's feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground.
"Kakuzu, let go of me!"
Kakuzu ignored him.
Hidan's severed arm needed to be stitched back on as soon as possible.
He also had to repair his own chest wound and protect his four remaining hearts.
If Hidan charged again, he simply couldn't spare the effort to piece Hidan's body back together while dealing with Cangyue and Gojō Ryūsen.
Besides, the battle had already proven that charging in would only cost Hidan another arm.
Pain likewise ignored Hidan.
"Name."
His voice was low and cold.
"Affiliation."
Cangyue raised the Flame Sword.
The purple flames receded into its blade, and both swords floated at his sides again.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else?"
Cangyue already knew everything, of course.
But that was basic courtesy, wasn't it?
"I am Pain, leader of the Akatsuki."
"Kambara Sogetsu."
"Konoha Genin."
"Genin?"
Pain's gaze swept over the wound in Kakuzu's chest.
Someone capable of severing Hidan's arm and destroying one of Kakuzu's hearts naturally couldn't be an ordinary genin.
For certain people, ninja village ranks meant nothing.
"With your strength, remaining within the ninja village system will only bind you with meaningless rules."
Pain said slowly, "Low-level missions, orders from superiors, and the pointless accumulation of seniority will all waste your power."
Cangyue didn't object.
An ominous feeling immediately rose in Gojō Ryūsen's heart.
Cangyue had refused to join a regular squad right after graduation, saying that only the weak needed teams.
He really might have no interest in the mission structure ordinary ninja followed.
Pain continued, "The Akatsuki can offer high-level missions, intelligence from the Underworld, and opponents strong enough to challenge you."
"No one here will underestimate you because of your age."
"Join the Akatsuki, and you will see the real world beyond the ninja villages."
"Cangyue."
Gojō Ryūsen immediately interrupted.
"The Akatsuki's members are dangerous missing-nin from the major ninja villages."
"Their missions, goals, and methods are all unknown. They're recruiting you now only because they want to use your power."
"I know."
Cangyue's answer was perfectly calm.
Gojō Ryūsen froze.
You know, yet you still look like you're seriously considering it?
Cangyue released both swords.
The Thunder Sword hovered beside him, its tip remaining aimed at Pain.
The Flame Sword lay horizontally in midair, its purple flames withdrawn.
Cangyue leaned back and reclined sideways on the broad blade, propping his head on one hand.
Gojō Ryūsen, Kakuzu, and Hidan all stood amid the wreckage of the battlefield.
Pain's Holographic Projection also maintained the bearing of a leader.
Only Cangyue had lain down again while discussing whether to join a dangerous organization.
A vein throbbed on Hidan's forehead at the sight.
Did this brat have any respect for the Akatsuki's leader at all?
Pain, however, paid no mind to his attitude.
"Kambara Sogetsu."
"Are you willing to join the Akatsuki?"
Cangyue didn't answer.
He guided the Flame Sword forward, stopping before Pain's Holographic Projection.
Cangyue extended a finger and poked straight at the point between Pain's brows.
His finger passed through the apparition without resistance.
There was no physical body.
Nor were there any actual chakra pathways.
It was merely an image projected remotely through the ring.
Cangyue withdrew his hand, and the Flame Sword drifted backward again.
"Sending a shadow to recruit me-is that the Akatsuki's idea of sincerity?"
Hidan couldn't help swearing. "Bastard, do you know who you're talking to?"
The Thunder Sword abruptly changed direction.
Its tip lifted the severed arm beside Hidan's feet and brought it before his eyes again.
Hidan's curses cut off abruptly.
He stared fixedly at that severed hand.
If this bastard swung again and cut the whole arm into a dozen pieces, Kakuzu would definitely use the opportunity to charge him an exorbitant repair fee.
Hidan's lips moved, but in the end, he swallowed the rest of his words.
Only then did Cangyue look back at Pain.
"If you want me to join, have someone who can make the decisions come meet me in person."
Gojō Ryūsen tightened his grip on his Ninja Blade.
This guy... was he really going to join the Akatsuki?
Kakuzu's green eyes narrowed slightly.
In front of Hidan, Kakuzu, and a Konoha jonin, he had demanded that the Akatsuki's leader come meet him personally.
Those words went beyond ordinary arrogance.
Cangyue was placing himself on equal footing with the Akatsuki's leader.
Pain fell silent for a moment.
"You have earned the right to negotiate."
Hidan snapped his head up.
"Pain!"
Pain didn't look at him.
"There is an Abandoned Shrine on the Southeastern Border of the Land of Rain."
"In three days, I will wait for you there."
"You must come alone."
Cangyue nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Who covers the travel expenses?"
The battlefield abruptly fell silent.
Gojō Ryūsen turned to look at him.
You just demanded that their leader meet you in person, and now you're talking about travel expenses?
Pain's Holographic Projection also paused for an instant.
"Only official members carrying out missions receive the corresponding funds."
"You don't reimburse travel expenses when recruiting new members?"
Cangyue delivered his assessment.
"It seems the Akatsuki isn't very generous when it comes to attracting talent."
Pain didn't continue discussing the organization's benefits.
"In three days, I will await your answer."
The Holographic Projection slowly faded.
The chakra fluctuations from the ring subsided with it.
After Pain disappeared, Hidan finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Why did Pain actually agree?"
"This brat just cut off my hand!"
Cangyue tossed the severed arm back onto the ground.
"So he thinks I'm more valuable than you."
"Bullshit!"
Hidan was about to charge forward when Kakuzu's black threads tightened, dragging him back to his side.
More black threads from Earth Grudge Fear burrowed into Hidan's shoulder, then pierced the stump of his severed arm.
Kakuzu aligned the severed arm with the wound and began stitching.
As the black threads passed through flesh, the anger on Hidan's face instantly twisted into a grimace.
"Easy!"
"Kakuzu, you're fucking doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Kakuzu's hands never paused.
If Hidan had listened earlier, they wouldn't have needed to waste time reattaching his arm.
"Keep squirming, and if I attach it crooked, I won't fix it."
Hidan immediately froze.
He didn't want his right hand pulling in the opposite direction whenever he swung his scythe.
Cangyue lay on the Flame Sword, watching the black threads weave back and forth through the wound.
"Stitch it on tight."
Hidan gritted his teeth and looked at him.
"What's it to you?"
"So you don't fling your hand off along with your scythe next time you swing it."
Gojō Ryūsen couldn't help it; the corner of his mouth twitched.
Hidan's face went from dark to red, then from red to livid.
"Kambara Sogetsu!"
[Valor Points +120]
Cangyue glanced over the system notification.
[Total Valor Points: 2,536] [Currently available Valor Points: 681]
One battle, along with the attention of Akatsuki's leader, had yielded far more than his daily performances at Konoha Academy.
Kakuzu finished reattaching Hidan's arm, confirmed that the wound wouldn't immediately split open, then turned to leave.
Hidan was still blustering as he left.
"Next time we meet, I'll get your blood for sure!"
Cangyue raised a finger.
The Thunder Sword traced a streak of blue lightning through the air.
Hidan stiffened, then immediately quickened his pace to catch up with Kakuzu.
Only after the two Akatsuki cloaks disappeared deep into the woods did Gojō Ryūsen put away his Ninja Blade.
He turned around, his expression more serious than ever.
"Cangyue."
"You're not really planning to go to the Land of Rain, are you?"
Cangyue pillowed his head on his arms and let the Flame Sword slowly rise into the air.
"Of course I am."
Gojō Ryūsen's expression darkened.
"Do you have any idea what that place is?"
"It's Akatsuki's base. There's at least one leader whose strength is unknown, and plenty of dangerous missing-nin."
"If you go, you might never come back."
Cangyue steered the Flame Sword toward the Land of Rain.
Purple sword light shone among the trees.
"That's why."
"I'm going in as an undercover agent."
Before you continue