Inside Akatsuki's secret base.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path stood in the very center, its enormous body motionless, filled with the tailed beast chakra they had recently collected.
Kisame, Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu-every member of Akatsuki was present, without exception.
The six bodies of the Six Paths of Pain stood neatly along either side, waiting in silence with vacant eyes.
Everyone stared at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, fully aware that a new mass of chakra had appeared inside it.
The Nine-Tails' chakra.
Deidara was the first to lose patience. After holding back for ages, he finally spoke up.
"Leader, we've got all the tailed beast chakra now. Even the Nine-Tails' chakra is in there. We can move ahead with the plan, can't we? What are we waiting for?"
Hidan nodded along, scythe in hand, his voice urgent.
"Exactly! Dragging this out won't do us any good! The Five Great Shinobi Villages are still in chaos. This is our best chance to act. If we wait until they catch on and band together, we'll have a much harder fight."
Kakuzu agreed, taking a practical view. Collecting the tailed beasts in Kumogakure with Hidan had not been easy.
"The longer we wait, the more things can change. Start sooner, finish sooner. There's no reason to waste time."
Everyone wanted to get started immediately. Nobody wanted to keep waiting.
But deep inside the base, Nagato, who had yet to show himself, remained silent.
Nobody knew just how conflicted Nagato felt at that moment.
The nine-tails chakra had indeed been delivered into the statue. Obito had done what he promised.
But Obito had not returned.
There had been no word from him at all. He had simply vanished into thin air.
Nagato did not trust Obito in the