Genya listened, his fingers unconsciously tapping the wooden boards beneath the veranda.
Itachi's analysis largely matched what he knew.
After losing Rin, Obito's thinking had been warped by Madara Uchiha's lingering will and his own extreme anguish, leaving him obsessed with the illusory dream of the "Eye of the Moon."
He needed powerful fighters for his recruitment, especially the power of the Sharingan.
Itachi's refusal had been expected, but Obito would never give up easily.
"He didn't reveal the organization's actual name? Or show you any other members?"
Genya asked.
"No. He acted alone this time and seemed more focused on recruiting me personally. As for the organization, he only described it as a gathering of comrades seeking true peace."
"Comparing him with the core members of Akatsuki we encountered in the Capital, their stated ideals differed. One leaned toward poetic hope, the other toward force and suffering."
"But the organization's name was the same, and both mentioned core concepts such as 'dawn' and 'changing the world.' We can be fairly certain that the organization the Masked Man belongs to is Akatsuki.
"He's one of its core members, possibly even one of the true masterminds behind it. But he isn't the direct superior of the two we met in the Capital. Their relationship may be more complicated."
Itachi's analysis was clear and incisive, cutting to the heart of the truth.
After listening, Genya nodded.
The situation was much as he had expected.
Obito was operating in secret, continuing to recruit under the name "Madara Uchiha." In particular, he had set his sights on an elite fighter within the Uchiha Clan who possessed the Mangekyo: Itachi.
Meanwhile, Akatsuki was publicly led by Nagato and Konan, following a course of "collecting tailed beasts and creating suffering to achieve peace." This overlapped with