Akatsuki's base.
"Ah-choo!"
Nagato Uzumaki sneezed yet again, making his already terribly frail body feel even worse.
"Why haven't I heard anything? What are they all doing? Surely they aren't all slacking off?" Nagato Uzumaki grumbled jokingly, though he did not actually believe that. He could not imagine his subordinates treating him that way.
Were the tailed beasts too strong? Could they not handle them?
That shouldn't be the case. Strong as the tailed beasts were, everyone was working in pairs, and their assigned targets were well suited to them. After a hard fight, they should have been able to capture them without fail.
Nagato Uzumaki was baffled, but all he could do was wait quietly.
The next day, Hidan and Kakuzu ran back to Akatsuki's base and approached Deva Path Pain, their faces bruised and swollen.
"Uh... what happened to you two? Where's the tailed beast?"
"Boss, we got beaten up, and someone stole the tailed beast."
"What?!"
Deva Path Pain's poker face cracked on the spot. Beaten up? And someone stole the tailed beast? Who? Why? Who on earth dared interfere with my plan?!
Kakuzu and Hidan turned to exchange a look. Hidan gave a slight nod, signaling that it was time for Kakuzu's performance. Kakuzu took a deep breath, and a grave expression settled over his battered face.
"Boss, it was Chinatsu Uchiha! We were just about to capture the tailed beast when Chinatsu Uchiha suddenly appeared. Her eyes were bloodred, and she was holding a kunai. Without saying a word, she rushed straight at us and started stabbing us in the waist! If we weren't both so hard to kill, you wouldn't have seen either of us again!"
Kakuzu delivered an award-winning performance, his voice rising and falling with emotion throughout.
Deva Path Pain was stunned.