The time had come

"Why do I have to stay here looking after a little brat! And a turtle!"

Yahiko pointed at the baby cradle on the stone table and the turtle sleeping beside it.

"Even the newcomers get to go on missions. I want a mission too!"

Yahiko turned and pointed at a huge puppet beside him. The puppet had an iron tail like a scorpion's.

"Quiet!" Nagato slapped the table and stood up, shouting, "You're so noisy."

"There are plenty of newcomers here who need you to train them, and you need to get stronger yourself." Nagato reached Yahiko in two or three steps and jabbed a finger hard into his chest.

"All you know is the Water Release Amegakure taught you. We're going to Iwagakure this time. The terrain is complicated, and you're at an elemental disadvantage. How are you supposed to join us?"

Yahiko opened his mouth to argue. "But that Four-Tails Jinchūriki specializes in Lava Release. My Water Release can counter it!"

Nagato said nothing, shaking his head slightly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nagato spun, crouched, and swept a leg at Yahiko's feet.

Yahiko landed on his backside.

"Shit, that hurt! Nagato, what are you doing?"

"You couldn't even react to that. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you go."

The iron puppet, which had been watching for some time, shuddered, making a metallic clatter.

"Why is your organization full of brats? There's even a baby and a turtle. How boring." He turned and headed outside. "I'm done playing house with you."

He had just stepped one foot over the threshold when an immense pressure mixed with a trace of killing intent descended from the sky.

A red laser drew a dividing line in front of him.

"Try taking another step."

Pero hovered in the sky, his black robe fluttering in the wind, his red-glowing eyes radiating a murderous air.

"I'll dismantle your toy."

The puppet stuck in the doorway felt the shimmering heat before him.

"..."

"Then again, I haven't played house in over thirty years. I'll relive my childhood a little." He retraced his steps.

Just then, dozens of sheets of paper floated over from afar, crossed the threshold, and settled on the floor.

They gradually formed the figure of a young woman-Konan.

Konan had successfully reached three stars. After landing, she glanced sideways at the retreating puppet.

"The latest intelligence from Konoha." Konan took a secret scroll from her sleeve and handed it to Nagato.

"Konoha launched an all-out counterattack and repelled Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. It finally ended with Shisui Uchiha intercepting a night raid by the Mist Ninja. According to reliable information, the ninja villages intend to draw up alliance agreements with Konoha."

"The Third Hokage resigned to take responsibility, and Minato Namikaze succeeded him as the Fourth Hokage."

"The intelligence about the Four-Tails Jinchūriki leaving his village was 'accidentally' leaked to us by Konoha."

Konan turned and held out her hand toward the puppet.

In her hand was a ring engraved with the character for "jade."

"Nagato, Kakuzu, and our newcomer, Sasori of the Red Sands, will undertake this mission."

Sasori looked at the ring, fell silent for a moment, then extended a puppet arm to take it.

Silver flashed as a silver wire threaded through the ring, and Sasori casually slipped it around the puppet's neck.

"Hmph." At the sight, Yahiko huffily turned his head away.

Konan faced Nagato again and continued her report.

"Quite a few members of the Akatsuki can't accept the organization's new ideals and are leaving one after another. Should we keep them?"

Nagato interlaced his fingers, resting his arms on the table and propping up his chin. All he lacked was a pair of glasses.

"Leave them alone for now. There are still quite a few remnants of Hanzō's forces in the village. It's time to clean them out and take control of Amegakure."

"Once that's done, we'll go collect the Tailed Beasts."

With that, Nagato turned to look at the other end of the stone table.

A tall, familiar figure sat there, several black rods protruding from his body. He wore a special Amegakure helmet covered in cracks.

The place where his head joined his neck was studded with nails holding them together.

As the gaze shifted to his face, his right eye turned out to be a Rinnegan too.

Nagato closed his eyes.

At the same time, Hanzō opened his.

Listening to the activity below from the sky, Pero recalled what had happened yesterday after he absorbed most of Shukaku's chakra.

The system notification had sounded.

[Ding, energy absorbed: 0.05%. Storage space unlocked.]

Pero hadn't expected that absorbing energy would also let the system unlock abilities Superman didn't originally possess.

Pero took a folding stool out of the space, applied a bio-electric field to it, and sat suspended in midair.

"System, what other abilities are you hiding from me?"

[System abilities unlock as energy is absorbed.]

"Tch, cheapskate."

When the system ignored him, Pero looked into the room below, gazing through layer after layer of obstructions at Gaara's sleeping little face.

He hadn't expected that draining all the Tailed Beast chakra would actually be a good thing for this little fellow.

Without Tailed Beast chakra, there was no possibility of losing control.

The little fellow was too young. He might die the instant the Tailed Beast was extracted.

Even if Pero replaced his chakra, the little fellow probably wouldn't be able to withstand Pero's blazing-sun-like chakra.

"I'll raise him for a while first."

Pero shifted his gaze toward Rin.

Rin was sparring with Kakuzu, using the chakra Pero had left in her seal. Her whole body radiated golden light, and the violent chakra was difficult for her to control.

She couldn't use the ninjutsu she specialized in while in this state, so she could only spar with Kakuzu using taijutsu.

Rin lightly tapped the ground with her foot and leaped toward Kakuzu in a blur. The ground where she had stood instantly shattered.

The next moment, she appeared before Kakuzu and threw a punch.

Because this state felt so overwhelmingly familiar, Pero had named it "Super Pero-Human Form."

Though her speed was astonishing and her strength had increased, Kakuzu still handled her with ease.

As their figures twisted and turned, Rin punched at Kakuzu in midair.

Kakuzu pivoted, landing a spinning backfist in Rin's abdomen.

Her petite figure flew backward and landed beside Obito, the blazing light gradually fading.

"Your organization may be full of brats, but every last one of you is ridiculously talented. In two months, I might not even be able to beat a little girl like you."

With that, Kakuzu beckoned to Obito.

"Uchiha brat, it's your turn for ninjutsu training."

Pero had approached Kakuzu yesterday and asked him to help spar with the Akatsuki's newcomers to improve the organization's average combat strength.

Kakuzu had refused every way he could, until Pero took out the gold ingot that had solidified from molten gold back in Sunagakure.

Recalling Kakuzu's expression at the sight of the gold ingot, Pero slapped his thigh and laughed like Tom.

Suddenly, a commotion rose below. Several figures emerged from the doorway and leaped up, darting between the buildings into the distance.

Hanzō walked out the door, raised his head, met Pero's gaze in the sky with his Rinnegan, and nodded.

Then he burst into motion, heading straight toward the square.

Pero stood, stretched, and put the stool back into the system's storage space.

"The time has come to unify Amegakure. Good thing I didn't destroy Hanzō's body back then and had Nagato make a Six Paths Hanzō. Otherwise, I'd have to find every last remnant myself."

Red light flashed in Pero's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled into the same smile as the Dragon King.

"The time has come to announce the existence of a god to the whole world."