After finishing his meal, Lin Ze paid the bill and left the restaurant.
He did not linger in Kirigakure. He left the village straight away and flew toward Ascension Island, putting the matter of the Six-Tails aside for now. He had other things to do.
Above the azure sea, Lin Ze sped along as a streak of blue-green light.
Suddenly, the "Void" ring on his left index finger began to glow faintly.
"Demonic Illusion: Mirage... Nagato is calling another meeting."
Lin Ze raised his brows slightly.
Nagato had rarely gathered the organization's members in recent years, and "White Tiger" had only occasionally taken a few organizational missions to get by.
But the frequency of contact lately was clearly much higher than before. It seemed the Akatsuki really was short-handed these days.
He looked around. There happened to be an uninhabited island below.
Lin Ze descended, found a flat rock, and sat cross-legged on it. He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the ring.
Within a dim alternate space.
Phantoms appeared one after another.
Lin Ze's "White Tiger" projection appeared in a corner, and he quietly surveyed his surroundings.
Deva Path Pain and Konan stood at the head, while Zetsu remained hidden in the shadows.
Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori, and Hiruko were already there.
But the Explosion Release ninja "Shū" was absent-Lin Ze remembered that during the battle to surround and kill Shisui Uchiha, the four attackers had joined forces, only to lose one of their own to him. "Shū" had been the sole casualty.
Obito was absent too, probably still stirring up trouble over in Kirigakure.
There was, however, a new face.
He was a tall, middle-aged man in a gray robe, with a stern face and sharp eyes. He wore the "North" ring that had originally belonged