"Haha... well? You don't know, do you?"
"Hmph, and you do?" Sasori shot back. As a genius, he had his pride. He couldn't admit he didn't know.
"Of course I do. I even know how to measure it."
Sasori knew perfectly well that Aoki Tsuki was keeping him in suspense, but he couldn't resist asking, "How?"
"It's simple. First, weigh someone, then kill him and weigh him again. Subtract one from the other, and there you have it."
"You..."
The answer was almost too simple, and Sasori's first reaction was disbelief. But on second thought, it seemed it really could work.
"The soul has always been mysterious, but there are quite a few techniques in the Shinobi World that can manipulate it. The last time I went to Konoha, I really learned a lot."
At that, even Konan, let alone Sasori, couldn't help softening her footsteps. She also wanted to know what other techniques besides the Rinnegan could do that.
"Manipulate souls? A technique like that really exists?"
Sasori's interest was instantly piqued. Aoki Tsuki seemed to know exactly what was on his mind, leaving him itching to hear more.
He had thought it was a pointless conversation, but it had given him a surprise.
"Tell me about it..."
Aoki Tsuki raised a hand. "Before I do, I have to make something clear. This is all hearsay, so I can't vouch for it."
Sasori rolled his eyes and suppressed his impatience. "Do you have to keep me in suspense like this? Hey... can't you do something about your lackey?"
"He's not my lackey," Konan said, shaking her head.
Aoki Tsuki took the opportunity to say, "I'm Lady Konan's trusted assistant. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Aoki Tsuki, and it's an honor to meet you."
When you were away from home, you gave yourself whatever identity you wanted.
"Hmph!" Sasori snorted in displeasure, but still said, "Sasori!"
At any other time, he wouldn't have bothered getting to know a nobody like this, but right now, that nobody had knowledge he was interested in.
Aoki Tsuki quickly seized the opportunity. "Oh... Brother Sasori, I admit I was being shortsighted before. I sincerely apologize. Everything was my fault, entirely my fault. Please don't take it to heart."
He wouldn't be able to sleep with a top-tier puppeteer holding a grudge against him.
"That doesn't matter at all," Sasori replied coldly.
Aoki Tsuki knew Sasori was urging him to continue the earlier topic, so he didn't beat around the bush.
"The last time I went to Konoha as Amegakure's representative, I met a lot of important people: the Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, and people from the Uchiha and Konoha's other secret technique clans.
"The Yamanaka Clan's secret technique can enter another person's body directly and control them. Apparently, Konoha has even more powerful forbidden techniques."
"Forbidden techniques?"
"That's right. They summon the souls of the dead directly from the Pure Land World to help the caster fight. That's just something I heard, though.
"It probably falls within the scope of Yin-Yang Release, but I don't know the details."
"So that's possible too... what an incredible technique!" Sasori couldn't help exclaiming.
Aoki Tsuki's words gave him a great deal of inspiration. The modifications he made to himself involved both mind and body, so he needed to learn about Yin-Yang Release too.
"Of course. Konoha was founded jointly by the Senju and the Uchiha, and it's produced one talented person after another. Have you heard of Kakashi of the Sharingan?"
Sasori nodded. That name had spread throughout the Shinobi World after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, and he had heard of him too.
"He graduated from the Ninja Academy and went to the battlefield at five, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at twelve. He also developed an S-rank Ninjutsu on his own. His teacher is the famous 'Yellow Flash,'
"the current Fourth Hokage. Do you know who his father is?"
Sasori shook his head again. What Aoki Tsuki had told him was all top-secret information to someone from another village. How could he possibly know?
Still, Sasori thought a little more highly of Aoki Tsuki.
"White Fang!!"
"What...! Kakashi is White Fang's son?" Sasori's pupils trembled, and his voice rose involuntarily, though he didn't even realize it.
Konan turned to glance at Sasori, wondering why his reaction was so strong.
The corners of Aoki Tsuki's mouth curled up. He had deliberately provoked Sasori just now. A prickly guy like him needed to be put in his place.
"You know outside ninja like us are monitored by the Anbu when we enter Konoha. That guy was the one assigned to watch me.
"I fought him, and he wrecked my sword in a single strike. Tsk, tsk... he's really something."
Sasori wasn't very interested in how impressive Kakashi was, and asked instead, "I heard White Fang killed himself. Is that true?"
"It is. I made a point of asking about it. Apparently, he abandoned a mission to protect his comrades, causing losses for the village, and his political enemies seized the chance to smear him.
"In the end, even the comrades he saved came out and criticized him. He couldn't bear the humiliation, so he killed himself."
"Tch! Doesn't Konoha like preaching about love and peace? I didn't expect it to be so filthy too," Sasori said with satisfaction.
"That's all for outsiders to see. Where there's light, there's bound to be darkness. Haven't Konoha's people done enough bad things? Take the Third Shinobi World War, for example.
"Konoha's Anbu disguised themselves as people from Iwagakure and Sunagakure, stirring up trouble and creating friction all over our Land of Rain, and assassinating the daimyo.
"They nearly destroyed our Amegakure."
Konan fell silent at those words. There were many things she hadn't understood at the time, and only now was she slowly beginning to make sense of them.
Back then, Yahiko, Nagato, and she had also encountered a group of Iwagakure Ninja who behaved very strangely. They refused to communicate and simply surrounded them and tried to kill them.
Thinking back on it now, had they really been Iwagakure Ninja?
"Speaking of which... I wanted to test my speed against the 'Yellow Flash,' but we were short on time, so I had to let it go."
That was pure self-aggrandizement.
A look of disdain appeared on Sasori's face. "Tch!"
Konan sighed and quietly quickened her pace. Aoki Tsuki had plenty of good points, but he had just as many flaws.
"Brother Sasori, I'm best at handling small things. If you ever need help with anything in the organization, just tell me. I guarantee I'll take care of it properly."
You can even make being useless sound good!
Sasori mocked him inwardly, but said, "You're not much in terms of strength, but you're pretty interesting to talk to."
For someone as prideful as him, saying something like that counted as acknowledgment.
Aoki Tsuki picked up on the signal at once. "Hahaha... everyone who knows me says that."
Once the conversation got going, the atmosphere improved considerably. Aoki Tsuki chatted about all sorts of things along the way. He did most of the talking, and Sasori occasionally replied.
By the time they arrived at a secret base in the Land of Rain, Konan had somehow notified Pain in advance, and he and Kakuzu were already waiting inside.
"We're here," Konan said.
The cave was somewhat dark, and only the sound of their footsteps echoed through it.
"Brother Sasori, I guarantee you'll get a huge shock when you meet the leader. Sigh..."
"What are you sighing about now?" Sasori asked impatiently.
Whenever this guy spoke in that tone, it meant there was another gap in his knowledge.
"I'm afraid your knowledge is too shallow for you to recognize a true god."
"Heh... are you saying I'm ignorant? What a joke. I'd like to see what kind of great god this is!"
Still unconvinced, Sasori stepped into a circular hall and immediately saw two men standing before him, dressed in black with red clouds.
One man's eyes were exceptionally bright, his purple, ripple-patterned pupils flashing with an icy light.
"This is..."
Sasori froze, but a storm of shock rose in his heart.
By then, Konan had already hurried to Deva Path Pain's side and assumed her role as an angel.
Wherever Aoki Tsuki was, there was no need for her to make introductions.
Sure enough, Aoki Tsuki spoke up. "Leader, Senior Kakuzu, this is Sasori of the Red Sands, a genius puppeteer from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind.
"He has long admired our Akatsuki and hopes to join us in pursuing great things."
He had to say something. Just standing there, Deva Path Pain looked like the head of a terrorist organization, and his speech was even colder and stiffer.
A newcomer was joining them, after all. They couldn't make it so dry, and Aoki Tsuki had identified each member along the way.
Deva Path Pain gave an almost imperceptible nod. Looking at Sasori, he said, "Sasori, welcome to Akatsuki. Our goal is to create peace."
He went straight to the point, without a single unnecessary word.
"Peace?"
Sasori had recovered from his shock by then, and the word struck him as somewhat funny. If not for the man's eyes, he would have turned around and left.
"I thought we were a terrorist organization..."
Sasori couldn't be blamed for thinking that. An organization that sheltered rogue ninja was actually saying it stood for peace.
There was a bit of a disconnect between the ideal and the reality.
A freak like him, who went around capturing people to turn into puppets, would one day be fighting for peace. What a fucking world.
Deva Path Pain didn't deny that Akatsuki was a terrorist organization. Instead, he explained, "At this stage, our main goal is to gather talented people and accumulate funds by taking on missions.
"Once the time is right, we'll carry out the final steps. You only need to complete your assigned missions; beyond that, you won't be subject to any restrictions."
The explanation was somewhat weak and unconvincing, but Akatsuki's ultimate goal was top secret and couldn't be revealed to anyone yet.
A new member's loyalty had yet to be tested. How much trustworthiness could anyone expect from a rogue ninja?
"Ahem... what the leader means is that we're building up our strength now so we can unleash it in the end. The Five Great Nations dominate the Shinobi World and wage war without end.
"To create a new peace, we must overthrow the old order maintained by the existing five great ninja villages and establish a new one.
"It's a great challenge, something ordinary people wouldn't even dare imagine. Only with the full support of a genius like you can we possibly achieve that ultimate goal."
Deva Path Pain glanced at Aoki Tsuki without speaking, tacitly accepting the explanation.
No wonder even Konan praises him.
He was handsome, capable, and considerate in the way he spoke. Who could dislike someone like that?
"Challenge the Five Great Nations? That's a pretty crazy idea, but I like it..." Sasori replied.
Aoki Tsuki's words had struck on what interested him. He didn't care about peace at all.
By saying that, Sasori had effectively agreed.
Hearing this, Pain stepped forward and placed the Jewel Ring, which signified membership in Akatsuki, in Sasori's palm. He explained how to use it, and Sasori glanced at it before putting it on.
Konan, meanwhile, took out a black cloak with red clouds and handed it to Sasori.
With both items in hand, Sasori officially joined the organization.