Inside a hidden shrine, three people stood facing each other.
They were the pair Itachi and Kisa, and the newly joined Akatsuki mber, Hiruko.
At first, Hiruko had wanted to bring his followers along, but considering he still needed people to guard his base at Mount Shumisen, he abandoned the idea.
Originally, the group was supposed to follow the agreed-upon plan and return to the Agakure to report to Pain.
But just as they were on their way to the Land of Rain, Zetsu suddenly appeared before them.
Both Itachi and Kisa were long accustod to this elusive intelligence agent.
In contrast, Hiruko, the newcor, was taken aback that soone could get so close to him unnoticed, and he couldn't help but raise his estimation of the Akatsuki.
He felt joining a capable organization like this might not be so bad… at least his plan to capture Ninja with special Kekkei Genkai should be easier.
But he was celebrating too soon.
Zetsu brought them shocking news.
The leader of Akatsuki, Pain, had been confird dead, and the organization was now fully under the control of Uchiha Madara.
Hearing this, Kisa showed no dismay… instead, he grew excited.
He had t Obito long ago and clearly knew that the other party was the true mastermind behind Akatsuki.
'With Madara-san stepping into the forefront, it seed that plan was officially about to begin.'
Hiruko's recently elevated estimation first dropped, then rose.
It dropped because he had just joined, and the boss was already gone.
It rose because, as a Ninja from the sa era as the Legendary Sannin, he had naturally heard the na, Uchiha Madara.
That was a legendary figure.
He just didn't know if this Madara was real or not.
If it was real, that was far more convincing than so unknown Pain.
In contrast, Itachi's mood was not so good.
He knew that Uchiha Madara, or soone using that na, existed within Akatsuki.
He had even had contact with the other party during the night of his clan's massacre.
From his first day joining Akatsuki, Itachi had been observing the organization's movents and regularly sending information back to his village.
As a double agent, even though he had done many dirty deeds for Akatsuki, he had not forgotten his purpose.
The sowhat uneasy Itachi ford hand seals simultaneously with his two colleagues, and through the organization rings on their fingers, they entered the 'remote eting'.
Hiruko wore the [Void] ring that once belonged to Orochimaru, while Konan's [White] ring had also been taken by Obito that day.
The Magic Lantern Body Technique transford the trio's consciousness into phantoms synchronized with their real bodies, projecting them onto the familiar fingers of the Gedo Statue.
As they 'joined the eting', they saw that the Art Duo, Sasori and Deidara, had already 'logged in'.
Zetsu was also in his position.
The spots originally belonging to Konan and Pain were empty.
Seeing that everyone else had arrived, Deidara was the first to speak up, unable to hold back.
"Hey, hey! What kind of joke is this?"
His noisy voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"That Pain guy was actually killed? Even the leader is dead, so is there any point in us staying here? Hmm?"
Beside him, Sasori, who had unusually appeared not in his Hiruko form, also atypically did not scold Deidara.
Clearly, his thoughts aligned sowhat with Deidara's.
"The plan remains unchanged. The Tailed Beast Capture Plan has already begun."
At that mont, Obito's low, hoarse voice suddenly rang out, and his figure with the spiral mask appeared in the leading position.
"Hey, you! Are you the Uchiha Madara Zetsu ntioned?"
Judging by his tone, Deidara did not believe that the legendary Ninja, who is rumored to be long dead, was the secretive figure before him.
"Don't joke around, Uchiha Madara has been dead for a long ti."
Sasori surprisingly chid in, also looking at the other with an unfriendly gaze.
"A na is just a label. If you prefer, you can call Tobi or whatever else," Obito didn't waste ti arguing about his identity, because he knew well that the key to today's eting wasn't about that.
"In fact, the establishnt of Akatsuki has always been driven by from behind the scenes. Even the Tailed Beast Capture Plan was proposed by ."
At this point, Zetsu enthusiastically raised his hand nearby.
"I can vouch for that… I've seen it all along."
Among the group, as a contact for Uchiha Madara, Kisa, seeing soone speaking up for the leader, decided not to speak out rashly and expose his role.
With his own hidden agent remaining in the organization, he believed Obito would find a use for him eventually.
"Tch…" Deidara scoffed quietly but didn't continue.
"Deidara, Sasori, I'd like to ask you, where is the One-Tail's Jinchuriki?"
At that mont, Obito suddenly pressed the issue, sounding sowhat accusatory.
Asked like this, the previously irritated Deidara quickly quieted down.
It was Sasori who answered Obito's question.
"It was that guy Orochimaru. He took the One-Tail's Jinchuriki while we were dealing with the Sunagakure's forces."
"Orochimaru…" Obito murmured the na, then looked up.
"I will deal with him personally."
"Now, two matters."
Compared to Nagato, who always liked to spout cryptic, mystical nonsense, Obito's working style was much more efficient.
There was no helping it… the driving forces behind their actions were different.
One was a sense of mission to save the world, and the other? Let's call it 'love'… or an obsession.
"First, the new mber."
"Hiruko, originally I intended for you and Shinno to be partners."
"But he's dead, so now you will work with Zetsu."
Unlike Nagato, Obito addressed the others by their real nas.
After all, it was an organization with less than ten people, so what was the point of using codenas all the ti...
Didn't everyone know each other anyway?
Hearing this, Hiruko showed no resistance, rely following the gaze towards the 'Venus flytrap' head who had just spoken.
"Joining you, helping you out… that's fine, but I have conditions…"
Upon hearing this, Obito paused slightly, then said,
"Kekkei Genkai Users from the Five Great Ninja Villages, right?... Acceptable."
"This leads to the second matter."
"Starting now, the Tailed Beast Capture Plan officially comnces."
"Uchiha Itachi, you and Kisa will go to the Land of Fire, to the Fire Temple, and find a novice monk nad Sora."
"Capture him alive."
From Zetsu's intelligence, Obito had learned that this monk nad Sora also harbored a certain amount of Nine-Tails' Chakra.
Regardless of its usefulness, they'll just capture him first.
"Hiruko, you will go with Zetsu to Takigakure to find the Seven-Tails' Jinchuriki."
"Sasori, this ti you two will go to the Land of Earth."
"If I recall correctly, Iwagakure should still have two Jinchuriki."
"Consider this your chance to redeem yourselves."
Hearing this, Sasori had no particular reaction, but Deidara's face imdiately fell.
He really didn't want to return to Iwagakure.
In fact, Deidara didn't harbor the sa destructive hatred for his village as so other Missing-nin.
He had left simply because his art wasn't recognized.
But before he could say anything, Obito canceled the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
"Damn it…" In the end, he could only curse under his breath before leaving hurriedly.
On the Gedo Statue's fingers, the figures dwindled one by one.
Until only Itachi and Kisa remained.
"Itachi-san, what are you thinking about?"
"...It's nothing."
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