Hearing the whisper in his ear, Ranmaru froze in shock.
When he whipped around, he saw the Akatsuki leader, "Tendo," standing behind him, unnoticed until now.
"I… I…"
Hastily deactivating his Transparency Release, Ranmaru stammered.
Tendo stepped forward, sizing up the transformed Ranmaru. "You're the Hogan boy who was with Kurosuki Raiga?"
"Yes!"
Ranmaru responded respectfully.
In the presence of the Akatsuki leader, even with his newfound strength, he didn't dare show the slightest disrespect.
Tendo's tone remained indifferent. "Hiruko's ritual?"
Ranmaru nodded. "Yes, with Lord Hiruko's help, I completed the ritual, fusing Dark Release, Swift Release…"
After Ranmaru finished, Tendo said, "You were using Transparency Release just now?"
"Yes!"
Facing Tendo's relentless questions, Ranmaru grew increasingly nervous.
Tendo fell into thought.
In truth, he had detected Ranmaru's Transparency Release through the combined power of his Rinnegan and the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Neither the Rinnegan nor the Rain Tiger at Will Technique alone could have spotted Ranmaru, which is why he hadn't immediately apprehended the boy spying from outside the grove.
After pondering, Tendo said to Ranmaru, "With your current strength, you're qualified to join the organization. Do you want to?"
"I…" Ranmaru hesitated briefly before nodding. "Yes!"
He didn't know what consequences refusing might bring, so he agreed reluctantly.
Besides, with nothing tying him to the shinobi world, joining an organization offered some sense of belonging.
Tendo fixed his gaze on Ranmaru. "Good. From now on, you'll partner with Hiruko."
"Then… now…"
Ranmaru glanced toward the nearby grove as he spoke.
Tendo asked, "Does Hiruko know you're here?"
Ranmaru replied softly, "I followed him secretly."
"Then you don't need to attend this meeting!" After a pause, Tendo continued, "Hiruko's recent actions have been suspicious. I need you to keep an eye on him. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Ranmaru nodded.
After dismissing Ranmaru, Tendo flashed to the grove where the Akatsuki members were gathered.
Seeing everyone present, Tendo wasted no time. "According to intelligence, the five great shinobi villages have gathered their remaining jinchuriki in Hidden Leaf Village."
Hiruko let out a soft scoff. "Foolish move!"
Sasori chuckled lightly. "Perhaps it's because of your last failure that they gained the courage to consolidate their jinchuriki!"
"What did you say!?"
Hiruko's expression darkened.
His previous failure in Hidden Leaf not only thwarted his long-held desire for revenge but also cost him his reputation within the organization.
Hidan chimed in, "He's just stating facts. If you'd succeeded last time, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Hiruko glared at Hidan. "Bastard!"
Hidan shrugged. "Don't forget, we were the only ones who brought back the Six-Tails jinchuriki!"
Shinno, with a serious expression, said, "The five great shinobi villages daring to gather their jinchuriki means they've prepared defenses. A frontal assault would be risky."
Moryo, now in a new body and speaking in a garbled tone, added, "I don't care about jinchuriki or whatever. This time, I'm devouring that shrine maiden!"
As the members bickered, Tendo coldly snapped, "Shut up!"
Instantly, the tense atmosphere quieted. All members, including the clamoring Moryo, fell silent.
"I didn't summon you here to listen to your complaints and squabbles!" Tendo's gaze swept over the Akatsuki members, each word deliberate. "I will collect all the tailed beasts. No one in the shinobi world can stop me!"
Intimidated by Tendo's aura, the members avoided his gaze.
Satisfied with their submission, Tendo turned to Sasori. "Sasori, share your plan."
Sasori smiled. "The five great shinobi villages gathered their jinchuriki to consolidate their defenses, preventing us from picking them off one by one as before. It's a clumsy move, but effective!"
Hiruko asked, "So, you want to storm Hidden Leaf?"
"Storming Hidden Leaf isn't a bad option," Sasori said with a smirk. "But wouldn't that play right into their hands? Since they're forcing us into a decisive battle, we should turn the tables and make them stretch their forces thin!"
Kakuzu said, "You want to use the jinchuriki we've captured to lure away the main forces of the five villages?"
Juzo Biwa shook his head. "We used that trick last time. The five villages aren't dumb enough to fall for it twice!"
Sasori laughed. "The five great shinobi villages were never a unified whole. With the right approach, the same trick can still work!"
The Akatsuki members fell silent, turning their attention to Sasori, waiting for his plan.
Sasori continued, "Of the three jinchuriki we've captured, two are from Hidden Rock. Once the five villages get wind of this, Hidden Rock will have to act! If the other villages stay put, their alliance will be as good as dead."
Hiruko asked, "How do you plan to leak this intelligence to the five villages?"
Sasori gave a sinister smile.
...
Land of Demons.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! With a series of gusts, several figures landed and gathered together.
"Is this the place?"
"Yeah, I tracked them here. No mistake!"
"The Akatsuki's finally shown their hand!"
The group exchanged hushed words.
Undoubtedly, they were shinobi from the five great villages.
The five villages had been scouring the shinobi world for the Akatsuki's hideout, with over a hundred search teams like this one deployed.
Soon, they locked onto a secret entrance carved into a cliff.
Looking at the concealed entrance in the distance, the group hesitated.
Per standard reconnaissance protocol, they were supposed to infiltrate the cave and confirm it as an Akatsuki hideout before reporting to their villages.
But given the Akatsuki members' strength, rashly infiltrating could lead to unnecessary casualties or alert the enemy.
The team leader suggested, "Let's report directly to the Five Kage! Have the alliance send elite forces to verify this location!"
"Agreed!"
The others nodded.
Rumble! Just as the team prepared to retreat to a safer distance for long-term surveillance, a loud roar came from the cave, followed by a chilling tailed beast aura spreading outward!