[Question 2: Excuse me, which of the following characters is not from Konoha's undercover agent?]
[A: Angel Konan B: Uchiha Itachi C: Six Path Payne D: Uchiha Obito]
The silence was so thick you could hear a needle drop.
Seven pairs of Rinnegan eyes from Pain stared at the screen. His knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.
This is impossible.
This is absurd!
How could he—Nagato, the so-called god—be listed alongside spies?
Konan?
She was the most loyal to their dream!
Didn't they live through Yahiko's death, side by side, consumed by hatred for Konoha?
Jiraiya may have once trained them, but that was a past buried long ago. Since their last meeting, they hadn't even spoken!
But this question—
No matter who you picked, it implied that three out of four were Konoha agents.
Just what the hell is going on?
Nagato's mind swirled in confusion.
---
Good guy… I'm straight-up a good guy.
Uchiha Itachi nearly gasped aloud.
Konoha's infiltration skills were outrageous.
There were only a dozen members in Akatsuki. If Orochimaru's departure was factored in, they barely had ten active members…
And yet three were from Konoha?
They even took over the woman closest to the leader?
He had to admire the Third Hokage.
The man had passed away, but this kind of chess-playing infiltration… It was next-level thinking.
He glanced sideways at the masked man—his Sharingan eye gleaming coldly beneath the mask.
Uchiha… Obito.
---
"Why is my name on this list?"
Obito's heart skipped.
No one should even remember that name—except for the now-ancient Black Zetsu.
He had deliberately abandoned "Obito" long ago.
But now… in front of the entire Shinobi world, the name had been spoken.
Only one thing came to mind—
So… the others are spies too?
Obito's lips twitched beneath the mask.
He prided himself on his performance.
But he never imagined the whole cast was acting.
The Akatsuki wasn't an organization. It was a full-blown theatre troupe.
Even the boss was a plant?
He chuckled bitterly. No wonder they all died in the end and he had to launch the Fourth Ninja War alone.
Probably… his future self figured it out and wiped out all the other "actors."
---
"Danzo, are these your people?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned slowly, eyes narrowed, stroking his beard.
He was... impressed.
He never imagined Danzo had such foresight—placing agents in an S-rank terrorist group.
Such brilliance!
If only he could make Danzo Hokage—but alas, politics didn't work that way.
Still, Sarutobi smiled like a proud elder.
"If only the people knew how deep your wisdom runs, Danzo."
Danzo looked sideways, deeply suspicious.
Why the hell was Sarutobi playing along?
Konan, Nagato, and Obito… All Jiraiya's disciples. The orphans he trained after the war in Amegakure.
Who didn't know this?
Danzo narrowed his one remaining eye.
Only one name made sense—Uchiha Obito.
Itachi? No, that one had ties to Hiruzen.
Otherwise, why would Sasuke still walk free in Konoha?
"Danzo, you've really done it this time," Sarutobi chuckled. "Controlling Akatsuki's leadership... truly a masterstroke."
Danzo stayed silent, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Masterstroke your head.
---
In Iwagakure…
Onoki stood sternly with arms behind his back.
Below him, dozens of think-tank elites and his son and granddaughter—Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi—sat in uneasy silence.
They didn't have anyone as cunning as Nara Shikaku.
But they had numbers.
"Father… If Konoha really controls Akatsuki…" Kitsuchi's face twitched. "Then what does that mean for the rest of us?"
The implications were horrifying.
If Akatsuki was Konoha's shadow unit, then no village was safe.
Onoki opened a scroll delivered by hawk.
He read it—his lip curled.
"Kitsuchi, prepare. We're going to Konoha in three days."
His son flinched, ready to move.
But Onoki added:
"Actually, change that. Inform Konoha that I, Raikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage… will all visit Hokage together."
---
Back in Konoha…
Sasuke stared at the screen.
This question...
He grit his teeth. He knew. He always knew.
Itachi—his brother, his target—had been a spy.
His cover now exposed… Would Akatsuki retaliate?
You idiot… don't you dare die yet!
"Live," Sasuke growled to himself. "Live long enough… for me to kill you."
---
At Konoha's gates, a crowd of bored shinobi laughed themselves silly.
"Bro, I swear, this thing's more fun than making kids!"
"Facts!"
The live broadcast was their new favorite pastime.
Mission stress? Gone.
Boredom? Solved.
What could be more hilarious than seeing the so-called terrifying Akatsuki be reduced to a game of 'Spot the Spy'?
---
Inside Akatsuki HQ…
Konan nudged Nagato out of his trance.
All eyes were now on Itachi.
Mocking.
Sympathetic.
Cold.
But one pair—calm, unfazed.
Itachi's.
Nagato addressed him directly.
"Suzaku… What do you think of this question?"
The room chuckled ominously.
The leader had tossed Itachi a knife—publicly.
A smart move.
Sub-question or not, this was humiliation… or a trap.
All Akatsuki members perked up.
Maybe they'd see the Rinnegan versus Kaleidoscope today?
Itachi didn't flinch.
He wanted to laugh. Out loud. Maniacally.
Because—
He had the perfect answer.
---
"Leader, I am indeed… a spy."
Silence.
Even Kisame stared, stunned.
He, of all people, looked betrayed.
Before anyone could react, a silhouette stepped forward—Jiraiya.
Itachi ignored him. Looked straight into the eyes of the room.
"I have never passed intel to Konoha. My comrade Kisame can vouch for that."
Then, he pointed across the room.
"But he—" his finger aimed at the masked man, "—is the true traitor."
"He is… Uchiha Obito."
Gasps.
Eyes widened.
And just like that…
The real actor had taken the stage.