In Amegakure Village.
Atop the Akatsuki Tower.
As was customary, it was Friday today. The village remained shrouded in drizzle. Pain stood motionless like a lifeless puppet on the top floor, which had no windows, gazing down at the entire village and the world beyond.
"Pitter-patter…"
Raindrops continuously struck the buildings, producing crisp, clean sounds.
"Shhh! Shhh!"
From somewhere unknown, countless white paper fragments flew through the air, quickly converging into human form—taking shape as Konan.
"How did it go?"
Without turning around, Pain asked Konan in a tone completely devoid of emotion.
"The situation isn't good. Our contacts and covert informants embedded across various countries and even within Hidden Villages have suffered losses to varying degrees."
Konan reported the incidents that had occurred frequently over recent days.
Several major Hidden Villages had launched coordinated operations targeting the Akatsuki, clearly aiming to flush out its core members hiding behind the scenes.
"Well then… It seems like the time has come!"
Pain turned his head. On his face, pierced with black chakra rods, was an expression filled with killing intent and coldness.
"I think launching our real offensive now is still too early. After all, the mission to gather the Tailed Beasts hasn't been completed yet. The enemy still holds overwhelming power at their disposal…"
Struggling to keep her composure, Konan reasoned with Pain—or rather, Nagato—who appeared too eager to act recklessly.
"Konan, I can't wait anymore! Begin preparing the plan for capturing the Tailed Beasts! This power must be controlled by me!"
Pain's face showed no extra expression as he cut off Konan's suggestion.
He understood his body better than anyone else. That Divine Eye—the Rinnegan—had imposed an enormous strain. While his combat abilities were intact, he needed to fulfill both his and Yahiko's ideals as soon as possible.
"Is that so… It seems the situation has deteriorated again…"
Hearing the first part of his statement, Konan's expression gradually shifted. Her eyes revealed a trace of concern as she looked at Pain.
"They've all returned, haven't they? Go greet them first, then summon everyone to the meeting room. We need to assign tasks!"
Unusual glimmers flickered in Pain's eyes. His ocular rings, deep and unfathomable, exuded a mesmerizing intensity.
"All right!" Konan knew this wasn't the moment to focus on Nagato's physical condition. Ever since Nagato first used the Rinnegan's power, she had foreseen this change.
Such terrifying power—originally beyond human capacity—was bound to come at a cost.
But convincing Nagato to avoid using these powers was absolutely impossible. All she could do was work diligently to reduce his burdens, sparing him from personally handling every single matter.
[Woosh!] Konan dissolved into a flurry of white paper, scattering in every direction to deliver Pain's orders.
Watching Konan leave, Pain maintained his usual expression—nobody could guess what he was thinking.
As for those words just now—"Time is running out"—only he and Konan truly understood the underlying truth.
"Just let me personally bring an end to this chaotic, broken world…"
"Yahiko, I won't let you down. You will personally build the ideal world you once envisioned!"
Pain murmured under his breath, the drizzling rain and gloomy sky outside creating a somber, even eerie atmosphere.
...
"Finally time to take action, huh? These past days have been suffocating. Lord Jashin's already upset why there's no blood of infidels offered for sacrifice recently!"
Hidan leaned back in his chair, his oversized scythe casually resting beside his right hand.
After speaking, Hidan looked around expectantly, hoping someone would take the bait.
Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. The silence became awkward, an embarrassing atmosphere creeping in.
"Hey, why aren't any of you talking?"
Hidan remained his usual blunt self, speaking without restraint by nature.
"Shut up unless you want to wish you were dead!"
Kakuzu sat beside Hidan, his emerald eyes flashing dangerously.
"Tch!" Though they'd worked together a long time, Hidan knew his partner's temper well enough to just snort quietly before turning his gaze around the room.
It had been a long time since all the core Akatsuki members were gathered together like this. While everyone knew where the others lived, none particularly enjoyed visiting.
Except White Zetsu, that creepy voyeuristic exception.
"Heard you went out not long ago and caused some trouble..."
Once Hidan settled down, Kakuzu slightly turned his head toward Saitama Uchiha sitting diagonally across from him.
From Kakuzu's perspective, Saitama Uchiha looked like some eccentric hermit, staring at the tip of his nose with the same ever-present expressionless face, completely unaffected by the surrounding atmosphere.
"Yeah, I just stepped out for a walk and ran into some Konoha ninja — took out a few of them on a whim."
Saitama Uchiha lifted his head, noticing Kakuzu watching him plus both Hidan and Sasori at the far end of the table now looking his way.
"You've got to be kidding me! Just stepping out casually and taking down the Third Hokage."
Kakuzu said offhandedly. When he first heard this news, it genuinely shocked him, but remembering that the person who defeated Third was Saitama Uchiha, he felt reassured again.
Years ago when recruiting him into the organization, Saitama already possessed overwhelming power against Kakuzu.
A lot of time had passed since then, and Saitama's power had grown even more terrifying. Although they hadn't fought again, Kakuzu knew he wouldn't fare any better than the deceased Third if they clashed now.
Saitama Uchiha remained silent, his gaze sweeping around before returning focus elsewhere.
The others didn't find this strange—Saitama Uchiha had always been like this, acting cold at times.
"This time must be about preparing to hunt the Tailed Beasts again."
Not minding Saitama's attitude, Kakuzu continued asking casually.
"Those are all of them. The remaining tailed beasts we have yet to acquire are the Three-Tails, Isobu, whose jinchuriki is Yagura Karatachi, the current Mizukage of Mist; the Five-Tails, Kokuo, whose jinchuriki is Han from Iwagakure; the Six-Tails, Saiken, whose jinchuriki is the rogue ninja Ephemeral from Mist; the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, whose jinchuriki is Killer B from Kumogakure; and finally, the Nine-Tails Kurama, whose jinchuriki is Kushina Uzumaki of Konoha."
"Except for that Six-Tails, none of the others will be easy to capture."
Saitama lowered his eyelids slightly, his tone growing serious.
At this point, their plan had entered a dangerous phase—each mission would become extremely difficult and risky.
The villages possessing tailed beasts would stop at nothing to protect their jinchuriki.
"If that's the case, then it depends entirely on how the leader assigns tasks."
"But the more dangerous it becomes, the more thrilling it is! Let the world see how we, those who lived in darkness hidden beneath the sunlight, crawl out from underneath!"
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed green as he spoke. Decades spent walking in darkness didn't mean he had no desire to step into the light.
In the past, he had no choice. Now, he finally had the opportunity to choose, the resources to stand tall, and the strength to rival any Hidden Village. He was determined to shine brightly on the shinobi world stage. He had once admired it greatly, and now he would do so as freely as the legendary God of Shinobi once did.
"Just thinking about offering sacrifices to Lord Jashin and slaughtering those faithless outsiders gets my blood boiling with excitement!"
Hidan licked his lips, his eyes brimming with fervent zeal. He didn't care who or how many faced him—as long as they couldn't kill him, he'd be the one doing the killing!
Sasori sat silently at the far end of the table, barely speaking—only occasionally glancing over at the gathered members.
For quite some time now, he had been deeply immersed in puppet research, rarely leaving Amegakure. Now, having a village supply what he needed meant he no longer had to tirelessly travel across lands collecting materials.
"It truly delights me seeing everyone so full of drive! Although I'm not much of a fighter myself, I'll be sure to gather sufficient intelligence for all of you!"
"Hehehe!"
Zetsu's voice cut in more pointedly.
He was quite expressive too, gesturing wildly as he spoke—like an excited child sharing lofty dreams filled with hollow promises.
They chatted casually about these topics. Though each was fiercely independent and hard to control, time spent together had forged real connections between them—at the very least, they could be called uneasy comrades.
"Clack! Clack! Clack!"
Footsteps echoed, interrupting their casual conversation.
Saitama glanced over and saw two familiar figures approaching—Deva Path Pain and Konan.
Without unnecessary pleasantries, Pain and Konan took their seats and prepared to get straight down to business, showing no hint of pretense.
Nobody seemed surprised by this; they quickly adjusted to the formal atmosphere. Even Hidan quieted himself, choosing—for once—to listen to the leader's orders.
"You should all already understand why I've gathered you today!"
Pain sat in his seat, letting his gaze sweep slowly across every face present—
Hidan with his flamboyant demeanor, Kakuzu with his dark intensity, Sasori with his unnerving silence, Zetsu with his contradictions, Saitama with his aloofness, and Konan with her cold detachment.
This is currently Akatsuki's entire core membership — the main force set to go up against the entire Ninja World from now on.
Each of these individuals has power equal to or even greater than a Kage. That's what gives Pain the confidence to keep pushing with his plan.
"I get it! So tell me, what's next?"
Among these few people, besides Konan, only Saitama could speak to Pain in such a casual tone.
Saitama's words caught Pain's attention, but he didn't seem to mind. Meeting the legendary Rinnegan head-on, he gazed back with calm, clear eyes.
"Continue the Tailed Beast collection plan. Next, we'll assign personnel. How about that?"
Though Pain phrased it like a question, his tone left no room for debate.
"Zetsu, why don't you share the intelligence we've gathered?"
Seeing everyone turn serious, Pain gestured toward Zetsu sitting beside Saitama.
As the Organization's eyes and ears, he supplies most of its top-secret intelligence. Though not much of a fighter, his role within Akatsuki is extremely vital.
"Hahaha, let me quickly explain the current situation to everyone!"
White Zetsu's voice had a light, playful tone. Those who knew him well simply tuned out his quirky speech habits.
"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Foam, has been sighted recently in a coastal town in River Country. As for the other Jinchuriki, there are no signs they've left their villages yet."
"Right now, that's our only viable target."
"Of course, if you're planning to invade a village and seize the Tailed Beast by force, then ignore what I just said."
White Zetsu added jokingly at the end.
"By the way, according to current intel, it looks like the Mizukage will be visiting the capital city in Water Country soon to discuss matters concerning Hidden Villages with the Daimyo, though I haven't pinned down the exact timing yet."
"That's all I have for now. I'll report any new developments immediately."
White Zetsu glanced at Pain. He'd already shared this info with Saitama and Pain earlier — he was just going over it again now.
"The situation couldn't be clearer — it's straightforward."
"As for the remaining five Tailed Beasts, leave Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails for later. First, capture the others. Zetsu will monitor their movements closely so we can prepare accordingly."
When Pain spoke, his tone carried absolute authority. It didn't sound overly forceful, but everyone understood what it meant.
The Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails were the most crucial. As leader, he chose to take charge of their capture personally — leaving nothing to chance.
"The Six-Tails is basically wild right now. Who's willing to bring it in?"
A moment later, Pain asked again. To him, capturing a Tailed Beast sounded as easy as grabbing a package from the curb.
"I'll handle it. I haven't been out on a mission in a while, and since it's near River Country anyway, I happen to have something I need to take care of there too."
Everyone exchanged glances, silently weighing things. White Zetsu had already given them an analysis of Foam's abilities long ago, so now they were comparing enemy strength with their own.
As for Saitama, he remained silent simply because he had other objectives. The Six-Tails Jinchuriki Ephemeral should be the weakest and youngest among all remaining targets, making him the easiest to deal with.
Leaving him for others could reduce losses for the Organization and help maintain a certain level of initiative during the final confrontation.
Although people could be revived through the Impure World Reincarnation after death, many abilities were difficult to demonstrate in that state.
Take Hidan and Sasori as examples.
"Fine!"
"My clone will follow you and guide the way. That Six-Tails kid hasn't moved much recently, just wandering around here and there."
White Zetsu gave a nod to Sasori.
Sasori gave no response, but one of his puppets made a clicking sound before falling silent again.
"We'll handle the Five-Tails Jinchuriki!"
Kakuzu's eyes flickered while speaking to Pain. The "we" he mentioned naturally referred to himself and Hidan.
"Tch, don't decide for me, alright? I was planning to go see what the Mizukage is like! Maybe I can offer tribute to Lord Jashin!"
Hidan turned his head, looking at Kakuzu with a dissatisfied expression on his face.
"Then are you going to find the Mizukage alone?"
Kakuzu stared coldly at Hidan, speaking in an unfriendly tone.
"Hmph!" Hidan turned his head sideways and let out a disdainful snort without responding.
Though reckless, he wasn't stupid. Even with his Immortal Body, facing the Mizukage alone still made him uneasy.
"If that's the case, I'll take care of the Mizukage then!"
Seeing that everyone else had already chosen their targets, Saitama spoke up.
"I'm going with you!"
Konan suddenly declared, causing Saitama to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"You're coming with me?"
Saitama frowned—not because he doubted Konan's strength—but because he was used to working alone. He also found her behavior somewhat unusual.
Wasn't she supposed to stay by Pain's side and protect him?
"Sure!"
Pain glanced at Konan briefly before agreeing.
"I have no objections," Saitama said with a slight smile, placing both hands behind his head and leaning back against the chair.
If Pain had no objection, he definitely wouldn't either.
"Alright then!"
Seeing that the mission assignments were nearly complete, Pain commented briefly before preparing to stand up and leave.
"Zetsu, assist them and start making preparations!"
He added as he turned away.
"Understood!"
White Zetsu nodded, his eyes flashing mischievously as he shifted looks between Saitama and Konan.
He felt something interesting might happen since Konan had decided to go with Saitama this time.
Saitama gazed at Pain's back, deep in thought.
Pain seemed more rushed to proceed with the plan than expected—something must have changed from what he originally predicted.
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