Nightfall. A winding great river in the Rain Country.
The inky black waters glided silently beneath the moonlight, their silver ripples casting soft light across the misty canyon.
Aozora and Obito stood on a small boat as Obito steered it slowly toward the center of the great river's canyon.
A beam of reflected moonlight revealed Obito from the darkness. He murmured, "Within the Akatsuki organization, everyone calls me Tobi. I'm not an official member — just a low-ranking apprentice."
He looked at Aozora, who wore a long sword across his back, and warned, "You might want to watch your tone around me."
Aozora silently scanned their surroundings while casually asking, "Why hide your true identity?"
Obito explained, "Because it would be very troublesome if others discovered Uchiha Madara is still alive!"
Nodding, Aozora glanced at Obito and said, "You really don't look like an eighty-year-old old man! If people knew you were Uchiha Madara, countless individuals would probably come asking for the secret to immortality, especially that guy Orochimaru!"
Obito hesitated upon hearing this, then replied after a pause, "That's one of the reasons indeed."
After explaining, Obito glanced again at Aozora's side profile but noticed he wasn't being watched closely.
Does he suspect me?
His right eye flickered suspiciously as he chose not to speak further.
Steering the boat left and right through the waterways, soon a vast opening appeared before them — a cave resembling a beast's gaping mouth.
"Now I'll take you to meet the Akatsuki's nominal leader."
After a brief pause, Obito continued, "You'd better earn his trust, or I might have some difficulties too."
"No problem!" Aozora nodded. "Any special things I should know? Like his preferences and dislikes?"
Obito began explaining slowly, "The nominal leader of Akatsuki is known as Pain, a powerful ninja who wields the Rinnegan..."
Aozora timely expressed shock, questioning, "Rinnegan?"
"Exactly!" Obito calmly confirmed. "He bears the very same eyes as the legendary Sage of Six Paths. His dream is to create an eternally peaceful world — that's our foundation for cooperation..."
Aozora remained silent, listening quietly, appearing no more than a common youth overwhelmed by the mere mention of the Rinnegan.
As they spoke, the two entered the dark cave. The boat soon reached shore, and Aozora followed Obito deeper into the cavern.
Halfway through, at a corner, Aozora saw someone familiar.
"Well, well, if it isn't Aozora! It's been a while!"
Upon seeing Aozora, Orochimaru's pupils shrank instinctively. He instinctively licked his lips in anticipation, while wild chakra surged within him.
Though his Sharingan wasn't active, Aozora could still sense something different about the Orochimaru before him.
This current body seemed more vibrant in vitality but slightly weaker in chakra compared to before.
Had Orochimaru already performed a body transfer? If so, then this new vessel would likely be vulnerable to genjutsu.
Though myriad thoughts raced through his mind, Aozora's expression remained calm and undisturbed. "Orochimaru!"
Beside them, Obito quipped humorously, "Oh right, you two are from the same hometown. What a nostalgic reunion!"
Then Obito boasted, "Lord Orochimaru, Uchiha Aozora is someone I recruited for the organization. It seems I will soon become a full member."
Watching Obito lose himself in excitement, Aozora could only shake his head inwardly.
No wonder Itachi quickly figured out that Obito wasn't Madara in the original story—wasn't this obvious the moment you laid eyes on him?
Madara would never stoop so low as to play the role of an idiot intern!
Orochimaru looked at Aozora with amusement and said, "Uchiha Aozora-kun, it seems you've already realized the attachments Konoha had on you and severed those unnecessary bonds with your comrades, clan, and village."
Uchiha Aozora shook his head and replied, "You're overthinking!"
Obito interrupted their conversation, anxiously jumping up and down on the spot. "Everyone, let's not waste time anymore! If we anger our Leader, my chances of turning from intern to full member will be even farther away!"
Orochimaru licked his lips, glanced at Aozora, and said, "If that's the case, we'll skip the catching-up for now!"
The three proceeded forward together in a single file, and gradually more and more Akatsuki members appeared one by one.
There was Sasori and Kakuzu wearing standard Akatsuki uniforms, Zetsu, Kisame dressed as casually as Aozora, and a muscular man carrying a massive sword on his back.
Soon enough, everyone arrived at a large platform.
Even with minimal lighting, Aozora could clearly see the giant statue beside the platform with its hands raised toward the sky.
Despite appearing like a stone sculpture, the statue seemed to contain immense power, giving off tremendous pressure.
Shwah! Shwah!
Two figures suddenly appeared without any warning in front of everyone, fully displaying their mastery of the Body Flicker Technique.
Without wasting words, Pain announced directly, "Everyone has arrived. Then let's begin the meeting!"
Pain's cold gaze swept across Aozora, Kisame, and the sword-carrying muscular man. "There appear to be three new recruits today."
Obito eagerly claimed credit. "I have brought the genius from Konoha, Uchiha Aozora. He has awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, mastered [Yakton], slain Biwa Juzo months ago, and survived after battling Lord Orochimaru. His current strength has grown even stronger."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately shifted their gazes toward him.
Orochimaru showed an unreadable expression. Kakuzu focused on Aozora's heart area. Sasori analyzed Aozora from a puppeteer's perspective. Kisame stared at the sword behind Aozora...
Facing the crowd's gazes that felt like they wanted to dissect him piece by piece, Aozora smiled slightly, flashing a charming grin.
Other than Konan, there were no women present. And because of Yahiko's death, Konan's heart had long been broken—thus, no one was there to appreciate this smile capable of captivating thousands of young girls.
Pain scanned Aozora with his Rinnegan, confirming that Aozora's chakra reserves met the requirements for performing sealing techniques. He then nodded and redirected his gaze.
Zetsu stood next to Kisame and explained, "This is Kisame Hoshigaki, known as the Monster of Kirigakure and one of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist..."
Though he'd only recently obtained Samehada, Kisame's chakra level had already reached Kage-level.
After seeing Pain nod, Zetsu continued introducing the final person. "Guitou Ryuji, the famous swordsman from the Land of Iron, known as the Great Sword of Guitou. He's a well-known bounty hunter."
Pain examined Guitou Ryuji's chakra, paused for a moment, then nodded. Elite jonin-level chakra should be enough to handle this, though it might be tough for others.
His gaze swept over Aozora and the other two before he spoke in a chilling tone, "Akatsuki's goal is to bring peace to the ninja world by having Akatsuki replace the Five Great Ninja Countries in ruling.
That's why we bring together powerful shinobi no matter their past or where they come from—all working toward the same goal.
Welcome to the Akatsuki organization. Now show us your sincerity!"
Without hesitation, Kisame Hoshigaki slashed his forehead protector with a kunai, creating a deep notch as he said, "I assassinated the Water Daimyo!"
Guitou Ryuji touched his bare forehead and said, "I assassinated the Iron Daimyo!"
Aozora also touched his empty forehead protector area, realizing he hadn't assassinated any daimyo himself, feeling slightly awkward.
Meeting the gathered gazes upon him, Aozora said, "I carved my forehead protector long ago—I even had my ninja status revoked because of it."
Obito explained from the side, "Aozora once achieved great feats, yet had his ninja status revoked merely due to suspicion of killing civilians. He can be trusted."
Despite that, the group remained skeptical about Aozora.
Compared to Kisame Hoshigaki and Guitou Ryuji who had both assassinated their own nation's daimyos, Aozora lacked actual proof of village defection.
Orochimaru sneered, "Getting stripped of your ninja status means nothing! You could still be a spy from Konoha!"
Sasori said coldly, "Indeed, I suspect him as a spy—let me turn him into a puppet!"
"No!" Orochimaru snapped. "He's mine!"
Kakuzu growled, "I want his heart!"
Even though he was new, Kisame joined in, "I want the sword on his back!"
Facing the predatory stares surrounding him, Aozora met Pain's eyes directly and said, "Rather than suspecting me as a Konoha spy, wouldn't you better question Orochimaru? After all, he's the Hokage's apprentice."
Pain replied, "His human experiments were exposed—he can never return to Konoha!"
Hearing this, Aozora lowered his head thoughtfully before asking, "Would revealing an extremely secret piece of intelligence count as proof of loyalty?"
"Speak!" Pain commanded.
Aozora slowly declared, "The Third Hokage plans to pledge allegiance to the Fire Daimyo!"
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