"Hahaha, don't mention it, don't mention it, un!"
Deidara swaggered right up to Naruto, slapped him on the shoulder, and put on the face of a seasoned senior:
"From now on, just stick with me. I'll look after you."
At this point, Deidara still didn't realize that Naruto was the very "ultimate artist" he had always dreamed of meeting.
Sasori glanced at his partner and muttered irritably:
"Stupid brat."
Pain nodded:
"Alright. Since everyone has no objections to the new Suzaku and the new Chuku, then—"
"Hold it. Don't tell me you've all just agreed to this?"
Before Pain could finish, he was interrupted again—this time by Hidan's loud voice:
"This is way too weird!"
He pointed his scythe straight at Naruto and the others.
"What makes these little punks qualified to stand among us? I don't care whether you killed Uchiha Itachi, or that you're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Either way, you'll fight me first."
He twisted his face into what he thought was a sinister, evil expression:
"If you're weak, I'll just offer you all up to Jashin-sama, kekekeke."
Idiot.
That was the unanimous thought in everyone's minds—even Deidara's.
These were recruits personally brought in by the leader. There was no way they were ordinary.
Hidan had barely interacted with Itachi, and he didn't know Orochimaru at all. Everything he thought he knew came second-hand from Deidara. But Deidara had once been humiliated by Itachi—what good could he possibly say about him? In Deidara's telling, Itachi was no better than some nameless drifter ninja. As for Orochimaru, who had been "instantly crushed by Itachi's gaze," well, his reputation fell even further.
So in Hidan's worldview, both Itachi and Orochimaru were nobodies. Which meant these rookies couldn't be much stronger.
An S-rank rogue should have S-rank pride. No way should random upstarts be placed on equal footing.
"Don't mention that name in front of me."
Sasuke's cold voice came from directly behind Hidan.
So fast!
Every member of Akatsuki was startled. Many hadn't even caught Sasuke's movement.
Hidan whirled around and swung his scythe with all his strength—only for it to be caught effortlessly by Sasuke's blade. Hidan had no ninjutsu, no genjutsu, but his taijutsu was decent. Decent, and nothing more.
Sasuke's taijutsu, by contrast, was leagues above. With no time to prepare his ritual, Hidan was completely outclassed. Within just two exchanges he was already bleeding, wailing in pain.
Again, his scythe was caught. This time, his eyes met Sasuke's directly.
"Genjutsu—Sharingan!"
Hidan's gaze went vacant.
Steel flashed.
A clean arc—and a head went flying.
"In the Pure Land, don't forget it was Uchiha Sasuke who killed you."
Sasuke let out a cold snort, slid his blade back into its sheath, and walked away without a single glance back.
A true man never looks back at the corpse.
"Wait, I wasn't ready! That one doesn't count—it doesn't count!"
Hidan's voice rang out behind him.
"What?!"
Sasuke turned in disbelief, expecting to see his opponent still alive. Instead, a headless body sat on the ground, while the severed head on the floor kept ranting and raving.
Alive without a head? Sasuke felt his very worldview start to crumble.
Kakuzu strolled over to Hidan's head, grabbed it by the hair, and hoisted it up.
"Saves me the trouble. I'll just cash this in for bounty right away."
"Damn it, Kakuzu! Don't grab my hair, it hurts my scalp!"
"You even yanked a few strands out!"
"Hurry up and stick my head back on my body. Use that fancy needlework of yours and sew me back up!"
"Shut up already."
Annoyed by the noise, Kakuzu stuffed a rag straight into Hidan's mouth.
"First I'm taking the bounty."
The muffled Hidan kept groaning through the gag, but Kakuzu ignored him, and no one else moved to help.
Still, Sasuke's display had earned the Akatsuki's recognition. And Hidan's grotesque immortality had taught Sasuke a new lesson:
In this vast world, nothing was impossible.
"Now then," Pain spoke again, this time sweeping his gaze around the room with solemn weight.
"No one has further objections, correct?"
With Hidan serving as the scapegoat, everyone had already witnessed Sasuke's ability firsthand. Naturally, no one dared protest again.
"From this day forward—Hyūga Neji will serve as the new Chuku. Uchiha Sasuke as the new Suzaku. And Uzumaki Naruto will join Akatsuki as a probationary member."
This time, not a soul objected. Pain finally exhaled, exhausted.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze slowly across the group.
"Senior members, be careful. If any of you betray this organization…" His eyes fixed on one figure in particular.
"…then I'll be the one to take your place."
"…Why do I feel like this Nine-Tails brat is staring right at us?" White Zetsu whispered nervously to Black Zetsu.
"What do we do, Black Zetsu? Could he know something?"
"Shut up, idiot." Black Zetsu snapped. Whether it was the original body or a spore clone, White Zetsu was hopelessly stupid.
Things aren't going as planned. The situation is veering completely out of control.
At this rate, Nagato won't just deviate from the Eye of the Moon Plan—he'll abandon it entirely.
I need to talk to Obito again. Immediately.
They'd only just spoken before coming here, but now another meeting was unavoidable.
"Then let's rearrange the teams." Pain declared.
"Since Hyūga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke are new, the two of you will be teamed with Kisame."
"As for Naruto—you'll be paired with Zetsu."
"As Akatsuki's eyes, he rarely engages in direct combat. Naruto, as an intern, you can learn from him."
"Everyone else will remain as they are."
Something was wrong. Very wrong. This arrangement was unacceptable.
"Leader!"
Normally, Zetsu would keep as low a profile as possible, never drawing attention to himself. But this was the first time he flat-out rejected Pain's orders.
"Reconnaissance is something I can handle alone. Bringing a partner will only get in the way."
"Senior Zetsu."
Naruto appeared at his side in an instant, poking at the pitcher-plant leaves sprouting from his shoulders before Zetsu could react.
"Don't worry. I won't drag you down."
"I'm quite confident in my scouting ability."
Leaning closer, he whispered conspiratorially:
"Here's a secret—I'm actually a rare sensor-type ninja."
"Recon is what I do best."
Bullshit! Black Zetsu fumed inwardly. I know the truth. You're the one who leveled Konoha. Sensor-type my ass.
For once I actually tell the truth, and of course no one believes me… Naruto thought silently.
Meanwhile, White Zetsu blinked, wide-eyed and guileless.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true." Naruto nodded.
"Just like how I know exactly how many spore clones you've planted on each of the Akatsuki members."
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
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