"Even if it is, so what?"
The moment these words came out, the tense atmosphere reached its peak.
Killing intent surged.
The air seemed filled with countless sharp, razor-edged needles. Just taking a shallow breath made one's throat sting painfully…
'Hm?'
'Not right!'
Kisame's expression shifted slightly, realizing something, and he quickly covered his mouth and nose.
This wasn't killing intent at all.
It was clearly Sasori's poison vaporizing faintly in the sealed space, causing the stinging sensation when breathing!
Pain's eyes grew even colder. He didn't understand what madness Sasori was up to, but as the leader, he couldn't allow members of the organization to turn on each other. Once that door was opened,
But when Pain's thoughts brushed against the sorrow buried deep in Sasori's gaze, they suddenly halted.
'That's… sadness?'
Pain quietly pondered for a few seconds, then asked, "You're going to seek revenge on Tobi?"
"That's right."
It had already been many years since Pain last saw that look in the eyes of an Akatsuki member, an expression called "revenge."
Ever since the Akatsuki had become what it was today, their reasons for fighting seemed to boil down only to benefits, goals, ideals.
Looking at Sasori, Pain couldn't help but recall himself from long ago.
Back then, he too had carried that same look in his eyes when, despite many Akatsuki members' objections, he personally killed Salamander Hanzō.
Thinking of this, Pain closed his eyes, let out a light sigh, and retracted the black rod in his hand.
"I don't know where Tobi is."
Sasori quietly stared at Pain.
That answer itself already revealed Pain's stance, he tacitly allowed Sasori's hunt for Obito.
If you compared trust levels, on one side, someone who never showed his true face, claimed to be Uchiha Madara, always shrouded in mystery, and who, just recently, got beaten up twice in a row by Ryosuke.
On the other side, someone with a clear background, who since joining Akatsuki had worked diligently, had no bad habits except his fondness for making puppets, Sasori.
Anyone would feel Sasori was more reliable.
Pain still hadn't received first-hand intel from the Roran ruins battlefield. But this didn't stop him, based on Sasori's emotions and a few words, from making a leader's judgment,
The pretentious act of going to kill Ryosuke and take Shukaku for himself… most likely ended with Obito not only failing to act cool, but instead being beaten senseless by Ryosuke, and in desperation, throwing his comrades out as bait just to escape alive.
Sasori and Deidara had been teammates, and with their shared interests, seeing Deidara die so miserably for such a reason, of course Sasori wanted revenge.
Even if it were Pain himself, he'd find it hard to say that was unreasonable.
Though Sasori looked young, in truth he had struggled and fought in the shinobi world for many years. Naturally, he understood what Pain's words meant. His killing intent vanished like mist, and he nodded,
"I'll find him myself." He turned to leave.
Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed from behind.
Sasori raised a hand to catch it, ready to counterattack, but what landed in his palm wasn't a weapon at all, it was just a dust-covered scroll.
On the scroll, three large characters were written, "Salamander."
Sasori's head jerked up sharply.
Pain, once again taking the item from Konan, didn't respond to Sasori's stare. He only said casually, "These past years… you've worked hard."
Sasori gave Pain a deep look, chuckled lightly, then turned and left.
With no more drama to watch, the rest also lost interest. One after another, they dispersed, leaving only Pain and Konan in the base.
Konan was still watching in the direction Sasori had gone.
"I didn't expect you would agree to him going after Tobi. I even less expected you would hand over Salamander Hanzō's corpse to him."
"The first question, because I also think Tobi, or rather, the fake who calls himself 'Madara,' deserves to die."
"If not for the fact that he's still useful to us, I'd have been the first to kill him."
"Sasori wants to kill him? Then let him. But… I don't think he'll succeed."
Konan asked, "Then why let him go at all?"
Pain countered, "In Akatsuki, once someone decides on something, do you really think words alone can stop them?"
The personalities and abilities of Akatsuki's members varied wildly. But in terms of "stubbornness," they were shockingly alike.
To put it plainly, without the unshakable conviction to stick to their own decisions, they never could have come this far, never could have become strong enough to shake the world.
"As for Salamander Hanzō's corpse," Pain said, "that thing's been gone a long time."
When he had first killed Hanzō and seized control of Amegakure, Pain needed to instill fear. That was why he hung Hanzō's corpse atop the tower.
But after so many years, Pain's terror had seeped into every corner of Amegakure.
He no longer needed the corpse of a long-dead, even forgotten man to intimidate others.
Konan nodded, silent for a long time, then said softly, "In the end… have we really come to this point?"
Hidan, worse than dead.
Kakuzu, dead in battle.
Orochimaru, defected, then died.
Deidara, dead in battle.
Sasori, gone.
Tobi, whereabouts unknown.
Too many had died in one mission after another. Now, the Akatsuki's remaining members were only,
Pain (Nagato), Konan, Uchiha Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Zetsu.
A total of five.
Among them, Kisame, Zetsu, and Tobi's relationships were murky, whether they could be trusted was uncertain.
Uchiha Itachi was shackled by past mistakes, his ties with Konoha not completely severed. He too couldn't be fully trusted.
Calculating it this way, after years of running Akatsuki, in the end, the only ones who could truly trust each other were Pain and Konan.
It was as if nothing had changed.
But also as if everything had.
And besides…
"Ryosuke won't let this go," Konan said.
Pain nodded. "Neither will I."
As long as Ryosuke wanted to protect the One-Tail Shukaku, there was bound to be a life-and-death clash between them.
Konan's brows knitted slightly. "You saw the changes in the Land of Water. You saw what he did in Gorin City. Nagato, are you still unwilling to believe in Ryosuke?"
Pain didn't answer.
Konan let out a sigh.
One was her family.
The other, the first man in years she had truly admired.
If possible, she really didn't want a battle to erupt between Ryosuke and Pain.
Konan also stepped out, leaving the space to Pain, and shut the door.
When the great doors finally closed, Pain spoke as if answering Konan, but also as if speaking to himself,
"I believe in Ryosuke, but…"
"I don't believe in this rotten world."
———
Ryosuke heard a sound behind him and saw Kakashi lifting the curtain, poking his head out from the carriage.
The sunlight overhead stabbed at his eyes, making it hard to open them. His facial muscles twisted together, and after two days of unconsciousness, his whole body was swollen, his face looked just like a giant steamed bun.
"Am I in hell?" Kakashi squinted and asked.
"You're back in hell."
Ryosuke said, tossing him a bottle of water.
Kakashi took it, gulped down several mouthfuls, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"I had a really long dream."
"I dreamed of my father. He apologized to me, saying he shouldn't have left without saying goodbye."
"I also dreamed of countless others who had passed away. They surrounded me, clapping, and telling me congratulations."
Ryosuke pictured that scene.
"That really does sound like a nightmare."
Kakashi shrugged, chuckled.
"Nightmare or sweet dream… either way, it's time to wake up."
A cool breeze blew over the dunes, scattering the desert's burning heat.
Ryosuke rode his camel up to the dune's peak. Ahead, a massive city built around an oasis appeared.
Red carpet.
Honor guard.
Beautiful women of the Land of Wind holding flowers.
And nearly a hundred officials, standing respectfully at the city gates, braving the scorching sun as they waited.
Years of training had made the officials' smiles sincere.
But the calculations hidden deep in their eyes, those couldn't escape Chiyo-baa's gaze.
Chiyo smacked her lips. "They come with ill intent."
"We're the ones who..."
Ryosuke chuckled, shook his head, and didn't finish the sentence.
"Come on, let's enter the city."
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