The two of them had planned it well, but sometimes, man's plans are no match for heaven's.
A day later, Jiraiya, having traveled a long distance, arrived in Amegakure and was discovered by Nagato's Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Although he couldn't completely lock onto Jiraiya's location, Nagato, with his familiarity with Jiraiya's chakra, still recognized him.
For a moment, Nagato and Konan felt a major headache, somewhat unsure of how to handle the situation...
If they ignored him, it wouldn't be difficult for a Sannin to infiltrate the Amegakure base and extract information.
They weren't afraid of being discovered, but they were afraid of implicating the war-torn Amegakure and the Land of Rain afterwards.
If they steeled their hearts and silenced him, they were absolutely confident in a frontal battle, but if Jiraiya was determined to escape, they might not be able to keep him there.
After a long period of thought, the two decided to have the organization's members stage a scene outside Amegakure to lure Jiraiya away.
In the end, their plan succeeded. Jiraiya was successfully lured away.
Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand had a fight, which both lured Jiraiya away and served as a battle between their arts.
The two of them, working together, were powerful and had the ability to fly. Jiraiya chased them for a long distance but couldn't catch them.
By the time Jiraiya returned to Amegakure, Nagato and Konan had already secretly left with their loyal subordinates.
In the following period, Akatsuki members appeared one after another in the Land of Grass, attracting ninja from various villages to infiltrate.
Battles broke out from time to time, but even with powerful figures leading the teams, they didn't gain much of an advantage and instead suffered considerable losses.
The two Root squads strictly followed Kageyama Kogetsu's orders. Although they were not unscathed, no members died.
Of course, this was partly due to encountering the undercover agents. In an organization where almost half the members were spies, the survival rate was naturally high.
Only after all the members had appeared in the Land of Grass did Nagato have them lie low.
A month later, Nagato decided to proceed with the original plan to go to Konoha and capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
...
The day he chose was not a good one. Not long after entering the Land of Fire, the weather changed abruptly. The bright sun was soon covered by dark clouds, and large raindrops began to fall...
Soon, the raindrops merged into a sheet of water. The sky seemed to be covered by a transparent pearl curtain, and the pattering sound of the rain on the leaves was quite crisp and pleasant.
This time, there were ten people acting in the open.
They were the Deva Path of Pain, Konan, Pakura, Kakuzu, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Sasori of the Red Sand, Hidan, and Jūzō Biwa.
Hidden in the shadows were seven people: Obito, Black and White Zetsu, and the other five Paths of Pain.
With the overt and covert forces combined, and considering their individual strengths, they truly had an imposing presence, which filled them with a sense of heroism and excitement.
The group of ten moved through the tall, dense forest. The somewhat cold raindrops couldn't extinguish the enthusiasm of some, such as the chatterbox Hidan.
"I've heard that Konoha has many strong people. If I sacrifice them to Lord Jashin, Lord Jashin will surely be pleased and might even reward me, hahaha..."
Hidan chattered on to Kakuzu, who was beside him. Kakuzu, who had told Hidan to shut up several times, was on the verge of losing control of his killing intent.
"I've never been to the number one ninja village in the world."
"This time, I will definitely go all out and let them enjoy the art of explosion!" Deidara said with great enthusiasm.
"I want to make the Hokage of Konoha, Kageyama Kogetsu, into a human puppet. Under my perfect craftsmanship, he will surely be a masterpiece that surpasses the Third Kazekage!"
Sasori's voice, hidden within Hiruko, was old and deep, but the excitement it contained was no less than Deidara's.
The words of the three made Pakura and the others very unhappy, and they secretly hardened their hearts.
However, Pakura and the others didn't understand why Kageyama Kogetsu hadn't given them any instructions yet. Were they really going to have a big fight in Konoha?
"Hm? Someone's ahead."
At that moment, Hidan, who was acting as the vanguard, saw a blurry figure in the distance, which immediately caught everyone's attention.
Hidan's eyesight was not as good as those with special dōjutsu. The Deva Path of Pain and Itachi Uchiha, however, recognized the person at a glance.
"It's the Hokage of Konoha, Kageyama Kogetsu." Although the Deva Path of Pain's expression was blank, there was a rare fluctuation in his usually cold tone. He was very surprised.
In the dense forest, Kageyama Kogetsu stood on a thick branch. He wasn't wearing his Hokage hat, but he was wearing his own Hokage robe. His expression was calm and natural, as if nothing in the world could disturb him.
Hearing this, the group stopped and immediately became vigilant, each using their own methods to scout the vicinity...
"No need to scout, everyone. I'm alone," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a slight smile.
On a tree trunk not far away, Black and White Zetsu's head emerged. The white half of his face was full of confusion.
"Black Zetsu, what is this guy trying to do?"
"I don't know. I haven't sensed any other Konoha ninja around, not a single one," Black Zetsu was also a little confused.
"Could this guy be planning to take on the entire Akatsuki single-handedly?"
"Hahaha... how is that possible? Maybe if he were Hashirama Senju or Lord Madara."
Just after saying this, White Zetsu couldn't help but laugh.
Black Zetsu said in a deep voice, "The possibility you mentioned is basically zero, but I have a bad feeling. The enemy must have something to rely on."
"Could it be Itachi Uchiha?"
"But just one Itachi Uchiha is far from enough. I can't figure it out, I just can't..."
White Zetsu smiled. "Who cares? We'll know soon enough if we just watch."
"That's true. But to be safe, you should still send a message for Obito to come back."
"Anyway, with his space-time ninjutsu, it won't delay things."
"Alright."
While Black and White Zetsu were talking, the ten members of the Akatsuki continued to advance...
Although they hadn't detected any ambush and felt that the opponent's appearance was strange, they had no reason to be afraid.
"You are all honored guests. I have prepared a gift for you."
With that, Kageyama Kogetsu raised his right hand and threw a punch...
A giant, crimson flame fist shot out, like a fleeting shadow. Wherever the fist passed, branches thick enough for two people to stand on snapped.
Whether it was branches or leaves, anything touched by the fist turned to ash. A hundred meters of obstacles were cleared in an instant, a display of scorching, domineering power!
There was no time to cast a jutsu to block such an instantaneous attack. Seeing this, everyone dodged.
Seizing this good opportunity, the undercover agents, without any discussion, instinctively launched sneak attacks on the people closest to them, showing perfect coordination.
Kakuzu attacked the Deva Path of Pain, Pakura attacked Sasori, Itachi Uchiha attacked Deidara, Jūzō Biwa attacked Konan, and Kisame attacked Hidan.
Among the Akatsuki members, apart from the small cliques, there was little trust between them and the others. They were actually on their guard.
But the incident was too sudden, and the attackers were all experts. Not everyone could escape unscathed...
The Deva Path of Pain was the most difficult to sneak attack. He ignored the others and protected Konan, who was dodging to the same side, with a Shinra Tensei.
A surging repulsive force spread out. The kunai with numerous explosive tags attached were directly repelled, and the surrounding giant trees were either snapped or uprooted.
Kakuzu and Jūzō Biwa were prepared. One hardened his body, and the other used his Executioner's Blade to protect himself.
Although they were sent flying, they were not injured.
Pakura's orange-red fireball directly burned Sasori's Hiruko to ashes.
Deidara was in a bit of a miserable state. Although he did his best to dodge and wasn't hit fully, nor were his vitals struck, he was still hit by six shuriken and was not lightly injured.
Hidan was the most miserable.
Although he wasn't killed, a large piece of flesh was torn from his body by Samehada. The wound was gruesome, and blood flowed freely. A portion of his chakra was also drained...
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