In a dark cave somewhere.
There was a huge stone statue, and on its fingers stood several shadowy figures with colorful special effects.
These shadowy figures were all the current official members of the Akatsuki Organization.
They were Pain, Konan, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and Sasori.
"Hehehe," Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly, "May I ask what the leader needs us for?"
Before Pain could speak, Sasori said impatiently, "Orochimaru, where have you been?"
Hearing Sasori's voice, Orochimaru was also startled.
Because Sasori's voice was now that of a girl.
"Hehe… Sasori, have you found your true self?"
Sasori:
"Hmph! I'm just testing my new abilities!"
Sasori wasn't lying; he was indeed testing the abilities of his three bodies according to the robots' instruction manuals.
Although two of the bodies were female, he had to admit, he truly enjoyed it.
After this period of research, Sasori discovered that each of these three bodies had its own advantages.
First was the original Sasori, which was almost him in his lifetime; he could use various puppet Ninjutsu as easily as moving his own limbs.
Yujie Sasori, on the other hand, possessed the ability to transform and various heavy-fire long-range attacks.
Sasori had tested it; Yujie Sasori was much stronger in long-range firepower than all the puppets he had created before, and by a significant margin.
As for Loli Sasori, she belonged to the close-combat type.
There were thrusters all over Loli Sasori's body, and these thrusters were mind-controlled. With these thrusters, both her attack power and evasion ability were greatly enhanced during close-quarters combat.
After researching these three bodies, Sasori realized that as a Ninja, he no longer had any weaknesses.
Long-range, close-combat, puppet swarm tactics…
As for turning into a girl, Sasori no longer cared.
Anyway, he wasn't even considered human anymore, so what did it matter if he became a woman?
Orochimaru didn't ask much about Sasori's question.
He knew that Sasori was the same kind of person as him; although their pursuits were different, they could completely disregard minor details for their goals.
"Alright! The reason I called you all here this time is because Kakuzu saw a promising talent and hopes we can recruit him into our organization!"
With that, Pain looked at Kakuzu, signaling him to step forward and explain.
Seeing this, Kakuzu didn't waste any time and spoke directly.
"I'm talking about someone from the Konoha Uchiha Clan, named Uchiha Shisui." As he spoke, Kakuzu glanced at Orochimaru, who was from Konoha.
Orochimaru was also startled by this.
"Hehehe, so it's Shisui. He is indeed a good talent!"
"Although I haven't had much contact with Uchiha Shisui, it's unlikely he would betray Konoha. The most likely possibility is that he's a Konoha spy planted in our organization."
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Pain looked at Kakuzu, wanting to see what Kakuzu would say.
Kakuzu had contacted Pain earlier and told him about Uchiha Shisui.
Pain naturally knew the Uchiha surname; he also didn't believe that someone from a prominent Konoha clan would join the Akatsuki Organization.
Just then, Kakuzu spoke again.
"Orochimaru, do you think someone loyal to Konoha would establish their own Ninja Village outside of Konoha Village?"
Kakuzu didn't care about Shisui's description of a base; he still believed that what Shisui and Itachi had established was a Ninja Village.
Just a Ninja Village with fewer Ninja.
Orochimaru frowned slightly at this.
In fact, Orochimaru had been somewhat evasive earlier.
He not only knew Uchiha Shisui but also understood him very well.
Orochimaru had studied and closely monitored every genius and every person with potential who appeared in Konoha.
And Uchiha Shisui was one of them.
He knew that Uchiha Shisui had been brainwashed by the Third Hokage and believed in the so-called will of fire, so he would absolutely not establish a Village outside of Konoha.
Establishing a Village outside was a complete betrayal of Konoha and a violation of the will of fire.
What was the will of fire? It was the will of Konoha's high-ranking officials; Ninja burning themselves out to solidify the positions of the higher-ups—that was the will of fire.
Orochimaru saw through it clearly, so he was very disdainful of the current corrupt Konoha.
However, thinking of that Uchiha genius Shisui betraying Konoha, Orochimaru also started to have some ulterior motives.
After listening to Kakuzu's narration, the others present also believed that Uchiha Shisui should indeed have betrayed Konoha.
In fact, even if he hadn't betrayed Konoha, simply secretly informing Konoha's high-ranking officials about Shisui establishing his own Village outside would force Konoha's high-ranking officials to treat him as a rogue Ninja.
After all, not every person with some strength could establish their own Village and Ninja force, so any such budding signs had to be quashed.
This was true not only for Konoha but also for other Ninja Villages.
"Very good… In that case, Kakuzu, next time, take Orochimaru and Sasori with you to check it out! Try your best to recruit him!"
"Also, Zetsu, try to gather information about Uchiha Shisui and see if Konoha has already defined him as a rogue Ninja!"
Finally, Pain made a decision.
Kakuzu was very excited when he heard this.
What was Kakuzu's purpose in strongly urging the Akatsuki to recruit Shisui? Of course, it was for money! After all, the materialization of genjutsu was simply too tempting!
"Received…" Zetsu's voice sounded. As the Akatsuki Organization's intelligence chief, he was duty-bound to gather information!
"I understand! I'll set off to find Kakuzu right now!"
Sasori also immediately accepted this mission.
Orochimaru, however, did not immediately agree.
"I still have some things to attend to and will need a few days. Do you mind?"
"Orochimaru, you know me; I never wait for anyone!" Sasori said coldly.
"Hehehehe…" Orochimaru chuckled, teasing, "You've changed genders, so your temperament should change a bit too!"
"Are you looking for death, Orochimaru?!"
Before Orochimaru and Sasori could continue arguing, Kakuzu directly said, "Then let's wait a few days for Orochimaru. I'm still looking for new hearts! No rush!"
Kakuzu couldn't let them continue arguing; it would be bad if Orochimaru didn't come.
After all, he had personally experienced Shisui's strength. If it was just him and Sasori going, to be honest, it would indeed be a bit risky.
"Then, see you in the Land of Rain in seven days!"
Orochimaru said, and then his consciousness withdrew from the place. He planned to immediately complete his transaction with Naruto and then go find Shisui.
If possible, he hoped to control Shisui himself; such a genius was rare.