Chapter 57: The Akatsuki Dream Team Takes Shape
Pain ignored Orochimaru and Sasori's bickering.
"Kakuzu, you're with Tang San. Go to the Land of Earth."
He assigned Kakuzu to a minor character who, in the original story, didn't even have a name before Kakuzu killed him.
Kakuzu had no objections to this.
He was even a little happy.
Qianye had just destroyed four of his hearts, and he was worried about where to find new, high-quality hearts.
After all, Elite Jonin hearts were not common.
Now, a high-quality heart was automatically delivered to his doorstep.
All he had to do next was create an 'accident' during the mission.
"Konan will still be with me."
As a seasoned veteran and Nagato's close friend, Konan naturally had no objections.
"Juzo, you and Itachi will go to the Land of Water."
"Hai," Juzo replied reluctantly upon hearing this.
If he could, he never wanted to return to that country full of blood and tears.
However, his strength in the Akatsuki Organization was among the lowest, only slightly stronger than the minor character who was about to die at Kakuzu's hands.
He had no right to refuse.
Fortunately, they weren't going to the Hidden Mist Village; otherwise, he would probably have felt like dying.
After all, he had escaped from that Village of the Bloody Mist.
"As for Qianye…" Considering the formidable strength Qianye had just displayed, Pain pondered for a moment and said, "You'll temporarily be with Zetsu. Zetsu's main task is to gather intelligence and he's not good at fighting. You'll have to work hard for a while. I'll find you a new teammate as soon as possible."
"Alright then, as long as this guy doesn't suddenly pop out when I'm sleeping," Qianye said, a little disappointed. He had originally wanted to be with Konan; after all, she was a young lady. Being paired with Zetsu, a Yin-Yang Release product, what kind of situation was this?
Changing his tone, Qianye seriously spouted nonsense to Zetsu: "I am good at killing in my dreams. When I am asleep, you must not approach."
"What does that mean?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled.
"It means if you dare to suddenly appear while I'm resting, I'll chop you in half with one stroke," Qianye said, simply and brutally.
"Then what should we call you from now on?" Black Zetsu felt a bit embarrassed.
"Knock on the door, understand? Also, my residence in the Rain Village is forbidden territory. Besides Konan, anyone who dares to approach one step, I will still chop him in half," Qianye said, sweeping his gaze across the Akatsuki members with an arrogant air.
In response, those who had witnessed Qianye's formidable strength had no objections.
This was ultimately a world where the strong preyed on the weak.
The strong always held privileges.
Moreover, they wouldn't be so bored as to run into a big man's room.
"I understand," Black Zetsu chose to concede.
Qianye was someone who never played by the rules. He would slaughter the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan without hesitation. Black Zetsu couldn't guarantee that Qianye wouldn't really chop it and White Zetsu in half.
"So, Leader, the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Water all have people. You're not going to send me to the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning next, are you?" Qianye looked at Pain.
Pain said, "No, we don't need to worry about the Land of Lightning for now. After all, the Cloud Village isn't like other ninja villages that like internal strife. Currently, our Akatsuki Organization cannot interfere there. As for the Land of Fire, you just destroyed the families of the Third Hokage and Danzo; going there now would be too conspicuous. For now, you'll travel between some small and medium-sized countries. Zetsu will tell you the specific tasks."
As he spoke, Pain's Rinnegan shimmered.
Everyone instantly floated into the air.
They flew away from the Rain Village and finally landed on the peak of a valley.
Amidst a sea of clouds.
Everyone gathered around Pain, looking at the bottomless abyss below their feet, without speaking.
Mountain peaks. Clouds. Ten handsome men and beautiful women in black robes with red clouds.
The original Akatsuki dream team made their debut.
"Mission start."
"Let the world know Pain!"
Pain shouted sternly.
Then, each group set off in their assigned formations in all directions.
Kakuzu ran the fastest.
He practically dragged his minor character teammate by the collar.
As if afraid Qianye would eat him.
He scampered off to replenish his hearts.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Qianye immediately mourned for that minor character, then looked at another minor character who was about to die, Biwa Jūzō.
The Fourth Mizukage was already under Obito's control.
If nothing unexpected happened, soon Obito would, through Pain's mouth, send them to the Hidden Mist Village to test Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Then Biwa Jūzō would perform the famous scene of cleaving a Tailed Beast Ball with his blade for the Filial Son.
Tsk tsk, his head was really hard.
"Hey, newcomer, follow me..." Biwa Jūzō felt his scalp tingle from Qianye's gaze, so he didn't linger, called out to Itachi, and walked back with the executioner's blade on his shoulder.
Uchiha Itachi gave Qianye a deep look and followed closely behind.
Only Qianye, Zetsu, Pain, and Konan remained on the mountaintop.
"Let's go down the mountain, Black Sixth, White Seventh." Qianye glanced at Black and White Zetsu with a look of disdain, his figure turning into an afterimage as he stepped away, disappearing from Black and White Zetsu's sight in a few moments.
White Zetsu: "..."
Black Zetsu: "..."
White Zetsu said, "Itachi is the Filial Son, Kakuzu is the Tentacle monster... You're Black Sixth, I'm White Seventh. It seems Qianye-kun dislikes us all. Only Orochimaru is better off, getting the title of Snake Uncle."
Black Zetsu urged, "Don't worry about it so much, let's catch up."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu controlled the pitcher plant to merge into the ground, pursuing from underground.
A moment later, a vortex suddenly appeared beside Pain, as if space was warping.
Immediately after, a Masked Man wearing an orange spiral mask, revealing only his right eye, appeared out of thin air.
With his arms crossed, he looked very calm and confident.
"What's the situation now?" Obito asked in a deep voice.
"Everyone who has joined, including Qianye and Itachi whom you brought, are currently gathering funds," Konan replied.
Pain turned his head to look at Obito, "What about your side? Do you have a target for the next member?"
Obito shook his head, "Still searching. After all, our organization doesn't need any trash. How strong are Qianye and Itachi?"
"I haven't seen Itachi fight yet, so I can't tell much, but being able to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, he should have a certain level of skill. As for Qianye, his strength is very great; Kakuzu was completely helpless against him," Konan replied.
Upon hearing this, Obito's face beneath the mask showed no surprise. He had personally experienced Qianye's strength; he was an unfathomable individual, not just in terms of strength, but also that composure of controlling everything. With just a simple exchange, he had seen through Obito's intangibility.
Because of this, he nearly died and lost a Sharingan.
"His strength is probably more than that. In the future, you all need to pay more attention. If used properly, he will be a great asset to our plan."
Leaving that remark, Obito's right eye socket beneath the mask began to twist, sucking his body into it, and he disappeared.