Tendo Pain, the strongest of the Six Paths of Pain...
Lexon's gaze fell on the other's tranquil, purple, ripple-patterned pupils.
'The leader of Akatsuki...'
'A puppet created by the Rinnegan wielder, Nagato, from the body of his dead friend, Yahiko...'
'There are six puppets in total, symbolizing the six paths of reincarnation. Each possesses a part of the Rinnegan's special abilities, their vision is shared, and all six are under Nagato's control. Their combat power is extraordinary.'
'It seems I can't beat him right now.'
Lexon deduced this information through his [Intuition].
However, the omen from his [Intuition] was only "danger," not "fatal," which meant that even if he couldn't win, Lexon could still escape.
In Lexon's estimation, the Six Paths of Pain had already reached the absolute peak of Kage-level, perhaps even touching the edge of Super-Kage.
Lexon felt that with the enhancements from his stacked physical attributes, Breathing Techniques, Markings, Transparent World, Demonization, Blood Demon Arts, and Sharingan, he could also temporarily reach the peak of Kage-level. A brief exchange with Pain would definitely not be a problem.
'But why didn't he show up earlier...'
Lexon suddenly felt a little regretful.
'If he had appeared earlier, I could have tried to check in on his Rinnegan.'
'Instead of checking in on Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear, which is useless to me.'
"Leader..." Kakuzu looked at Pain, somewhat moved.
"Kakuzu's money cannot be given to you. A large portion of his assets belongs to our organization," Tendo Pain said to Lexon, his face impassive, his voice low.
"Then what will you use to ransom his life?" Lexon propped up his chin, looking down at Pain.
He didn't show any deference just because he couldn't beat the other man. In any case, if he couldn't win, he'd just go back, lie low, and return to teach him a lesson later.
"Use this." Pain suddenly tossed a small item.
It was thrown slowly, clearly not a hidden weapon, so Lexon caught it.
It was a ring, engraved with the character "Blue" (青).
'An Akatsuki member ring?'
Lexon was puzzled.
"You will join our organization, 'Akatsuki'," Pain said indifferently.
"So joining your organization is the payment for his life?" Lexon tossed the ring, a half-smile on his face. "Doesn't this mean you guys are making out like bandits?"
"You refuse?" Pain asked.
"I can accept," Lexon had no objection to joining Akatsuki. After all, it was full of strong people, and the abilities he could check in on would be of a much higher level. But the people inside were no saints, and checking in might be troublesome. So, Lexon stated a condition. "But I have one condition."
"Speak."
"I hope that when I ask Akatsuki members for a friendly handshake, I won't be refused."
Hearing Lexon's request, Tendo Pain frowned slightly and asked, "A condition to activate a technique?"
He didn't know what the meaning of this was, so he assumed Lexon needed to shake hands with others to activate some kind of jutsu.
There were many such techniques, like the Konoha Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, which required extending one's shadow to connect with another's to steal control of their body.
"Not really. It's just a friendly form of communication." To show that the "handshake" was harmless, Lexon even made a point to grab the very reluctant Kakuzu's hand.
"See? Nothing happened, right?" Lexon smiled, shaking Kakuzu's arm.
Kakuzu tried to pull his hand back but found that the other's grip was too strong; he couldn't break free at all.
Pain watched Lexon, his brow still tightly furrowed.
"Right?" Lexon maintained his smile, looking at Kakuzu.
"Yes... Yes..." The expression on Kakuzu's face was clearly a forced smile.
"I cannot control whether other members agree to your request or not. I can only try my best to speak on your behalf," Tendo Pain said.
"Okey-dokey," Lexon replied, tossing the Akatsuki ring into his space ring. He didn't plan on wearing it right away.
'Spatial ninjutsu...'
Pain noted this move in his mind.
"Akatsuki sometimes has members attend meetings via the ring. Try to keep it on you."
Because tossing it into some other space might make him unable to perceive the ring's "meeting invitation," Pain reminded him.
"Is that so." Lexon took the ring out and stuffed it into his pocket.
Seeing that he really didn't want to wear it, Pain didn't force him. He continued, "You are currently a member of Konoha's 'Root', but you killed your captain. You probably have no sense of belonging to Konoha... When will you defect?"
'Ah, right... Akatsuki members are almost all rogue ninja...'
Lexon just remembered.
'Pain probably invited me because he was sure I would defect from Konoha...'
"In a little while," Lexon replied.
"Make it soon." Pain didn't say much more. In his eyes, this "Root" ninja's defection was a certainty. He had no so-called "Will of Fire" and probably felt nothing for Konoha.
"The Akatsuki robe will be given to you after you defect."
"No problem."
"Akatsuki members are generally in teams of two. Your partner..." Speaking of this, Pain suddenly hesitated.
He was considering who to pair him with. Then, he suddenly looked at Kakuzu.
Kakuzu, who had been observing the conversation, had a bad feeling when he saw his leader's gaze.
'No... Boss...'
"Kakuzu, don't you happen to be without a partner? He will be your partner from now on."
The final outcome did not escape his terrible premonition. Tendo Pain stated indifferently.
"Ah... Please take care of me in the future, Mr. Kakuzu," Lexon smiled, shaking Kakuzu's arm again.
Kakuzu's face was now full of despair. If he could, he would love to travel back in time and beat his past self to a pulp.
'I told you to keep your hands to yourself! Why'd you have to kill your teammates! Now I'm stuck on a team with this bastard!'
"Then you should at least tell me your identity..." Kakuzu could only accept it silently.
"He is Uchiha Lexon, an Uchiha clansman who was wandering outside and came to Konoha six years ago." Before Lexon could answer, Tendo Pain answered the question.
'His information network is really good.'
Lexon glanced at him, thinking to himself.
Kakuzu, meanwhile, searched his mind for information about "Uchiha Lexon," only to find that there was almost no famous news about him. He was a complete unknown, a minor Uchiha figure.
"That is all." Pain didn't waste any more words. After saying this, he vanished instantly.
'He left so quickly...'
Lexon looked at the spot where Pain had disappeared, a little disappointed. It seemed his idea of checking in on him would have to be postponed.
He then looked at Kakuzu and said, "Contact me if there's a mission. I'll be staying in Konoha for a while longer."
'I'd be thrilled if you stayed in Konoha forever...'
This was Kakuzu's inner thought.
"Okay."
This was what Kakuzu said out loud.
"Then I'm leaving too. Goodbye, Kakuzu." Lexon waved as he left.
From under his mask, Kakuzu managed to squeeze out a farewell smile.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]