Ding ling.
The door chime attracted Sasori's attention.
He glanced at the unremarkable man who had entered, then focused his attention on the mirror in front of him.
"If the customer wants a haircut, please sit over here."
Sasori specifically pointed to a corner seat, which was not easy to see from outside the window and looked very concealed.
Pain understood and walked over.
Then Sasori came behind him and silently began cutting his hair.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
Pain suddenly spoke.
"Say what?"
Sasori countered. "Walking in so boldly like this, aren't you afraid of being discovered by Konoha? Aren't you afraid of being discovered by Takumi?"
"So what if we're discovered? Takumi wouldn't dare fight us here."
Pain had absolute confidence in his own strength. Although he wasn't confident enough to defeat Takumi, on Takumi's home turf, he had no need to worry about anything. He could freely unleash his power, even destroying Konoha if he wanted.
"You all should go back."
Sasori said calmly. "I am a failure. I no longer have the qualifications to return to the Akatsuki."
"A strong man like you, do you intend to spend your whole life here cutting hair for others?"
Pain frowned. He hadn't expected Sasori's will to be truly worn down.
'What exactly happened to make Sasori completely lose the will of a strong warrior?'
"I just suddenly grew tired of it."
Sasori's movements didn't stop. His gaze, through the mirror, looked into Pain's eyes. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your affairs."
"You all continue with your plans, for the sake of your ideals."
Sasori's voice was extremely calm, so calm it made Pain uncomfortable.
"What about your ideals then?"
Pain pressed. "Don't you want to accomplish your ideals? Following me, changing the entire Shinobi World – wasn't that our ideal once?"
"That was yours."
Sasori said calmly. "The reason I joined the Akatsuki is actually quite simple."
He stopped his hands and looked down at the top of Pain's head. "From beginning to end, I just wanted to research your bodies. It would have been even better if I could get your corpses."
"Unfortunately, you never gave me that chance, and probably never will."
"But among the people I'm interested in, you are not included, Pain."
"I am not interested in a corpse that has been dead for many years."
His words made Pain's eyes widen.
He never expected that Sasori had seen through Pain's secret.
Pain was indeed a corpse.
It was Yahiko's corpse.
But this matter, apart from Obito, Konan, and Nagato, everyone else should not have known.
Yet Sasori had seen it.
He just never mentioned it.
"You seem surprised?"
Sasori looked calmly at Pain's expression in the mirror. "If you've dealt with corpses long enough, you can feel it. Your body has no life force."
"As for what allows you to move like a living person, it should be these black rods inserted in your body. They carry a special kind of Chakra."
"But none of this has anything to do with me. I'm interested in the bodies of other Akatsuki's members. If I made them into puppets, they would definitely become very strong puppets."
"But your body, even if made into a puppet, couldn't unleash the power of the Rinnegan. Because the true user of the Rinnegan is not this body, but you, the one controlling Pain from somewhere far away."
With a calm tone, Sasori spoke out Pain's greatest secret.
"As expected of you."
After the initial shock, Pain regained his composure.
Even if seen through, it didn't matter. Pain was just a code name.
Nagato's current condition was also not suitable for appearing before others.
Nagato, who needed to rely on the Outer Path Statue to sustain his life, couldn't even move freely.
Pain was the one he had chosen as his avatar, his eyes and ears in the outside world.
"It seems your resolve is firm."
Pain knew that this trip would be futile.
Sasori's will was strong, but his will no longer aligned with the Akatsuki.
They had already embarked on two different paths.
"What a pity."
Pain said as he stood up from the chair. "After this, perhaps we will never meet again."
"That's fine."
Sasori took two steps back. "I also want to experience a peaceful time."
After witnessing Chiyo's self-sacrifice to save Gaara,
Sasori's mindset had undergone a tremendous change.
He often thought about the past, recalling bits and pieces of earlier times.
Not exactly regret, but choosing another way to live might also be a good choice.
Pain said no more.
He knew more words were useless.
The disguised Akatsuki's members outside saw Pain emerge and immediately focused their attention on him.
Pain shook his head slightly and walked out of the village on his own.
The group slowly followed.
Deidara came beside Pain, opened his mouth as if to speak.
"Don't talk."
Pain said calmly. "We'll discuss it when we get back."
Deidara opened and closed his mouth, finally giving up in frustration.
He could tell something from Pain's attitude.
He helplessly looked back at the barber shop but couldn't see that figure.
This made him feel a bit disappointed.
Sasori's mood hadn't changed at all.
Even after just conversing with Pain, his heart remained unmoved.
Ding ling.
"You're here?"
Sasori didn't need to turn his head to know who had arrived. "I guessed right, you discovered them long ago."
Takumi, sneaking in when no one was around, carefully entered, afraid of being discovered and getting trapped in the barber shop.
"I did discover them, but I didn't dare to act rashly either."
Takumi breathed a sigh of relief after confirming no one had followed him in.
"So? How does it feel to say goodbye to your former comrades?"
A smile appeared on Takumi's face.
"You guessed I would refuse them?"
Sasori turned to look at Takumi. "How do you know I'm not here as their spy? After all, you haven't restricted my freedom. If I wanted to leave, even you would have a hard time stopping me."
"Perhaps."
Takumi shrugged. "But would you leave? Even if you left, where would you go? Return to a wandering life?"
Sasori was silent.
He really couldn't find a place to stay.
"Since you've already made your decision, I won't say much more."
Takumi patted Sasori's shoulder. "Stay here peacefully and experience a quiet life. Maybe it will give you some special artistic inspiration."
"Art, huh?"
Sasori murmured. "Maybe I really should change my perspective on things."
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I'd rather not be discovered and get stuck here, causing you trouble too."
Takumi waved and turned to leave.