Orochimaru's eyes showed no effort to hide his greed. It was the kind of hunger that yearned to occupy Simu's body.
"Long time no see, Mr. Orochimaru."
Simu chuckled softly and reached out to shake Orochimaru's hand. The moment their palms touched, Simu immediately felt a surge of chakra flooding into his body.
With the influx of this chakra, the surrounding world underwent a massive transformation. He found himself standing on a desolate wasteland. Before him, a giant purple snake opened its maw, wide as a cavern, as a foul-smelling gale blasted against his face.
Is this a Genjutsu?
Simu's face showed not a single trace of fear or concern. The essence of Genjutsu is to use various methods to inject one's own chakra into an enemy's body, thereby invading their spiritual world and trapping them in an illusion by interfering with their spirit and perception.
The key to a successful Genjutsu is how the chakra is injected and how it is used to disrupt the target's senses. Generally speaking, there are two ways to break a Genjutsu. First, one can disrupt the flow of chakra within their own body, thereby scattering the enemy's chakra. Second, one can use external stimuli to regain true perception, thus shattering the illusion.
However, the person standing before Orochimaru was merely one of Simu's clones. Only a tiny fraction of his spirit and soul resided within this shell. Consequently, the second step of the Genjutsu failed completely.
Orochimaru's chakra could not possibly disrupt Simu's total perception. After all, Simu possessed dozens of sensory sources. Blinding a single clone was nowhere near enough to trap him in a dream. Conversely, once he realized someone was casting a Genjutsu on his clone, he only needed his other clones to actively inject chakra into that specific body to easily escape the illusion.
As the external chakra entered, the terrifying giant snake and the desolate world before Simu's eyes vanished instantly. A flicker of surprise crossed Orochimaru's face. He hadn't expected his carefully crafted Genjutsu to be broken in a heartbeat.
Furthermore, Simu flashed a smile, followed by a glint of golden light passing through his eyes. An uncontrollable sense of dread rose within Orochimaru's heart. Everyone else in his vision vanished, leaving him standing alone and unable to move.
Time seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Under the washing of the ages, Orochimaru's body gradually withered. Countless cracks appeared on his skin, and finally, under the erosion of time, he dissipated like yellow sand.
Only then did a massive, blood-colored eye appear in the sky. A chant, sounding like it came from an abyss, echoed in Orochimaru's ears.
"Praise my Lord. My Lord is eternity, the master of time!"
In the next second, the scene before him stretched into countless lines, and Orochimaru returned to reality. He felt as though he had lived through centuries, forced to watch his own life slowly rot under the weight of time. Yet, in reality, less than a second had passed.
Orochimaru looked up to see Simu's gentle smile still directed at him.
"I am very glad to become colleagues with you, Mr. Orochimaru."
With that, Simu released his hand and returned to his designated finger on the statue. To be honest, Simu welcomed Orochimaru's arrival. After all, as a veteran powerhouse and one of the Sannin who specialized in biological technology, Orochimaru surely possessed many excellent materials.
Simu looked forward to seeing what kind of sparks would fly between them. As for Orochimaru, he finally cast aside his disdain, replacing it with deep wariness and desire.
He was wary because that brief exchange made him clearly realize that the other man's strength was no longer below his own. He was a truly troublesome opponent. He felt desire because he was now filled with curiosity regarding the secrets Simu held.
Regardless, they were now in the same organization, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and returned to his position.
Pain, standing above, had watched the subtle clash between Simu and Orochimaru in its entirety. He said nothing more, turning instead to Sasori.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, this is your uniform. You may choose your code name and ring."
Pain tossed a black cloak embroidered with red clouds to Sasori. After examining it, Sasori put it on. As a genius and an artist, he was unwilling to wear anything too ugly.
Along with the uniform, four rings flew toward him. They represented the code name [Vermilion Bird] with "Vermilion," [South Star] with "South," [Azure Dragon] with "Azure," and [Jade Maiden] with "Jade."
"I choose this one. Jade Maiden."
Sasori reached out and took the "Jade" ring from the four choices.
Pain nodded slightly. "In that case, Sasori, you are now an official member of the Akatsuki. Simu should have already told you the specific rules of the organization, so I will not repeat them."
"Mhm."
Even facing a leader with the Eyes of the Sage, Sasori's demeanor remained cold.
"Choose a position for yourself," Pain said, withdrawing his gaze.
Without hesitation, Sasori moved to the spot next to Simu.
"Um, Sasori, that is Hidan's position," Konan suddenly spoke up to remind him.
"Oh."
Hearing her reminder, Sasori stood on Simu's other side instead.
"Oh dear, how pitiful. Now that Senior Sasori has joined, my status as an intern is going to drop another level!"
Tobi appeared in Hidan's spot at some unknown moment, complaining with great dissatisfaction. "Leader, when are you going to make me a full member?"
Pain looked at Tobi expressionlessly. "You can become a full member as long as you can defeat anyone in the organization."
Tobi gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head. "Well, never mind then. The seniors in this organization are all as strong as monsters. I wouldn't dare challenge them."
"Enough small talk," Konan interrupted Tobi's performance, her voice cold. "Let's prepare for the real business."
Real business?
Orochimaru's cold eyes shifted slightly. He knew the purpose of the Akatsuki's founding was to capture the nine Tailed Beasts. Therefore, the "real business" Konan spoke of must concern them.
"Simu, you should have brought the One-Tail Jinchuriki, correct?" Konan asked.
"Yes. He is in Sasori's hands."
Simu adjusted his glasses slightly, and Sasori lifted the unconscious Gaara.