It was humanoid yet twisted and ferocious, its withered body bound by thick cold chains. Nine enormous eyes were shut tight, and its raised arms held open palms with ten pillar-like fingers spread wide. It was the empty shell of the Ten-Tails, the Gedo Statue.
This posture gave the monstrous shape a strange sense of divinity. The consciousness forms of Nagato and Konan appeared silently on the fingertips. One by one, eight ghostly blue lights flared on the remaining fingers, condensing into semi-transparent human figures.
Though their features were blurred, their outlines were clear, and their movements matched their real bodies exactly. Ten figures stood quietly atop the fingers as a cold, solemn atmosphere filled the space. Nagato's layered-ring Rinnegan swept over every projection.
Symbols appeared on the ten fingers: zero, white, black, vermilion, south, sky, jade, blue, north, and three. These represented Nagato as Zero Burial, Konan as White Tiger, Kakuzu as North Dipper, Sasori as Jade Maiden, and Juzo Biwa as South Dipper. The former positions of Hidan, Itachi Uchiha, and others had all been replaced by new members.
"Everyone is gathered to announce two matters," Nagato said, his low voice breaking the silence. "First, welcome our new members, Hiruko, Shennong, and Sasori, to Akatsuki."
No one responded, all quietly observing each other. The newcomers in particular felt the oppressive presence of Nagato and the dangerous aura of the others. The realization that every member was this strong made their hearts tighten.
"From now on, Sasori will team with Hanzo, Shennong with Miyashiro En, and Hiruko with Juzo Biwa," Nagato continued. The three glanced toward their assigned partners without speaking.
"Joining Akatsuki means accepting its rules and will," Nagato said coldly. "There is only one rule: internal conflict is forbidden. Any form of private fighting or vendetta among members will end in death."
As the word fell, a chill seemed to solidify in the air. Under the gaze of the Rinnegan, all doubts and ambitions were forced down. This was power they could not oppose, even if some of them secretly coveted those eyes.
"Nagato," Hanzo suddenly asked, arms crossed. "Isn't someone missing?"
Before Nagato could respond, a laughing voice rang out. "I'm here." A shadowy figure now sat atop the Gedo Statue's head, looking down with amusement and telling them to continue as if he were not there.
Konan's eyes showed a trace of caution, though Nagato himself was calm. Their relationship with Shadow was cooperation, which in truth meant mutual use. Withdrawing his gaze, Nagato spoke again.
"Second matter," he said evenly. "The time has come. The Five Kage have left their villages. The Tailed Beast Capture Plan is to begin immediately."
At these words, Sasori, Hiruko, and Shennong showed different expressions. The goal of Akatsuki was the Tailed Beasts themselves. Far from fear, what rose in them was ambition, hunger, and restless desire.
For people like them, joining Akatsuki could not have been more fitting.
The night sky had not fully faded yet. A thin, hazy layer of dawn appeared quietly and soaked the darkness into a deep blue.
In the bedroom, Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto was wrapped in his blanket and sprawled across the bed. A foolish, unguarded smile hung at the corner of his mouth as Orochimaru let out small, steady snores.
At that moment, the simple alarm clock on the bedside table made a kacha sound. Its hands jumped precisely to 5:30.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
The sharp noise tore through the calm of the early morning.
Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto was dragged out of a good dream and shot upright in bed. He stared blankly at the dim Konoha Hospital Special Care Ward and then turned to look out the window.
The sky outside was still hazy, and daylight was still a while away.
"Ugh…"
He covered his face and complained in a miserable voice, "What is this, getting up so early on a weekend…"
He had studied late in Sealing Space the night before, and the heavy sleepiness surged back at once. Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto let himself fall backward like a slab of meat, landing flat on the bed as the warm blanket wrapped around him.
"Ah…"
He sighed in satisfaction, his heavy eyelids closing as Orochimaru prepared to fall asleep again.
Just as his awareness was about to sink back into dreams, a low voice sounded in his mind without warning. "Kid," Nine-Tails said slowly, "use that pig brain of yours and think about what day it is."
"…"
Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto snapped his eyes open and sprang upright in a flash. The movement was so sudden that it stirred the air around him.
His toes smashed hard into the edge of the bed, and a sharp pain shot straight from his foot to his head.
"Hiss!"
He sucked in a breath, clutching the unlucky toe with both hands. His face twisted in pain as Orochimaru kept hissing through his teeth.
In the shadow beside the bed, a narrow cat's eye slowly opened. It looked up at Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto's foolish state, and a very human sense of disgust appeared in that eye.
"It hurts, it hurts, I'm dying…"
Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto muttered through clenched teeth. When the pain finally eased, Orochimaru jumped off the bed and shouted, "Monday, Monday, today is Monday."
It was the first day of the new term, with new grades and new classes. He did not even bother to put on slippers, running barefoot across the cold floor straight into the bathroom.
Moments later, a lean black shadow followed him in. With light and lazy cat steps, it nudged Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto's slippers and wandered into the bathroom.
It was a jet black cat with glossy fur all over its body. With a light leap, it landed on the sink and sat there steadily, watching Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto.
"Gargle gargle… pfft."
Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto spat out the toothpaste foam and noticed the cat. He looked down, put on his slippers, then looked up and grinned. "Thanks, Xiao Hei."
The cat was very special, its entire body pitch black without a single stray hair. Only at the position of its left eye was a vicious scar running through the closed eyelid, as if it had been slashed hard by claws, leaving it clearly blind.
It stared at Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto with its remaining amber right eye, unblinking and full of scrutiny. This one eyed black cat, named Xiao Hei by Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto, had been an accident.
Several months ago, one morning when Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto opened his door, a black shadow darted in past his feet. It boldly claimed the most comfortable spot on the sofa and refused to leave no matter how much Orochimaru coaxed or chased it.
In the past, when Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto himself barely had enough to eat, Obito Uchiha Uchiha would never have kept such an uninvited guest. But after meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi Hokage and receiving the subsidy, life was no longer rich but stable enough to support himself and a cat.
So his heart softened, and Orochimaru kept it. Later Orochimaru realized the cat was far too smart, going out on its own to use the bathroom and hunt, then returning on time each night to sleep.
Konoha Root needed no effort at all. Sometimes, when Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto acted foolish like earlier, it would lie in its nest and look over with that same humanlike disdain.
Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto did not mind at all and had long grown used to its presence.
Soon, Uzumaki Uzumaki Naruto finished washing up and went to the kitchen. Standing on a small stool, Orochimaru began to work in a clumsy but serious manner.