Deep within the mountains, not far from Smoke Village, several figures emerged one after another from a spatial rift.
First was Moxi, now in her eight-tailed state with a beetle-like face, looking around warily. Next was the stitched man, dragging along the injured Gentleman.
Moxi scanned her surroundings and immediately tensed up, ready to flee.
She wasn't naive. She knew this guy must have some ulterior motive for saving her.
Too bad she had absolutely no interest in being anyone's dog.
Besides, did he really think she didn't know who was behind those three deformed curse spirits the other day?
She understood his sinister intentions perfectly, and even realized that his "rescue" earlier was all part of the plan.
So she felt no gratitude whatsoever. She just wanted to get as far away from these people as possible.
"Why the rush to leave? You are safe here now."
The Gentleman seemed to have recovered slightly. He told the stitched man to let go of him and pretended he was completely unharmed.
Moxi let out a cold laugh. "Safe? Are you sure? Don't think I don't know exactly what you're planning."
"You deliberately used those lousy low-level curses to attract human attention. Your goal was to drive me out of hiding! You hoped I'd end up hating humans, forcing me to join you!"
"Especially that perfectly timed 'rescue' just now... it's hard not to believe you had everything planned out from the start."
Surprisingly, upon hearing her words, the Gentleman simply nodded and admitted everything openly.
"That's correct. I killed your subordinates, and I released those monsters. My purpose is exactly what you said—I want you to join us."
"And I don't see anything wrong with my methods. We and humans are fundamentally incompatible. No matter how hard you try to blend into their society, the moment your identity is discovered, things like today will happen again."
"I merely shortened the process and showed you the result directly."
At first glance, his words sounded logical, but they were actually complete nonsense.
Moxi certainly wasn't fooled. If this bastard hadn't come looking for trouble, she would still be lying in the arms of a beautiful big sister right now, eating grapes and strawberries!
How did she end up in this miserable state?!
"So I'm supposed to thank you, is that it?"
"You're welcome. It was the least I could do."
Moxi laughed in anger and spread her wings to fly away.
But she suddenly realized the ground beneath her feet had turned into yellow sand. Her feet were sinking into it, held tight by an invisible force, completely immobilized.
"Stay. You were destined to be one of us. When we replace humans and rule this world, everything you desire will become reality."
The Gentleman tried to brainwash her again.
But Moxi was an anomaly among curse spirits; she didn't buy into this garbage at all. "Cut the crap! I do whatever I want! Anyone who tries to stop me is my enemy!"
It was really hard to imagine what kind of experiences had shaped this little girl—who called herself "Old Lady," had two faces, and multiple tails—into such a personality.
And with so many elements mixed together... would anyone actually like her?
"Perhaps you should calm down first and think carefully before making a decision."
As the Gentleman spoke, Moxi began to sink deeper into the sand.
She laughed loudly. "So soft tactics didn't work, now you're resorting to force? Do you really think I'd come here without a plan?"
"Tailed Beast Spell: Nine Jade Curse!"
The ninth tail—a white fox tail—suddenly appeared. The face on the back of her head also shifted to that of a fox.
Instantly, eight phantom images materialized around Moxi, each bearing a different face and corresponding tail.
Adding the original fox form, there were exactly nine!
All nine "Moxis" opened their mouths simultaneously, condensing terrifying spheres of energy.
"This is what happens when you mess with me! Go to hell, all of you!"
Her original childish face was now filled with rage as she shouted.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The next moment, the earth shook and the mountains crumbled!
The entire peak was completely flattened...
...
Shinji and the others simultaneously looked up in a certain direction.
Even from this distance, the violent explosion was terrifying enough to make their hearts skip a beat.
If this had happened before his transmigration, Shinji would have thought someone had just dropped a nuclear bomb.
When the light finally faded, the mountain that had stood there was gone. It was as if it had been erased by an eraser.
No one knew exactly what had happened over there.
But they could all guess it likely involved the Tailed Beast girl and that Gentleman from earlier.
Otherwise, it was just too much of a coincidence.
"Mission is over. Let's go, Kisame."
Itachi quickly accepted reality. He didn't want to waste any more time here, mainly because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist sneaking a look at Sasuke.
He also now had a clear understanding of Akagi Shinji's true strength.
A terrifying and mysterious man.
And most importantly... Shinji was extremely effective against him.
Itachi couldn't help but wonder if leaving Sasuke with this man was a good or bad thing.
But things were already out of his control, so he could only let nature take its course.
"Hey, Shark Face, interested in jumping ship? Staying in Akatsuki won't get you anywhere."
Seeing them about to leave, Shinji asked again, adopting a 'cast a wide net' strategy.
But just like Itachi, Kisame had no intention of changing employers.
Shinji wasn't surprised. If there was a ranking for the most loyal members of Akatsuki, this guy would definitely be in the top two.
So it was highly unlikely...
He mainly asked this just to set up what came next.
"Remember to help me spread the word when you get back! Tell them the Jashin Church is recruiting core members! Whatever salary Akatsuki pays you, I'll double it! And there are no performance reviews! You won't have to run around like dogs working your asses off every day just to make money! On top of that, we offer 9-to-5 hours, weekends off, and paid holidays! Transportation allowance, meal allowance, wedding and funeral leave—everything is fully covered! Plus social insurance and performance bonuses!"
"Spots are limited! Anyone interested can contact me quickly! Just leave a message for me at any underground exchange house. I will reply within three days!"
Itachi and Kisame: "..."
"Make sure you don't forget the slogan! Otherwise, when I see you again, I'll dig your eyes out!"
Shinji said this seemingly to Kisame, but everyone knew he was actually threatening Itachi.
Itachi was speechless. If Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu actually worked on this guy, he would have killed him long ago.
"Got it, Kisame?"
"Huh???"
Kisame looked completely confused, then turned to Itachi. "Are you actually being serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking? Next time we have a meeting, you will recite every single word without missing a single one. If you can't do it, that means you don't respect me!"
"... Itachi, you've changed."
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