Akatsuki

"The Fourth Mizukage could have held on a little longer. It seemed you were the one who suggested something to Mei Terumi, and as a result, this chess piece of mine was ruined."

News of the Fourth Mizukage’s death from untreatable injuries had already spread, and Obito seemed quite displeased by it.

"I don’t think he was all that important to you. Perhaps his status as the Three-Tails’ Jinchuriki merely stirred up some old feelings."

Xu Yue’s tone remained calm. Then, as if recalling something, he added,

"Come to think of it, the Fourth Mizukage was rather cute. Don’t tell me his identity awakened some strange fetish in you?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, sorry. It seems that wasn’t it. Could it be you had him use the Transformation Jutsu?"

"I told you to shut up!"

Obito was completely losing it. If he did not know how strong the other man was and dare not leave his intangible state, he would have dearly loved to pin him to the ground and beat him senseless.

"Tch, and you can’t take that? The person I painstakingly saved with the Reincarnation of Heavenly Life Technique was led astray by you too, wasn’t he?"

Xu Yue’s tone seemed to carry a hint of nostalgia as well.

"Stop deluding yourself. Kyusuke and Daibutsu are already dead. If you intend to reveal your identity now, I’ll tell them you stole Yue’s corpse and used evil, cruel ninjutsu to steal his memories."

Only then did Obito seem to finally latch onto something, and a trace of satisfaction surfaced within him.

"I had no intention of revealing anything. I merely feel some regret for them."

Xu Yue’s voice still carried a trace of melancholy.

"Since you love being a good person so much, love saving people so much, love sacrificing yourself for others so much, then why couldn’t you save Rin back then?!"

Xu Yue’s words had stirred up terrible memories, and Obito could not help roaring. The composure he had cultivated over the years completely shattered.

"Hehe, now this is the Obito I know."

It seemed the seed planted in his heart back then had been quite successful. It had actually made this guy lose control…

Within a dim, sealed space, one Phantasm Body projection after another appeared. Every one of them wore black robes patterned with red clouds, and their images occasionally flickered with distorted interference.

The leader standing in the center had rings of ripples in his eyes.

(The Six Paths of Pain was only a projection, much like the Summoning Beasts summoned by the Beast Path.)

The Phantasm Body Technique, which allowed people to meet from afar!

"Everyone is here. It seems one person is missing."

Pain swept his gaze around and noticed that someone was absent.

"Was he killed?"

His tone was calm, without the slightest fluctuation.

"Rather than being killed by an enemy, it would be more accurate to say he was killed by one of our own."

Zetsu’s pitcher plant-like projection spoke in a hoarse voice. As an intelligence expert, he had watched the entire affair.

Then, he turned toward Kakuzu on the other side with great interest.

"Who told him to drag his feet? What I hate most is people who drag their feet."

Kakuzu paid Zetsu no mind whatsoever. His tone was exceptionally indifferent, carrying the bearing of an old hand.

"Everyone can judge that for themselves."

Zetsu did not care about Kakuzu’s attitude. As he finished speaking, the projection before them displayed the scene of that battle.

A middle-aged man with a forgettable face, dressed in Akatsuki attire, was fiercely fighting an enemy. Then Kakuzu emerged from behind him and used a wide-range Fire Release to take out both the enemy and his ally in one sweep.

When the image ended, Scorpion, who was hunched over, gave a concise evaluation.

"Deliberate."

Orochimaru, who was teamed with Scorpion, also commented coldly in his hoarse voice.

"Intentional."

"He should have dodged."

Kakuzu completely ignored the attitudes of those two, looking utterly aloof.

Orochimaru was the one who scrutinized him.

"You didn’t get along very well with your partner, did you?"

"So what?" Kakuzu remained aloof and indifferent.

"You’d wanted to kill him for a long time, hadn’t you?"

"So what?" Kakuzu was utterly disdainful.

"Nothing. That’s perfectly normal."

After saying that, Orochimaru cast an ill-intentioned glance at the short, hunched Scorpion beside him, earning a cold snort in return.

The complex relationships within Akatsuki were fully reflected in this small scene.

In the end, Pain spoke up and interrupted the unpleasant exchange.

"Akatsuki operates in two-man teams. What do you think, Kakuzu? We recently recruited a newcomer. How about pairing him with you?"

"As long as that guy doesn’t annoy me."

Even facing Pain, Kakuzu maintained his aloof expression.

Orochimaru, who seemed to have understood something, spoke with a faintly teasing tone.

"I doubt he understands how to please you."

"It doesn’t matter. Once we team up, I’ll teach him."

Kakuzu had always possessed an unruffled calm, filled with absolute confidence in himself. It seemed that in his eyes, even Orochimaru was merely a junior. After all, he was a man who had fought the First Hokage.

"Come to think of it, the newcomer has a good relationship with Orochimaru. Why don’t you two form a team?"

Knowing it would be difficult to manage this group of unruly people, Pain seemed to want to spare himself some trouble. Scorpion and Orochimaru also had a terrible relationship.

"Forget it. I’d rather team up with Itachi."

Although Orochimaru was still arrogant, he knew that his former disciple was no longer someone he could set his sights on, at least not until he obtained Itachi’s body!

"Hey, are you looking down on me?"

Kisame clearly expressed his dissatisfaction.

Seeing that reshuffling the teams would be troublesome, Pain ultimately decided to pair Kakuzu with the newcomer. With such a great reputation, surely he would not die as quickly as Kakuzu’s previous partner.

"Has the ring been delivered?"

"Tobi has taken it to him."

Zetsu answered Pain, his tone carrying a slight oddness.

"He should be arriving about now."

As soon as he said that, a ripple passed through the space, and another projection entered. Like Uchiha Itachi, this figure also had eyes of that ominous blood-red color.

"Oh, everyone’s here. I’m really sorry for making you wait so long."

The newcomer seemed to have a very good temperament and greeted them gently.

However, several Akatsuki members who did not know the truth sneered inwardly. A gentle person could not survive in this organization. Only those more ruthless and stronger than others could earn respect!

Xu Yue swept his gaze across the group and saw familiar faces such as Orochimaru, Scorpion, Itachi, and Kakuzu. Moreover, Konan and Yahiko were among them as well!

Unlike in the original story, Yahiko was not in Pain’s state. His eyes were normal, though filled with coldness and grief.

The Pain possessing the Rinnegan was, judging by his build, actually Hanzo of the Salamander!

It appeared this "demigod" had already been killed, and his corpse had been refined into Deva Path Pain. When Xu Yue had returned to the space back then, he had left nothing behind. So the murderer had been made into a substitute?

"Newcomer, this is your partner. His temper isn’t very good."

Konan looked at Xu Yue and gave him a cold but well-meaning reminder.

"It’s fine. I have a good temper."

Xu Yue smiled without showing any concern. Then he looked toward Kakuzu, who stood alone without a partner, and continued with a smile,

"I’ll find a way to please him…"

Kakuzu, who had understood something from the Sharingan and Orochimaru’s attitude, was now utterly dumbfounded…

MMP

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There’s another update today. Who still dares call me a two-update beast? At the very least, I’m a 2.5-update beast.