Sasori of the Red Sand

"I’m running low on Hashirama Cells too!" Yota glanced at the stockpile in his Dark Space and spoke directly to Orochimaru. "Besides those Enzymes that absorb Natural Energy, keep cultivating more Hashirama Cells."

Having already undergone Hashirama Cell modification, Orochimaru was no longer particularly interested in Hashirama Cells. Still, the cultivation process had long since been standardized. It would not take much of his effort, so he nodded indifferently.

Just then, the Chakra ring in Yota’s hand suddenly fluctuated. His Wood Clone was likely trying to contact him.

Yota frowned. While he himself could be called a Chakra Ton, and the Wood Clone disguised as Nagato Uzumaki only needed to sit there and strike a pose, under normal circumstances, even sitting there for over a decade would not exhaust the Chakra Yota had left within it. But the Clone’s Chakra diminished with every use. To guard against special circumstances, the Wood Clone rarely used Chakra.

Since it had contacted him now, something major had clearly happened.

Yota narrowed his eyes slightly. Part of his consciousness was immediately drawn away and appeared atop a gigantic statue.

Glancing at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path beneath his feet, an eager look flashed through Yota’s eyes. His strength had increased quite a bit again. He should be able to try absorbing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

But it was not yet time for him to completely absorb the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Raising his head and looking around, Yota was rather surprised to find that, besides himself, Sara, Konan, Nagato, Black-and-White Zetsu, Obito Uchiha, and Kakuzu, there was another figure present.

"Obito brought another newcomer this time. Well, he’s been pretty diligent, hasn’t he?"

"If he keeps working this hard, Akatsuki will probably be full soon, right?"

Standing beside Obito this time was a handsome young man with red hair and an expressionless face. Yota naturally recognized him—the Sunagakure missing-nin, Sasori of the Red Sand.

Why is this guy showing his real face right away? I remember that in the original story, he was always inside Hiruko, looking like some kind of freak.

Yota did not know that Sasori of the Red Sand had yet to obtain the Human Puppet Hiruko. That was why he was showing his original appearance now.

"There are two matters to discuss today." Seated in the very center of the statue, "Deva Path Pain" spoke with a grave expression.

He really did look the part, Yota thought to himself. Pain’s puppet face made role-playing much easier for Yota. No matter what, it would never reveal an expression.

As for Nagato himself never showing his face, not even to Obito Uchiha, that was perfectly normal. Though he was powerful, his actual body was extremely fragile. It was only natural for him to take precautions.

Thus, even now, Obito Uchiha was still being kept in the dark, completely unaware that Nagato had long since been replaced.

"First, Akatsuki has welcomed another new member. This one is the Sunagakure missing-nin, Sasori of the Red Sand!"

"Clap clap clap clap clap." Sara applauded for a while, then looked around at the group of missing-nin staring at her as though she were an idiot and awkwardly stopped.

"Um… isn’t there some kind of welcoming ceremony?"

"Did you forget how you joined Akatsuki? Or perhaps you could recall Kakuzu’s welcoming ceremony."

A polite smile appeared on Sara’s face. If she remembered correctly, when Kakuzu had first arrived, he had provoked Yota and been beaten until he looked like a dead dog before being dragged in.

If Akatsuki welcomed everyone like that… Sara glanced at the handsome young Sasori of the Red Sand. Better to forget the welcoming ceremony.

It had to be admitted that most people judged others by their looks. If Sasori of the Red Sand had arrived in Hiruko’s form, would Sara have paid him any attention?

Sasori of the Red Sand showed no reaction to the discussions among the other Akatsuki members. His gaze swept around the group, making Sara involuntarily shrink back slightly.

How to put it? Even though Sasori of the Red Sand was now merely a Human Puppet and did not truly possess things like a gaze or facial expressions, he still gave people the feeling that he was picking through them like cuts of pork.

Yota knew perfectly well what Sasori of the Red Sand was doing. He was picking out Human Puppets! Whether he could defeat them or obtain them was another matter. For now, he was simply making preparations.

To be honest, Yota had always felt that Sasori of the Red Sand and Orochimaru had joined Akatsuki for its abundance of Bloodline Limits and human materials. The Rinnegan, in particular, was what they wanted most.

Unfortunately, neither of them could defeat Nagato, yet they had not left afterward. Perhaps they were even entertaining the idea of simply waiting for the Rinnegan’s owner to die. After all, the two of them, along with Kakuzu, were among the longest-lived people in the entire shinobi world.

As long as you’re alive, I can’t do anything to you. Once you’re dead, I’ll dig up your grave!

After looking everyone over, Sasori of the Red Sand did not say anything. Everyone present this time was only a projection, so even if he wanted to test the strength of the other members, he could not make a move now.

Moreover, Sasori of the Red Sand had always been solitary by nature and had no desire to speak. Silence fell once more.

Deva Path Pain swept his gaze around before speaking again. "All right, Sasori of the Red Sand has joined us. Now, let’s discuss the second matter!"

"Kumogakure and Konoha are going to war!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the Akatsuki members looked at one another.

"Didn’t they say some time ago that Kumogakure was going to sign a ceasefire agreement with Konoha?" Sara asked in confusion.

"That’s right, they were going to sign a ceasefire agreement." Obito Uchiha’s gaze drifted toward Yota. "Just over a month ago, Kumogakure’s delegation came to Konoha!"

"Then someone turned the entire Konoha upside down. Seizing the opportunity, Kumogakure’s delegation directly abducted the Hyuga Clan’s eldest daughter of the Main Family! That became the fuse for this war."

Yota opened his mouth slightly. So this war, which had never happened in the original story, was actually related to him!

And was Hinata Hyuga really that unlucky? This time, she had actually been abducted by Kumogakure Ninja!

Still, Yota frowned, somewhat puzzled. "Since when did Konoha become so bold? Even if the Main Family’s eldest daughter was abducted, I think they would choose to avoid war!"

"Because Konoha has nowhere left to retreat. They wanted to negotiate with Kumogakure, but those barbarians seem to have seen through Konoha’s weakness. Not only did they flatly deny what they had done, they even tore up the ceasefire agreement on the grounds that Konoha had falsely accused Kumogakure. They have already begun massing troops at the border!"