Chapter 264: Signs of a Storm

"Then..."

"Juzo, you've recently joined the organization. This time, I'll give you a chance to demonstrate your strength."

Pain organized his thoughts for a moment, then hesitated and turned his gaze to Sasori and Biwa Juzo in front of him. "Next, you and Sasori will temporarily form a team to make contact with Scarlet Yu. If possible, absorb him into our organization..."

"Konan, you'll go too. With the strength of you three, it should be sufficient..."

"Alright."

Hearing that she would personally go on this mission, Konan, beside him, remained calm, though a slight ripple appeared in her serene eyes. She nodded gently in agreement.

"Are those three enough?"

Just as Pain finished speaking, Kakuzu beside him expressed a different opinion. "Pain, it might be better to arrange for me to go with them this time. I can also settle the score from last time!"

"Kakuzu, what do you mean?!"

Upon hearing Kakuzu's words, Sasori, standing on the other side, immediately became displeased. A terrifying and ferocious expression reflected on his crimson mask, with a cold and rigid gleam. "Scarlet Yu, he's just an ignorant brat..."

"I alone am enough. I will make him taste all the pain and then turn him into my puppet. The title of the strongest puppeteer in the Shinobi world belongs to me alone!"

Before his defection, Sasori, the genius puppeteer from the Hidden Sand Village, known as Sasori of the Red Sand, was regarded as the pinnacle of puppetry in the ninja world. Typically, a person can only control ten puppets simultaneously, which is already the limit for most puppeteers. However, Sasori abandoned his human body and mastered the Secret Red Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, allowing him to control a hundred puppets at once. He even had a terrifying record of single-handedly conquering and destroying a nation.

Therefore, rumors in the Shinobi world such as 'the origin of Puppet Jutsu is in the Land of Wind, but the strongest puppeteer is in Konoha' are rampant. How could Sasori of the Red Sand, the strongest puppeteer, tolerate such a notion?

"All right, the matter is settled. Juzo, you're responsible for tracking down and confirming Scarlet Yu's location."

"Kakuzu, you have another task. The organization's financial work still needs to be entrusted to you."

Upon hearing the argument between Sasori and Kakuzu, Pain interrupted them and made a decision directly. "Also, regarding that Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin... I heard that recently he established a Hidden Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields."

"If everything goes as planned, he should have already received our organization's invitation letter..."

"We have many things he's interested in. I believe this guy will take the bait..."

As Pain narrated smoothly and finished arranging all the tasks, the various members of the organization in the dark cave harbored different thoughts and gradually disappeared into the cave.

"Sasori, my friend, it's you and me this time!"

Before leaving, the outgoing Biwa Juzo looked at Sasori with some amusement. "And I never expected Pain would let the only beauty in the organization accompany us. I've never seen her in action before. I wonder how strong she is?"

"All right, shut up."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't mind killing you before that."

However, the response to Biwa Juzo was a hoarse and low rebuke from Sasori. At the same time, Sasori, hidden within the crimson mask, cast a wary glance at Konan standing not far away.

When he was invited to join the organization, the person who defeated him was none other than this seemingly cold and beautiful young female ninja. However, Sasori, in his pride, would never mention such an experience to anyone.

"..."

Hearing the conversation between Biwa Juzo and Sasori, Konan with a cold and melancholic gaze remained silent. No one knew what she was thinking at this moment.

Gazing at the rain outside the cave, which seemed never to cease, a sigh finally disappeared into the darkness...

In a mysterious space.

Everywhere one looked were cuboid structures stretching endlessly into the distance.

"I never thought that Yakushi Yu would have a falling out with Konoha, haha..."

"Nagato that kid even invited him to join Akatsuki, how interesting. Things are getting more intriguing..."

A mysterious figure wearing a swirling mask sat on a cuboid structure, emitting a muffled laughter. Behind the mask, his crimson Sharingan revealed an icy hatred.

"Last time, I lost an arm and a Sharingan in our encounter..."

"I just wonder if this time, you'll be as lucky as you were last time..."

...

However, amidst the turbulent storm brewing in the Shinobi world, Yu, as the protagonist, remained unaffected.

On this day, he lay leisurely in an unknown forest near Tanzaku Quarters in the Land of Fire, a piece of straw hanging from his mouth. He watched his Shadow Clone nearby vigorously training Haku and Kimimaro, enjoying this rare warm afternoon.

"No, no, Kimimaro, your movements are still not agile enough! A slightly stronger Ninja in Taijutsu can see through them at a glance!"

"And you, Haku, have you forgotten your Ice Release Kekkei Genkai and the Water Release Ninjutsu I taught you? Have you forgotten everything? With such a soft-hearted character, how do you expect to survive in the ninja world!!"

Yu's Shadow Clone kept swiftly intertwining with the figures of Haku and Kimimaro, mercilessly pointing out their shortcomings.

"Water Release Secret Jutsu - Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!!"

Listening to Yu's ruthless reprimand, the gentle Haku couldn't help but bite his lip, swiftly forming one-handed seals with his left hand!

Then, with a light step under his feet, a burst of water droplets rose around Yu's Shadow Clone, instantly transforming into a large number of senbon needles aimed at Yu's Shadow Clone from all angles at high speed.

With One Handed Seals, combined with excellent spellcasting, it must be said that eight-year-old Haku has already pushed his Ninjutsu abilities to the extreme for his age.

"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia!!"

Meanwhile, Kimimaro, engaged in close combat with Yu's Shadow Clone, didn't stay idle. Seizing the opportunity, he lightly shouted, swiftly drawing bones from his body to attack Yu's Shadow Clone. Each movement was concise and powerful, generating a fierce gust of wind.

Kimimaro, raised since childhood as a combat machine, indeed possessed a rare talent for battle that was hard to find in the entire ninja world. Even at such a young age, his strength was something that even an ordinary Chunin wouldn't dare claim to handle.

"Truly one of the most gifted ninja talents in anime, it's truly astonishing..."

"If they were to survive till the end in the anime, becoming Kage would definitely not be the limit of their abilities..."

Lying leisurely under a nearby tree, observing the battle between his Shadow Clone and the two youths, Yu couldn't help but marvel silently.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Facing two opponents whose strength had just reached the level of Chunin, Yu didn't need to resort to overly powerful techniques.

With a slight movement of Yu's Shadow Clone's hands, several complex hand seals were instantly formed. Around its feet, a continuously surging water wall rose up out of nowhere, blocking Haku's Ninjutsu and Kimimaro's Taijutsu attacks in a circular manner. The powerful force of the water flow forced the two opponents to retreat sharply.

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