Menma Joins the Akatsuki?

"Menma, we are not your enemies!"

Kakuzu tried to reconcile with Menma. Their mission was only to test the newcomer's strength, not to kill him.

From the brief fight with Hidan just now, Kakuzu had already acknowledged the newcomer's abilities and deemed him worthy of joining the Akatsuki.

So naturally, there was no longer a need to continue the fight.

However—

"No,"

Menma said coldly, "Anyone who attacks me is my enemy."

The next second—

Kakuzu felt a sudden disorientation, and before he could react, he found himself hanging upside down at the bottom of a cliff.

His arms and legs were bound by chains, restricting his movements.

No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.

"What is this chain made of?" Kakuzu muttered in frustration.

Even with his monstrous strength, he couldn't snap it.

"Ge-genjutsu... Release!"

Kakuzu immediately attempted to dispel the genjutsu. But no matter how many times he tried, nothing changed.

The crimson-hued sky, and the eerie cliffside remained unchanged.

Then—

A sudden sound broke the silence.

Caw!

Caw!!

A swarm of pitch-black crows appeared in the distance, their sharp eyes gleaming with malice.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed.

And in the next moment—

The crows dove toward him, pecking and tearing at his body.

His flesh was ripped open, leaving thumb-sized holes across his skin.

"Arghhh!" Kakuzu howled in agony.

No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free. Facing the iron chains, and the relentless crows, he was utterly helpless.

"Menma! This is a misunderstanding!" Kakuzu shouted desperately.

But before he could say another word, a crow pecked his tongue.

A sharp pain shot through him as blood dripped from the fresh wounds.

Kakuzu froze and he no longer dared to speak.

Meanwhile, in the real world

As Kakuzu remained trapped in the genjutsu, Hidan was being thoroughly beaten.

Every inch of his body bore marks of the brutal onslaught.

Minutes passed.

Hidan, who prided himself on his immortality, finally crumbled.

"Stop! Stop hitting me!" He cried out.

His entire body trembled, curling up into a ball.

At this moment, Zetsu emerged from the ground nearby.

"Enough!"

Zetsu spoke firmly, "Uchiha Menma, we are here to invite you on behalf of the Akatsuki. We are not your enemy."

Menma's cold Sharingan fixated on Zetsu.

"And who exactly are you?" He asked.

"I am Zetsu. This is Hidan, and that over there is Kakuzu. We are members of the Akatsuki. Our purpose here is to invite you to join us."

Zetsu's words were smooth, without any sign of deceit.

"Join you?"

Menma scoffed, "I have no interest in teaming up with two defeated opponents."

Hidan, who had just gotten back on his feet, instinctively wanted to argue.

But when he met Menma's cold, piercing gaze, his words stuck in his throat. He wisely chose to remain silent.

"Believe me, the strength of the Akatsuki far surpasses what you've seen today,"

Zetsu continued, "Even Uchiha Itachi, from your own clan, is a member of the Akatsuki."

Menma's eyes flickered at the mention of that name.

"Uchiha Itachi?" He muttered.

After a brief pause, he smirked.

"Fine, I'll come take a look,"

He said, "But if your organization isn't as strong as you claim, I don't mind teaching your leader a thing or two about how to properly run a group."

Zetsu observed him for a moment before nodding.

"If you have the strength to back up your words, then there will be no problem," Zetsu replied.

Menma chuckled and said, "I'm starting to like you guys already."

Zetsu then gestured toward Kakuzu.

"Now, can you release him from the genjutsu?" He asked.

"Of course."

With a flicker of his Sharingan, Menma dispelled the genjutsu.

Kakuzu collapsed to the ground, panting. His usually composed expression was replaced with exhaustion.

"Kakuzu, are you alright?"

Hidan teased, though his tone carried a hint of sympathy.

"Kakuzu, we seem to have been tricked. This rookie is way too strong!" Hidan muttered.

Kakuzu shot him a glare, but he said nothing. His pride had been wounded and it would take a while for him to recover.

Even when he had faced Senju Hashirama back then, he was not humiliated this badly.

At least, Hashirama hadn't even bothered to take him seriously.

But Menma?

This Uchiha had taken him out with a single glance.

That genjutsu…

It was terrifying.

If Menma had wanted to kill him, he had countless opportunities to do so.

That thought made Kakuzu break into a cold sweat.

For the first time in years, he was truly afraid.

Land of Rain

Amegakure

Akatsuki Base

Deep within the ominous tower of Amegakure, a pair of purple eyes slowly opened.

Pain's voice echoed coldly, "The newcomer has arrived. He is strong. Kakuzu and Hidan were not his match."

Konan, standing beside him, frowned.

Konan aked, "Is this okay, Pain? This newcomer was recommended by Madara. Do you think he's connected to him?"

"It doesn't matter." Pain replied indifferently.

He had absolute confidence in his power.

Even if this Uchiha was sent by Madara to spy on them, it didn't concern him.

After all, he was a god.

What was Uchiha Madara compared to a god?

Zetsu led Menma inside the Akatsuki base.

Standing atop the colossal Gedo statue, a group of figures observed him.

Most of them were merely projections, present via the Akatsuki's Hologram Communication Jutsu.

But their presence alone was intimidating.

One figure scoffed, "Is this the new guy?"

It was Deidara. His golden hair swayed slightly as he sneered.

"Another Uchiha with a mask? Heh, is he as shameless as Tobi?"

Deidara kind of hates the Uchiha. The root of this hatred lies in Itachi's actions.

Itachi didn't appreciate his art. So, from then on, Deidara has been somewhat hostile to the Uchiha.

So, he made some provocations towards Menma right now.

"He seems unremarkable,"

Sasori said with a voice that was devoid of emotion.

Menma simply smirked.

Deidara turned to Hidan, noticing his unusually quiet demeanor.

"Hidan, what's up with you? Why are you so quiet?"

Hidan flinched.

"Shut up, Deidara." He snapped.

"Hah? What was that, idiot? You wanna fight?!"

Deidara flared up instantly.

But Hidan just sighed. He had no intention of messing with Menma ever again.

Deidara blinked in confusion.

Then, he angrily yelled with a look of rage, "Hey!"

"Enough! Quiet!"

At this time, Pain finally spoke.

As soon as he opened his mouth, even Deidara shut his mouth obediently.

He didn't dare to complain about anything.

"Uchiha Menma, you are welcome to join the Akatsuki!"

Pain's pair of Rinnegans stared at Menma coldly, and an invisible sense of oppression arose spontaneously.

No one who can join the Akatsuki is a simple person.

Basically, they are all rebellious, and each of them refuses to obey anyone.

Therefore, every time a newcomer joins, Pain needs to suppress them with his power first.

He does this so that the newcomers do not disobey the orders of the leader, him.

"Are you the leader of the Akatsuki?"

Menma raised his head and looked at Pain, his twin Rinnegans to be precise.

This was the first time he had seen these legendary eyes with his own eyes.

"Rinnegan! Unexpectedly, these legendary eyes actually exist!"

Menma let out an exclamation, and looked at Pain with a more serious look.

"Uchiha Menma, I heard that you are dissatisfied with the strength of the Akatsuki?" Pain said lightly.

"Hey, hey, hey~! What's going on here? How dare you look down on us, newbie?"

Hearing this, Deidara, who had been quiet for a while, couldn't help jumping up and questioning Menma.

"Who assessed this newcomer?"

Deidara complained, feeling dissatisfied.

At this time, the faces of Hidan and Kakuzu on the side turned black.

Wasn't Deidara just making fun of the two of them?

"Idiot Deidara, shut up!!"

Hidan cursed viciously.

Deidara took a look and immediately understood what was going on.

"Wow~! No wonder, you are so weird today, it turns out that you two are the ones who assessed him. Did you two get taught a lesson by this rookie?!

Deidara said, and laughed.

"Deidara, do you want to die?!"

Kakuzu stared at Deidara coldly.

He was afraid of Menma, but he had no need to be afraid of Deidara.

"Tsk~! You can't even beat a rookie. I think you should quit the Akatsuki, it's too embarrassing!"

Deidara giggled, completely unfazed by Kakuzu's threats.