Chapter 113: The Akatsuki Arrives

Not far from the Pokémon Home, in the dense forest, four individuals clad in black and red cloaks adorned with cloud patterns were making their way toward Ryo.

Among them, Deidara, a blond-haired man with a ponytail, grumbled, "Seriously, why aren't we just flying? Walking step by step is such a hassle. And what's the deal with the boss sending four of us to check out some shop in Konoha?"

Hearing this, Sasori shot Deidara a glare. "Can you be quiet?"

Then, he turned toward Itachi, who had been walking in silence. "As a former Uchiha of Konoha, you should know more than us about this place, right?"

Deidara nodded and also looked at Itachi. "Yeah, Itachi, do you know something?"

Even Kisame cast a curious glance at him.

After all, their missions usually involved high-profile targets.

Yet now, they had been sent to investigate a simple shop in Konoha. Not only that, but Pain had been unusually firm about it, as if there was no room for discussion.

That alone made the group extremely curious.

Walking ahead of them, Itachi, his face unreadable, shook his head. "I don't know."

"Hm?"

The other three exchanged puzzled looks.

"Hey, hey, hey—"

Deidara scoffed. "You're from this village, yet you have no idea? Or are you just hiding something from us?"

Itachi glanced at them but said nothing, simply continuing toward Ryo's location.

Sasori smirked. "Looks like Itachi doesn't care much about his former village. But now I'm really curious—just what are these 'Pokémon'?"

Kisame chuckled. "Enough talk. Let's go see for ourselves."

With that, the group fell silent and continued approaching Pokémon Home.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance. However, they stopped at a distance, observing from afar rather than approaching directly.

"So, this is the place? Looks pretty ordinary. The only thing that stands out is the size of the building," Deidara remarked with a hint of disdain.

Kisame, however, remained cautious. "We should be careful. If this was really as simple as it looks, the boss wouldn't have sent us."

"Tch, maybe he's just overthinking it. I don't see anything special here."

Sasori glanced at Deidara and smirked. "If you're that confident, why don't you go in alone?"

Deidara didn't respond and instead ignored him.

He wasn't stupid. If even Pain was taking this seriously, he wasn't about to charge in blindly.

"Enough arguing. Let's observe for now."

Itachi, frowning slightly, silenced the group before carefully examining Pokémon Home.

However, none of them noticed that from the second floor of the building, Ryo was watching them intently.

His brows furrowed as he muttered to himself, "So it's them. No wonder their chakra signatures felt so strong—it's the Akatsuki."

But then a thought struck him.

"Why would the Akatsuki show up in Konoha at this point? And why at my place? According to the timeline, it's too early for them to be here… And this group isn't right either—Sasori and Deidara shouldn't even be involved in this."

The more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became. Then, suddenly, realization dawned on him.

"Obito? Could Danzo have contacted Obito?"

It wasn't impossible.

After all, during the Uchiha Massacre, Danzo had collaborated with Obito.

Ryo hadn't considered it before because if Danzo had really reached out to the Akatsuki, he would have had to abandon his ambitions of controlling the Pokémon.

Even Danzo wasn't arrogant enough to think he could deal with the Akatsuki on his own.

"So Danzo is planning to go all out?"

Ryo's expression darkened.

Though he wasn't afraid of the Akatsuki, he despised being manipulated.

Hmph—

His eyes turned cold as he thought, Danzo, you really don't learn, do you? I thought after teaching you a lesson, you'd back off, but clearly not.

Well then, if that's the case, there's no need for you to live any longer. You can die in Konoha alongside Hiruzen today. Since you love the Hokage so much, you might as well share his fate.

With that decision made, Ryo stopped observing them.

In an instant, he teleported to the backyard, called over Dragonite and Gardevoir, and then teleported once more—this time appearing directly at the entrance of Pokémon Home.

Looking straight at the Akatsuki members hiding in the nearby forest, Ryo smirked.

"No need to sneak around. You might as well come out."

The group's expressions shifted.

Seeing Ryo suddenly appear and hearing his words, their gazes hardened, and their wariness increased.

A moment later, after exchanging glances, they stepped out from their hiding spots, slowly approaching him.

Ryo's expression remained calm as he greeted them with a smile.

"Akatsuki, huh? What brings you to my little shop?"

"Oh?"

Sasori narrowed his eyes. "You seem to know quite a bit about us. I wonder just how much you really understand."

Ryo chuckled. "Not much. Just a little more than you guys do."

His words made the Akatsuki members pause.

Their expressions grew serious, and their stances subtly shifted.

Itachi's voice broke the silence.

"Joking around is fine, but you should choose your audience carefully. Otherwise, you might end up dying an ugly death."

Ryo met his gaze.

He understood what Itachi was doing.

That wasn't a threat—it was a warning.

But Ryo wasn't fazed.

He shook his head slightly. "Why does no one believe me when I tell the truth? But I'm curious—if you're not here for the Tailed Beasts, what do you want from me? Surely you're not thinking about controlling Pokémon?"

His casual remark made the Akatsuki members tense up.

For the first time, true killing intent flickered in their eyes.

If they hadn't been unsure of the situation, they likely would have attacked immediately.

Sasori eyed Ryo carefully and spoke in his raspy voice.

"Boss, I can't tell if you're smart or just foolish. But either way, it looks like we won't be getting much rest today."

He had noticed what Itachi was trying to do, but he simply didn't care.

Ryo remained unfazed, his smile never wavering.

"Not exactly a warm welcome, huh? But if you really want to make a move, you're a bit understaffed. If you had brought the entire Akatsuki—including all Six Paths of Pain—you might've had a chance."

His words sent a ripple of shock through the group.

Their expressions changed drastically, and their killing intent surged.

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