Chapter 53
Land of Rain.
In a dark and strange cave, there were more than ten stone platforms.
On some of the platforms stood phantoms, each wearing black cloaks embroidered with red clouds — members of the Akatsuki!
Among them,
On the stone platform in the center,
stood the leader of the Akatsuki — Pain (Tendo Path).
That's right. Now, the Akatsuki members were connecting through the Illusionary Projection Technique.
"Alright, everyone's here."
No one knew how much time had passed.
Pain took a deep breath and spoke indifferently,
"During this time, the speed at which everyone has been completing missions has increased considerably. But... we must be careful to maintain our secrecy."
"Got it..."
Hidan, who had just joined the Akatsuki, muttered unhappily,
"If it weren't for recruiting more followers for Lord Jashin, I wouldn't even want to join your organization."
"Hmph."
Hearing this,
Pain snorted coldly, his face remaining expressionless.
Buzz!!
The next moment,
the purple Rinnegan unleashed an astonishing burst of chakra, aimed straight at Hidan!
"This..."
Even though Hidan was only attending the meeting through a projection,
he still felt a suffocating pressure in an instant, as if he could be crushed at any moment.
"Next time, I don't want to hear such words again,"
Pain's cold voice echoed after a few seconds.
"From now on, you'll be partnered with Kakuzu."
As Pain withdrew his pupil power, the suffocating pressure vanished — as if nothing had happened.
"Tch."
Hidan nodded disdainfully,
"What a terrifying pair of eyes..."
At this moment, on another stone platform, Orochimaru licked his lips with interest and teased,
"Be careful. Kakuzu likes to kill his partners to claim their bounties."
"Kill his own comrades?"
Hidan looked confused, clearly not understanding.
"I only kill weaklings,"
Kakuzu said flatly, glancing at Hidan.
"As long as you're strong enough and don't get in my way, you'll be fine."
"Who's afraid of who?!"
Hidan immediately flared up.
What did he mean by "getting in the way"? Was he the kind of person who would slow others down? This guy with the dead fish face was really irritating!!
"Once a new member joins in a few days, we'll gather again..."
At this time, Pain seemed to remember something and added,
"The newcomer is from the Uchiha clan of Konoha."
Silence.
A dead silence instantly enveloped the room.
An Uchiha ninja joining Akatsuki? It was shocking!
And since they were personally acknowledged by Pain, their strength must be formidable.
Uchiha Fugaku? Uchiha Shisui? Uchiha Itachi? Or Uchiha Yuta?
For a moment,
Everyone in Akatsuki fell into deep thought.
However, when it came to Uchiha Yuta, they automatically dismissed him.
After all, after being promoted to an elite taijutsu shinobi, Uchiha Yuta's fame had faded, and even among the younger generation, Uchiha Itachi had a greater reputation.
"Is Shimura Danzo about to make his move?"
Among them, Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly, mourning for the Uchiha clan deep inside.
Because,
Although he had defected from Konoha,
he was still secretly in contact with Shimura Danzo.
A month ago, Danzo had secretly sent him a letter, saying he intended to transplant Sharingan eyes.
At the time, Orochimaru found it odd.
Now it seemed clear —
Shimura Danzo was about to act.
"Meeting adjourned,"
Pain said calmly.
Snort! Snort! Snort!
One after another,
the phantoms disappeared.
It didn't take long before the entire cave returned to silence.
---
Meanwhile.
Konoha Village.
Uchiha Clan District.
In a large meeting hall at the center of the district...
"Patriarch, can't our Uchiha clan resist a little?"
"The Konoha higher-ups are constantly testing our bottom line, squeezing our living space. Are we supposed to just sit and wait?"
"This is too much! Ever since the Nine-Tails' attack, we've lived in humiliation every day!"
"Rebellion! Only through rebellion can we reclaim what belongs to the Uchiha!"
"Damn it! We have no place in Konoha anymore!"
...
Angry and aggrieved voices echoed through the conference room.
The elite Uchiha shinobi wore expressions of righteous fury, as if ready to turn against Konoha immediately.
"This..."
Listening to these words,
Uchiha Fugaku showed a pained expression.
Honestly, he wasn't immune to anger either.
But unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to clash violently with Konoha's leadership.
That's why he was waiting for Uchiha Shisui.
In fact, before the meeting started,
he had secretly sent Uchiha Shisui to negotiate with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
If the higher-ups couldn't give a reasonable explanation and compromise, Fugaku would have no choice but to resort to extreme measures.
"Father, let's wait a little longer..."
Uchiha Itachi glanced around and said helplessly,
"Shisui will definitely come back."
Of course,
Uchiha Itachi didn't mention the rest of his thoughts.
Even if Shisui met with the Hokage, he might not be able to secure a satisfactory result.
And if that happened,
to prevent Konoha from falling into civil war,
the Uchiha would be forced to take drastic steps.
Thinking of this,
Uchiha Itachi sighed inwardly.
When the time came, if he had to choose between the village and the clan,
he would choose Konoha — not the Uchiha.
Because like Shisui,
although he was a member of the Uchiha,
he was also a loyal shinobi of Konoha.
More importantly, he wanted to protect his little brother — Uchiha Sasuke.
However,
neither Uchiha Fugaku nor Uchiha Itachi knew —
On the way to the Hokage's office,
Uchiha Shisui had already been stopped by Uchiha Yuta.
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