The person who had supposedly cut down Itachi had already escaped.
That was what the intern Tobi said after returning to the cave.
From the looks of it, he seemed unusually dejected—nowhere near as energetic as before—his shoulders slumped and head lowered.
Everyone in the Akatsuki base looked at each other.
Huh?
That's it?
After all that noise, the target just got away?
Juzo and Fujii immediately looked disappointed.
Kakuzu crossed his arms, his eyes dull, and glanced at the masked man with an indifferent grunt.
"Boring trick."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed faintly with thought, though his expression revealed nothing.
At the same time, Pain, Konan, and Itachi were all quietly surprised.
They alone understood the true abilities of the masked man—and under normal circumstances, no one should be able to escape him.
Did something go wrong?
After a brief silence, Pain dismissed his doubts and said flatly:
"If that's the case, then we'll drop the matter of the intruder for now."
"We are now officially holding Akatsuki's first group meeting."
"Everyone, follow me."
With that, Pain turned and walked deeper into the cave.
Clearly, that area was reserved for confidential discussions.
Kuzo and the others followed without hesitation.
Tobi stayed behind, clearly aware of his status. As just an "intern," he wasn't qualified to attend this meeting.
...
Once inside the cave,
Kuzo immediately noticed a giant, grey statue at its center.
It was monstrous and grotesque, with massive limbs raised in a pose that resembled some strange form of prayer.
It stood completely still, without the slightest sign of life.
The moment he laid eyes on it, Kuzo's gaze sharpened.
While the other Akatsuki members might not fully understand what it was or what it was used for—
He did.
This was the husk of the Ten Tails, a unique existence known as the Gedo Statue.
Kuzo tilted his head and looked up.
He couldn't help but marvel silently.
Seeing it up close... it was even larger than he had imagined.
At that moment,
A familiar voice echoed in his mind:
**Ding! Congratulations to the host, side mission complete!**
**Viewed the Ten Tails' vessel, the Gedo Statue (1/1), up close. Reward: +1000 Reiatsu, +100 Mall Points!**
"Huh?"
Kuzo's expression shifted ever so slightly, a pleased smile playing across his lips.
Seriously?
Just looking at it got him a reward? And with Mall Points too?
After a moment of surprise, he understood.
It seemed like from now on, with the system shop unlocked, side missions would probably come with point rewards.
Not bad. He could finally start saving up for purchases... and consider which items to buy from the shop.
While Kuzo was deep in thought,
Pain's voice echoed throughout the chamber.
Sweeping his gaze indifferently across everyone, he announced:
"From today, Uchiha Itachi is officially a member of Akatsuki."
"He will be assigned a partner and work with us toward our future goal—to reshape the world."
"But before we proceed—"
"I want to remind you all of one thing."
"There is an absolute rule within Akatsuki: no member is allowed to engage in private fights or launch malicious attacks against another member."
"Violators will be considered traitors, expelled from the organization, and hunted down by all Akatsuki members."
"Is that clear?"
As he said this, Pain's eyes seemed to linger—whether intentionally or not—on Orochimaru.
"?!"
Sensing the gaze, Orochimaru's expression twitched slightly. Then he gave a thin, eerie smile.
"My, how strange…"
"When the leader said that, it felt like he was talking directly to me."
"Don't worry."
"I'm not foolish enough to make that mistake."
"..."
Hearing that, Pain slowly withdrew his gaze and said coldly:
"See that you don't."
Then he continued:
"Now, we proceed to Akatsuki's first official team assignments."
"These may remain in place for a long time, so consider this your long-term partnership."
"Remember well—"
"Group One: Me and Konan."
"Group Two: Kakuzu and Fujiwara."
"Group Three: Uchiha Itachi and Loquat Juzo."
"Group Four: Orochimaru and Zetsu."
"Group Five: Due to a shortage of personnel, for now… Kuzo will operate alone."
"…Huh?"
Kuzo blinked, clearly caught off guard.
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