"Have I become weak?"
"I don't think I've become weak—if anything, it's you who, after taking control of Root, has started to lose sight of who you are!"
"I truly regret it now—regret not disbanding Root immediately after Danzō died!"
Hiruzen looked at Koharu, his tone no longer polite. I've become weak?
Clearly, it's you, Utatane Koharu, who has become far too aggressive, isn't it?
The situation is already set in stone—even I, the Hokage, am about to be forced to step down. And yet you, a mere advisor, not only arranged for someone to assassinate Uchiha Keizumi, but now you stand here accusing me of weakness!
Root—you turned my old comrades into monsters!
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Koharu stared deeply at him. At last, she began to understand how Danzō must have felt.
Your position as Hokage is slipping away, and you do nothing. I'm the one doing all the dirty work for you, and now you say I've lost myself?
"Whether I regret it or not, I don't know—but right now, you should be heading back to prison!"
Hiruzen had no interest in continuing the argument. He was about to retire anyway, and Koharu was going back to prison. If Root couldn't be salvaged, then it might as well be dissolved outright.
Koharu said nothing more and simply walked out of the Hokage's office building.
Though she claimed Hiruzen had grown weak, she herself was somewhat afraid.
Because that Uchiha Keizumi truly had no regard for status or hierarchy—if he found out she had tried to have Akatsuki assassinate him, he would definitely act.
As for Hiruzen, he sat alone in his office, smoking his pipe in quiet melancholy.
But he wasn't the only one feeling that way—Akatsuki was as well.
When the members of Akatsuki returned to the Land of Rain and saw each other's battered state, a deathly silence fell over the entire organization.
That silence lasted until an uninvited figure arrived in a fury.
"Why did you suddenly withdraw?"
"I was about to capture Uchiha Izumi and that ninja cat! If I had taken them, Uchiha Keizumi would have been completely at our mercy!"
Obito glared fiercely at the Deva Path of Pain, who still carried himself with that same lofty air.
He couldn't understand—he truly couldn't understand. Why, when the fight was going so well, had Pain retreated without even a word?
It was only because he had some means of survival that he made it back. Otherwise, wouldn't that have been outright betrayal?
"Hidan is dead."
Pain looked at the late-arriving Obito and gave a calm explanation.
Whether this man was truly Obito or Madara, at least this time he hadn't been slacking—he had at least tried to capture Uchiha Izumi and that ninja cat, Tachibana Jirō.
Whether he succeeded or not didn't matter—having the intent was already something, wasn't it?
"Who the hell is Hidan?"
Obito was confused. When he got back, he had clearly counted—wasn't everyone here?
"Someone who joined not long ago. Like Kakuzu, he had an immortal body. We had intended for the two of them to form an 'immortal duo.'"
Pain was unusually patient today. Perhaps it was because they had just suffered a defeat—he needed to steady morale.
"An immortal body… that can still die?"
"What kind of immortality is that supposed to be?"
"Akatsuki doesn't accept just any trash!"
Obito let out a scornful laugh. An "immortal" dying on the organization's very first mission—it was honestly laughable.
"Not just Hidan. Four of the Six Paths have been destroyed as well."
Pain continued. It wasn't that he didn't want to keep fighting—Uchiha Keizumi's strength was simply too overwhelming.
This was not a failure of will, but of reality.
"We all know how strong Uchiha Keizumi is—but what about you?"
"Aren't you supposed to be Uchiha Madara?"
"The so-called Shura of the ninja world—yet you couldn't even take down a ninja cat and a mere Uchiha brat?"
Pain was patient today—but Konan clearly wasn't.
You're a fake—everyone knows it. You may have had the intention to help, but you didn't actually accomplish anything.
And you still dare call yourself Uchiha Madara, the man who once swept across the ninja world?
If the real Madara couldn't even handle a ninja beast—a mere ninja cat—he'd die of shame on the spot. How could he still stand there questioning others?
"I…"
Obito was left speechless. He wanted to argue, but even he had to admit—if this were truly Madara, failing to deal with a ninja cat really wouldn't make sense.
Meanwhile, Sasori and Kakuzu exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
They had thought themselves veterans of Akatsuki—yet this was the first time they'd heard that, aside from their mysterious "God," there was also a supposed Uchiha Madara among them.
Regardless of what others thought, Kakuzu was highly suspicious of this masked man.
After all, he had once fought Senju Hashirama himself. If Uchiha Madara was his equal, how could he possibly fail to subdue even a ninja beast?
"He's probably just some brat pretending to be Uchiha Madara—maybe even an Uchiha himself." Kakuzu added bluntly, fanning Konan's words.
He had only been able to watch from afar during the fight against Uchiha Keizumi—and they still lost.
To be honest, Kakuzu was in a very bad mood right now.
And this masked fool claiming to be Madara? He was just asking to be beaten up.
"Enough. Arguing about his identity is meaningless. Don't forget our objective."
"However, since you claim to be Uchiha Madara, you should have some connections in Konoha, shouldn't you?"
"This battle exposed many weaknesses in Konan's abilities. I recall that the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, developed a forbidden technique called the Mutual Explosive Tags. Konan needs that technique to improve her strength."
Nagato truly didn't care about Obito's identity.
He was confident—if he ever needed to, this masked man would never escape his pursuit.
"Mutual Explosive Tags, huh…"
"I'll get it for you."
Obito nodded. He didn't want to stay any longer discussing the battle.
There was no point—Akatsuki was essentially a one-man rule under Pain. Whatever he said, everyone opposed.
Wasn't that just outright exclusion?
But this also gave him another idea—perhaps it was time to plant one of his own people inside Akatsuki.
While Akatsuki was reviewing the battle, Uchiha Keizumi himself had begun to notice changes within his body.
Hidan's death had significantly increased the power of Yang Release within him.
In fact, Keizumi now had a faint sense—
Even if his heart were pierced, he might still be able to keep living.