At the same time, inside the Akatsuki Organization's secret Base, the Nine-Eyed Graveyard.
Uchiha Itachi, along with Kisame Hoshigaki who had regained consciousness, was recounting the entire process of their failed Nine-Tailed capture to the other Akatsuki members standing on the Gedo Statue's ten fingers.
Of course, this did not include the details of his subsequent cooperation and deal with Li Chuan.
"I never expected that someone could heavily injure Kisame with a single blow, forcing him to flee in disarray. This Prince of the Land of Fire possesses such strength? I've never heard of him before."
The Deva Path Pain phantom, standing on the thumb, turned to Zetsu, who resembled a pitcher plant, after listening to Itachi and Kisame's report:
"What intelligence do you have on this Prince of the Land of Fire?"
"What a coincidence, I was just about to report to you, Leader. The mysterious Ninja you asked me to investigate, the one who killed Hidan, is precisely the Prince of the Land of Fire, Enkawa."
Zetsu swayed his pitcher plant and replied with a chuckle.
Among the official members of the Akatsuki Organization, aside from Deva Path Pain controlled by Nagato, Konan, and Zetsu, most were S-Rank rogue Ninja from various Hidden Villages.
Uchiha Itachi and Orochimaru, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire.
Kisame Hoshigaki and Biwa Jūzō, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Hidden Mist Village, Land of Water.
Hidan, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Yugakure, Land of Hot Water.
Kakuzu, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Takigakure, Land of Waterfalls.
Deidara, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Iwagakure, Land of Earth.
Sasori, S-Rank rogue Ninja from Sunagakure, Land of Wind.
The last one was Hijikata, an Elite Jonin from the early days of Akatsuki.
Among these official members, three have currently died, and one has defected.
The one who defected was Orochimaru. Of the three who died, one was Biwa Jūzō, killed by the Fourth Mizukage while fighting him to save Itachi. Another was Hijikata, killed by Kakuzu along with their enemy because Kakuzu found him too slow when they were teamed up.
And the last one was Hidan, who claimed to have an immortal body, killed by a mysterious Ninja while teamed up with Kakuzu.
After Hidan's death, Nagato immediately dispatched Zetsu, who was most skilled at gathering intelligence, to investigate the mysterious Ninja. Through information from bounty stations and some espionage activities, it was finally confirmed that the employer was Enkawa, the Prince of the Land of Fire.
"So it was him. This damn guy dared to trick me out of my money. Let me go take care of him!"
Before Deva Path Pain could speak, Kakuzu had already jumped up in anger.
He wasn't angry at all about his teammate Hidan's death; what angered him was that so much money had ultimately turned into nothing. Money was what he loved most in this life.
This was more painful than being killed.
"Don't be angry, senior. It's not good to get your body worked up. Later, let's go to the town ahead and soak in a hot spring to cool down."
A phantom wearing a yellow spiral mask, with only one eye exposed, said in an offhand manner next to Kakuzu.
He was Tobi, who had replaced Hidan as a new member of the Akatsuki Organization.
"Shut up! I hate noisy people the most. If you keep making noise, I'll send you down to join Hidan!"
"Scary, scary. I'm still just a newcomer."
Tobi immediately made a trembling gesture.
"Kakuzu, calm down. It's not easy to act against him in Konoha. Now is not the time to fully expose the organization's strength. Zetsu, continue."
Deva Path Pain glanced at Kakuzu, and although Kakuzu was unwilling, he obediently shut his mouth.
Zetsu shook his head and continued:
"Enkawa, Prince of the Land of Fire, twenty-one years old. His mother died in childbirth, and his father died from a fall from a horse when he was four. He has been quiet since childhood, residing for long periods in the Princes Residence, rarely leaving.
One year ago, he became a disciple at the Fire Temple to learn Ninjutsu. He once appeared in the Land of Waves to help the locals fight against the merchant Gato, and later led Land of Fire nobles to participate in the Konoha Chunin Exams.
During Orochimaru and the Sand Ninja's attack on Konoha, he used extremely advanced medical Ninjutsu to save many severely injured Ninja and villagers, and was taken as a disciple by the Third Hokage."
"Are you sure he only started learning Ninjutsu a year ago?"
Deva Path Pain frowned, and the other members of the organization also showed expressions of disbelief.
They were all the most talented Ninja from various Hidden Villages throughout history, many of whom already possessed Jonin-level strength in their youth.
But to transform from an ordinary person into a Ninja who can kill Hidan, easily defeat Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, and also possess extremely high-level medical Ninjutsu, all within a year.
Such a thing was simply a fantasy; even Six Paths Reincarnation couldn't grant such talent.
"Cannot be confirmed. The intelligence currently gathered suggests this, and we can only confirm that he indeed went to the Fire Temple a year ago. Perhaps he had been learning Ninjutsu all along in the Princes Residence.
It's even possible that he wasn't in the Princes Residence at all, but rather learning Ninjutsu elsewhere, since he rarely leaves, perhaps not even showing his face once a year."
Zetsu spread his hands; he also didn't believe anyone could gain such strength in a year.
"This person's strength is troublesome. Let's not bother with him for now."
Deva Path Pain thought for a moment, then instructed:
"Since the Nine-Tailed capture failed, and the Three-Tails still needs three years to regenerate, we will temporarily halt Tailed Beast capture and focus all efforts on earning funds, continuing to incite wars between smaller nations."
Someone capable of defeating Kisame and forcing Itachi to retreat would not be easy for Akatsuki to deal with.
Furthermore, Konoha had somehow gained some intelligence about Akatsuki. If they were too ostentatious and Konoha discovered Akatsuki's ultimate goal, it would be troublesome.
Before collecting all nine Tailed Beasts, they did not possess the strength to contend with all the Ninja Villages in the entire World.
The meeting ended, and one by one, the phantoms disappeared. Itachi, before Kakuzu vanished, heard him muttering softly:
"Hmph, since they won't let me go to Konoha to kill him, then I'll go to the Fire Temple to kill his master. Chiriku of the Fire Temple has a bounty of thirty million Ryo, which is also a good target."
Inside Li Chuan's residence, in the Sarutobi compound of Konoha Village.
"This dynamic capture ability is quite good."
In the wardrobe space temporarily modified with the Undetectable Extension Charm, Li Chuan was performing various experiments after transplanting the Mangekyo Sharingan.
During his continuous attempts, he also discovered some uses of the Sharingan that he had previously overlooked.
He had decided to transplant the Sharingan mainly for its Tsukuyomi and Susanoo abilities. However, while adapting to the Sharingan, he realized that some of the Sharingan's basic abilities were already very useful.
Sharingan users possess extraordinary perception, can observe Chakra flow, can cast and discern Genjutsu, and can copy Taijutsu and non-Bloodline Limit Ninjutsu.
The Mangekyo Sharingan can further maximize these functions.
As a Taijutsu master with a powerful body, having the Mangekyo Sharingan's insight would be like adding wings to a tiger in close combat, allowing him to react more quickly to enemy attacks.
Especially when facing those Gold Saint with even more abnormal close-combat abilities in the future.
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