[Land of Fire · Konoha Village]
Jiraiya, who had rushed to Konoha after a long journey, was accompanying Hiruzen as they watched the Sky Screen together. He pointed at the pale-faced man on the screen, whose lips curled into an eerie smile.
"Old man... That guy Orochimaru has actually joined this Akatsuki organization!"
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke.
His face looked even more aged than usual, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"I see it."
"The Konoha Crush Plan that the Sky Screen mentioned earlier—" Jiraiya's voice lowered.
"Could it be something that Orochimaru and this Akatsuki are pulling off together?"
Hiruzen was silent for a few seconds.
He thought of that future shown on the Sky Screen—himself alone on the rooftop fighting Orochimaru, while battles raged throughout Konoha below, yet no one came to his aid. If in that battle, Orochimaru had the Akatsuki standing behind him...
"Indeed, we cannot afford to ignore this possibility." Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Jiraiya, you need to stay in the village more. As for Tsunade... she's also on her way back. One of you two must step up and shoulder the responsibility."
Jiraiya nodded but said nothing. His gaze never left that familiar figure on the Sky Screen.
'Orochimaru, just what are you trying to do?'
But the Sky Screen offered no answer.
Only those words—"This world shall know Pain"—echoed in Jiraiya's ears.
---
Elsewhere in Konoha.
Sasuke, who had just been arguing with Naruto at the top of his lungs about Team Hebi, was now frozen stiff as a stone.
Among the figures flashing across the Sky Screen, there was one that he could never forget.
Black hair, a long black robe with red clouds, deep tear troughs at the corners of his eyes, and those eyes that seemed to see through everything—
That man.
Uchiha Itachi!
Sasuke's breathing became rapid, his chest heaving violently. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging deep into his palms. Blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers, but he didn't even notice.
"He..."
Sasuke's voice squeezed through his teeth, every syllable dripping with bone-deep hatred.
"He's joined the strongest organization in the world now?"
Sakura looked at him with concern.
"Sasuke-kun..."
Naruto opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to begin.
Kakashi stood to the side, watching Sasuke's face twisted with hatred, and sighed inwardly.
He had known what Sasuke was carrying.
The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan's massacre, sworn to take revenge on his own brother. And now the Sky Screen was telling him that Itachi had joined the strongest organization in the Shinobi World.
What did that mean?
It meant that the difficulty of his revenge was ten times or even a hundred times greater than he had imagined.
Kakashi rubbed his throbbing temples.
The Uchiha affairs... were truly a tangled mess.
---
[Akatsuki · A certain base]
Currently, the Tailed Beast capture plan had not yet begun, and the Akatsuki members didn't have much to do. Even a workaholic like Kakuzu had rarely stepped out for bounty missions. Everyone was gathered by the leader, Pain, to watch the Sky Screen.
The major nations were all studying the information revealed, and Nagato also wanted to uncover the hidden secrets of the Shinobi World from it.
Calling the organization members together was also for pooling their insights. After all, these members were all powerful figures in the Shinobi World who knew many secrets, which could be cross-referenced with the information on the Sky Screen.
He just hadn't expected it to be so coincidental this time—just as they were discussing the shinobi groups in the world, their own organization was included.
"HAHAHAHA!"
A burst of arrogant laughter echoed through the base.
Deidara pointed at the Sky Screen, laughing so hard he doubled over.
"The strongest in the Shinobi World! Most popular! See that! Our Akatsuki is the strongest!"
"What AB Combo, what Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—they're just 'barely passable'!"
Sasori sat expressionlessly to the side, his puppet body completely motionless, only his eyes betraying a hint of disgust.
"That bastard Orochimaru has already defected. How is still being listed as a member?"
When Orochimaru was in Akatsuki, he had been teamed up with Sasori. However, the two had a fundamental conflict in their pursuit of eternal life, and Sasori had always found him distasteful. Seeing Orochimaru appear in the group photo now felt like swallowing a fly.
Hidan, hoisting his Bloody March Scythe, grinned.
"But hey, being the center of attention for the entire world... that's not so bad."
"And that line—'This world shall know Pain'—was absolutely awesome!"
"Tch."
Kakuzu let out a cold snort, counting on his fingers.
"What good is being the strongest? Can you trade it for money? Can you turn it into bounty?"
Kisame, cradling Samehada, said with a sinister smile spreading across his shark-like face.
"But now that we've been exposed to the world like this... won't executing missions be more troublesome from now on?"
"What's there to fear?"
Deidara waved his hand dismissively.
"So what if we're exposed? With our strength, who can stop us?"
The base was filled with noise and chatter. The Akatsuki members were clearly unconcerned about being exposed by the Sky Screen. After all, they were all S-rank missing-nin—they had weathered every kind of storm.
Only one person stood in the corner, completely silent.
Uchiha Obito—or rather, "Tobi," wearing the yellow spiral mask.
At this moment, the face beneath his mask had turned pale.
He stared at the masked figure on the Sky Screen, a flash of panic deep in his pupils.
The Sky Screen better not spout nonsense; his secrets weren't about to be exposed, were they?
If it were to introduce the Akatsuki members in detail next...
Cold sweat broke out on Obito's forehead beneath the mask.
"Tobi? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Don't be scared! I've got your back. Speak up!"
Deidara leaned over, looking at him curiously, and slapped him on the shoulder—nearly knocking him flat.
At this point, Sasori was still alive, and the persona "Tobi" that Obito was playing had not yet inherited the codename "Jewel". He was merely attending the meeting as an intern member.
But Deidara got along quite well with Tobi. He thought his little partner was just feeling a bit nervous because everyone else in the room were full-fledged members, so he had come over to give him a confidence boost.
"Ahaha…"
Obito let out a dry laugh.
"I was just thinking... will the Sky Screen end up spilling all of our secrets?"
"Secrets?"
Deidara blinked, tossing his blonde hair back, looking completely unconcerned.
"What secrets do I have? I am the great artist of explosion! Everyone knows that!"
Sasori spoke flatly: "I turned myself into a human puppet. That's not exactly a secret either."
Kakuzu: "I've lived over ninety years. I've fought the First Hokage. Nothing special."
Hidan: "I'm immortal! Lord Jashin protects me!"
Obito: "..."
'You all have no secrets. But I do!!'
He shrank back into the corner, silently praying that the Sky Screen wouldn't expose his true identity.
Meanwhile, the other Akatsuki members in the base continued on as usual: Deidara went back to boasting to Sasori about his art of explosion; Sasori listened expressionlessly; Hidan argued with Kakuzu about bounties; Kisame dozed off hugging Samehada; and Zetsu emerged halfway from the ground, looking at who knows what.
A bunch of carefree, heartless bastards.
And at the same moment, deep within the base.
Pain—or rather, Nagato—quietly watched everything inside the base through the shared vision of the Rinnegan.
His gaze lingered on Tobi for a long time.
This man who called himself "Uchiha Madara."
Nagato's eyes flickered faintly.
He didn't care about Akatsuki being exposed. But that masked figure on the Sky Screen—would something be revealed about him?
His true identity. His real purpose—
Would the Sky Screen provide an answer?
*****
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