Now.
In a valley outside Amegakure, above a wide river, a small boat slowly rowed forward.
There were only two people aboard.
A mysterious masked man in a black cloak—
And Uchiha Itachi in a Konoha Anbu uniform.
"Itachi, how's your injury? Can you move freely?" the masked man asked indifferently.
"It's just a walking injury. I can manage," Itachi replied.
During his earlier fight with the Fox Masked Ghost, Itachi had taken a deep crescent-shaped wound to the back. Naturally, he wasn't in the best condition now.
The masked man nodded slightly and continued,
"In that case, I'll take you directly to meet Akatsuki's leader."
"But before that, there's something important you need to know—"
"...?"
"In the Akatsuki organization, everyone calls me 'Tobi.' I'm not an official member, just a weak intern."
"So, you'll need to be mindful of how you speak to me going forward."
The masked man's tone was indifferent.
In front of Itachi, he had always claimed to be Uchiha Madara, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan. Naturally, Itachi would show him some respect in how he addressed him—something that would be suspicious to others.
To avoid exposing himself, the masked man gave a clear reminder.
But Itachi looked up slightly and asked,
"Why hide your identity?"
"..."
The masked man was silent for a moment before replying in a calm tone,
"It's nothing. If people knew Uchiha Madara was still alive, it would cause unnecessary trouble."
"Understood."
Itachi lowered his gaze again, not speaking further.
Of course, he knew the masked man was hiding something.
But as a double agent himself, Itachi had plenty of secrets too.
...
...
Meanwhile, back in Amegakure—
Inside a dark cavern, the sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rhythmic and casual.
Kuzo walked in with his hands in the pockets of his Akatsuki cloak, a calm, almost lazy air around him.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he noticed that every current Akatsuki member was already present.
From left to right:
- Akatsuki Leader, the God of Anti-Understanding: Pain
- Akatsuki's Angel, the Hidden Rich Queen of the Ninja World: Konan
- Akatsuki's Venus Flytrap, Intelligence Master and Academy Award-Winning Actor: Zetsu
- Akatsuki's Accountant, throwing shurikens from 800 miles away: Kakuzu
- Akatsuki's Traitor Scientist: Orochimaru
- Akatsuki's Ironhead Beast, headbutting tailed beasts for fun: Juzo Biwa
- And lastly, the cannon fodder who'd probably be killed by Kakuzu at some point: Fujii
Kuzo looked around and couldn't help but smile.
This lineup was quite different from the original ten-member squad in the canon.
As Kuzo took another step forward, everyone's eyes turned to him.
Konan, who had always been on good terms with Kuzo, was the first to speak. She looked up and said calmly,
"You're here, Kuzo. Today, Akatsuki is welcoming a new official member. It's also a good chance for us to officially assign team partners. So far, we've just been working in random pairs."
Hearing that, Kuzo nodded and smiled at her,
"Understood."
He was just about to walk forward and take his place when a loud, somewhat obnoxious voice echoed from the cave entrance.
"Wow!!"
"What's going on here?! Are all the official Akatsuki members gathered?!"
"This is insane! I've never seen such a crazy lineup!"
Everyone turned to look.
Two figures entered—
The mysterious masked man and Uchiha Itachi.
Seeing them, Juzo Biwa raised his chin and scowled,
"Hey hey hey... who's this noisy mask freak?!"
"Too damn loud!"
The masked man suddenly put on a comically scared expression and hurriedly explained,
"Ah, good morning, Senior Juzo!"
"I'm Tobi! Akatsuki's humble intern! But only temporarily!"
"Because this time, I've brought in a really powerful new recruit, so I'm sure I'll get promoted soon!"
He waved his arms excitedly as he spoke.
Though everyone found him annoying, they quickly latched onto the most important part.
This guy brought in a new member?
In an instant, all eyes shifted to the figure behind him—dressed in Konoha Anbu uniform.
Sensing that everyone was looking, the masked man grinned and said,
"Do you all know who this is?"
"He might look younger than Senior Kuzo here, but in terms of strength—he might even be stronger!"
"If you're wondering why..."
"Hehe—"
"This is Uchiha Itachi. The man who singlehandedly slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan of Konoha!"
"?!"
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