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Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hidan had engaged in a fierce battle with Itachi, but it wasn't as intense as one might have expected. The reason was simple—Itachi had no intention of using his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even so, Itachi managed to destroy one of Sasori's puppets and sever Hidan's arm before being overwhelmed by their combined assault. Realizing that capture was inevitable, Itachi chose to surrender voluntarily. This left Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hidan utterly bewildered, unsure of how to react.
It was like charging forward with full momentum, only for Itachi to suddenly declare, "I'm done."
Yeah, you're satisfied now, but what about us?
Sasori stared at his ruined puppet, while Hidan clutched his severed arm, both thinking the same thing—Let's just beat the crap out of him first and deal with the consequences later.
And so, Itachi—already battered from the fight—was given another brutal thrashing by the trio. Before they finished, Kakuzu coldly added, "The three of us demand compensation for emotional damages—ten million ryō!"
There was no way Itachi would pay, of course. Though he didn't care much about money, yielding now would only make the Akatsuki suspicious of his motives.
In truth, Itachi's mind was filled with questions.
He had never heard of this "Akatsuki" organization before, yet its members were undeniably powerful, wielding rare and unconventional jutsu. Facing such enemies unprepared would leave one vulnerable to ambushes.
This only deepened Itachi's curiosity—Who was the leader of Akatsuki?
What kind of charisma did he possess to unite so many formidable individuals? And why did they all seem to follow him so willingly?
To command such respect, the leader would at least need the strength of a Kage-level shinobi. But Kage-level ninjas were treasures of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—none of them would secretly establish an organization like this.
At the same time, the identity of "Uchiha Madara" weighed heavily on Itachi's mind.
If "Madara" had successfully infiltrated Kirigakure and placed the Mizukage under a genjutsu, his power must be immense. Could he be Akatsuki's leader?
Itachi had two theories about "Uchiha Madara." The first was that a clansman had taken on the name, but in his memory, Shisui had been the pinnacle of the Uchiha's younger generation—and this person seemed even stronger than Shisui. The second theory was that someone had transplanted Sharingan eyes into themselves.
Between the two, Itachi leaned toward the first. Even if someone successfully transplanted the Sharingan, fully mastering its power would be nearly impossible.
"Well, since we've achieved our objective, I'll take my leave for now," Sasori said.
"You're not sticking with us?" Hidan asked.
"I still need to find Orochimaru," Sasori replied, his tone laced with resentment.
At the mention of Orochimaru, Itachi's ears perked up. "I'll go with you" nearly escaped his lips, but Kakuzu's next words doused his enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water.
"You still haven't found him?"
"Tch, as if that's even possible! Who knows where that bastard's hiding or what he's up to?" Sasori spat.
"…"
Itachi suddenly felt that all his earlier speculations about Akatsuki had been completely off the mark.
This… is just a loosely organized group, isn't it?
"Wait, from the sound of it… you can't even track down your own teammate? Are you guys for real?" Itachi cautiously probed.
"He's a special case because of his research. That was one of his conditions for joining Akatsuki. But it's only been three or four months since he last showed up—he'll probably resurface soon," Kakuzu explained. "Regardless, we still need to report to the leader. While he's been looking to recruit new blood, whether you can officially join will depend on his approval."
"I don't see any issues. He's stronger than Hidan, at least," Sasori remarked, glancing at Hidan.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Hidan snapped.
"Watch your tone. As your senior, I'm reminding you that you haven't even passed your probationary period yet," Sasori shot back, sticking out his tongue mockingly.
Itachi didn't quite follow their logic. "You can actually contact your leader? Through letters or summoning animals?"
Those were the two most common methods of communication among shinobi.
"Of course we have our ways, but don't rush it… By the way, Itachi, you'll be staying with us for now. You'll likely be assigned a partner later—most likely Kisame, since he's the only one without one at the moment," Kakuzu said, his gaze fixed on Itachi.
Itachi clenched his fists, his eyes locked onto Sasori.
Compared to sticking with Kakuzu, he'd much rather follow Sasori. But considering that even Sasori had no leads on Orochimaru's whereabouts, pushing too hard might arouse suspicion from the other Akatsuki members. So he held back.
Akatsuki not only held clues to Orochimaru's location but was also connected to "Uchiha Madara." Until he achieved his goals, Itachi had no choice but to stay.
At the same time, he felt grateful for having followed Midorima's advice.
Over the past year, his life had been far from easy, and he had even resented Midorima at times. But now that he was finally seeing "results," the joy in his heart washed away all previous grievances.
Now, all he could do was wait.
---
After parting ways with the group, Sasori found himself at a loss.
He had claimed he was going to search for Orochimaru, but where the hell was Orochimaru hiding?
Before, he'd had that masked man tailing him, which had been annoying—but now that he was alone, he felt strangely lonely.
"Orochimaru! Even if you've crawled into a rat's burrow, I'll drag you out!"
This was Sasori's final outburst of frustration.
But in reality, it was nothing more than helpless rage—he had no idea where Orochimaru was.
For the next three days, the masked man seemed to have vanished without a trace. As for Orochimaru? No leads whatsoever.
Just as Sasori was about to take a break, a white figure emerged from the bark of a towering tree behind him.
"Zetsu, long time no see," Sasori said, slightly surprised. "What does Pain think of Itachi? Is he satisfied?"
"Haha, I'm not entirely sure, but we'll probably know soon," Zetsu chuckled. "Lord Pain has decided to convene a full combat meeting. This time, there will be a new member joining."
"Introducing a new member?"
"Mmm… you could say that. It's a hassle, though—I have to notify everyone individually," Zetsu sighed.
"Does that mean you've found Orochimaru?" Sasori pressed.
"I haven't. He avoids me. After all, he's one of the few who dared to challenge Pain—he's got his own schemes, I'm sure. Of course, he'd never admit it. His excuse is that I'd 'contaminate his experiments,' something about needing a sterile environment for precision. Last time I saw him was when he asked for materials, and that was half a year ago," Zetsu explained.
Sasori let out a weary sigh.
Zetsu's words could be true or false, but since they were part of the same organization, there was no point in pressing further.
"Still, he might show up this time. After all, Lord Pain called for a 'full assembly.' He wouldn't dare refuse outright, would he?" Zetsu grinned.
"Let's hope so."
Sasori rubbed his temples. If possible, he'd rather have a different partner.