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Midorima had expected to see Obito.
Regardless of whether Pain had intentionally hidden Obito's identity before, in this battle, Obito had indeed appeared as "Uchiha Madara."
Taking everything into account, Midorima assumed Obito would step into the spotlight.
But things didn't go as expected.
Pain greeted the others and took a seat.
Konan was the first to relay the earlier discussion to Pain.
Midorima propped his cheek on his hand, eyeing Pain.
In truth, ever since Obito took control of the Mizukage, there had been potential for Kirigakure and Amegakure to become "partners."
Despite the impact of the "Village of the Bloody Mist," which had weakened Kirigakure significantly, it remained one of the five great ninja villages. Backed by the Land of Water, its overall strength still surpassed Amegakure's.
If Obito and "Akatsuki" had plans in this direction, forming a "partnership" where Kirigakure funneled resources into Amegakure, "Akatsuki" wouldn't need to rely on bounty missions or monopolizing small countries' wars to make money.
Moreover, as cooperation between the two villages deepened, their ties could become extremely close in the future.
But none of that had happened.
This meant either no one had considered it, or someone was actively preventing it.
Given that Rin's death was caused by Kirigakure, Obito would rather see the village burn to the ground.
If "Akatsuki" and Amegakure actually sparked a "partnership" and formed a meaningful alliance, wouldn't Obito end up "failing to steal the chicken and losing the rice" instead?
Alternatively, Obito's real goal was to "collect the tailed beasts" and use them to unleash the "Infinite Tsukuyomi." But if "Akatsuki" truly partnered with Kirigakure, the problems facing Pain and Amegakure would shift, potentially leading to a form of "peace"—especially since the Mizukage was under control, the possibility of such cooperation reducing wars was entirely feasible.
The reason it hadn't happened boiled down to one thing: the person controlling the Mizukage wasn't Nagato—it was Obito.
He was using Nagato and "Akatsuki" to gather the tailed beasts, not to fulfill Nagato's dreams.
Of course, Igawa, the "de facto controller" of Kirigakure, wasn't exactly eager to hand money over to Amegakure either.
Greed was human nature.
He'd risked his life to work with Akatsuki for "money" and "power," after all.
Sure enough, Pain hesitated after hearing Konan's words.
"Do we really need that much money?" Pain asked.
Kakuzu glanced at Konan.
The four-hundred-million-ryo shortfall came from her.
"Yes," Konan said earnestly.
"I see. I recall the bounties on other Kirigakure figures aren't low either, right? Let's target them first, then we'll discuss Kirigakure matters later," Pain said to Konan.
Konan nodded.
Pain would need to consult Obito's opinion. After all, the one truly controlling the Mizukage was Obito, not them.
"Is the next step settled?" Konan asked.
Pain nodded and stood. "From the moment 'Akatsuki' was founded, I've been working toward our dream. I've watched it grow from a small group to what it is today—though our numbers are few, we've gained considerable notoriety among smaller nations. But this isn't our ultimate goal. What I'm about to say is highly confidential. If anyone feels they don't want to stay, you can leave now—I won't say a word."
Midorima let out a whistle, glancing at the others' expressions.
Pain might not say a word, but whether someone who walked out could leave alive was another question.
As expected, no one spoke up.
"If no one leaves, there'll be no more chances to back out. Betray us, and I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth," Pain said.
"What's so serious that you're being this cautious?" Itachi asked, puzzled.
Pain shot a glance at Itachi.
Every "Akatsuki" member had an unpredictable personality, but if there was one Pain trusted the least, it was Itachi.
The reason was simple: Itachi was a Konoha ninja.
Nagato had no fondness for Konoha.
The ones who killed his parents were Konoha ninja, and Yahiko's death in that battle also involved Konoha's shadow.
Yesterday, all three intruders in Amegakure—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Danzo—were from Konoha.
Given these factors, Pain found it hard to fully trust Itachi.
Yet Obito believed Itachi was indispensable and his loyalty was beyond question.
"'Akatsuki' aims to reshape the entire ninja world," Pain declared.
"What does that mean?" Itachi asked, confused.
"The five great ninja villages have 'ruled' the ninja world for decades, and in that time, wars have been endless. Small ninja villages have no power to refuse war—they're dragged in passively. Even the great villages bear scars from clashing with each other. You've all fought in those large-scale battles—you should understand what I mean."
"So what?" Hidan raised a hand. "What can we do?"
"Get stronger! Strong enough to rival the five great ninja villages," Pain said.
"But their power is unshakable. Even Kirigakure now is stronger than 'Akatsuki' and Amegakure combined. Plus, the great villages have tailed beasts," Kisame pointed out.
"I know. We alone can't do it, but we can harness the power of the tailed beasts," Pain replied.
"But there are only nine tailed beasts... Is there a tenth?" Kisame asked, surprised.
"There is indeed a tenth tailed beast," Pain confirmed.
As he mentioned the "Ten-Tails," the room's reactions varied. Midorima took the chance to closely observe everyone's expressions.
Kakuzu and Sasori, as early members of "Akatsuki," likely knew its goals. But Hidan and Itachi, being newer, probably hadn't heard of the "Ten-Tails."
As for Kisame, he likely knew something, but how much wasn't clear.
"Where's the Ten-Tails?" Hidan asked, intrigued.
"Honestly, I didn't want to bring the 'Ten-Tails' into the open yet—it's part of our third-phase plan. Right now, our strength can't support it; we can't compete with the great villages. But Jiraiya's escape changed things. It might draw their attention to us. That's why I've decided to move the third phase up.
"Their target might be 'Akatsuki' or Amegakure. But without solid evidence, they won't attack us outright, so we still have some time. During this period, we can continue our second-phase mission: monopolizing the war markets of smaller nations. Amegakure's ninja are already out securing tasks. Please be patient."
"Tch, if Konoha spreads word about 'Akatsuki' to the other villages, doesn't that basically advertise us for free? A ninja organization that catches Konoha's eye must be pretty strong, right?" Hidan squinted, licking his lips.
All he cared about was whether there'd be work to do.