In a gloomy cavern stood a ferocious-looking giant statue.
This statue had nine eyes on its head, exposed fangs, and two enormous hands bound by some kind of shackles.
At this moment, several illusory figures stood upon the fingers of the statue.
This is the internal meeting of Akatsuki.
Itachi and his good partner Kisame stood there with their true bodies, listening carefully as the organization's leader, Pain, issued the next phase of instructions using the [Astral Projection Technique].
"The One-Tail's Jinchuriki has been confirmed to be confined outside Sunagakure. Sasori, you and Deidara will seize this opportunity to capture him."
Pain issued the order to two figures of different heights in another direction.
"Huh? Didn't we say the previous actions had already alerted the Five Great Nations, and we should lie low for a while?"
Sasori didn't speak, but his younger, more impulsive partner, Deidara directly asked.
Pain glanced at him. Considering this guy had also served the organization for several years and was a relatively handy member, he patiently explained.
"The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki has reappeared. After he disappeared without warning before, we couldn't find him no matter how hard we searched."
"To avoid a similar situation, we need to change our strategy and seize every opportunity to capture all the Tailed Beasts we can first."
This was actually the more reasonable approach.
According to the original work, dragging out the Tailed Beast Capture Plan for two years still ended up alerting the Five Great Nations anyway.
"Tch-"
Deidara didn't say anything more.
If anyone was worried after Naruto left the Ninja World, besides the Tailed Beasts themselves, it was Nagato who received the news.
However, the hidden Obito behind him and the super mastermind Zetsu were equally concerned.
Obito worried about the plan failing, while Black Zetsu was genuinely shocked.
Even with his abilities, searching high and low, he couldn't find a single trace of Naruto.
It was as if he had simply vanished from that island.
Later, he sent a batch of Kumogakure's Ninjas to attack the Southern Hideout, but those guys ended up fighting some unknown Kirigakure's Ninjas, submerging the entire island.
When Black Zetsu arrived at the battlefield and searched meticulously over a dozen times, he couldn't even find a scrap of clothing.
He even considered finding Orochimaru to perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to release the Fourth Hokage's soul, thereby obtaining the power of the Yang Nine-Tails.
Black Zetsu also vaguely remembered there seemed to be a guy in the Land of Fire who also possessed Nine-Tails' Chakra within his body.
But when he found that kid, he discovered it was just fragments of the Nine-Tails' Chakra, utterly insufficient for merging the Ten-Tails.
Just as Black Zetsu was hesitating whether to find Orochimaru or not, Naruto appeared again.
Hence, today's meeting.
After finishing the topic about the One-Tail, Pain turned to look at Itachi and Kisame.
"Kakuzu has been killed. Our manpower is somewhat insufficient now. We need you to recruit some new members."
Then, he mentioned the information on Missing-nins from various villages collected by Zetsu, from which two very promising individuals were found.
"Hiruko, a former Konoha's Ninja, from the same era as the Sannin. Masters a peculiar Ninjutsu called [Chimera Technique]."
"Itachi, you and Kisame are responsible for recruiting him. If he agrees, we can help him find Ninja with special Kekkei Genkai."
"If he is unwilling to join, then just get rid of him."
As he spoke, the two also learned more information about this [Hiruko].
"Itachi-san, speaking of which, might this guy have some common language with Orochimaru too?"
Kisame looked at the information about Hiruko and quipped with interest.
After all, both were Missing-nins from Konoha.
Itachi just gave him a speechless glance but didn't say anything.
Kisame immediately reacted and shut his mouth.
He almost forgot that Itachi was also a Missing-nin from Konoha.
"Shinno, once the leader of a small Ninja Village called Soragakure. This guy stole several forbidden medical techniques from Konoha. He is yours to deal with."
When he said this, he turned to look at Konan beside him.
It was clear that Nagato was truly short-handed now, as he even sent his childhood sweetheart on a long-distance mission.
However, he believed that with Konan's strength, dealing with a so-called leader of Soragakure should be no problem.
Generally speaking, the Akatsuki only took in Missing-nin from various Ninja Villages.
In Nagato's original 'recruitment targets', there were actually several good alternatives.
It's just that most of those people died, failing to hold out until Akatsuki's recruitment drive.
For example, Hozuki Mangetsu was killed not long ago during the rebellion against the Mizukage.
…
After finishing the official business, the Astral Projection Technique dissolved, and even the statue used to connect everyone turned into a puff of smoke and dissipated within the cavern.
"Itachi-san, shall we set off now?"
They had already left the Land of Fire, and the target location given by Leader Pain was called [Mount Shumisen], which is located on the common border of the Land of Grass, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire. It wasn't exactly close.
Upon hearing this, Itachi paused slightly, then replied as if just snapping out of a thought.
"Let's go. We'll leave now."
Actually, at this moment, Itachi's mind was entirely occupied with thoughts about his brother, Sasuke.
Because the Third Hokage didn't die in that conspiracy, Itachi's 'undercover' identity was still valid.
Not long after Naruto took Sasuke away from Konoha, news about Sasuke reached Itachi's hands.
Reading about his brother mastering a new ability and even seemingly awakening the higher-level of Sharingan, Itachi felt a mix of complex emotions.
He had originally intended to use hatred to drive Sasuke, stimulating him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But according to the Third Hokage's message, it seemed Naruto had granted him some kind of transformation power, and then Sasuke evolved.
'So, now, should I still plan to die by Sasuke's hand?'
He didn't hesitate for long before reaffirming his original idea.
One reason was that Sasuke now possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan. If used frequently, blindness was only a matter of time.
If he wanted to possess the [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan] that wouldn't go blind, transplanting Itachi's eyes was his only option.
Secondly, he was also acutely aware that he had personally slaughtered the entire clan. In Sasuke's heart, he had already become a mortal enemy.
He believed that if they truly fought, Sasuke wouldn't hold back.
It's just that Naruto really was a variable… always disrupting his plans.
'Why is he choosing to help Sasuke so much? Is it just because they were classmates?'
Itachi didn't know Naruto's thoughts.
But he clearly understood that Sasuke left the village this time to find him.
However, with the leader issuing orders, Itachi had to leave this area.
That being the case, Itachi knew the most likely outcome was Sasuke and Naruto together facing the leader who called himself [God].
'Don't die, Sasuke.'
Itachi's figure walked side by side with Kisame's, slowly leaving this hidden cavern.