Sasori walked ahead with Gaara, when he suddenly felt something was off.
Yuichi's aura seemed to have changed.
The change was very obvious. Even though Yuichi hadn't released his aura, Sasori could clearly feel that it was much stronger.
'What's going on? Did this guy suddenly get stronger?'
Just as Sasori was wondering if he was mistaken.
Yuichi suddenly spoke. "Let's go, Sasori. Don't keep Zero waiting too long."
With that, Yuichi took the lead and rushed towards the previously determined sealing location.
Behind him, Sasori watched Yuichi's retreating figure with a blank expression.
Does this guy take Zero's orders so seriously?
Wasn't he rebellious before, not even listening to Zero's commands?
What's with him now?
Did he suddenly become a different person?
Having just completed two missions, the rewards had doubled Yuichi's strength.
Now, Yuichi couldn't wait for Nagato to assign him another mission.
Because of Yuichi's impatience, Sasori had no choice but to follow him without stopping.
They quickly rushed to the location where the seal for the One-Tail had been prepared.
At a large pool of water, a torii gate stood against a cliff.
A red wooden door frame.
In the middle was a giant, spherical rock with a sealing talisman pasted on it.
Yuichi formed a hand seal and opened the seal.
The giant spherical rock slowly rose, revealing a dark cave inside with a large space.
Nagato's phantom was waiting inside the cave.
Seeing the seal open.
Nagato looked up in surprise, watching the two walk in.
He looked at the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Gaara, who was being brought in, wrapped in Sasori's tail.
Then he looked at the sky outside.
The sun was just about to set.
They captured the One-Tail so quickly!
"I didn't expect you to be so fast!"
"Let's begin quickly! After sealing the One-Tail, we can hurry and capture the other Tailed Beasts."
Yuichi directly interrupted Nagato's words.
Nagato looked at Yuichi. Before, Yuichi had been somewhat dismissive of his orders.
Now he was so enthusiastic about capturing the Tailed Beasts.
Could it be that he has finally understood how great the Akatsuki's plan is?
With this thought, Nagato stopped wasting time.
"Then let's start without delay!"
He raised his hand and clapped.
Nagato summoned the Gedo Statue.
The Gedo Statue slowly rose from the ground.
Yuichi casually sized up the Gedo Statue. It was the first time he had seen this thing.
"Let's begin!"
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
One by one, phantoms appeared on the fingertips of the Gedo Statue.
Yuichi's eyes widened slightly. 'The Magic Lantern Body Technique!'
It was a jutsu that could gather the Akatsuki members from various locations through projections, concentrating everyone's chakra.
To extract the Tailed Beast's chakra from the Jinchuriki and seal it within the Gedo Statue.
As Yuichi was admiring the Gedo Statue.
The figures that appeared on the statue's fingertips all turned to look down at Yuichi and Sasori.
"Well, well, well! I didn't expect us to be sealing a Tailed Beast so soon. It hasn't even been a day, has it? And you've already captured the One-Tail Jinchuriki."
"It seems our new compatriot is quite strong!"
The voice was muffled, but from the appearance, the speaker was Kisame Hoshigaki.
Kakuzu squinted at Yuichi. He knew Sasori, but this was the first time he had seen the newcomer, Yuichi.
On the black market, Yuichi's head was worth a considerable sum!
Kakuzu had his eyes on Yuichi long ago, a mere kid ninja with such a high bounty.
So he paid extra attention to him.
"To capture a Tailed Beast so quickly is indeed surprising. But it's only the One-Tail. Sasori is quite familiar with Sunagakure, isn't he?"
"With Sasori there, capturing the One-Tail wouldn't be a difficult task, right?"
Hearing Kakuzu's words, the others understood that this guy was likely after Yuichi's bounty.
If he got the chance in the future, Kakuzu would definitely kill Yuichi on the side and exchange his head for the bounty.
Sasori leaped onto one of the Gedo Statue's fingertips.
He took off his straw hat and tossed it aside.
He glanced sideways at Kakuzu. "Although that's true, I didn't make a move at all during this One-Tail capture mission."
Hearing this, Kakuzu was a bit surprised. Sasori didn't make a move?
"Ho? So, the little newcomer kid defeated the One-Tail all by himself?"
"Could a kid like him do that? That's impossible, right?"
The others were also curious. Did this rogue ninja kid from Kirigakure really take care of the One-Tail Jinchuriki by himself?
Sasori remained silent, clearly not intending to speak.
Everyone looked at Yuichi.
Even Nagato was curious, controlling the Deva Path to look at Yuichi.
Yuichi jumped onto the left pinky finger of the Gedo Statue.
He took off his straw hat.
He shrugged casually. "Is the One-Tail Jinchuriki that hard to deal with? He's nothing special. I took him down in a minute!"
A minute?
Although Gaara was young, he was the One-Tail Jinchuriki and also the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure.
His strength was not weak.
In fact, in Nagato's assessment, to capture Gaara, in a one-on-one fight within the Akatsuki, not many could guarantee a victory against him.
That's why he had dispatched Sasori this time.
With the Third Kazekage puppet in Sasori's hands, using it against Gaara, there was a high probability of defeating him.
If it were anyone else, the chances of victory wouldn't be high!
And Yuichi only took less than a minute?
Impossible!
Kakuzu suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha! What an interesting newcomer. So shameless."
"Taking out the One-Tail in a minute? Even I can't take out a Jinchuriki in one minute."
"On what grounds?"
Being questioned by Kakuzu, Yuichi's expression didn't change much; he remained calm.
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't even a minute!"
Yuichi said seriously.
Hearing this, even Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help but laugh.
Even he wouldn't dare say he could take out a Jinchuriki in one minute. This newcomer kid was just bluffing.
He was going too far just to put on a show of strength.
"Ah! It really wasn't a minute. The fight probably only lasted a few dozen seconds!"
Just as Kakuzu was laughing, Sasori spoke up coldly.
Instantly, Kakuzu's laughter stopped abruptly. He whipped his head around to look at Sasori.
"A few dozen seconds? Sasori, are you kidding me?"
Sasori glanced at Kakuzu.
"Believe it or not."
"In any case, I saw this guy with my own eyes, openly barging into Sunagakure, defeating the One-Tail, and then killing more than half of Sunagakure's Suna ninja."
"He made it so that the Suna ninja didn't even dare to pursue us!"
Silence!
After Sasori's words fell, the surroundings became incredibly quiet.
Sasori of the Red Sand was not a new member of the Akatsuki. His words were completely credible.
And he wouldn't make up a lie for a newcomer.
Which meant...
...this rogue ninja kid from Kirigakure who had just joined the Akatsuki really wasn't exaggerating.
"Impossible..."
Kakuzu was somewhat unwilling to believe it.
Sasori sighed softly. "Kakuzu, I advise you to drop any ideas you have about him. This kid's taijutsu is terrifyingly strong! And he's a madman. You'll regret it if you provoke him."
As he spoke, Sasori seemed to recall the scene after the One-Tail was captured, when Yuichi sat on the ground, waiting for the Suna ninja to gather.
Whoever provoked a monster like that would be unlucky.