Outside the village, in a forest.
A middle-aged man with a twin-bladed sword on his back walked down the road. He had long green hair, thick eyebrows, and was covered in bandages. Just looking at him would make you think he was not to be trifled with.
Despite this, someone wearing a black cloak with a noticeable red cloud embroidered on it deliberately blocked his path. The cloak would make anyone wary at first sight.
One of them stepped forward and greeted the man with a hint of teasing. "Long time no see, Raiga..."
When the man called Raiga saw the person who was greeting him, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. The person in front of him had black hair, sharp eyes, a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek, and red striped face paint on the lower half of his face. He was a very unique-looking person, the kind you wouldn't easily forget, especially since he had no eyebrows.
"Juzo..." Raiga replied in a low voice.
"You've fallen so low, starting to rob homes everywhere," Juzo said, looking at the twin-bladed sword on Raiga's back. "The name of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village would be crying because of this."
"The name of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village is a thing of the past..."
Raiga scoffed, his gaze shifting from Juzo to the man beside him. The man had a pale face, purple eyeshadow, and gave off a cold, snake-like aura. "Orochimaru..."
Orochimaru smiled but said nothing.
Raiga looked at him warily. "Why are you with a guy like him?"
Juzo shrugged and said calmly, "You can tell by our clothes that we're a team now."
Raiga frowned. "What do you want from me? It can't be as simple as just catching up."
Juzo didn't beat around the bush. "I want to invite you to join our organization."
"An organization?"
"Yes."
"You're a rogue ninja now. The organization can provide you with shelter."
"What if I don't agree?" Raiga scanned his surroundings. There were no other people in sight. It seemed to be just Orochimaru and Juzo.
"Then I guess there's nothing we can do..."
Juzo's words had a hidden meaning. The subtext was that if Raiga didn't agree, they would have to beat him into submission.
"Fine. I also want to see the leader who can gather people like you and Orochimaru." Raiga pretended to be calm and put his weapon back on his back.
Raiga and Juzo were both members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village. Their strength was similar. In some cases, Raiga even had an advantage due to his weapon.
But Juzo didn't come alone. He brought Orochimaru with him. Putting aside the difference in their strength, Raiga was also at a disadvantage in terms of his element. It could be said that Raiga had no chance of winning at all.
Instead of being beaten to a pulp, it was better to give in now and at least keep his dignity.
"Then come with me."
Juzo gave him the instructions and turned around.
Orochimaru gave Raiga a meaningful look and then turned around.
Raiga nodded and followed them. The three of them arrived at a cave, and the light inside was very dim. Due to their management style, the Akatsuki members were rarely together. They only gathered on special occasions.
For example, this time, to welcome the new member, all the Akatsuki members were present. Then, their leader, Pain, would give the new member the black cloak with red clouds and a ring, which would officially mark their entry into the organization.
As Raiga walked, he glanced at the other members wearing the black cloaks with red clouds and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. This was quite different from the plan. His real identity was Tōshirō, who was disguised as Raiga.
The original plan was for him to appear at the recruitment to see if Black Zetsu and White Zetsu would be there. But things didn't go as planned. Pain only sent Orochimaru and Juzo.
Tōshirō could only improvise. Fortunately, he was able to find his target in the end. A black and white creature with a head that looked like a pitcher plant caught Tōshirō's attention.
But before that, he had to deal with a problem first.
Tōshirō looked away and stared at the man standing at the deepest part of the cave. He had short orange hair, a lifeless face, three black rods piercing his nose, and a black rod piercing each of his ears. This appearance alone was very mysterious, not to mention the strange, ripple-like eyes.
Deva Path Pain...
Tōshirō muttered to himself and quietly got ready for battle. His transformation jutsu could fool others, but against a person with the Rinnegan, it would probably be exposed very quickly.
Juzo led the person in and shouted, "I brought him, leader."
The Deva Path Pain looked at the man in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said nothing.
"What's wrong?" Juzo noticed a different aura.
The Deva Path Pain was worthy of having the Rinnegan. He saw through Tōshirō's disguise with a single glance. "Who are you..."
Juzo looked at the person he had brought in with a surprised expression.
Tōshirō pretended to be confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You won't tell me the truth?" Deva Path Pain's gaze was cold. "No disguise can hide from these eyes of mine."
Tōshirō stopped arguing. He lowered his head and was silent for a while. Then, a slightly crazy, evil laugh came from his trembling body.
Juzo suddenly realized that he had let the enemy in. He distanced himself, drew the Kubikiribocho from his back, and prepared for battle. "Damn it! You're not Raiga! Who are you?!"
The other Akatsuki members watched the newcomer with interest. Any single Akatsuki member was a top-tier warrior. With so many of them gathered in one place, even a Kage-level warrior couldn't hope to leave without getting hurt.
The Deva Path Pain's gaze was calm and unwavering as he watched his opponent. He wanted to see who this person was, daring to break in here and act so arrogantly.
After a fit of laughter, Tōshirō raised his head and met the pair of cold eyes. "The legendary Rinnegan. Please don't hesitate to show me what you've got."
After a feigned opening speech, Tōshirō quickly performed a set of hand seals. In a flash, four fire dragons appeared in the air, baring their fangs and exuding a majestic aura.
Fire Release: Majestic Demolisher.
This jutsu had a very wide attack range and was very fast. It was extremely difficult to dodge.
The fire dragons approached. Their light illuminated the Deva Path Pain's entire face. He was unmoved and casually raised his hand. A repulsive force formed by a massive amount of chakra rapidly spread out from him. In an instant, the approaching fire dragons were shattered and scattered.
The repulsive force even had some lingering momentum that counter-attacked.
"Boom."
The powerful repulsive force kicked up a large amount of dust, which spread throughout the area.
"Hmph."
Before the corner of the Deva Path Pain's mouth could curve upward, a huge blue fist broke through the smoke and appeared in his eyes.
What?!
Pain's eyes widened. The huge fist had come too fast, and it had already landed, sending him flying and smashing him hard against the wall, creating a large amount of smoke.
The Deva Path Pain was indeed powerful, but he had a fatal flaw: his low battle IQ. He relied too much on the Almighty Push.
Of course, this was normal. With a god-tier item like the Rinnegan, he didn't need any battle IQ. He could just crush his opponents, which slowly led to his bad habit of relying on the Almighty Push. If he could use the Almighty Push to tank an attack, he would never dodge. That's why people were able to test out his five-second weakness.
Tōshirō knew about this weakness, so he first used a ninjutsu to bait out the Almighty Push, and then he used his spiritual fire to catch him by surprise.
Konan, who was watching from nearby, was shocked. Someone was able to injure the Deva Path Pain. This had never happened before. And it had just happened right after they met.
As the smoke from the Almighty Push dissipated, the man's appearance had completely changed. He had white hair, red eyes, and a half-blue humanoid creature stood between him and Pain. It seemed this thing was what blocked the lingering force of the Almighty Push.
"What is that thing?!"
Juzo looked at the half-humanoid blue creature, his mouth agape and his expression one of great shock.
Spiritual Fire...
(End of Chapter)
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