Uchiha Yasuo flipped himself over in midair and landed steadily, reached out, and wiped a handful across his face, wiping away the blood tears beneath his eyes.
He raised his head and looked at things again; sure enough, his vision was somewhat blurry, but under the nourishment of Yang Release, it soon recovered as before. Moreover, the eyeballs that had been damaged and then regrown had also received a certain degree of repair to their original defects.
What could be anticipated was that he only needed to go through this several more times, and his Mangekyō Sharingan would most likely be able to evolve on its own into the Eternal Mangekyō.
Pain descended bit by bit from the sky, separating the two from between them, and with a flick of his fingers, sent a ring before Uchiha Yasuo, speaking to Uchiha Yasuo in a matter-of-fact tone: "Put on this ring. From today onward, you are the eighth member of the Akatsuki, codename 'North.'"
"Within the Akatsuki, internal fighting is forbidden."
"I don't care what grudges you have with Uchiha Itachi; from now on, you are not allowed to engage in a death match with him again."
Pain stared fixedly at Uchiha Yasuo, clearly looking as though he would show him some color at the slightest disagreement.
Who would have thought that Uchiha Yasuo would unhesitatingly reach out, take the ring, put it on the middle finger of his left hand, and say with a broad grin: "'North,' hmm?"
"This ring really is quite fitting for me."
"Ahya, Leader, don't look at me like that!"
"Rest assured, I am very magnanimous!"
"Although I have a grudge with Itachi, revenge isn't something that necessarily requires killing him."
"Sometimes, being alive is worse than being dead!"
"Shut both eyes and know nothing—now that would be far too pleasant!"
"For a beast like him, killing him would be too cheap for him!"
"I will destroy his beloved Konohagakure and let him properly feel what is called hell."
"However, Leader, although I am very magnanimous and don't mind letting go of my grudge with him, it seems he doesn't have as much magnanimity as I do. His younger brother dies, and he acts as if life and death don't matter anymore."
"Jiejie…"
Upon hearing this, Pain turned his head and looked coldly toward Uchiha Itachi.
"Itachi, what is your attitude?"
Uchiha Itachi had veins bulging on his face, his jaw clenched tight, and he was panting violently. His Mangekyō Sharingan was locked dead-on at the grinning and smirking Uchiha Yasuo, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.
After this had continued for a short while, only when Pain was gradually starting to lose his patience did Uchiha Itachi slowly close his eyes, stretch out his sleeve to wipe away the blood tears beneath his eyes, and reply in a hoarse, low voice: "I understand."
"I will keep my emotions under control and will not casually engage in a death match with him."
"Very good." Pain nodded in satisfaction and turned his head to look at Uchiha Yasuo again.
"Since you have already joined the Akatsuki, stop continuing to use Itachi's face. Who exactly are you?"
Uchiha Yasuo then released the Transformation Technique and returned to his true appearance.
"My name is Uchiha Yasuo. I was originally an ordinary jōnin. With Itachi's 'help', I successfully awakened the Mangekyō."
"As thanks, I went ahead and chopped off his younger brother's head as well, to see if I could properly repay Itachi a little."
Seeing that Uchiha Yasuo again had the intention to provoke him, Pain furrowed his brows and barked: "Enough, stop provoking Itachi any further!"
"Everyone, return to the village and discuss how to deal with the retaliation that Konohagakure is about to launch."
Thinking that all of these things had been stirred up by the fellow before him, Pain could not help but feel annoyed in his heart and glared viciously at Uchiha Yasuo.
As a result, he saw Uchiha Yasuo suddenly raise his arm high and call out with a broad grin: "Leader, I want to report something!"
"Uchiha Itachi isn't someone who truly betrayed the village. He is a dog raised by Hiruzen and a spy sent out by Konohagakure!"
"If we're going to go to war with Konohagakure, we first have to clear out this spy!"
"Otherwise, without Konohagakure even having to come attack our doorstep, all the information on everyone in our Akatsuki will be leaked!"
Upon hearing this, Pain once again furrowed his brows.
But previously, when the two of them were engaged in their grudge killing and were emotionally agitated, all sorts of information had already been spilled.
He had also heard very clearly that Uchiha Itachi had indeed carried out the clan extermination plan under the orders of Konohagakure's higher-ups.
In that case, this so-called label of "rogue ninja" really did not stand up very well, and whether this person was worthy of trust was still very much in doubt.
Facing Pain's gaze full of doubt, Uchiha Itachi said coldly: "Perhaps before, I was not yet a rogue ninja of Konohagakure, but after this fellow made a scene by impersonating me, now even if I wanted not to be a rogue ninja, it would be impossible."
These words were indeed not wrong. If there were a ninja who killed the Hokage's grandson, abducted the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and directly and indirectly caused the deaths of a large group of elite ninja in the village, then he truly had no choice but to be a rogue ninja.
If someone in this situation could still receive Konohagakure's forgiveness, then that person would definitely be someone with deep background connections.
Pain nodded and delivered his final conclusion: "Itachi's identity is beyond question. Do not raise doubts about this again in the future."
Uchiha Yasuo curled his lips and said nothing.
Outsiders were incapable of understanding the obsession of a Mangekyō Uchiha; no explanation would be of any use.
The Mangekyō Sharingan itself did not follow reason. Using common sense to judge the logic of a Mangekyō Uchiha's actions was entirely wrong.
All Mangekyō Uchiha were madmen, without exception.
Without madness there was no survival; anyone not mad enough could not awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Seeing that Uchiha Yasuo was no longer speaking, Pain used the Body Flicker Technique to leave and returned to the village.
The others also returned to the village one after another, and Uchiha Yasuo followed behind them, arriving together in Amegakure.
The rain in the sky once again began to fall without end, pitter-pattering, as if Uchiha Itachi were crying.
Uchiha Yasuo, on the other hand, was in high spirits. All along the way, he glanced east and looked west, completely ignoring the killing intent-filled gaze coming from behind from time to time, as though Uchiha Itachi did not exist at all.
Very soon, everyone arrived atop the central tower. This was the dwelling place of the Gods and also the Akatsuki's lair.
After entering the conference hall, everyone sat down in order. Pain sat at the main seat, and the person sitting beside him, wearing a mask and revealing only one eye—with a blood-red Sharingan of three tomoe inside—was clearly Uchiha Obito.
Wasn't this fellow always lurking in the shadows causing trouble? Why had he appeared today?
Was it because he had introduced Uchiha Itachi into the organization?
Or did he think that the war with Konohagakure was about to erupt and thus no longer needed to remain hidden?
Not only did he have doubts—other members of the Akatsuki were also very puzzled, not knowing what background this suddenly appearing unfamiliar Uchiha came from.
As if sensing the crowd's confusion, Pain introduced: "This is a collaborator of the Akatsuki, one of the earliest founders of Konohagakure, who together with the First Hokage Senju Hashirama swept away the chaotic age and created the shinobi village system—a legendary figure of the shinobi world: Uchiha Madara!"
"Oh!" This name was so terrifying that it instantly stunned most of those present, who all drew in a sharp breath.
Had someone else introduced him, they absolutely would not have believed it. But Pain, of such boundless arrogance, claiming himself to be a God and placing no one in his eyes—now introducing this person with solemn seriousness made the man's identity seem immediately more credible.
Uchiha Obito put on an air of pretense and nodded, just about to speak a few words, when he suddenly heard a "pfft" beside him—Uchiha Yasuo had burst into laughter.
"Haha…" Uchiha Yasuo held his stomach with one hand, looking as if he were about to roll on the ground, while pointing at Uchiha Obito with the other, tears nearly coming out from laughing.
"This trash dares to call himself Uchiha Madara?"
"If he is Uchiha Madara, then I am the Sage of Six Paths Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo!"
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