"Hmph!"
"My strength is temporarily gone for now."
"If I were at my peak, would that brat Arisu dare act so wildly in front of me? He's just a kid. He's not worth mentioning at all!"
Uchiha Obito let out a cold snort, deliberately lowering his voice as he spoke in Uchiha Madara's signature proud and overbearing tone.
Beside him, the Venus Flytrap White Zetsu almost lost it after hearing those words.
But thanks to the strong self-control he had developed over years of working as an undercover spy, he easily kept a straight face.
The Deva Path Pain looked at Obito deeply but did not continue asking questions.
His relationship with this "Uchiha Madara" had always been nothing more than cooperation. Whether the other person was really the original Uchiha Madara was not important.
Nagato had long felt that something was wrong with this man's identity, but as long as he could serve the Akatsuki's plan, that was enough.
———
In a hidden forest far away from the Hidden Rain Village, Arisu successfully escaped with Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo's body using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After landing, Tsunade watched Arisu skillfully handling Sakumo's body before finally asking,
"Husband, why didn't you take the chance to kill the Akatsuki leader? Wouldn't that have seriously damaged the whole organization?"
Without stopping, Arisu carefully used medical ninjutsu to preserve Hatake Sakumo's body.
"I sensed the other Akatsuki members rapidly approaching this place. To avoid getting dragged into an unnecessary battle, I chose to retreat first.", Arisu answered.
Of course, that was only the reason on the surface.
Naturally, he did not tell Tsunade the real reason.
He needed to keep the Akatsuki around for now so he could follow the clues and uncover everything behind the scenes.
For example, who had given Madara the stone tablet that recorded the Eye of the Moon Plan?
Besides, half of the Akatsuki members were his own people.
There was no need to worry about things going beyond his control.
He was completely confident that he could control the whole situation, so there was no need to rush.
Tsunade looked at Arisu in surprise, admiration flashing across her eyes.
"I see... I thought there would be another big battle. I didn't expect you to be this strong, Husband."
"The Akatsuki leader couldn't even fight back against you."
Arisu smiled without saying anything more and simply patted her shoulder gently.
———
At the same time, inside the Akatsuki base's lounge in the Hidden Rain Village, the atmosphere was rather gloomy.
"I didn't expect the old man to leave just like that. Looks like the time still isn't right..."
Kakuzu sat alone in a corner, silently thinking to himself while habitually counting the stack of bills he had worked so hard to save.
Just as he reached one of the bills, something strange happened.
Several black words slowly appeared on it.
"Come to the restroom."
Kakuzu's heart jumped, and his pupils shrank.
He quickly narrowed his eyes and cautiously looked around. After making sure no one had noticed, he calmly stood up and casually walked toward the restroom.
The moment he pushed the restroom door open, he saw the familiar figure already standing there quietly.
"Old Man, I knew it was you."
A rare smile appeared on Kakuzu's face, and his voice carried both respect and closeness.
Arisu smiled slightly and nodded.
"Kakuzu, you've done well. You're already Akatsuki's finance manager. Looks like you've been doing pretty well all these years."
Kakuzu gave an embarrassed smile and scratched his head.
"I was just bored. It was only something to pass the time. Since you've come in person this time, what orders do you have?"
Looking at him, Arisu smiled.
"I just came to see you."
Hearing that, Kakuzu unexpectedly blushed slightly and lowered his head.
"What's there to see..."
Arisu froze for a moment before stepping closer.
The two looked each other in the eyes.
"What? You're blushing? I'm not even embarrassed, so why are you? Alright, hurry back before people get suspicious.", Arisu said with a teasing smile.
Kakuzu felt warmth in his heart.
So the old man had really come just to see him.
Kakuzu hurried out of the restroom with a red face.
As soon as he returned to the lounge, Sasori, who was quietly repairing a puppet nearby, noticed him.
Sasori slightly raised his cold eyes and thought to himself, he only went to the restroom. 'Why is Kakuzu's face so red... Strange.'
Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi sat quietly in a corner, elegantly eating dango.
Kisame leaned beside him with a smile, calling him "Itachi-san" over and over in a friendly tone.
As he ate, Itachi suddenly paused slightly, as if he had sensed some hidden fluctuation.
Without showing anything on his face, he put down the dango, slowly stood up, and casually walked toward the restroom.
"Itachi-san! Where are you going?"
Kisame immediately tried to follow him.
Itachi glanced back at him, his calm voice carrying a hint of coldness.
"I'm going to the restroom. Are you going to watch that too?"
"Ah? Hahaha, go ahead, go ahead."
Kisame immediately laughed awkwardly, scratched the back of his head, and stopped following.
After entering the restroom, Itachi immediately knelt on one knee and respectfully lowered his head.
"Lord Arisu."
Arisu stood there with his hands behind his back and spoke gently.
"No need for that. This place is too dirty. You've been in Akatsuki for so long. Is there anything you need to report?"
Itachi nodded.
"I didn't expect you to come personally. Akatsuki's leader, Pain, really does possess the Rinnegan. I've also noticed that Akatsuki itself isn't united."
"On the surface, Pain is the leader, but the one truly controlling everything behind the scenes is someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara.", Itachi reported everything he knew.
"Then what do you think? Is he the real Uchiha Madara?" Arisu asked.
"I think it's very likely. He knows too many things about the Uchiha Clan. There are many secrets that even I don't know.", Itachi answered seriously.
Arisu did not ask any further and simply nodded.
"Besides that, there are serious conflicts within Akatsuki. That man claiming to be Uchiha Madara doesn't fully trust me either. He deliberately assigned Kisame to monitor everything I do.", Itachi continued reporting.
Arisu nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good, Itachi. Continue staying undercover, and be careful to protect yourself."
Hearing that, Itachi hesitated for a moment before quietly asking, "My younger brother... has he been doing well lately?"
Arisu answered gently, "He's doing very well. He now has his own bonds and has become friends with Naruto, the Hokage's son."
"In the future, maybe your younger brother can give it a try too."
Joy welled up inside Itachi.
A faint smile rarely appeared on his face, and a gentle light flashed deep within his Sharingan.
Naturally, "give it a try" meant trying for the position of Hokage.
Itachi left the restroom in a good mood.
Sasori raised an eyebrow and immediately noticed that Itachi seemed to be in an unusually good mood.
After only one trip to the restroom, someone who was always cold-faced actually had a faint smile?
Just then, Tobi hurried into the restroom as well.