Akatsuki Base.
"Achoo!"
Nagato sneezed once again.
The violent movement caused pain to spread through his already frail body.
Inside the dim chamber, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path loomed silently behind him while Konan stood nearby.
"Not a single report..."
Nagato muttered.
"What are they all doing? Have they collectively decided to slack off?"
Although he said it jokingly, he didn't truly believe it.
The Akatsuki members were all dangerous S-rank missing-nin. Even if their personalities were problematic, none of them were the type to neglect an important mission.
Could the Tailed Beasts be stronger than expected?
That shouldn't be possible.
Each team had been assigned targets suited to their abilities.
Even if the battles were difficult, victory should still be achievable.
Nagato frowned slightly.
In the end, all he could do was continue waiting.
The next day.
Hidan and Kakuzu returned to the Akatsuki base.
Both appeared bruised and battered.
Their clothes were torn.
Their faces were swollen.
They looked as if they had narrowly escaped death.
Pain stared at the pair.
Then his gaze moved behind them.
Nothing.
No Jinchūriki.
No Tailed Beast.
No good news.
"Where is the Jinchūriki?"
Pain's voice became noticeably colder.
Kakuzu and Hidan exchanged a glance.
The performance began.
"Boss!"
Kakuzu's face immediately became serious.
"We were attacked."
"The Jinchūriki was stolen."
"What?!"
Pain's expression instantly changed.
Attacked?
The Jinchūriki was stolen?
Who could possibly interfere with Akatsuki's plans?
And who possessed enough strength to defeat both Kakuzu and Hidan simultaneously?
Kakuzu took a deep breath.
Then, with the acting skills of a veteran performer, he began his story.
"It was Uchiha chinatsu!"
"We had already cornered the Four-Tails Jinchūriki. Victory was right in front of us."
"Then Uchiha chinatsu suddenly appeared."
"Her eyes were blood-red."
"She didn't say a single word."
"She pulled out a kunai and immediately started stabbing people in the waist."
"Boss, if Hidan and I weren't immortal, you wouldn't be seeing us today."
Kakuzu's voice trembled emotionally.
Hidan even nodded repeatedly beside him.
Pain fell silent.
The name echoed repeatedly inside his mind.
Uchiha chinatsu.
One of the last surviving members of the Uchiha Clan.
A Konoha genius.
The older sister of Sasuke Uchiha.
A ninja rumored to possess Wood Release and numerous forbidden techniques.
Pain had heard reports about her before.
However, he had never taken those rumors seriously.
After all
How powerful could a teenage girl really be?
Could she be stronger than the Six Paths of Pain?
Could she possess greater power than Shinra Tensei?
But now...
After hearing Kakuzu's report...
Pain's opinion changed slightly.
Being able to defeat Kakuzu and Hidan together was no small achievement.
"I understand."
"You may rest."
Pain disappeared in a burst of chakra.
The moment he left, Kakuzu and Hidan exchanged glances.
Their lips twitched.
Both nearly burst out laughing.
Meanwhile.
Far away in Amegakure.
Nagato slowly opened his eyes.
His expression had become serious.
Konan immediately noticed.
"Nagato?"
"What happened?"
Nagato looked toward the rain-covered sky.
"Someone is interfering with our Tailed Beast collection."
"Kakuzu and Hidan were defeated."
Konan frowned.
"Should I investigate personally?"
Nagato shook his head.
"No."
"Hidan and Kakuzu losing doesn't mean much."
"We still have Sasori."
"Deidara."
"Kisame."
"And the others."
"They'll bring us good news."
Nagato spoke confidently.
Three days later.
The entrance to the Akatsuki base burst open.
"Boss!!!"
Deidara's voice echoed throughout the cavern.
Pain slowly looked up.
Then froze.
Deidara was covered in injuries.
Sasori looked even worse.
One of his puppet arms was gone.
Several mechanisms within his puppet body had been destroyed.
He looked as if he had barely survived.
Pain suddenly felt a very bad feeling.
The next moment
That feeling became reality.
"Boss!"
"That Uchiha chinatsu is completely unreasonable!"
Deidara nearly cried.
"We were hunting the Three-Tails."
"Then she suddenly appeared!"
"She said Akatsuki was nothing special."
"She said you're a weakling."
"And she said after finding our base she'd destroy it by herself!"
Pain's forehead immediately twitched.
Konan's expression also became strange.
The atmosphere in the room grew noticeably heavier.
Uchiha chinatsu.
Again.
Why was it always Uchiha chinatsu?
Pain clenched his fists.
Still
He restrained himself.
There was no need to panic.
After all, Kisame and Itachi were still active.
Compared to the others, those two were truly elite combatants.
One week later.
The entrance opened once again.
Kisame Hoshigaki knelt on one knee before Pain.
"Boss."
"Itachi Uchiha is dead."
"...."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Pain stared blankly ahead.
For several seconds, he genuinely thought he had heard wrong.
Itachi Uchiha.
Dead?
That monster among monsters?
The man who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Dead?
Pain's voice became slightly hoarse.
"Kisame..."
"What happened?"
Kisame lowered his head.
"Itachi fought his younger brother."
"Sasuke Uchiha."
"And lost."
Pain remained silent.
His expression changed repeatedly.
Sasuke killed Itachi.
The younger brother of Uchiha chinatsu killed Itachi.
Was there really a difference?
They were obviously working together.
Pain's hands slowly tightened.
Then he asked the question he feared most.
"And the Tailed Beasts?"
Kisame remained silent.
The answer was obvious.
Another failure.
Nagato nearly coughed up blood through the chakra receiver connection.
Since the beginning of the operation
Not a single piece of good news had arrived.
Every report was worse than the last.
His organization was suffering continuous setbacks.
His Tailed Beast collection plan had practically stalled.
Most importantly
Every disaster somehow involved the same person.
Uchiha chinatsu.
"Uchiha chinatsu..."
"Uchiha chinatsu..."
Pain repeated the name several times.
His voice grew colder each time.
"This woman cannot be allowed to continue living."
After nearly ten minutes, Nagato finally calmed down.
Then he noticed something strange.
Something didn't make sense.
The Tailed Beasts were scattered throughout the ninja world.
The battles happened in different countries.
The timing was different.
The locations were different.
How could Uchiha chinatsu appear everywhere?
Unless
There was a spy inside Akatsuki.
Pain's eyes slowly swept across the room.
Hidan.
Kakuzu.
Deidara.
Sasori.
Kisame.
Who was it?
Who was feeding information to Konoha?
The room fell silent.
One minute later.
Pain slowly exhaled.
Forget it.
There was no point searching.
If there truly was a traitor, he would uncover them eventually.
For now
He would solve the problem directly.
The strongest weapon of Akatsuki was not its members.
It was Pain himself.
"Since Uchiha chinatsu wants to interfere with Akatsuki..."
"Then I'll personally deal with her."
Five figures instantly appeared beside Pain.
The Deva Path.
The Asura Path.
The Human Path.
The Animal Path.
The Preta Path.
Together with the Naraka Path hidden within Amegakure, they formed the complete Six Paths of Pain.
Each possessed abilities capable of overwhelming entire armies.
Together
They could destroy a Great Ninja Village.
Pain slowly stood.
A terrifying pressure spread throughout the chamber.
"Perfect."
"Konoha still possesses the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Since Uchiha chinatsu wants to protect him..."
"Then we'll capture both of them at the same time."
The Six Paths of Pain moved.
Their figures vanished into the darkness.
Far away.
In Konoha.
A certain girl was still happily planning how to scam more Akatsuki members into changing jobs.
A great battle was about to begin.
Or perhaps...
A great disaster for Akatsuki was about to begin.
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