"Ahem, when it cos to tailed beasts, we have to start with the Sage of the Six Paths..."
Then, Obito began to tell Nagato about tailed beasts, vaguely ntioning that the Sage once summoned a huge Demonic Statue to seal them.
By the way, he also talked about the abilities of the Rinnegan to increase persuasiveness and make Nagato fully believe him.
Of course, the true origin of the tailed beasts, the role of the Outer Path Demonic Statue, and the news of the Otsutsuki clan — yeah, no way he was spilling that.
Nagato listened with that serious, tortured-hero look on his face. Then finally said:
"Hanzo. I don't need you to do it. I'm going to kill him myself."
"Yes," Obito replied without hesitation or objection.
"Do you have any suggestions for gathering people?"
Hearing this, Obito thought for a bit, then spoke.
"The 'more the better' approach won't work for this."
"We're going to collect tailed beasts. The people we gather can't be miscellaneous fodders... otherwise, they'll be dead weight in front of a tailed beast."
"In terms of manpower, I recomnd the Red Sand Scorpion and Kakuzu — both are famous ninjas. You can try to recruit them after dealing with Hanzo."
"How you convince them is up to you. My advice is: convince them first, then talk about your ideals."
"The Scorpion of the Red Sand and Immortal Kakuzu... I'll make a note of it. Anything else?"
Seeing this, Obito introduced White Zetsu:
"This guy's amazing. His combat power? Eh, not much. But his ability is... special."
"He can split into many clones, move freely through dirt and rock, and he's great at intel gathering."
"Just let him be the first mber outside of you and Konan."
"For an organization, I don't need to explain how important intel is... you literally just got fucked over from a lack of it."
After hearing White Zetsu's ability, Nagato stared at him for a mont, then nodded. "Yes."
He then turned to Obito again: "Won't you join?"
Obito tapped his temple and gestured to his Sharingan behind the mask. "I've got the most recognizable damn eyes in the world. I step outside and half of Konoha will be after my ass."
"Also, my na shouldn't be exposed yet."
"As a collaborator, I'll stay behind the scenes for now. You're still the leader of the organization."
Obito said it like it was nothing.
"Fine," Nagato agreed, then looked at Pain beside him. "But the leader of Akatsuki... will always be Yahiko."
'Creepy as fuck, dude. Is this guy a Yandere? Maybe gay? Who keeps their dead best friend as their leadership brand? Obito thought, eye twitching as he looked at Nagato.
"It's still called Akatsuki... fine, whatever."
Obito shrugged, then looked at Pain.
"You're already using the Rinnegan. Do you need my help for the rest?"
"No. I already have a goal."
"That's it, then."
Obito replied lightly, then turned to White Zetsu.
"From now on, you're a mber of the Akatsuki."
White Zetsu nodded, then imdiately turned to Nagato and shouted: "Chief!"
Konan remained silent the whole ti, only occasionally glancing between Nagato and Obito. Her eyes flickered as if she were contemplating sothing.
"I still have sothing to do, so I'll go first. If you need , just call."
After saying that, Obito turned to leave.
Just then, Konan crafted a paper flower with wings and silently sent it toward Obito as he was about to vanish.
Obito stopped when he saw the flower land in his robes, glancing sideways at Konan with the visible part of his face showing a small smile.
'Finally took the bait,' Obito thought, already expecting her contact.
After disappearing with Kamui, he didn't completely leave, instead, he warped to the location Konan had marked.
In Konan's private room in the Rain Village — a place even Nagato didn't peer into much out of respect for her privacy, Konan was anxiously waiting.
She kept folding paper: flowers, fans, wings anything her hands could make to keep herself occupied.
She suddenly sensed sothing and looked toward the corner of the room, where a swirling vortex appeared, and the masked man she knew erged.
Obito Uchiha appeared and was a bit taken aback. He didn't know if in the ani Nagato's range of perception even covered Konan's room, but now it didn't seem to.
Probably respecting her privacy?
Finally, Obito turned his attention to Konan, who had remained silent since he arrived.
"Didn't you ask here to talk about sothing important?" Obito said in a deep voice.
Konan really couldn't answer that.
Yes, she did call him here to et. But when they t... she didn't know where to start.
Should she say sorry for what Yahiko did? But... Yahiko had already paid with his life.
Bla Him? He had nothing to do with her friend's death.
Just as Konan was brooding, a cold, deep laugh broke her thoughts.
"Hahaha," Obito laughed slowly, then said in a deep tone:
"Did you call here to question ? Or do you an to question my motives?"
"N-No... that's not it. I—" Konan quickly responded, startled.
"Then did you perhaps call here... to fulfill your promise?" Obito's voice this ti was serious — no hint of playfulness.
"P-Promise?" Konan repeated, confused.
"Did you forget? Or do you want to forget?" Obito asked calmly, showing no anger... just a hint of disappointnt.
"No... I rember my promise. And... I'm not planning to go back on it. But..." Konan paused. She rembered the real reason Obito saved her.
"But?" Obito pressed, genuinely curious.
"I hope you won't betray Nagato. That's my only request," Konan said seriously, after taking a deep breath.
Gone was the naïve Konan. After Yahiko's death, sothing had changed. She couldn't trust so easily anymore... not even soone who had saved her.
"Hooo?" Obito raised a surprised voice. He was genuinely surprised but also expected this much. He knew she had suspicions.
But...
"Do you think my rescuing you was just 'tily'? A coincidence, perhaps?" Obito asked as he stepped closer and calmly sat on her bed.
"This... I—" Konan tried to reply, but Obito cut her off mid-sentence.
"It really... wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't luck either. I knew you were being targeted. And I saved you. Intentionally."
Obito said it casually, not hiding a damn thing.
---
PS: The total Power Stones are 523, and I already posted the bonus chapter (Chapter 10) for reaching 300 stones—I even ntioned it at the top of the chapter.
For the new goal, you guys have hit 139 stones in a single day! 🎉 (The previous total doesn't count toward this new goal.)
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