Naruto quickly followed Kakuzu into Amegakure.
Since this village was perpetually shrouded in rain, and Nagato possessed a unique ability to monitor every place touched by precipitation, before entering, Kakuzu had sternly warned Naruto that no matter what, he mustn't expose his identity as the Kyubi's Jinchuriki.
Of course, bringing the Kyubi's Jinchuriki back should have been a good thing. However, Kakuzu had his own reasons for keeping it a secret and he even wanted to let the Kyubi's Jinchuriki join the organization without the leader knowing.
Kakuzu felt that no matter how many hearts he had, it wouldn't be enough to survive the leader's wrath if this went wrong.
After listening to Kakuzu's words, Naruto patted his chest and said confidently, "Don't worry about me, I've got this."
'But even if I was exposed, it wouldn't be a big deal.'
'The Rinnegan?'
'Who doesn't have one?'
'I, Ichigo Kurosaki, has orange hair and the Rinnegan. No matter how you look at it, I am very qualified to be the next leader of the Akatsuki.'
"Kurosaki Ichigo..."
"We're here."
"Yeah."
Naruto nodded, then pulled out a scratched Kusagakure's forehead protector from his pocket and tied it around his neck.
It can be said that his current identity has no flaws.
After all, both Kusagakure and the Land of Grass were gone, so there is no evidence.
Naruto had even prepared his backstory:
The evil Orochimaru created a world-ending catastrophe and destroyed his own village, and then the righteous Akatsuki organization saved him...
Hmm...
Naruto felt like he had already gotten into the role just by thinking about it.
At this time, Sasori and Deidara had just walked out of the base and were walking straight toward them.
They hadn't spoken a single word since stepping outside.
Because if they quarreled here, Pain would inevitably hear things he shouldn't hear, so the two planned to walk out of Amegakure before having a fight.
But when they saw the young man next to Kakuzu, they stopped at the same time.
Because...
They sensed that familiar power again.
The same energy as the Gelel's Stone that had mysteriously vanished two years ago.
Deidara knew that this kind of thing would be very useful for the Scientific Truth Society, as it could allow them to completely abandon the traditional Chakra System.
And Sasori understands this power better.
Because Temujin has joined the Cult Mechanicus and has given a detailed explanation of the abilities of the Gelel's Stone.
But when it comes to where the veins go, Temujin remained tight-lipped.
Considering who had been present at the time, a large number of people within the Cult Mechanicus felt that the Gelel's Vein was most likely in the possession of their Cult Leader.
That is to say...
'This orange-haired guy is the Cult Leader!?'
'That's great!'
'Cult Leader Naruto did not abandon our church after all!'
Thinking of this, Sasori quickly stepped forward and made the Cult Mechanicus's gesture of praying with both hands raised high in front of him, while whispering softly, "Long live the Mechanicus."
Naruto: "…"
Hearing Sasori say this, Naruto almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
'What kind of Hydra-esque secret code is this?'
'How come I was recognized by this guy Sasori when I haven't even joined the Akatsuki yet?!'
Kakuzu's expression turned strange, and he instinctively pulled Naruto away from Sasori.
He was worried this cultist might scam his boss out of his money.
However, a ridiculous idea suddenly occurred to Kakuzu.
'Wait... Could it be that the Kyubi's Jinchuriki knows Sasori?!'
'No way, right?'
'Could it be that Sasori and Deidara have been acting so strangely over the years because they've already defected?'
Naruto ignored Sasori, pretending not to notice as he continued following Kakuzu. Meanwhile, Sasori and Deidara exchanged glances and silently trailed behind them.
One wanted to figure out why his Cult Leader was here, and the other wanted to get his hands on the Gelel's Stone.
Before the four could enter, they saw Pain appeared at the entrance, looking coldly at Kakuzu and Naruto with his Rinnegan.
"Kakuzu."
"Who is he?"
Nagato is furious now.
Not only did the organization have subordinates like Sasori and Deidara who were slacking off, but it even the usually reliable Kakuzu had brought an outsider into the organization.
To put it in a broader sense, it was an active exposure of their Akatsuki, and it was no exaggeration to say that Kakuzu has betrayed the Akatsuki.
"Leader, this young man wants to join our organization."
"I specially..."
Bang…
Before Kakuzu could finish, he was sent flying as if struck by an invisible force.
"You sold out the organization for money?"
Hidden in the dark, Nagato's chest was about to explode with anger.
He didn't need to think hard to figure that Kakuzu had brought this guy in for money.
'If someone with an interest in this matter just spent some money to find out, wouldn't they know everything about the organization?!'
'Damn it!'
'Why do I feel like the organization has more and more problems recently?!'
Naruto ignored Kakuzu, who had just been sent flying, and instead passionately shouted at Pain, "Greetings, Leader!"
"I am Kurosaki Ichigo, a Shinobi from the Kusagakure who has been training for two and a half years."
"Two years ago, this organization saved my life..."
"Please let me join you in saving the world!"
"My dream is world peace!"
As Naruto finished his self-introduction, the place suddenly became extremely quiet, and everyone could still hear the cawing of crows in the forest.
After hearing this, Sasori and Kakuzu almost couldn't hold back their expression.
Both of them knew the true identity of the 'Kurosaki Ichigo' in front of them.
'You, the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, actually came to join an organization that was preparing to capture Jinchuriki...'
'How the hell does that make any sense?!'
Kakuzu, in particular, was beyond speechless.
Before they arrived, he had told his boss not to use this kind of story.
He always feels that when the leader hears the other party say something about joining the righteous Akatsuki, he will fly up and use a Chibaku Tensei on the spot.
And sure enough…
When Nagato heard what the young man in front of him said, he was completely frozen for a full two minutes.
Memories flashed through his mind, which is the early days of Akatsuki, Yahiko's death, his own ascension as a god, and now his plan to gather the Biju to make the world understand pain and cherish peace.
When he thought about it… the Akatsuki was indeed a righteous organization.
It was just misunderstood by the world!
Now, after hearing this young man's self-introduction and hearing that his dream was world peace, Nagato suddenly became curious about him.
Staring at that bright orange hair, he almost saw a reflection of Yahiko in this young man.
"We don't take in useless trash."
In order to maintain his dignity as the leader, Nagato coldly responded, and then gave Ichigo a chance to join the organization.
"However… I'll give you a chance."
"Kurosaki Ichigo, you will accompany Sasori and Deidara."
"If you successfully assist in capturing the Ichibi's Jinchuriki, Gaara, you will be considered a member of Akatsuki."
Nagato looked at the slackers, Sasori and Deidara, his eyes full of disappointment.
He planned to let this newcomer put some pressure on these two guys.
Maybe then they'd stop slacking off all the time.
When Naruto heard this assessment mission, his face suddenly twitched.
He suddenly felt so sorry for his senior brother.
After all, Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu are all traitors!
And now Pain was sending him, a traitor, along with two other traitors to capture Gaara?!
Naruto couldn't help but feel bad for Nagato, 'It must not have been easy for Senior Brother all these years. Saving the world from time to time, while completely unaware that his own organization is crawling with moles…'
'Sigh…'
'Don't worry, Senior Brother.'
'I will definitely become a qualified member of the Akatsuki!'
Putting aside the question of how exactly they were supposed to capture Gaara, Naruto immediately accepted the mission.
"Understood, Leader!"
"I won't let you down!!"