"Kisame! Are you betraying me?"
Hearing Kisame's words, Pain was furious. He hadn't even decided if he'd agree to meet Madara yet, and Kisame was already offering help.
Was this not respecting him as leader?
Nagato was enraged.
Kisame naturally couldn't sense the anger radiating from a corpse, nor did he care.
With an evil grin on his face, he said, "Nagato, you should realize yourself that ever since Obito died, the entire organization has been stagnant. We need a new leader! Someone needs to guide us again!"
Nagato became even angrier.
This person in front of him was just a corpse.
What qualifications did he have to be Akatsuki's leader?
Just because he also carried the name 'Madara Uchiha'?
"Pain, don't get in my way."
Wanting to express his loyalty to Madara Uchiha, Kisame drew his large sword Samehada and attacked Pain.
Pain coldly met the attack head-on.
Madara Uchiha watched this scene with amusement.
Beside him, Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha exchanged glances.
They looked kinda stunned but silently chose not to step in.
Still thinking about what they just talked about, Sasuke spoke up, "Itachi, where are those Jinchuriki? Take me to them."
"You really want to kill them?" Itachi Uchiha asked in return.
"Yes," Sasuke nodded. "I can't let her regain her power so quickly!"
Itachi hesitated momentarily before deciding to accompany him searching for them.
"Stop right there!"
Having overheard their conversation, Madara Uchiha stepped forward to block them.
To him, the Ten-Tails was his alone — how could he let anyone stand in the way?
Sasuke frowned.
He truly couldn't understand what this newly emerged 'Madara Uchiha's' intentions were.
"Listen well, Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha - if you both wish to achieve your goals or escape suffering, your only choice is to follow me and pledge allegiance under my command!
"I will unite the entire world, bringing forth a transformation that will overturn everything."
Upon hearing such arrogant words, Sasuke was at a loss while Itachi Uchiha frowned alongside him.
Meanwhile, the conflict within the Country of Rain attracted other organization members.
Sasori of the Red Sands, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Konan successively arrived.
Madara Uchiha glanced at these individuals.
Seeing everyone had gathered, he no longer needed to seek each one out individually.
He simply needed to subdue all these people!
Realizing this, Madara Uchiha immediately unleashed his ultimate technique.
[Susano'o]
Sasuke and the other Akatsuki members were momentarily stunned.
"Ziiiii..."
A chakra blade gleamed through the air.
In the blink of an eye, there was a "thud."
Hidan's head rolled across the ground, eyes wide open in shock.
What just happened? He was merely here to watch the commotion—why had they targeted him?
Why was he so unlucky!
"Kakuzu... Kakuzu... help me! Save me!" Hidan shouted desperately.
"Hmph," Kakuzu merely chuckled mockingly.
"Itachi, who is he?" Sasori of the Red Sands, his voice raspy, turned to look at Itachi Uchiha.
"Itachi replied calmly.
Konan glanced at Susano'o's towering form, then at Kisame Hoshigaki who was stubbornly engaging Pain, her expression gradually darkening.
"The Akatsuki Organization should bow to me. Who agrees? Who objects?"
Madara Uchiha shouted arrogantly with authority from within his Susano'o after sheathing his sword. His voice thundered from within Susano'o.
"Why does this whole big shot show make me wanna laugh so bad?" White Zetsu mumbled while watching the spectacle not far away.
"I'm thinking. Don't disturb me," Black Zetsu coldly replied.
Once Nagato calmed down, he would definitely discover his trail.
He needed to think carefully about how to gain Madara Uchiha's trust.
"I object!" Konan immediately shouted angrily.
"I agree!" Kisame Hoshigaki spoke next.
He blocked one of Pain's attacks with Samehada and created distance, grinning slyly.
"Kakuzu, what are you waiting for? Get moving!"
Except for Hidan, who kept cursing, no one else voiced an opinion — they simply held back and slowly withdrew.
Pain's gaze remained cold as he flew into the sky, finally reaching eye level with Madara Uchiha inside Susano'o.
White paper wings unfurling from her back, Konan appeared beside Pain.
Immediately afterward—
Thud! Thud! Thud!—several sounds of falling bodies echoed.
Five more figures appeared on the battlefield.
They had been thrown here with each other's help.
The Six Paths of Pain were now fully gathered.
Madara Uchiha showed no fear whatsoever.
Even though Nagato possessed the Rinnegan while he merely had an artificial eye through Impure World Reincarnation, so what?
That eye originally belonged to him anyway. He understood the Rinnegan's powers all too well.
With Susano'o in hand, it was like squashing ants one by one.
Konan couldn't offer any assistance at all.
Falling into disadvantage, Pain silently thought: If I didn't have to focus part of my energy on controlling the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, things wouldn't be this bad...
Crack!
Another slash—and Madara Uchiha destroyed the Naraka Path's body.
Now, none of the remaining five could regenerate either.
"Any objections left?" Madara Uchiha roared.
Pain's Deva Path clothing was ragged, his heart heavy.
Except for him, all other clones lay broken on the ground.
Kisame Hoshigaki and others remained silent.
"Right now, Nagato, I give you two choices. First, use those Rinnegan eyes to resurrect me and keep some life force. Second, sacrifice your entire life force to activate Rinne Reincarnation Technique."
"You must be joking!"
Upon hearing Madara Uchiha's commanding tone, Konan felt extremely resentful.
Pia…
Purple light flashed…
Konan vanished.
Madara Uchiha swatted Konan aside again as she rushed toward him, continuing indifferently, "That pair of eyes originally came from me! How to use them isn't your decision."
"As for the plan to collect Tailed Beasts, continue executing it. I will become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki!"
"Wait, how do you plan to take down Kaguya?" Sasuke shouted.
"Who's Kaguya? Let him step up and fight!"
Madara Uchiha counter-asked. He mistook Kaguya mentioned by Sasuke as someone from the Akatsuki Organization who hadn't shown up yet.
Sasuke remained silent, thinking to himself, If he doesn't even know who Kaguya is, why is he fighting for control of the Ten-Tails?
"Lord Madara, 'Kaguya' is the person I told you about. She is Kaguya, Kaguya is her!"
At this moment, Zetsu suddenly appeared before everyone, his face returning to its original form.
Inside the tower, a pale-faced man coughed violently again, his eyes filled with icy hatred.
"Zetsu, so it's you causing all this trouble again," Pain said, looking at the black-and-white, split-personality figure standing before them.
Pain spoke up: "Uchiha... Madara... I agree to meet with you."
"The decision lies with me, not you!" Madara Uchiha coldly snorted.
...
Outside, sunlight beamed through the sky. But deep within a dark cave, pitch-black darkness loomed like an endless abyss. A chilling, damp air filled the space, sending involuntary shivers down anyone's spine.
Orochimaru stepped inside, immediately assaulted by a heavy stench of blood.
Glancing at the mountain of corpses piled up, Orochimaru sliced open his finger.
[Hand Seals formed], he pressed his hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A thick puff of smoke erupted.
A gigantic purple snake burst through the cave walls, letting light flood into the previously sealed cavern.
A cold, sinister voice echoed from the shadows.
"Orochimaru, what a crappy place!"
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