A few days later, a major incident that occurred in the underground "Ruin" finally began to erupt and spread rapidly throughout the shinobi world.
First came the "earthquake" news—that Red-Sand Sasori, a rogue ninja from Sunagakure, had killed the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet!
Although Sunagakure claimed that Sasori had ambushed the Third Kazekage, even under those circumstances, his feat was impressive enough. Not to mention he displayed the Hundred Puppet Army, the ultimate skill of a puppet master, and took on both the Kazekage and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki all by himself!
In most people's eyes, Red-Sand Sasori had definitely reached the level of a Kage from the Five Great Hidden Villages.
Another major event was naturally Seiki's appearance at the ruins—single-handedly holding up a cave-in hundreds of meters underground.
You have to understand, that kind of commotion already rivaled the impact of a falling meteorite!
What followed was even more thrilling—he defeated Sasori, the man who had previously overwhelmed two great ninja villages alone, using nothing more than a spontaneously transformed giant.
The rookie ninjas who had just entered the shinobi world now saw Seiki as their idol, often imagining themselves saving everyone and ending wars singlehandedly.
In contrast, the Greer Stone itself didn't attract much attention, aside from a few exclamations of amazement—since only a small amount had actually been extracted.
As for that final mysterious Masked Man who appeared, there was hardly any information about him circulating in the shinobi world.
On one hand, most people didn't even realize they had fallen victim to Genjutsu, nor did they have a clear understanding of what actually happened.
On the other hand, for the two great hidden villages, this wasn't exactly a proud moment. Moreover, they didn't want to needlessly alert the Cloud and Mist Villages, so naturally, they had no intention of voluntarily spreading the details of what had occurred.
However, in the archives of Suna and Iwa, a new top-secret intelligence report on the Masked Man had indeed been added—with extremely high confidentiality!
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...
Inside the Illusory Space created by the Projection Technique.
Compared to the previous sparsely attended gathering, this time there were three more figures present, making things noticeably more lively.
"Besides me and him, there are seven others?" Sasori calmly surveyed the space after entering.
Soon, his gaze landed on a man whose eyes bore concentric rings—"So this is the Rinnegan?"
It wasn't just him. Kakuzu and Raiga Kurosuki, as newcomers, were also immediately drawn to Nagato's Rinnegan.
They were all ninja, so naturally curious about the legendary eyes said to belong to the original ancestor of ninjutsu.
Of course, they were equally surprised by this extraordinary method of gathering. Thanks to this technique, they could maintain communication across distances anytime while also ensuring the organization's security and secrecy. At the very least, they no longer had to fear a traitor exposing the entire organization.
Yahiko coughed twice and cleared his throat. "Our organization has finally grown again! Why don't the three new recruits go ahead and introduce yourselves? Better to avoid any internal conflicts down the road."
"I'll start first."
"Allow me to introduce myself," Raiga Kurosuki said with a proud glance at the group. "My name is Raiga Kurosuki. I used to be one of the [Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist], and now I'm a rogue ninja from Mist. As for my skills... I'm all about blade techniques and Lightning Release!"
Raiga spoke with obvious pride. After all, being part of the [Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist] definitely made him a major figure in the shinobi no sekai. Joining a small outfit like this should make him stand out, right?
Moreover, those two strange-looking individuals who invited him had specifically explained that his future role in the organization would be as a combatant. Didn't this prove his strength was among the best within the group?
Yet, aside from one particular individual who gave him a slightly surprised glance, the others reacted rather calmly.
This really bugged Raiga; they weren't supposed to react like this!
Then, someone in the middle cut straight to the point. "Kakuzu. Takumi Rogue Ninja. My hobby is money. That's all."
"That's him!" Raiga noticed that this was the very person who had glanced at him earlier.
"I heard he was also beaten up by Seiki Shimaseki!" Raiga mused inwardly, finally understanding why Kakuzu had looked at him that way just now. It was the look of someone sharing the same misfortune!
"Still, this guy doesn't seem too weak either!"
Finally, Sasori calmly introduced himself. "Sasori. Puppet Master. My hobby is creating puppets."
When Raiga heard Sasori's introduction, he couldn't help but ask, "Sasori? You mean the Red-Sand Sasori who's been causing a stir in the Ruins lately?"
Sasori gave him a cold glance. "Being manipulated counts as making a name for oneself?"
Raiga replied with the air of someone with experience, "Oh well, being manipulated by Seiki Shimaseki isn't anything to be ashamed of."
Kakuzu also coldly added, "That's true enough."
Raiga nodded in complete agreement. "I successfully assassinated him and escaped after my first attempt, but by the second time... well, I didn't even have the courage—or rather, the desire—to fight anymore!"
Kakuzu's eyes turned even colder. "Even when I fought against Hashirama Senju, I never suffered such a humiliating defeat!"
A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Sasori's mouth. What was going on with this organization? Had it suddenly turned into some kind of support group for the unfortunate?
If he didn't share a bit about his own misfortunes, wouldn't he seem too unsociable?
Just then, Raiga casually asked another question. "By the way, I heard you were rescued by someone when you were captured. Was that person also part of this organization?"
Aizen gave a gentle smile. "That was me."
"This guy not only escaped from Seiki Shimaseki's grasp, but also rescued Sasori!" Kakuzu's pupils suddenly constricted. As someone who had been instantly defeated by Seiki Shimaseki, he felt he was quite qualified to judge this matter.
At this moment, Obito suddenly spoke up with feigned innocence. "Oh my, how impressive indeed, senpai. You actually rescued Sasori from that man! However, doesn't this expose our organization to the open?"
Yahiko frowned slightly, just about to speak when Aizen suddenly sighed. "Indeed, it was quite unfortunate. Unexpectedly, he actually detected me. He even said something about smelling a long-forgotten, detestable aura on me. How strange, 'long-forgotten'... as far as I know, we've only met for the first time today!"
Upon hearing Aizen's words, Obito and the other five were all taken aback.
"Hey old man, did he really say that?"
"At the time, not many people paid attention, but there should be quite a few who heard it!"
Yahiko and his two companions couldn't help but doubt themselves. "Disgusting? Could he have meant us? That shouldn't be possible, right?"
Obito was puzzled as well. "My former identity shouldn't have made sempai dislike me... Could it be he noticed that battle between me and Minato Namikaze?"
Of the five, the most panicked one was actually Black Zetsu. "What the hell? That bastard found me again? Again? Seriously?"
Having secretly been watching Yahiko's group and Obito all along, he clearly knew that Seiki Shimaseki's words about disgust couldn't possibly refer to them—it was directed at him, Black Zetsu!
Back then, when he manipulated Magze to stir up trouble, he was exposed after Seiki Shimaseki detected him.
Therefore, since then, he had deliberately avoided any direct contact with Seiki Shimaseki. Yet who could've predicted that this time, even his connection with Aizen had also been discovered.
How was he supposed to play this game now?
His first layer of disguise—the regular Akatsuki member "Zetsu" getting exposed wasn't a big deal. The real problem was, he might now even lose his second layer of disguise—the consciousness entity of Madara Uchiha.
After all, during the chaos he caused in Hozuki Castle, the identity of Madara Uchiha's consciousness hadn't even come into existence yet!
Thinking about this, Black Zetsu broke into a cold sweat.
His cover was about to be blown. What should he do?
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