Chapter 81: The Unreliable
At the peak of the tallest iron tower in the Hidden Rain Village, the corpse of Yugito, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, was discarded on the ground like trash. Junior Akatsuki members carefully carried it away for disposal, none daring to disturb the leader standing at the front, gazing into the curtain of rain.
A pitcher plant–like figure, Black Zetsu, slowly emerged from the ground.
"Kakuzu and Hidan have lost contact," he reported in a low voice. "They're most likely dead. Renji and Hasumi Maki also appear to be dead."
"Understood," Pain said, his back still turned.
Pain offered no reaction. Seeing no emotion from the controlled body, Black Zetsu sank back into the ground.
There were too many suspicious details in the report—he wouldn't die that easily. Pain thought.
Shortly after, Konan's paper form fluttered into place beside Pain.
"I never expected Hasumi Maki to die too…" she sighed, though it was a meaningless gesture. She wasn't sad; aside from Nagato, she cared for no one. It was merely an observation about the suddenness of death, especially for someone as strong as Maki.
Pain slowly turned his head, his ethereal Rinnegan eyes gazing past her into the unlit darkness at the tower's summit. Konan followed his gaze but saw nothing.
"He's not dead," Pain said in his usual, cold tone.
Almost as soon as he spoke, a mad, familiar laugh echoed from the shadows.
"Hahahahaha... Did you miss me?"
Both Pain and Konan felt a sudden weight as Hasumi Maki appeared behind them, arms wrapping around their shoulders, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1000]
[Chakra (138,350,002 / 200,000,000)]
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1000]
[Chakra (138,351,002 / 200,000,000)]
"You're not dead?" Konan's tone held genuine astonishment.
Maki met her gaze, raising an eyebrow. "Are you very disappointed?"
Konan shook her head. Being alive was always worth celebrating, but her usual silence made her seem distant.
"What exactly happened?" Pain asked.
"Leader, don't you know?" Maki complained, stroking his chin. "Many people in Akatsuki want me dead."
"I thought you knew," Pain said indifferently.
Konan added, "Everyone probably wishes you dead."
"No, no, no," Maki waved his hand earnestly. "It's not that playful 'oh, I wish he were dead' kind of thing while secretly not wanting to lose me. There are people in Akatsuki who are afraid I'll expose their secrets—and they genuinely want me dead."
Konan turned her face away, disgusted by his words.
"Now I really do want you dead."
Pain silently agreed.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +2000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +2000]
[Chakra (138,353,002 / 200,000,000)]
"I killed Renji," Hasumi Maki announced proudly, as if a fox's tail were wagging behind him.
"You're amazing?" Konan said tentatively.
"No need to worship me, Konan." Maki's smile widened. "If you admire me that much, I wouldn't be entirely against accepting you…"
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +2000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +2000]
[Chakra (138,355,002 / 200,000,000)]
Pain, unwilling to listen to Maki's obnoxious flirting, interrupted. "Black Zetsu said you were all dead."
Maki shook his head, suddenly sounding profound and mysterious.
"That was false information I released. Not only that—my undercover agent has successfully infiltrated Konoha."
Konan looked at him in surprise. Maki was efficient, one of the few in the organization with a brain, unlike the battle maniacs.
"According to my agent's latest report," Maki said, eyes gleaming with ill intent, "Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, is on his way to the Hidden Rain Village. He should arrive by noon."
A brief ripple passed through Konan's eyes, but it vanished instantly.
"I have one request," Maki said, patting both their shoulders. "Leave Jiraiya to me."
Pain agreed without hesitation.
"Oh, right," Maki added, eyes glinting with malice, "remember to keep the news of my survival secret. That way, you'll see who becomes... reckless... after my 'death.' Go tell the others the good news."
Pain glanced at him, closed his eyes, and formed hand seals.
In a remote cave, the spectral projections of the Akatsuki gathered.
"Why aren't Hidan and Kakuzu here?" Kisame rumbled. "Hasumi Maki isn't here either…"
"Hasumi Maki is dead," Pain announced into the murmuring.
The cave fell silent.
"No wonder..." Kisame was the first to speak, a strange smile on his lips. "Fewer and fewer people, aren't there?"
Deidara looked dazed, his throat tight. "Impossible, yeah. That guy... how could he die?"
Uchiha Itachi's eyes flickered. "How did he die?"
"He died at the hands of his younger brother, Renji," Pain said.
Black Zetsu added, "Of course, his brother also died. They killed each other."
Itachi fell silent.
"Leader, let me officially join Akatsuki! Leader!" Tobi jumped around Pain excitedly.
"All right," Pain said, staring at the masked man. "From today on, you'll be partners with Deidara."
"Yay! That's great! Deidara-senpai!"
Only Tobi's cheerful voice echoed through the cave.
...
Deep beneath Amegakure, in the pitch-black silence of an underground chamber, candlelight flickered—two shadows now cast where once there had been only one.
Hasumi Maki rested in a rocking chair, his long blue hair spilling over the armrest. The dim candlelight brushed across his pale skin, giving him an almost serene, otherworldly calm as he sat there with his eyes closed
Black Zetsu stared, mind hazy. 'So similar... His brother and Mother are so similar. Compared to him, I don't even look like her child.'
Maki beckoned to him. A surge of joy welled up in Black Zetsu's heart as it walked to his brother's side. It knew things weren't that simple—Hasumi Maki couldn't have died at the hands of a mere clone.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +1000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +1000]
[Chakra (138,356,002 / 200,000,000)]
A hand suddenly pressed down on Black Zetsu's head, squeezing it like a rubber ball. Renji's relaxed smile said everything—as if a major concern had just been resolved.
"Renji is dead," Black Zetsu guessed.
Hasumi Maki's smile widened. He patted Black Zetsu's head again. "I finally killed him…" he sighed.
Black Zetsu felt relief, but confusion quickly followed. "Why declare yourself dead to the outside world? That identity was useful."
"Do you know Danzo Shimura?" Maki asked.
Black Zetsu nodded. Its scheming mind quickly pieced it together. "Is brother planning to use him?"
"Nagato is unreliable," Maki said flatly. "Uchiha Obito is also unreliable. We must make foolproof preparations. The Nine-Tails... I want to hold it in my own hand."
He slowly opened his eyes, gleaming with determination. "Once Danzo becomes Hokage, he'll imprison the Jinchūriki. I'll make my move then."
"Why do you think Nagato is unreliable?" Black Zetsu asked. "He's been diligently capturing the Tailed Beasts."
Maki snorted. "Besides you and me, no one in this world is reliable—because only we truly want to rescue Mother."
His cold indifference paradoxically made Black Zetsu feel at ease. It didn't yet understand the power of a protagonist's talk-no-jutsu. It didn't know that Nagato and Obito would eventually betray them. Renji would make it understand that the only truly reliable person was him—his 'brother' from the same mother...
Only extreme trust could breed extreme malice.
...
Amegakure
A toad emerged from a waterway, its mouth opening wide to let Jiraiya out. He had successfully infiltrated.
Looking at the steel forest of the Hidden Rain Village, he put on his waterproof cloak and entered the village. He stopped at a small ramen shop, its warm yellow light a comfort amid the endless rain.
"You look like a new face," the woman at the counter said, scrutinizing him. "A foreigner?"
Jiraiya removed his hood, flashing a bright smile. "Something like that. I'm a travel writer. Your buns are delicious!"
His easygoing attitude quickly dissolved her suspicion, and she laughed.
Jiraiya looked around. "This area seems peaceful. Everyone I met said it was chaotic."
"That's all thanks to Lord Pain!" the woman clasped her hands in prayer. "We're endlessly grateful!"
"Pain…" Jiraiya frowned. The name was unfamiliar. "What happened to Hanzo?"
The woman, old and hard of hearing, asked, "What?"
But as soon as Jiraiya repeated the name "Hanzo," the atmosphere changed. The pedestrians froze, their gazes fixed on him.
He had no choice but to leave quickly.
Atop the tallest iron tower, Pain and Konan watched.
"He's here," Pain said.
"Leave it to me." Hasumi Maki jumped down, smiling as he entered the tower.
Jiraiya surveyed the quiet first floor. He had captured a Genin and learned that Pain was in this tower—but not where. He'd have to search floor by floor.
His footsteps suddenly halted. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.
He turned. Sitting on a steel pipe high above was a figure in an Akatsuki cloak.
Jiraiya's pupils constricted.
Hasumi Maki!
No—reports had confirmed his death!
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +3000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +3000]
[Chakra (138,359,002 / 200,000,000)]
"You're really bold," Hasumi Maki said, swinging his legs with a smile. "Coming to Akatsuki's headquarters alone."
"Is that so?" Jiraiya forced a grin. "Then it seems I've come to the right place."
"You should know," Maki said casually, "you won't leave here alive."
"We'll see," Jiraiya replied, ready for death.
"Shouldn't you be dead?" Jiraiya asked, muscles tense.
"Ah," Maki said, as if remembering. "That talk about mutual destruction? That was a lie I told Renji." He spoke of his "deceased" younger brother with pity. "He was such an idiot—he believed everything. But it worked. Thanks to your hands, he was killed."
Maki laughed aloud.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +30,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +30,000]
[Chakra (138,389,002 / 200,000,000)]
"You truly deserve to die," Jiraiya said coldly.
"Too bad," Maki sneered. "The one who dies today is you."
He extended his hand. Shuriken marked with the Flying Thunder God seal appeared at his fingertips, embedding themselves throughout the room. Jiraiya bit his thumb and summoned Shima and Fukasaku, instantly entering Sage Mode.
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Bullet!"
A combined blast of wind, oil, and fire distorted the air—but a giant ice wall erupted from the ground. A freezing mist spread as heat and cold collided, filling the entire floor with white fog.
Jiraiya's mind reeled. Why does Hasumi Maki have Ice Release? That was Renji's ability!
He squinted, sensing a shift in the air. 'He's here!'
A shadow flickered in the smoke. Jiraiya dodged, but Maki's arm extended into a long sword, grazing his arm. Jiraiya leapt back, avoiding close combat. But his Flying Thunder God...
He glanced at his arm. As expected, a black pattern had appeared on the wound—the Flying Thunder God mark.
Bang!
A punch filled his vision. No time to dodge. Jiraiya met it with his own.
Crack!
A sharp crack echoed as pain shot through his arm. He was sent flying, flipped midair, and landed—only to see frost crawling up his skin.
From the inside out, a wave of freezing cold spread through his body, ice shards blooming from his flesh.
He'd seen this before.
Renji Mahito's attack.
Jiraiya looked up. A faint, innocent smile lit Hasumi Maki's face as he waved.
"Long time no see, Jiraiya-san."
It was as if two personalities existed in one body.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +100,000]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +100,000]
[Chakra (138,489,002 / 200,000,000)]
'What exactly... is going on?'