"Kid, you sure talk big! My blade, Samehada, has been starving for far too long. Let me be the first to test how much you're really worth!"
In the blink of an eye, Kisame Hoshigaki lunged forward with Samehada raised high, bringing it down toward Tsuneo's forehead without hesitation.
Yet Tsuneo remained perfectly calm. He curled his lips into a faint smile, lifted his pinky finger, and casually hooked it toward the massive blade—testing his newfound power.
"Samehada… bite him."
What the?!
The instant the words fell, Samehada—Kisame's most loyal partner—suddenly twisted mid-air and chomped down on Kisame's own right arm!
Truly… unstoppable.
Worse—Tsuneo quickly realized the power wasn't limited to spoken commands. Even a mere thought, a simple gesture, could bend these monsters to his will.
He was, quite literally, invincible on this ship.
"Wh-what… what's going on? Samehada—how could it?!"
Kisame froze, dumbfounded.
"Kisame Hoshigaki… kneel."
Tsuneo understood perfectly well—physical pain meant nothing to the Akatsuki. Most of them would sooner die than bow their heads.
If he wanted to break these villains…
He needed to crush their spirit.
The greatest humiliation?
Make them kneel.
The moment the command left Tsuneo's mouth, something unbelievable happened. Kisame—this iron-willed warrior—was forced down onto his knees as if an invisible hand had slammed him into the floor.
Cold sweat streamed down his face.
This humiliation… was worse than death.
"Kisame, your attacks are useless against him. Stand aside. Let me try—my techniques are different. He can't escape them."
Kisame wanted to back off after Itachi said that. But he couldn't—his body refused to move, pinned to the floor as though nailed in place.
Meanwhile
Itachi Uchiha leapt forward, Mangekyō Sharingan opening like a crimson flower. Without hesitation, he unleashed his most terrifying genjutsu:
"Genjutsu… Tsukuyomi."
"Another one? Itachi—yes, you're my idol, and I admit you're terrifyingly strong. But unfortunately for you, none of your abilities can affect me."
Having already succeeded twice, confidence surged through Tsuneo's veins. Here, aboard this ship, he feared nothing.
Sure enough
Even though Itachi's Mangekyō Tsukuyomi hit Tsuneo dead-on, the result was…
Nothing.
A gentle breeze brushed past, and Tsuneo stood exactly where he'd been before—untouched, unaffected, unshaken.
Itachi's eyes widened.
Such power…
It didn't just defy logic
It shattered it.
"Itachi Uchiha, my apologies—challenge my authority, and you kneel."
With a soft smile, Tsuneo spoke once more.
Before Itachi could use another technique, his body collapsed, dropping to his knees beside Kisame—lined up neatly in humiliation.
Two in a row.
The Akatsuki members watching felt their hearts tighten. If even Itachi had knelt…
But Akatsuki was full of lunatics who didn't fear death.
"Hehehe… fascinating. Truly fascinating. Boy, you have an extraordinary body. I like it. Why don't you hand it over to me?"
In that instant, Orochimaru's eyes lit up with manic delight. His neck stretched like a serpent's, his head shooting toward Tsuneo.
Just one bite
one cursed seal
and Tsuneo would be his.
"Hehehe… come now, boy. I can make you stronger…"
Too bad reality was cruel.
Just as Orochimaru's head hovered mid-air, Tsuneo tilted his head and smirked.
"Orochimaru, who gave you the courage to stretch your neck at me like that? Trying to steal my body? Kneel."
Before Orochimaru could even react, his head snapped back into its normal position. A heartbeat later—
He hit the floor on both knees.
Three kneeling.
Side by side.
Speechless. Humiliated.
"Tch! Not bad at all. In that case, Sasori, let's go together. You attack from below—I'll provide support from above!"
Deidara and Sasori moved at once—one dropping from the sky, the other rising from the ground—preparing a coordinated assault.
Like Tsuneo thought
Akatsuki really had no shortage of death-seekers.
"Deidara, Sasori… you two are hopeless. Still not convinced? Fine. There's plenty of room. Pick a spot—you're both kneeling next."
Before either could attack
Thump.
Both men collapsed to their knees, staring up at Tsuneo with expressions somewhere between confusion and despair.
Five villains now knelt in a row.
"Kakuzu, what do you think? Should we go? I'd love to use this kid's blood for a proper Jashin ritual. Sounds fun, right?"
"Hm. He looks like he'd sell for quite a high price."
"Kakuzu. Hidan. You two also have a death wish, huh?"
"Uh"
They hadn't even attacked yet. They were just talking. But when they looked up—
Both were already kneeling.
Seven in a row.
"Pain… his ability is too strange."
"Hmph. It matters not. No matter how powerful he is, before my Six Paths, everything is meaningless. For I… am a god."
"Tch! Pain, you really think you're a god? Even if you were—on this ship, in front of me, even a god kneels."
Before the words finished echoing
Pain and Konan dropped to their knees, joining the rest.
Nine in a row.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu looked at each other in horror. Seeing even Pain kneel, they instantly tried to run.
"Zetsu, trying to escape? I admit you're fast, slipping in and out of shadows… but in front of me, you won't get far.
Be obedient
come back.
Kneel."
White and Black Zetsu froze mid-escape and were dragged back as if pulled by an unseen force.
Both knelt.
Ten in a row.
The only one left was "the intern"—Tobi, whose real identity was none other than Uchiha Obito, the true mastermind of the Akatsuki.
He waved his hands frantically.
"Hehehe—hey there, mister! I'm just a harmless little intern. I didn't offend you! You can let me go, right?"
"Everyone here has already knelt. Just you left, little intern. What do you think? Will I spare you?"
"Hehe… probably not."
"Then what are you waiting for? All the seniors are looking at you. Will you kneel yourself, or shall I help you?"
"Aaaah!!"
Tobi obediently shuffled over
And knelt.
Even Uchiha Obito had no power to resist.
And just like that
Every last member of the Akatsuki
knelt before Tsuneo.
Not a single one spared.