Chapter 370: Akatsuki's "Guest," The Undercurrents of the Ninja World.

Time in the ninja world passed day by day.

Without the Whitebeard Pirates, the ninja world operated as it should, while also beginning to stir with undercurrents.

"I, I really don't know where the Whitebeard Pirates are... killing me would be pointless."

In Kusagakure Village, the current leader of the Kusagakure Ninjas, "Kazewa Serizawa," was being choked by a young man dressed in a black robe with red clouds.

This caused his speech to be intermittent and even his breathing to be labored.

His face was turning a bit blue.

Kazewa Serizawa gritted his teeth, staring intently at the man before him, and continued, "Besides... even if I knew the whereabouts of the Whitebeard Pirates, I wouldn't tell you!"

"Damn Uchiha! Damn Akatsuki, never underestimate the will of Kusagakure Village! Don't underestimate my loyalty to Whitebeard-sama!"

Indeed, the youth choking Kazewa Serizawa's throat was none other than Uchiha Itachi, who had joined Akatsuki two years ago.

Whenever there was a mission, he was the first to take it on.

The latter was the handiwork of Biwa Juzo.

Moreover, what kind of accident could make the entire Whitebeard Pirates disappear?

What accident could possibly trouble a man like Whitebeard?

...

Uchiha Itachi turned around expressionlessly, with Biwa Juzo standing behind him.

Uchiha Itachi had also been searching for over a year, but without any clues.

Injuring someone was already the limit of Biwa Juzo's leniency; any more would likely raise suspicions.

Uchiha Itachi and Biwa Juzo exchanged glances.

Having no news of Sasuke for over a year, Uchiha Itachi was already frantically searching throughout the vast Ninja World.

"Is there really a need to kill him?" Just then, a voice came from behind Uchiha Itachi: "I think he still has some value. If you kill him now, you might never find your brother Uchiha Sasuke again."

Over a year had passed...

Sasuke had vanished as if into thin air, catching him off guard.

Although not dead, his spirit and consciousness had clearly suffered an unprecedented blow.

Uchiha Itachi paused, silently sheathing his kunai: "You're right."

This led to Uchiha Itachi being extremely active in carrying out Akatsuki's missions during this time.

A White Zetsu clone said to the two, "We've found the exact coordinates for the revival of the Three-Tails, Isobu. You can move out now!"

In a few more months, Uchiha Itachi would be considered a veteran in Akatsuki, with two and a half years of experience.

Kazewa Serizawa's mouth still dribbled saliva, his body convulsing unconsciously.

The former was Uchiha Itachi's doing, his hand guaranteed death.

He had found Kazewa Serizawa not because he was interested in Whitebeard's movements, but because he was extremely worried about Sasuke's disappearance.

Where had Whitebeard-sama gone?

Akatsuki was about to collect the last two Tailed Beasts.

Shortly after the two left, a figure suddenly emerged from the ground—it was a White Zetsu clone.

"It seems you really know nothing..."

He turned to leave, and before departing, he said coldly to the collapsed Kazewa Serizawa, "I'll come again in a month. I hope the answer you give me next time won't be as disappointing as this one."

Uchiha Itachi's shadowed eyes flickered with disappointment, his hand trembling as a kunai slipped out from his sleeve and into his palm.

Because he intended to use the opportunity of being on a mission to search for his brother throughout the Shinobi World.

"Tsukuyomi!!!"

Biwa Juzo squinted his eyes, watching Uchiha Itachi's retreating figure, and muttered to himself, 'This guy is crazy about his brother.'

They already had one Tailed Beast in their possession; hunting another would make two.

The problem was, Biwa Juzo didn't know where the Whitebeard Pirates had gone either!

Surely there wouldn't be any accidents, right?

The two walked out of the administrative building of Kusagakure Village, only to see a hellish scene of bloodshed outside.

Biwa Juzo began to feel a bit anxious.

Biwa Juzo, an undercover agent, was well aware that Kusagakure Village was the property of Whitebeard-sama, and under such circumstances, he could barely restrain himself from killing.

One by one, the ninjas of Kusagakure Village either had their lives taken by kunai, shuriken, or fire release techniques, or they lay on the ground, wailing in agony, unable to stand and fight again.

The disappearance of his brother had twisted his psyche somewhat.

Biwa Juzo continued, "This guy is closely related to the Whitebeard Pirates. If there's any news of their appearance, he's definitely one of the first to know."

"If you kill him now, how will you find your brother if the Whitebeard crew shows up?"

"How can you not know..." Itachi glared at Kazewa Serizawa with intensity. "Without my permission, you cannot be ignorant..."

Seconds later, Uchiha Itachi released his right hand, and the man he held, Kazewa Serizawa, gradually lost the light in his eyes, collapsing to the ground like a lump of clay.

A line of bloody tears slowly slid down his face.

With that, Uchiha Itachi left with a swagger.

Logically, he should have reported this intelligence to the Whitebeard Pirates and let Whitebeard-sama come to pick the final fruit.

"Konan..." Nagato, sitting in his wheelchair with a look of nostalgia and confusion, truly couldn't comprehend how a group of living people could just vanish overnight.

Now, in the Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain, Nagato was beginning to feel that Akatsuki was increasingly out of his control.

"Without you by my side, it seems... I really can't handle this vast organization," Nagato sighed heavily.

The previous Akatsuki... was actually quite united, although everyone had their own purposes and used each other.

The current Akatsuki, however, was completely different from before.

The entire organization seemed to have split into two factions.

One faction was naturally led by him, the apparent leader.

The other faction was a new one led by Uchiha Itachi, Zetsu, and Biwa Juzo, three insiders with ulterior motives.

Although they still ostensibly obeyed his commands, Nagato could see that they all harbored their own agendas, and their ideologies had diverged from his.

The reason for the divergence, Nagato knew, was his own doing; he had fallen into a state of confusion.

The former Nagato firmly believed in making the world feel pain to achieve peace.

But when Nagato realized that Uchiha Obito had been leading his thoughts with words and actions, he began to doubt and question his once firm beliefs.

"If I continue to hold on to my past beliefs... does that mean I'm completely controlled by the thoughts of the already deceased Uchiha Obito?"

Nagato murmured to himself, "But if I give up my past beliefs and dreams, doesn't Akatsuki... just revert to the Akatsuki of Yahiko's time?"

"Then wouldn't all the changes Akatsuki has undergone over the years be wasted..."

If Konan were by his side, Nagato knew she would give him an answer.

But Konan was gone.

She had disappeared.

Nagato slowly clenched his emaciated fists, not knowing if Konan had left forever, the successive departures of two close friends causing him pain like a knife to the heart.

Nagato let out a heavy sigh, knowing he couldn't just wait around any longer. Konan, who had vanished into thin air, was unlikely to reappear just as mysteriously.

Perhaps... he should use some method to determine whether Konan was dead or alive.

For instance, going to Konohagakure Village to take the forbidden jutsu "Edo Tensei," then using Konan's cells to try and bring her back through Impure World Reincarnation.

If it worked, it would prove that Konan was indeed dead.

If not, that would be even better.

Nagato couldn't even imagine what dangerous thoughts might arise if he confirmed Konan's death.

"This place hasn't changed at all... Nagato, has the organization not had any new developments in this past year?"

A sudden voice made Nagato's pupils constrict.

His location was a highly secretive spot known only to the Akatsuki.

Even some of the newer members were unaware of this place.

What was this sudden female voice all about?

And... Nagato paused for a moment, as he recognized the voice as eerily familiar.

It seemed like...

Nagato's eyes widened in shock.

He quickly spun his wheelchair around one hundred and eighty degrees to look behind him.

There stood Konan, quietly facing Nagato, dressed once again in the Akatsuki uniform.

A faint smile slowly spread across Konan's pale face, as cold and proud as an alpine plum: "Did you can't recognize me after just over a year?"

"Ko... Konan..."

Emotions surged in Nagato's chest; he had thought that after so long as the leader of Akatsuki, he had abandoned many emotions.

But the feeling of seeing Konan again, he realized that the so-called abandonment of emotions was all nonsense.

"You..." Nagato was certain that the Konan before him was the real deal, not some Genjutsu or Transformation Jutsu. He asked urgently, "Where have you been all this time? Where did you go this past year?"

Konan seemed a bit sentimental: "Well, that's a long story..."

Just as Konan's words fell, a somewhat immature voice came from behind her: "Is this the Akatsuki?"

Nagato was stunned once again.

Then, he watched, dumbfounded, as two youngsters stepped out from behind Konan.

Kimimaro scanned the surroundings and murmured to himself, "Is this the organization that Orochimaru-sama once belonged to?"

Haku, on the other hand, greeted Nagato with a polite smile.

"Sir, you must be the leader of the Akatsuki, right? Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Haku, and this is Kimimaro. Please forgive our intrusion; we were just too curious and followed Sister Konan here."

"As you can see, we are family with Sister Konan. Even though she always says she isn't really our family, I believe that after living together for so long, how can we not be considered family?"

Nagato: "???"

Konan spoke with a hint of helplessness, "Nagato, I'm sorry, but for various reasons, I've gotten quite involved with the Whitebeard Pirates. These two kids insisted on coming over, and Whitebeard himself has spoken; I couldn't refuse."

Nagato: "???"

If the question marks in his mind could materialize, Nagato would probably be surrounded by them.

"Don't worry, we're not enemies, at least not now."

Haku remained very polite, his tone and attitude quite gentle: "Just think of us as two inconspicuous little transparent beings. Two kids whose ages combined don't exceed twenty-five surely can't cause any harm to your Akatsuki organization, right?"

Nagato: "…"

"Konan, what is this?" Nagato finally turned his gaze to Konan, throwing the question her way.

This was because he perceived no threat from the two little ones.

Moreover, these two were brought by Konan.

Oh, wait...

From what they had just said, it seemed like these two kids were persistent and followed Konan here. Konan apparently couldn't resist them, so she reluctantly let them come along.

But no matter how you look at it, this is preposterous!

What is Konan thinking!

"Nagato, perhaps it's time for 'Akatsuki' to make some positive changes." Konan spoke earnestly to Nagato, her words striking: "Akatsuki doesn't necessarily have to be enemies with the Whitebeard Pirates. Over time, I've come to believe that there's actually no direct conflict between us."

"And... during this time, I've come to understand a lot of things." Konan took a deep breath and continued, "I think... the ideals and dreams we've been holding onto... might indeed be a bit extreme. That plan... might not be as wonderful as Uchiha Obito described."

"…What do you mean?" Nagato's fingertips trembled slightly.

Several people within Akatsuki had already turned their backs on him.

Did Konan also have different thoughts?

A strange emotion that was hard to describe made Nagato uncomfortable; he only knew it was an unpleasant feeling.

"Nagato, what was the true purpose of founding Akatsuki?" Konan instead asked a question.

Nagato glanced at the two kids but still replied seriously, "To ensure that the Ninja World will never have wars, to be forever peaceful."

"Do you believe that Obito's plan can achieve all this?" Konan asked again.

"…Not really."

Nagato revealed his feelings of confusion since learning that "Uchiha Madara" was actually "Uchiha Obito."

Was what a person who deceived him said true?

Nagato was very doubtful.

This was one of the reasons for Nagato's divergence from others like Zetsu.

"But…" Nagato said, "This is the only solution we've found. Even if we don't believe it, we have to try to know."

"What if I have another way?"

Konan steadied her heart and looked directly at the astonished Nagato, "I have another method that's a bit more radical than Yahiko's idea, but gentler than Uchiha Obito's."

Nagato realized what Konan intended to do.

Konan had returned this time with the intention of changing the current state of the Akatsuki organization.

Perhaps...

She had already realized that the Akatsuki was on the brink of collapse.

...

...

(End of Chapter)

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