“Expansion?” In the void, on the ten fingers of the Gedo Statue, several projections almost had the same thought at the same time.
‘You gathered this circus of monsters together just to say that?’ Aside from Pain and Konan, the rest of the Akatsuki actually reached a rare moment of agreement.
‘Wasn’t this already obvious?
Did it really need a full meeting?
Is this guy just enjoying being in charge?’ Kurō silently complained in his heart.
His expression remained as casual as ever.
His arms were crossed, and his lazy gaze rested on Pain ahead of him.
But deep in his eyes, there was only calm assessment.
He did not believe Pain would waste time over something this minor.
There had to be something bigger coming.
Beside him, Obito was waving his hand in a ridiculous way, but the one eye visible through the hole in his mask was watching Pain, silently trying to figure out what he was about to say.
Pain looked down at everyone, his purple Rinnegan showing no ripple of emotion.
He did not intend to keep them in suspense and continued explaining.
“At present, including myself, Akatsuki has seven core members.” He deliberately ignored Tobi, who was waving his hand as if protesting the fact that he had been excluded, and continued in a steady tone.
“We are still three people short of the number the organization is expected to reach.
Recruiting at least three more powerful fighters is one of Akatsuki’s main tasks for now.” His gaze swept over everyone present.
There was no emotion in that gaze, but the air seemed to grow heavier.
“Once all ten members are assembled, aside from Konan and me, the remaining eight will be divided into four groups.
Two members per team, carrying out missions together.” As soon as those words fell, the void went silent.
‘So that’s what this was about?’ Kurō looked around at everyone and suddenly understood.
‘That does make sense.
If we’re talking about forming teams, then yeah, you really do need to warn these lunatics ahead of time.’ After all, every one of these people was used to working alone.
If they were suddenly told to carry out missions with another person without prior notice, someone might genuinely end up dead.
‘Though warning them ahead of time probably won’t help much either…’ Kurō silently added.
Sasori and Kakuzu’s eyes both showed obvious displeasure.
For people like them, who were used to acting alone, a so-called “partner” beside them was nothing more than an inconvenient burden.
But when they looked at Pain’s purple Rinnegan, the words of resistance they had been about to say were swallowed back down.
“As long as it doesn’t affect the money I get from missions, I don’t care.” Kakuzu was the first to respond to Pain in a low voice.
“But if I don’t like the person, I’ll kill him.” He said it very calmly, but there was not the slightest hint of joking in those cloudy eyes.
Sasori nodded in agreement.
The puppet’s head moved up and down, making a faint mechanical sound.
“If they get in the way, getting rid of them should be fine, right?” As he spoke, those hollow puppet eyes stared straight in Orochimaru’s direction.
The killing intent in that gaze was not hidden at all.
Orochimaru, however, completely ignored Sasori’s stare.
All of his attention was on Itachi.
His snake-like pupils were filled with delight.
Even through the projection, one could almost see his long tongue and the drool that seemed ready to drip from his mouth.
Itachi sensed Orochimaru’s intense gaze and felt puzzled.
He did not understand why Orochimaru was so enthusiastic about him.
Before this, he had never had any real interaction with this legendary Sannin.
But his expression remained calm.
His eyes were lowered, revealing no emotion.
Kurō looked at Orochimaru’s perverted stare and, for the first time, felt grateful that his own talent was only average.
When he had first joined Akatsuki, that slippery snake had also pestered him for a while.
Of course, Kurō knew very well that Orochimaru had approached him because he wanted his body and his eyes.
At that time, Kurō already had the strength to exchange blows with Kage-level opponents.
With the double motivation of testing his own strength and not wanting to deal with Orochimaru’s harassment any longer, he fought the snake when he came bothering him.
In that fight, relying on his knowledge of Orochimaru’s abilities and the genjutsu he had studied so hard, Kurō actually gained the upper hand.
Unlike Kurō, who found the fight smoother and more satisfying the longer it went on, Orochimaru’s interest gradually cooled from the excitement and heat he had shown at the start.
The light in those snake eyes faded bit by bit, as if some expectation had been disappointed.
In the end, he left behind a disappointed comment.
“So you’re only ordinary after all.” Then he slipped away.
Only Kurō was left standing there, completely thrown off after finally getting into the rhythm of the fight.
Thinking about it now, Orochimaru, with that ridiculously high standard of his, had probably seen during their exchange that Kurō’s true talent was actually ordinary.
His current strength came from effort and other methods.
He had probably been evaluating whether “this body was worth using as a vessel” during that spar, then reached a negative conclusion.
Thinking of that, the corner of Kurō’s mouth twitched, and he felt inexplicably irritated.
What did he mean by “only ordinary”?
What was wrong with being ordinary?
Did ordinary people eat his rice?
But after seeing Itachi being targeted by Orochimaru now, Kurō’s mood immediately improved quite a bit.
“Itachi-kun.” Orochimaru’s voice sounded again, that sticky tone making people’s backs crawl.
“How about considering teaming up with me?” His snake eyes were full of expectation, and his long tongue licked his lips.
“With your abilities, if you join hands with me, I’m sure we could accomplish many interesting things.
“I am very interested in your eyes and body… no, in your talent.” “…I’ll consider it.” Itachi looked at him expressionlessly.
His voice was flat, with no emotion in it.
He gave a perfunctory reply, then unconsciously glanced in Kurō’s direction.
Pain watched the atmosphere becoming noisier and noisier, and a trace of impatience flashed almost imperceptibly through his purple Rinnegan.
His voice rang out again.
It was still calm, but carried unquestionable authority.
“This is only advance notice.
The specific arrangements will be decided after we have gathered all members.” He paused, his eyes sweeping over everyone present.
“This meeting ends here.” The moment he finished speaking, Sasori and Kakuzu’s projections disappeared.
Orochimaru looked at Itachi, who had already formed signs and left without hesitation, and a trace of regret flashed in his eyes.
He turned his head and gave Kurō a meaningful look.
Something unreadable flickered in those snake-like pupils.
His fingers quickly formed signs in front of him, and his projection gradually faded.
“Hehehe…” That laugh echoed through the void, lingering for a long time.
Kurō was thinking about testing his Mangekyō and was just about to form signs and leave.
“Kurō.” Pain’s voice came from above.
It was not loud, but it made Kurō’s fingers stop in midair.
Hm?
Kurō’s brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of doubt flashed through his eyes.
He raised his head and looked at Pain.
Those purple Rinnegan were calmly watching him.
Beside him, Obito’s hands, which had been forming signs, slowly loosened.
He said nothing and only looked coldly at Pain.
Although he was only a projection, the invisible pressure still spread through the entire space.
Pain ignored it completely.
Those purple Rinnegan met Obito’s gaze without the slightest hesitation.
His gaze was calm and unwavering, like a wall firmly blocking the pressure coming from Obito.
“I said it already.” “Everyone except Uchiha Kurō may leave.” He paused, his gaze still fixed on Obito.
“That includes you, Madara.” The void fell deathly silent.
Tobi stood there, his one visible eye staring coldly at Pain.
His body did not move, but the invisible pressure grew heavier and heavier.
Kurō felt the oppressive atmosphere and looked at the two men standing against each other.
For once, he was genuinely confused.
‘Is this… an awkward love triangle?’ That thought flashed through his mind, then he immediately crushed it.
‘No, wait.
Two grown men glaring at each other with killing intent is not a love triangle!’ His gaze subconsciously shifted toward Konan, the woman standing beside Pain who had said nothing from beginning to end.
She watched everything calmly, showing no intention of interfering at all.
‘Konan, why are you just standing there watching?’ Kurō screamed silently in his heart.
‘Pull your Pain back already!
Konan, say something!
Konan!’ Konan: OMO CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Shogun_Legacy All depictions of relationships between characters of the same gender in this novel are strictly platonic and not meant to be BL/slash fiction.
If you happen to catch any “gay vibes”…
well, that’s just Konoha friendship for you.
Don’t doubt it!