Chapter 107: Valley of the Gods
Whoosh—!!
With a subtle ripple of chakra, a man in a black cloak adorned with red clouds and a wind chime hat appeared silently at the edge of the Valley of the Gods. His purple Rinnegan eyes scanned the devastated battlefield coldly.
It was none other than Pain (Tendō).
Upon learning that the First Hokage had battled the Fifth Hokage, even he found it hard to believe. But more than that, a sense of unease crept into Nagato's heart.
After all, if Uchiha Yuta, the Fifth Hokage, truly had the strength to defeat Senju Hashirama—even if it was his reanimated form—then this man posed the greatest threat to Akatsuki's ambitions.
"Fifth Hokage..."
After a moment of silence, Pain muttered coldly, without a shred of emotion in his voice, "Against the power of a god... you stand no chance."
Buzz—!!
As his Rinnegan flared, a chakra wave spread out, carrying his will to the scattered members of the Akatsuki. One by one, their projected astral forms began to materialize around him.
"Leader, what's the emergency? I was in the middle of preaching the Evil God's gospel!" grumbled Hidan as soon as his projection appeared.
"...This is the battlefield where the First and Fifth Hokage fought?"
"What devastating power..."
"How did the Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Yuta—train himself to the point of defeating the First Hokage, even if it was only a reanimated corpse?"
The others gasped one after another as they took in the scorched, crater-ridden landscape. The Valley of the Gods was truly a battlefield that instilled awe.
"Enough. Quiet down," Pain barked sternly. "You should all have a clear understanding of Uchiha Yuta's strength by now."
"Chief... you're not seriously thinking about attacking Konoha, are you?" asked Zabuza's projection, his voice wary.
At those words, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy. Even Uchiha Itachi's illusory form stiffened slightly.
"Yes... we must," Pain replied, voice icy. "Uchiha Yuta's strength has grown too rapidly. If we don't act soon, even I may be unable to suppress him."
There was no hesitation in his tone—Nagato was growing increasingly anxious.
Especially now that Konoha had taken possession of the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails. The balance was shifting. If Uchiha Yuta was left unchecked, Akatsuki's plans would collapse. Peace would become an impossible dream.
If the Fifth Hokage became unstoppable...
Then Akatsuki might as well disband.
The group fell into a tense silence.
Whether it was Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Zabuza, Konan, Itachi, or the newer members like Deidara and Kisame, none spoke for a while.
At this moment, even the usually arrogant Akatsuki members had to acknowledge that the Fifth Hokage—Uchiha Yuta—was at the peak of the ninja world.
"It's going to be a difficult mission..." Pain finally said, scanning their faces. "But if we succeed, we will gain the Three-Tails, Five-Tails, Eight-Tails—and even the Nine-Tails."
"I'm in," said Zabuza after a long pause. "The Three-Tails is in Konoha, and that's my objective anyway."
"Same here..."
"I agree."
"Challenging... but worth it."
"The Evil God would love to use those Konoha shinobi as sacrifices..."
One after another, the rogue ninjas of Akatsuki began to show wicked grins. No matter how strong Uchiha Yuta was, they were all S-class criminals. They feared no one.
More importantly, they had absolute faith in their leader's Rinnegan—the fabled eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.
Only Konan seemed hesitant, but she ultimately remained silent.
"Good." Pain nodded in satisfaction. "We'll act soon."
Suddenly—
"Wait a second... where's Orochimaru?" Hidan asked suspiciously.
"Hmph..." Pain's expression darkened. "Orochimaru has defected from Akatsuki. As for why..."
His eyes turned to Uchiha Itachi, who had remained silent the whole time.
Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, and the others all turned to Itachi.
"Orochimaru's goals diverged from ours," Itachi said coldly. "He tried to take my body for his reincarnation technique. I destroyed him with my Mangekyō Sharingan before he could."
"Heh... typical Orochimaru," Sasori sneered. "Tries to steal someone's body and ends up getting killed. Then he just runs away."
"It's kind of boring without him," Zabuza chuckled.
"Tch. Waste of time," Kakuzu muttered.
"Alright," Pain said with finality. "We'll deal with Orochimaru after we strike Konoha."
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