Chapter 238: Welcome to the Akatsuki
In the hall, there were only three people: Obito, Nagato, and… Ōtsutsuki Shinichi.
"Another new member?" Ōtsutsuki Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Or is he just more raw material for my puppets?"
"…"
Facing Uchiha Madara's death stare, Obito remained calm. "He's a member of the organization now, a colleague from this point forward."
"Hmph!"
Uchiha Madara sneered at him and then looked at Nagato and Ōtsutsuki Shinichi, releasing his transformation jutsu.
The mix of chakra and killing intent created a terrifying pressure, bearing down on Nagato and Ōtsutsuki Shinichi.
Nagato's expression shifted slightly.
The black hair, spiked head, and Sharingan, with Obito as his guide…
"You are… Uchiha Madara?"
Ōtsutsuki Shinichi also realized who he was, looking at Uchiha Madara with keen interest.
Unlike the ninja clans of the world, the Ōtsutsuki on the moon, who had preserved their lineage, knew many of the secrets of the Rinnegan. Thus, when he joined the Akatsuki at Black Zetsu's invitation, he easily determined that Nagato wasn't the true owner of the Rinnegan.
The man's power was considerable but lacked the prerequisites to awaken the Rinnegan.
And a little inquiry into the ninja world revealed that decades ago, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were the strongest individuals in their respective clans' histories.
The Rinnegan must have emerged between the two—either Madara had gained Hashirama's power or Hashirama had taken Madara's eyes.
Now that Uchiha Madara had appeared, it validated his theories.
Glancing at Nagato, who was unaware of the truth, Ōtsutsuki Shinichi smirked. Releasing a pressure not inferior to Madara's, he said, "The legendary Shinobi Shura resurrected through Edo Tensei, joining our Akatsuki—it's truly unexpected."
Nagato's eyes flickered, refusing to back down as he unleashed his power. The chakra of three individuals, each surpassing the current Five Kage, clashed, making the entire hall feel heavy and causing cracks to form on the floor beneath them.
Watching this unfold, Shino stood in a daze, his mood dark.
Another ninja on par with the leader.
His rank just dropped again.
After testing each other, Uchiha Madara withdrew his pressure and nodded. "Not bad."
Nagato hadn't disgraced his Rinnegan, and as for the so-called Moon God, his strength was satisfactory.
Including Obito, Uchiha Hikari with the Hachikenspear dojutsu, the technically proficient Orochimaru, and Yunu… the strength of the Akatsuki did not disappoint him.
But for that reason, as Black and White Zetsu had said, even in his Edo Tensei state, he couldn't subdue these people on his own.
Obito and Nagato barely managed to control the Akatsuki because they worked together without sabotaging each other, and the other members needed the Akatsuki to achieve their own goals.
Uchiha Madara was proud and confident in his strength, but pride didn't equal arrogance.
Otherwise, before fighting Senju Hashirama back then, he wouldn't have controlled the Nine-Tails first.
Madara pulled out a chair and sat down. "You should have guessed by now—Zetsu is my agent. Your plan requires strength, and I need your help to complete my plan. Let's discuss it."
Nagato and Ōtsutsuki Shinichi exchanged knowing glances at White Zetsu and Obito before finding places to sit.
As if remembering something, Nagato glanced at Shennong. "You may leave now, Shino."
Shino: "…"
He couldn't provoke any of these people… he had to endure! With the sound of the door opening and closing, the room fell silent. Eventually, Obito began to speak, recounting his connection to Uchiha Madara.
"I know you're curious, so I'll start from the Third Shinobi World War…"
…
"Shino, if you're not busy, come over here."
Just as Shino stepped out, an image appeared before him.
"Yunu, don't push your luck!"
He was the esteemed leader of the Sky Ninja, the creator of the Zero-Tails. He could tolerate being summoned and dismissed by Nagato, whom he couldn't defeat, but Yunu, a researcher…
"If you don't come, I won't care what happens to the Zero-Tails."
"…"
Recalling that his creation, the miniature Tailed Beast, was still in Yunu's hands, Shino's expression stiffened. Reluctantly, he put on a single-lens glass and entered the hidden laboratory within the data space.
Why?
Despite being relatively powerful in the ninja world and possessing the Zero-Tails, why was he the lowest-ranked member of the Akatsuki? Even Konan and Zetsu weren't stronger than him!
Shino gritted his teeth as he watched Yunu slicing samples in the lab, suppressing his anger.
Arguing with her was pointless.
Yunu had uploaded her consciousness into the data space and backed up her consciousness in various forms, placing it in puppets or parts of the data space to research different technologies.
She was an undisputed research fanatic.
Most researchers treasured their brains, but this woman didn't seem to care about her body at all, not fearing becoming an idiot.
With so many backups, it was impossible to retaliate against her.
Unless he wiped them all out at once, he'd eventually face her revenge.
Thinking of this, Shino calmed down and approached. "What do you want?"
"The Zero-Tails is complete."
Yunu stood in front of a fluid-filled container and pressed a button as Shino arrived.
The liquid slowly drained, revealing a tangible entity formed from dark chakra—Shino's long-awaited Zero-Tails.
Shino immediately forgot his recent displeasure, his eyes filled with fascination as he gazed at the Zero-Tails. "Thank you."
To accelerate the Zero-Tails' completion, he had entrusted Yunu and the leader to place its infant form into this space, allowing it to grow by absorbing chakra from others through the Gedo Statue and the virtual Divine Tree.
Now, he finally reaped the mature fruit.
"Hmph, just don't forget your promise."
Yunu waved her hand dismissively, motioning for him to leave. "Take your pet and go. It's too ugly—I don't like it."
"Alright."
In high spirits, Shino didn't mind the new round of "summon and dismiss." He quickly formed a contract with the Zero-Tails and prepared to leave.
Before initiating the exit procedure, however, he smirked and reminded her, "Aren't you going to meet the new member? It's none other than the legendary Uchiha Madara."
Yunu frowned. "You said… Uchiha Madara?"
…
"…and that's the story. His goal, like mine, is the peace of the ninja world."
Omitting what couldn't be revealed, Obito roughly explained his connection to Madara.
Since they would all be in the same organization, there was no point in hiding their relationship. On the contrary, their cooperation could better guide the Akatsuki.
At least until the Ten-Tails was completed, he and Madara wouldn't turn against each other.
Nagato's eyes flickered, not entirely trusting Obito's words, but given Madara's display of strength earlier, he said, "Welcome to the Akatsuki."
(End of Chapter)