HTP: Ch. 79

Deidara spun the clay spider in his hand out of boredom and suddenly clicked his tongue. "Why isn't Pain here yet?"

Sasori didn't even lift his head and replied, "Quiet down."

Just as Kakuzu finished counting his third stack of bills, the door to the meeting room slid open silently.

The sound of wheels rolling across the metal floor made everyone suddenly look up.

A newcomer?

No.

The same Rinnegan as Pain?!

So this was Pain's real body?

A red-haired man sat in a wheelchair. Konan silently stood behind him, paper flowers swirling quietly around her.

"I am Nagato, the true leader of Akatsuki."

The voice of the Deva Path had always been devoid of emotion, even carrying a touch of divine detachment, but the voice of the person before them was surprisingly gentle.

"From today onward, I no longer need the mask of 'Pain.' Because what's coming next… has already surpassed the original scope of Akatsuki. The Five Great Nations have formed an alliance and surrounded Ame."

His voice was clear. He paused slightly at this point, sweeping his gaze across the room to gauge everyone's reactions.

Good. Except for Hidan's dumb grin, everyone else remained calm, as expected of S-rank missing-nin.

He continued, "If anyone here has ties to the Allied Shinobi Forces… or an escape route, or any other intentions… You may leave now. I will not stop you."

The room fell silent. The sound of rain outside the window grew even more pronounced.

Konan, holding onto Nagato's wheelchair, looked around the room with a bit of nervousness. These were all rare and powerful individuals, if anyone left now… Ame's chances would diminish even further.

What? The organization was breaking up? Absolutely not.

Now that Akatsuki no longer had Itachi or Zetsu, it was the perfect group, especially with Nagato's Shinra Tensei, which was totally Deidara's style.

He immediately spoke up, "If anyone wants to betray us, I will beat that person! Right, Sasori?"

He rambled on.

Then he glanced warily at the Kakuzu and Hidan.

Sasori showed a knowing look. So the Six Paths of Pain were nothing more than human puppets like the Third Kazekage.

Pain's technique was far more advanced than chakra threads, worth studying.

Those so-called ties… probably refer to me and Deidara. That letter of surrender? I already burned it. There's no going back to Suna.

With that thought, he said, "I don't intend to leave Akatsuki."

Kakuzu, who had stopped counting money, gave a grunt, "I've got no ties with the Five Great Nations. As long as I get paid, I'm in."

Hidan suddenly tried to stand up, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Kakuzu yanked him back down and barked, "Sit down."

"What the hell? I just need to use the toilet."

"Sit!"

Helpless, Hidan held it in and sat back down.

A few seconds later, he realized and said, "Wait, you didn't think I was trying to run, did you? How could I miss such an exciting scene!"

Seeing this, Nagato nodded inwardly, thinking, The morale is usable.

Konan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since no one chose to leave, it was time to talk business.

She pushed Nagato's wheelchair to the main seat, then returned to her own.

Nagato said in a deep voice, "Right now, Akatsuki possesses six tailed beasts. Combined with your own strength, our high-end combat power surpasses that of any hidden village in history. We can use Ame as our base and bring Akatsuki out of the shadows, turning it into a new great nation of our own.

"And then… we'll change this world."

Clap clap clap.

Deidara immediately applauded and praised, "So that was your true reason for collecting the tailed beasts. Isn't that just like the First Hokage? Truly amazing."

What a loyal follower. Nagato and Konan both gave Deidara a deep look.

Sasori said indifferently, "Whether the world changes doesn't matter much to me. After this, I just hope the leader will share his puppet techniques."

There's no real technique to share, Nagato thought. It's all because of the Rinnegan.

Still, he agreed on the spot. If Sasori couldn't learn it, that was his problem.

Kakuzu grunted, his eyes turning slightly as he said in a low voice, "If this succeeds, I want to be in charge of the finances."

After witnessing Pain break through Kumo with overwhelming power, he had felt like he was staring at a resurrected Hashirama. Given that, maybe Nagato's plan wasn't so far-fetched after all.

From a hired mercenary to a founding war hero, he weighed the risks and benefits over and over. In the end, he made up his mind: if this worked, they'd rule the world; if not, he could always just go back to being a missing-nin.

Seeing Kakuzu's commitment, Nagato responded that Kakuzu was clearly born for finance. From now on, all of Ame's budget would be under his control.

As for Hidan, he thirsted for war. The excitement in his expression said everything.

Deidara nodded with satisfaction, the family of artists would never be split apart.

And now that they had all committed to serving Nagato as the true leader of Akatsuki, Kakuzu immediately offered a strategy, "I have a plan that can crush the enemy forces!"

Oh? What plan?

All eyes turned to him.

He stood and said, "The heart of the Allied Shinobi Forces is Konoha. Killer B is not a threat. Chiyo and Mei are just following orders. As for Ōnoki, he puts on a show of friendliness with Konoha but doesn't trust them at all."

Deidara finally relaxed and nodded. "I didn't think you were so clever."

Hidan added, "You're even talking differently now."

Kakuzu couldn't be bothered with them, and continued analyzing, "If someone can draw the enemy's main force head-on, we could send a small elite force to strike Konoha's central camp. If we can take out the old thief Hiruzen, the enemy will be leaderless and scatter on their own."

So then, who could take on this crucial mission?

Naturally, Nagato himself. Who else had the ability? And besides, he used six puppet bodies, if one fell, there was no real risk. Kakuzu thought all this while staring intently at Nagato, confident he would pick up on his unspoken suggestion.

But then Hidan suddenly spoke, "Didn't you always brag about trying to assassinate the First Hokage? Why not assassinate the Third Hokage?"

Deidara chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! You go! Show us your skills!"

"…Hmm… As long as Nagato approves, I have no problem. My techniques are itching to be unleashed," Kakuzu said, sat down stiffly, pretending not to care.